It is not the Cucina right next store but a far better affair. We heard about the soft opening last week and we thought it would be good to check this new fine dining restaurant out. Once inside we found the staff was friendly, decent, and attentive. The decor was good and a notch up from what was seen in the Tutu Bene that used to reside here. This restaurant has a whole new atmosphere and a entirely different menu. We had a variety of appetizers to start and all were unique and superb tasting. The main courses were delicious too. And the pastries?! The pastries are to die for. The pastries are created by the same person who supplied pastries to the Chambar over in Vancouver. Overall the food was tasty, well presented, smartly priced, and the portions were good. The ambiance was good but the music was a little all over the map. I am sure that will improve once the restaurant further defines itself. If you are like us and have been longing for finer dining on the North Shore, check out the latest in fine dining on central Lonsdale. And congratulations to the new owner and Chef for putting together a good team.

Service was horrendous and the waiter sounded like he was on crack. No table settings. Slow to fill glasses. No bread. Gave us paper napkins? The food was overpriced and the servings small. It seemed as if they were doing some sort of quality assurance as one of the staff was observing people inside intently and making notes, yet failed to observe everything that was going wrong inside the restaurant. The other customers were equally disappointed judging by some of the comments that we were overhearing. It was a gorgeous day yet the restaurant was very slow and quiet. I think they are on the way out. This restaurant was a disastor the last time we were here but it would seem it has only gotten worse.

The food is pretty good but the prices are very expensive. The wife and I spent 85 dollars for the two of us (did not have drinks) and we left hungry. The kobe beef is good but a real rip off. You really pay for that boiling rock you put the beef on. Staff seem friendly.Never again to this place.

If I wanted ketchup I would have ordered fries at MacDonalds but instead we paid 67 dollars for a lousy meal. Each time we leave this place I swear I am not coming back. Tonight the service was okay but the food was dissapointing. The prices are expensive, the servings small, and the taste was terrible. The Tai Pad, I swear, tasted like those old ketchup chips you can buy. As we left we passed by the Tim Hortons and a pizza joint. For a tiny fraction of the cost we could have ate there and would have been more satisfied. Oh, and each time we have gone here, it is empty. They must be sucking wind...the female cook in the back barking out orders sounds foolish and I am sure she causes people to not want to come back...that and the lousy food and expensive prices. They need to revamp this place.

I had heard that this place had not improved much over the years but had to check it out for myself. As the other commentators have mentioned, you place leaves you smelly. The smoke from the grills permeates clothing and ruins the atmosphere. When we were there last week we noticed a lot of shadey characters wearing a lot of cheap looking bling. Lots of high end gangster looking cars parked out on the street too. The lights are always down low in the expensive bar on the ground floor. My sense is that the only people that frequent this place are gangsters, people with coupons, first timers who do not know better, and unsuspecting tourists. The little show the chefs put on has become rather lame over the years. I would not recommend this place as it continues to dissapoint.

Was there Saturday night with my wife and the place was packed, we were not sure if we would get seats. The host had a total can do and pleasant attitude and sat us immediatley with a smile. The male waiter was very freindly, was prompt, was careful to place the cutlery onto the plates and not the table cloth. The food servings were outstanding but the fish was a little dry. A minor little glitch with what we ordered and what we got and the waiter, without prompting or asking, nixed the item off the bill...for that we left an extra grande tip. They are doing a great job here and the service and food is pretty consistant year to year. Bravo!

Thought I would check this place out as I remember the old school Mr. Mikes as a kid growing up. The waitress was not overly freindly and when I asked if I could exchange my potato for some steamed vegetables, I was told no. I was told if I wanted steamed vegetables it would cost another 3 dollars. WOW! We were not being cheap with our order, we ordered two appetizers and two bigger meals. That was a bad start. I ordered a medium rare steak and it was brought to the table burned...what really burned me was that the burned part of the steak was on the bottom as if to hide how burnt it was. We sent it back and after about ten minutes another steak arrived. Same thing, the steak looked okay on the top but when I bit into it, I could taste charcole again. I flipped it over and sure enough, burned again. Each time the kitchen staff attempted to conceal the fact that they had burned the medium rare steak. I sent it back again and I got the sense the waitress may have been mad at me as I could see her showing the burned steak to another staff member in the restaurant. But a big save was made. The manager approached our table and offered a full apology, waived the cost of our entire bill, and gave us a gift certificate to come back. That was the most impressive part of the evening, obviously the manager has some sense. The restaurant is pretty cool and very different from the old school Mr. Mikes...this one is a steak house. My suggestions to the staff are, be a little friendlier, dont try to grind more money out of your customers (just switch the potato for vegetables for petes sake) and if you burn a steak, dont try to conceal, just make another one and watch it more closely as it sits on the grill. I never bitch and whine about service or restaurants but this was an exceptional case of sillyness. Cheers to the Manager!