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(2.9)
(3) (2.8) (3) (3.1)So, it's really just a deli with a few tables in front of the cash register. No liquor license. But this place has character. Not on the walls or the furnishings, but from the inside out. We love the owners wife (daughter?) She's a breath of fresh air, some days decked out in an outfit that will be sure to make you smile. She treats everyone with the same cheer, not just the "special" customers. My favorite is spaghetti vongole. A proper plate of pasta just like Mrs. Dippolito served up way back when when I lived next door to the nicest family from Napoli. Oh, I digress. Funny thing is you have to walk thru the kitchen to get to the washroom and you see them working hard in the kitchen, all having a good time. Get there early if you want a table at lunchtime. Be careful if you're sitting next to the shelves, last time I saw a guy knock a bottle down. The free cookies are a nice touch. Don't go expecting fancy anything... It is what it is and it's quite a treat as far as I'm concerned.
The sushi is decent and dinner boxes are good. Noodles in soup aren't good at all. Take out is fine but out of the many (20?) times we've tried to dine in, it's usually a lesson in frustration. The female servers are particularly clueless. You can wait forever for your food and they just avoid looking at you the whole time. Last time I was there my son got his food after 35 minute wait and after he finished eating, I waited another 10 min for my food. Awkward. Other times they've forgotten parts of our order, substituted items in bento boxes without telling you and just generally have no clue how to give decent service, yet they always expect a tip. Like I said, take out and stay out.
Whenever a new business opens in Dollarton Village, I get very excited. it is walking distance for me and we love to support anyone who's trying to make a go of it in our immediate neighborhood. After months of renovations they finally opened. I went in to check the place out and really wanted to like it. Being a devoted foody, I was excited. The owner was standing behind the counter chatting to someone she knew. A girl stepped up and asked if she could help me. I told her I was just in checking the place out for the first time. This was an opportunity to sell something to me!!! She crossed her arms and said, "sure, look around." the owner did not acknowledge me at all. I was the only person in a shop that she had spent months renovating and I had my wallet in one hand and a shopping bag in the other. So, I looked around and saw a half empty display fridge, some very high end condiments and basically nothing that piqued my interest. Is it a bakery, deli, restaurant, cafe or what? And did I mention it was COLD in there? The place is decked out in whites with cold plastic chairs. I left without buying anything and neither the owner or the server girl seemed to care. I told my hubby about it and we decided to go have a coffee a couple days later to give it a another try. It was a freezing cold day, yet they had metal turquoise chairs and tables outside and the door propped open. We ordered an Americano and Macchiato. The coffee was very good, but it was so freezing COLD in there sitting on the plexiglass chairs with the door wide open, we drank fast and got the heck out of there. They obviously spared no expense making the place look nice, but it's a shame they don't know how to treat people when they come in, most of them for the first time. And, in our case, probably the last.
My sweetie picked this place for his BD dinner on Friday night and we called for a reso but they said just to come on down. We arrived around 8 pm and it was pretty busy, a good sign. We ordered melon and proscuitto, sea bass and venison with a nice bottle of Pinot noir. The service was minimal. We asked for water and never got any, the mains were brought to our tiny table before the appy plates were cleared, and there was no pouring of wine or water. My hubby loved his venison and the accompanying strawberry vegetables that came with it. My sea bass was perfectly cooked but the frites were soggy and the bell peppers were tasteless and overcooked. We found both mains to be poorly presented on very small cheap plates. The desserts looked good but we had to pass because we had birthday cake at home. They have a lot of older customers due to the old school nature of the decor and food. I found the room to be very hot, stuffy and uncomfortable even though it was a cool evening outside.
We might go back when our parents visit, we think they will like being able to order escargot and other old standbys that were popular in the 70's.
This won't be one of my favorites but not a write off by any means.
This place is nicely decked out, an oasis of interior bling in a neighbourhood where posh is an anomaly and panhandlers await your entry and exit from the restaurant. It's a place that we've always wanted to try.
We reserved a table and were greeted at the door by a cold unsmiling hostess who actually stared down her nose at us. It is a pet peeve of mine when people who work in restaurants clearly display that they have better things to do than be bothered actually serving people. It'd be like a dentist playing solitaire on his laptop while drilling your teeth in between cards. This hostess was actually on her laptop at the bar with her back turned to the room designing some kind of web project while she was working.
Thank goodness for the server, who redeemed the evening with a bit of grace. She was fully awake and knew what she was doing. We ordered Hot & Sour soup, Peking duck wraps, Kung Pao chicken & Short ribs.
