Kawartha Downs

2.0 (1 review)

Race Tracks

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Kawartha Downs - View from the dining room - Race Tracks Near Me - Peterborough, Ontario

Kawartha Downs - Fun on the track - Race Tracks Near Me - Peterborough, Ontario

Kawartha Downs - Getting ready for a ride between races. - Race Tracks Near Me - Peterborough, Ontario

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Michael B.

7 years ago

I've been coming here at least once or twice per year. It's almost always a fun time for a group of friends. Last nights fun was a bit of a mixed bag of good and not so good. Good: Very, very friendly staff. Everyone was bright and cheerful. The head manager seems to be everywhere at once and does a great job of making sure people are engaged and having fun. Our waitresses were also very friendly. Every evening features a fun activity. Some are quite family friendly. Last night a few from our group got to take a lap around the track with a trained driver. A fun and unique experience. The atmosphere is great. Where else can you have fun betting $2 and cheering on your horse while having a drink and a meal? Not so good: The buffet line was one of the slowest I've ever seen. People were lined up 50 deep out into the hallway and it moved at a snails pace. There was only one person attending and she was cutting the prime rib. Any time something got depleted she had to leave and run to the kitchen to request more bringing the whole show to a stand still. Items on the buffet were very quick to empty and often slow to refill. Many in my group were frustrated when, after waiting 20 minutes in line, staples like shrimp or Yorkshire were completely gone. The line was so long that coming back to get what you missed simply wasn't an option. The bar could not keep up with demand. Our waitress took orders shortly after we sat down but it took a long time for them to arrive. She came back to apologize frequently and when they did come it was a couple at a time rather than all at once. Refills or second drinks took almost 20 minutes. As a group that carpooled so that people could have a few drinks the bar really was a letdown. Mixed drinks like a Bloody Caesar were terrible Cleanliness was an issue. We ordered a 1/2 carafe of red wine and two glasses. Both of the glasses were super-dirty with food baked on in enough quantity that our waitress or the bartender should have noticed it. It took 5 minutes to get clean glasses because (as the waitress explained) they ran out of wine glasses and had to wash the ones we returned! The food on the buffet was so/so. The feature prime rib was good but a little over cooked. The rest was pretty simple veggie, rice and pasta (9 dishes in all) Decent but not exceptional. The Caesar salad was swimming in dressing and limp. At $34 per person I had hoped for better. Things to know if you're going: Despite this weeks poor performance I have gone when the food and service were better. I think the food manager needs to address the declining quality or risk losing everyone. This is a popular venue. Reservations are needed and you should plan two weeks in advance if you can. Dining is done in tiered seating. You can see the track from everywhere but you should request a lower table if you want to reduce how many stairs you climb with your food or to place your bets. Tips were included in the bill for groups. We didn't pay attention and the waitress ended up getting tipped twice when we paid using the portable machine and our credit cards. That was our fault for not really examining our bills but it would have been nice for her to point that out at the time. Take advantage of the fun activities put on by the management each week. I gave two stars only because of the polite staff and the fact that I've had better experiences here in the past. Otherwise last night was a real let-down. I hope someone there sees this review and makes the needed changes. read more

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More info about Kawartha Downs

1382 County Road 28
Peterborough, ON K0L 1V0
Canada
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(705) 939-6316
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Visit Website
http://www.kawarthadowns.com

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