RIPPED OFF by the WAITER!!
I'll start by saying the Avenue is a gorgeous restaurant, the food is great and the bar is terrific- so why only 1 star? BECAUSE WE WERE RIPPED OFF BY THE WAITER! We have close friends that have been going there at least once a month for the past couple years and they always rave about it, so when we booked to go with them this past Summer my wife and I were quite excited. When we arrived the valet took our car and looking around the lot and saw it full of Lambo's, Bentley's, Ferrari's and couple Rolls. This place is where the "big Italian" money frequents and it showed. When we arrived our friend asked for a specific waiter that always serves them. We were told his section was full and it would be an hour wait. We didn't mind as the bar is a great social area and we chatted up at least a half-dozen new friends and by the time our table was ready we'd dropped $200 in cocktails. As soon as we sat down my friend and the waiter greeted each other like " long lost brothers" and chatted for 5 min in Italian. When it came to ordering we asked for ONE Seafood platter for 4 and each of us then ordered an entrée.
Our night went "sideways" when the waiter walked out with FOUR Seafood Platters instead of 1. We were at first speechless when he put down enough seafood to feed 16!! I wanted to call over the Manager to send back 3 of the platters but my friend begged me not to, as he didn't want to embarrass or get his waiter "friend" in trouble. I was so angry that from that moment onwards, I could not enjoy the evening or the food.
The Waiter knew exactly what he was doing as my friend is a generous tripper and when the bill came for over $700+, sure enough, we split it and left a $150 tip. The waiters there are well compensated and this one took advantage of us as know that NO one orders 4 seafood platters AND and an Entree each. He purposely "padded" the order/bill and his tip. Needless to say, we walked out with 2 huge doggie bags with 2 full seafood platters and 4 barely touched entrees.
My friend knows I write hundred's of reviews on Trip Advisor (read by nearly 200,000 people), so he asked me not to post that night as his waiter would "know" it was him. However last week we got together again for dinner and he mentioned to me that the more he thought about when he got home the more upset he became and hasn't been back since. He said go ahead and post on Trip Advisor about what happened to us.
I'm sure if you go to the Avenue you'll have a wonderful meal but for me, it was the worst $1,000 I have ever spent in a restaurant. I have been angry ever since and I have made a point to tell everyone I can over the past 4 months about what happened and to avoid the Avenue because of this awful experience and rouge waiter.
https://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g2578931-d3861810-r549154351-Avenue_Cibi_e_Vini-Kleinburg_Vaughan_Ontario.html# read more