If fusion means that non-Chinese cooks are making Chinese food that they know nothing about, then Wild Rice has got that down. The Hot & Sour soup was not hot, just a little sour but it did not have tapioca starch in it to give it body, nor any seafood. It had some shitake and julienne vegetables in it and it was not disgusting, that's the best I can say. The Kung Pao chicken is supposedly the most popular dish. If that's really true, that is sad. The noodles are gluey and clumped together in a soggy mess. You have to hunt for the chicken. It cannot be considered even slightly spicy unless chicken mcnuggets are what you're used to eating. With 2 of us we were resorted to a "no you have it, I already had 2 pieces" negotiation on the chicken in that dish. Share with more people? I think not. The short ribs were tender and tasty and accompanied by the star of the evening, taro frites. Although the soup arrived first, our other "dim sum" dish came last, the Peking duck wraps. The presentation was the defining factor for this dish. They looked poopy brown, soggy and unappetizing and they were not hot. Chinese duck is one of my favourite dishes in the world. Whoever made this dish and calls it fusion should know what they're trying to fuse. If it's blech with blah, they've nailed it. We did send this back and they were gracious enough to remove it from the bill. We noticed there weren't any Asians at this restaurant in an area heavily populated with Chinese, and now we understand why. Chinese people are too smart to pay these kind of prices for bad food just because it's served in a designer setting. Come here to look good and be seen, not for the food or value...
We noticed there are an unusual number of positive reviews on this restaurant and they all seem like they were written by the same person, one liners with no details... hmmm, interesting is all I can say.
We live in the Cove and have been coming to Arms Reach for about 4 years on and off. We used to like sitting on the big leather couch in the corner and having a bottle of wine and appetizers and/or a light dinner. We usually spent about $100 and stay maybe a little over an hour.
A couple of months ago we went in around 5:30 and asked if we could sit at our usual spot. Just then the chef went and sat on the couch with a sales rep for a chat. The restaurant was completely empty but instead of asking the chef to have his chat at a table the hostess told us we couldn't sit there. Wow, employees take precedence over paying customers. On top of that this was about the 50th time we'd been in and the hostess treated us as though we were dirt under her shoe. We left and spent our $100 at the Raven that night.
Last night we went in again and discovered that the couch had been altogether removed and replaced with a 4 top. Ok, I guess that's a business decision and fair enough. We sat at the bar and had a drink and while we were there we watched 3 servers doing their cash out at the bar. We felt uncomfortable and like we were sitting in the staff room. We left after 1 drink and on the way home we decided we will probably never return. Since we only went there about once a month that's only $1200 revenue they're losing, I'm sure that won't hurt them and we won't miss it now that theirs no couch to schnoodle on.
Goodbye Arm's Reach, you won't see us again but we know you won't really care.
We really enjoyed our dinner here. Called same night and got a reso for 7:30 on a Fri night. We were warmly greeted at the door, the place was completely full. The service was professional and charming. The waiter rhymed off a list of specials that sounded so good we ordered one of each. We ordered buffalo caprese appetizer, minestrone, pistachio crusted halibut and roast lamb. Washed it all down with a nice crisp pinot grigio. Everything was expertly prepared, well-timed, nicely presented and tasty. My sweetie said my minestrone is better than, though...sorry guys, must be the extra love.
We recognized a few ex il giardino staff working here and that's a good thing because they brought along their italian restaurant smarts with them but not the prices.
Oh, and it turns out I know the owner from a ages ago. Cool. We'll be back, Peter, you can bet on it!
We have pleasant memories of a couple of nice meals at their old location on Marine Drive so when we heard they had moved closer to where we live we naturally wanted to try it.
We walked in without a reso around 8 pm on a Friday night and the restaurant was less than half full. It's a very chic room and they obviously spared no expense designing a fab open kitchen and choosing very vogue colours, fixtures and furnishings.
Unfortunately that's where the accolades end. We didn't see any connection between this new Moustache Cafe and the old one in the charming yellow house. Therefore, although fully intending to have dinner we decided to start with appetizers and drinks first. There were about 8 appies to choose from, I chose carpaccio and my sweetie ordered gravlax. The waiter returned to say they were out of carpaccio. It was hard pressed to find anything else that appealed to me but I went with the cold duck appetizer.
