| rev:text
| - Went to Woodlot a couple of weeks ago to celebrate a friend's much-needed and long-awaited breakup with some kickass food and was a little disappointed, although as Renay R. points out, it helps if one does go in with lowered expecations which is not to say it was bad, I just don't think it's AMAZING.
Woodlot's been getting a lot of press and there no shortage of hullabaloo about it which I'm not knocking as I think all new places deserve a big kickup and whether the place survives is totally up to them. So far they're doing great and I plan to go back again eventually; when I do, I'm certain they'll still be there.
The decor is very welcoming and cosy, it provokes a casual and homey feeling, which is nice. The service was very friendly, attentive, and not at all dismissive or rude as with some new (some not) restaurants that have quickly made a name for themselves.
With the renos (slated for August when they'll close for a week) there should be more seating which is a plus as the night we went, we were not able to secure a reservation (called that morning) and simply walked in hoping 6:30pm was early enough to beat the crowds. Not so. We ended up sitting on the stools which were a split-level below the entrance, near the bar. It wasn't so bad at first but then another party of two showed up which halved our already cramped quarters and made for an uncomfortable arrangement as my head was lost somewhere in the jackets that hung up on the wall next to me and our stuff had to be rammed into the little window area. It's great that Woodlot wants to allow as many people to come and enjoy their food but that space should not be made to accommodate more than 3 MAX. But hey, I guess that's a risk you take when you have no reservations.
On to the food: I started off with the onion soup which was fine, nothing crazy. For mains, we had the tagliatelle (full size $19? they also offer a half portion) and the duck. At first I was irked by how small the pasta was, I couldn't imagine what a half order would amount to! It had a few peas nestled in and was quite salty. The noodles were way overcooked such that one could not separate them; instead you got one big clump on your fork when trying to lift any part of it. The duck was great (but small), cooked and seasoned just right. Surprisingly, we were quite full given how small the portions were; maybe it was all that salt.
For dessert, we had the lemon tart which was tasty. I've never been a huge lemon dessert fan but wanted to see what all the fuss was about. For me, it was just OK but got to be a bit much after a while with all the tangy lemony-ness though the marshmallow helped to tone it down a bit. If you're a fan of lemon sweets, I am sure you'll like it a lot.
My friend had already snacked before we got there as she was anticipating a long wait (good call) so we didn't order much more than that, though we are usually really big eaters! I meant to give this place 2.5* but can't seem to figure out how to halve the stars...I would definitely give the place another chance as they have promise and I think we were just unlucky that night, though it wasn't horrible. It wasn't long after opening (for the day, but also in general) and was already packed so one can imagine the hairied pace of things from their end. I am not usually as big of a softie and even though I don't go to restaurants solely for their service, theirs was good and the place seems sincere in their efforts so they surely deserve another go. Next time I'll be sure to make reservations!
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