Let me start this by saying this has been my first and only visit to Metro Nails and I am very satisfied.
Trust your fellow Yelpers and make an appointment! While Metro Nails is awesome in every way, the wait can be a bit (even if you have an appointment) and sadly enough they are popular to a point where if you don't, they may ask you to come back later or another day. I called only a couple hours ahead and was able to get in.
I did have to wait about 20 minutes past my appointment time, I won't fault them for that, they are popular nail salon. I don't really think it's the place to go if you are in a rush though.
When I walked in I observed what looks like a pretty average nail salon, nothing special for decor.. the usual posters and display setups. It was a little cluttered, the glass display in the front of the store was clearly being used as storage everyone could see. There isn't much of a place to sit if you are waiting, but a small wooden trestle attached to the window. It wasn't horribly uncomfortable, but then again I was the only one waiting.
The color selection was 3/4th OPI, which isn't a problem since I quite like the brand. The salon didn't seem opposed to you bringing your own either, so that is always an option if the standard set of OPI colors doesn't suit you.
The staff is super friendly, engaging and was clearly very apologetic for any wait or inconvenience I had. It clearly WASN'T inconvenient for me, but it felt really nice to know that they at least cared about the wait time.
Two BIG pluses that I think everyone can appreciate in a salon like this is that they are super clean, they sanitize with cleaner/hot oven all metal tools and most others are replaced between each customer. They also take the time to fully drain the pedicure tubs and sanitize/rinse both them and the seat after every customer. Something some salons only do truly at night. And they are very through, almost borderline perfectionists when it comes to the job they do. The woman who did my nails/toes, when back over the cuticles twice and in some areas painted up to three coats to insure the finished product was perfect. Another thing you don't see a lot of salons do is touch up the cuticle/top nail with a fine brush that is tipped with remover to insure that polish is perfectly rimmed around the outer nail. Really great.
Everything they did from hands to feet included lotion, message and hot towels which is always relaxing and enjoyable. The woman doing my nails was constantly making sure she wasn't hurting me, scrubbing too hard or applying too much pressure; which is great for people like me with sensitive skin/eczema because visits like this can easily turn bad. All the products they used were either scent free or (from what I can tell) hypoallergenic because my skin had no adverse reactions to it.
All of the above (pedicure/manicure) for 30$ cannot be beat, and they accept student IDs for a discount.
I did notice signs around pretty much saying they "prefer" cash payment/tips. Which is understandable for a small place like this, merchant charges are out of control in today's economy. I did only bring a card this time, they do accept both Mastercard/Visa and also accept tip via the same receipt. But if you want to save them the hassle & yourself the pain of chipping your nail (digging credit cards out is a chore): I think they'd definitely appreciate cash payments.
Parking is street (it's Wickenden..) but it really wasn't too awful and I went during rush hour/afternoon. There is a lot behind The Coffee Exchange that is usually fairly quiet, if you don't mind the 3-5 minute walk up the road.
All and all, five stars for the wonderful personalities and expert job these ladies did! read more