The gravlax was so salty and dry (over cured) my hubby couldn't eat it. I can't recall the last time he ever sent a dish back, but he did this time. My duck appetizer had a fatty, stale taste and completely unimaginative. The only reason I ate it was because it was only 2 bites big and it took me 2 bites to believe that I wasn't tasting anything at all. The only redeeming part is that the chef came over and talked to us about the gravlax and agreed that it was over cured. Anyway, we ended up leaving and going around the corner to Fishworks for oysters, vodka martinis and a plate of pasta.
Moustache Cafe is like a good looking guy who turns your head when he walks by but makes you cringe when he opens his mouth. We probably won't go back for dinner but might try them for lunch.
My sweetie and I went for Sunday lunch on the drive and gave this place a try.
I had Beef Pho and he had Curry Chicken. The soup broth was nicely seasoned, but I prefer my beef served raw on the side (they put it right in). I will ask for it that way next time. The curry sauce for the chicken was very thin but we aren't sure if that is the traditional way it is supposed to be in Vietnamese curry. Anyway, it was nicely seasoned. We also shared a salad roll and the best thing about that was the dipping sauce, the roll itself was nothing special.
The service was really very good, the waitress was both pleasant and efficient.
As an added bonus we got 20% off the bill (Sunday special??) We were astounded that we could have lunch for under $17 for two.
We'll go back for sure, and bring the kids next time!
My sweetie and I are oyster lovers. They're supposed to do good things for your-ahem-"mood" Well, after two dozen oysters each on our very first visit to this welcome addition to the lower lonsdale eatery choices... we were in a fabulous mood.
The server, if he isn't related to the owner, should become an honorary family member. A well spoken, fully awake, professionally mannered young man who gave us just the right amount of service without calling us "guys" even once. In fact, even the server who wasn't serving our table kept an eye on the table and it was just professional service with no ego, no swagger, and no pushiness.
After the oysters we had a rest, my man had the sablefish and I had a hankering for fish n chips. Everything tasted delicious, even the coleslaw. To drink we had martini's, a bottle of Prosecco, followed by a delicious Gewurtz,finished off with a taxi.
When we were leaving, both the servers thanked us for our business and told us we were a pleasure to serve (we are). This is the kind of customer appreciation that brings people back. Dinner was $250 including tip, not including the taxi home.
Yes, we overdid it abit, but I have to have a good reason to go to yoga 5 times a week, don't I?
One word of advice to the owner... make your sign more prominent, it's almost invisible, we were looking for it and passed it 3 times until we saw it.
Ok, so I was hungrier than a football team and wanted to grab some quick Chinese, fast and filling.
I walk in to see a guy in the corner doing something on a computer. I'm clearly interrupting him, first of all. The food looks decent enough and at 5.99 for a 2 item special, if it's not wonderful, I'll forgive'em, as long as I get fed!
I pick the curry noodles with some breaded deep fried fish and chicken & zucchini in black bean sauce. With tea it comes to about $7.89 or something like that.
The place is cold and empty. I sit as far away from the guy on the computer as possible, not wanting to bother him anymore than I already have by making him get up and dish up the food.
I tuck in, not expecting anything except a hot lunch and a quick fill. The food was all luke warm. I looked around for a microwave (nada) and at the guy on the computer (immersed in something far more interesting than customers) and decided it wasn't worth the effort. Anyway, the noodles were chewy and stale, the fish was doughy and tasteless and the chicken & zucchini was edible but he had given me very little of that (most of the plate was filled with the gross noodles). I ate only the chicken and left 1/2 a plate of food behind. The tea was served in a paper Pepsi cup and it burned my hand to pick it up and drink it, so I had to leave that too.
Ok, so it's cheap, but if it's horrible, that's not value, is it?
This was a meal that made me wish I had Bulemia.
We checked into the Empress and made a reso here for a somewhat unconventional Christmas dinner. The hostess was genuinely pleasant and personable, seated us straight away and set a good tone for the whole evening.
Our server approached passed our table numerous times before finally coming to take a drink order. Unfortunately the personable hostess had not given lessons to the waiter. We ordered vodka martinis and oysters to start with. When we asked him what oysters he had available he said, "oh, I haven't had a chance to look at the board yet." Not in an apologetic way, but in a snippy, "how annoying that you should ask me just what I don't know" way. After our oysters and martini's, I was ready for another one and he again passed our table empty handed numerous times without either stopping to clear our glasses/dishes, nor offering to replenish our drinks. By this time we had figured things out and being in a wonderful mood from our afternoon of various delights we just flagged down the very pleasant hostess and ordered our drinks from her. She also cleared our glasses and plates. The waiter then took our order for mains. I ordered a whole lobster and my sweetie the "cowboy lollipop". I asked if there was any way they could pre crack my lobster in the kitchen and the waiter just said, "No, they won't do that". My hubby made a little joke about sweet talking the chef into it and the waiter, again, in flip, snotty way said, "On a night like this no sweet talking will make them do that." When faced with a snotty, snide, incompetent waiter like this... we can only do what we do best, ignore him and have a good time anyway. The mains took awhile to arrive but we weren't in a hurry and when the food came it was absolutely worth the wait. My lobster was perfect, sweet and moist. The Rib-eye was perfectly aged and grilled medium rare as ordered. The veggies were crisp and well presented. The food made up for the very annoying waiter and we loved every bite.
Funny thing is when we had finished our mains I told my hubby, "watch now, the waiters going to turn saccharine sweet just before presenting the bill". Having worked in service for number of years you know when you've given bad service and you tend to try and make up for it at the end if you get the chance.
When presenting the bill, our waiter poured on a syrupy voice saying, "Thank you so very much for sharing your Christmas evening with us". Well, no amount of sweet talking could get more than a 10% tip from us, although we did had both very lovely hostesses a ten spot each for doing basically all the work for their snippy co-worker.
We will go back to Nautical Nellies but if we get the same waiter we'll move to another section... problem solved.
Out of the 3 Japanese restaurants in the area this is our #2 choice. Genji @ Parkgate is far superior, but sometimes for a change of pace we like Osaka.
Last night we went there with the kids and it was pretty quiet. I remember when they used to be located down the road and I miss the more intimate atmosphere of the old location. But that was then, this is now.
We ordered Rainbow roll, King of the Sea roll, Assorted Sashimi, Tuna & Salmon Sashimi and beef udon. We were very surprised at how small the special rolls were when they arrived, especially since they were $13 & $15 respectively. The boys had to order additional California rolls as well. When we go to Yuko Maki on Lonsdale, the special rolls are twice as big and only about $10. We love the udon here and sometimes come @ lunchtime to have this. It's served in a heavy cast iron bowl that keeps it hot hot hot and it is big, delicious and good value (unlike the sushi/sashimi).
The sashimi was equivalent quality to Genji but more expensive. We were actually quite surprised at the prices were so high and wonder if they've raised them lately. Anyway, we still enjoyed the meal and the service was just fine. However, we would probably come here more if we didn't feel like they gouged us just a little.
NOTE: I always order the Japanese spicy mayo sauce with my sashimi and this place has the most killer hot version of that sauce I've ever had. I don't think most people could handle the intensity of this sauce, but I actually like it... bring on the extra tissues!
Unfortunately, it seemed that the beautiful blue tropical fish in the big aquarium died while we were having our dinner last night. Very sad.
The On Lok has stuck with me through 3 relationships, 5 jobs and 2 kids grown from babies to teens. They are still there and they are still the same. The give out the same calendars every year and their decorations will soon become artifacts.
For those people who are expecting great service, perfect English, spotless bathrooms and tea that gets poured perfectly every time, look elsewhere, i.e. elsewhere that charges more and is trying to impress you. On Lok doesn't try to impress anyone... they're just there to feed you... for less than what it would cost you to cook the same dish at home. This is fast, rather greasy Chinese and if you don't like fast, rather greasy Chinese, then just don't go there.
If you are expecting anything in the lines of service... again, go somewhere else. This is a place that will put the bill on your table before you get your food sometimes. If that disturbs you then don't go there. This is how they keep the tables turning and feed people for $5-$8, sometimes with leftovers to pack away.
Still, after everything I've said about the general lack of service... oddly, I get great service when I go there. The waitresses are nearly always in good spirits with genuine smiles and they are awake, working hard and have way too many tables. We go there about once a month and they know us and treat us with genuine kindness and quirky little personalities, giving my boys free pop, jello and lollipops. Sometimes I think the servers actually recognize the people who are going to be the ones who are demanding 5 star service in a no star establishment and they purposely give them bad service so they won't have a reason to return. So, if you are one of those people who can't seem to order a diet coke at the On Lok if your life depended on it... they are not that thick, they might not want you to come back... just a thought.
So, the food... our favourites: BBQ duck & Wonton noodle soup, all the congees are decent, most hot pots are good, Steamed chicken with ginger & green onion sauce (cold), Sweet & Sour Pork. The BBQ pork is sometimes excellent, sometimes too fatty.
Don't use the washrooms here unless you really have to. But then again my Mom used to tell us that about every Chinese restaurant we ever ate in.
We've been to Burgoo half a dozen times in a couple of years and have had mixed experiences... but there's enough good to keep us going back.
After sampling a variety of dishes we've got a handle on what to order and what to skip. The soups and salads we've tried have all been good. We've found the stews to be below standard, the tagine to be almost inedible and the curries to be way underspiced for our taste, although some people might like them that way. The cheese fondue is a not what I'm used to (but I have a long history with Swiss fondues) and once was enough for me, but my honey thought it was fine.
The last 3 times we've been there we just skipped the mains and ordered up the appetizer platters (Mediterranean, Italian and there's one other one, I think French?). These are an excellent value @ 10 bucks. With baguette and a bottle of wine it's a rustic, sociable meal... we like this and we'll keep going back as long as they have these on the menu.
We like the casual, comfy atmosphere here... tables are a decent size and there's no Shi Shi factor to contend with. This is an affordable Lower Lonsdale eatery that we quite like and will return to.
The Mojitos rock as well and only once have we had poor service at this location.
We order from Dan's because it's close, convenient and fast. We know we're going to get the food hot because they are only 3 minutes away. However, I know the place well and there are only certain things that I'll order. These items are definitely good: Singapore Noodles, Ginger beef, Lettuce wraps, Buddha's feast, Beef & Green Beans. They used to do a great deep friend tofu but now they've changed it and it's soggy and I hate it. The weekend delivery guy is a hoot and we love it when he comes because he used to look like Elvis and now he looks like Bon Jovi and I think he's been delivering for Dan's for about a gazillion years.
This is a cool place to dine. I like the atmosphere, the patio, the general feel of the place. I've been here about a half dozen times in a couple of years, usually @ lunch. I find the food to be inconsistent, ranging from excellent (big salads) to bad specials (halibut special that was dry as grandma's teat). The service is also hit and miss depending on who you get. And they have such a big staff it's not possible to pinpoint the good servers and request them. Last time we were there we got a server that treated us as though we were his long lost cousin Joe. I thought he was going to slap us on the back to thank us for tip but thank god it didn't come to that. He called us "guys" although I'm clearly not one and he was completely annoying. I will go back to Cardero's because I do like the place but I wish they would be more consistent with staff training and food quality. They have got the market cornered as far as location and ambience, though... and I know what to order now, so it's all good!
We had our Christmas party there and they did a great job with the food. The decore lends to a very shi-shi ambience and it was a very nice atmosphere in general for a holiday function. Unfortunately, there were a couple of bartenders who were completely full of themselves and for what reason, I am at a loss. It was a cash bar and there were alot of people waiting for drinks and they just couldn't keep up with the volume. We were a 30+ crowd for the most part and no one was being belligerent... except the bartenders. They were just getting snappy and seemed more intent on flirting with their fellow staff and chatting with each other than filling drink orders. I looked at these guys and could tell that not one of them had worked hard a day in their lives and they weren't about to start any time soon.
This Xms party was last year and I have never even considered returning to this place although I'm at Park Royal all the time and go to several of the restaurants there all the time.
Nice face, shame about the legs, kiddos.
We walked in without reservations and were accommodated quickly and hospitably in a nearly full restaurant without any "attitude".
We ordered mussels and were blown away as by the plump, juicy, delectably spiced specimens that arrived. The rest of the food was also delicious (lamb & chicken dishes) but by the time the mains arrived we were more immersed in each other and the atmosphere than the food. Aaaah, a truly romantic dinner, at last!
The server was attentive, was fully awake, brought what we needed and did not intrude on our privacy, which was perfect.
It was a little dark in there but all the better to play footsies under the table.
The menu is a little limited but it beat the eggs and bacon that was in our fridge that night!
we'll go back and if it's half as good as the first time, we'll go back again! I think it was very good value but then again my honey never lets me look at the bill... so I don't really know for sure.
We usually sit at the bar when we come here because we have found the servers to be generally annoying.
Stella's is a reliable standby for good beer and decent munchies. The mussels are a little inconsistent but ask the bartender and they'll tell you if they're juicy or scrawny that day. The beet salad is also a favourite of ours. We like coming here for a bottle of Fin du Monde @ a decent price. The fries are also great with some aioli on the side for dipping.
We've sat all over the restaurant... lower front, upper front, back and patio... but we have never felt comfortable anywhere but at the bar. We just get better service there, always.
Decent place on the drive and this is our choice over Havana's.
