Well, I'm torn. This could really be a 2.5 star rating. I hate giving bad reviews! Leading up to this visit, I really really wanted to give this restaurant a stellar review. Unfortunately, the experience was not as stellar as I would have liked. but there were some ok points too... hence 3 stars and not less.
I have never been inside this hotel before. It's actually quite pretty, and nicely decorated. I was greeted at the door by a gentleman holding the door open for me (he seems to work here, but I'm not sure? He didn't hold the door for the hubster.... grr!) Reception and the restaurant are just to your right as you walk in (funny walking into a hotel and not seeing reception right there in front of you as you walk in?! Sort of un-hotel like!) I can't speak for the hotel rooms as I've still never been into one of them. So the rest of the review will focus solely on Perspectives Restaurant.
Right off the bat, I have to say that the company was good.A group of 8 of us friends gets together on an annual basis, trying out different upscale restaurants around the city to gather in to celebrate the holidays. Last year it was Le Baccarat in the Casino de Hull. Alas, "The Bar" of expectations was very high... I had high expectations coming into this restaurant, expectations that were encouraged by the prices on the menu (read: expensive). We didn't quite get the experience we expected. The restaurant is nicely decorated, and for once it's not jam-packed square tables all squished together. There are rounded sections that are quite nice to look at. The restaurant is wheel chair accessible, with ramps to get around. However, we got seeted by a row of windows with a door to the outside in it, which overlooked the outdoor pool. Fine, but for obvious reasons, the pool is closed at this time of year - let alone the polar vortex we were living in on Saturday night. The cold could have frozen the colour off a brass monkey! And this door let cold air in. And here's me and the hubster going through or just getting over that awful cold making the rounds! I needed a fireplace!!
Meanwhile, the waiter seemed brand new, and really didn't know his stuff. We asked about specific drinks - one being the hallmark drink offered by the restaurant, which is called after the restaurant, if I remember correctly. The waiter did not know what alcohol was in it, or what colour the drink should be. A Mai Tai has rum; he said it was gin. GRIN!!
The chef is trying to be really unique with the dishes offered, as you might guess by the prices on the menu. Ok, well we were expecting to pay a bit more on this particular date. But they use these great big dishes that make the food look small. The soup was served in a bowl that had wings on it! This soup bowl was placed on a tiny dish then nestled in another larger plate. The problem for me was that between the wings and the excess plates, I couldn't bring the plate close enough to me, and as a result I ended up wearing some of the soup. OOops! The main dish was also brought out in a dish that was offset with wings. I moved some food around and then forked part of it - only to have the dish tilt in over-balance and nearly throw the food out across the table! Needless to say, not impressed!
We ordered the Table D'Hote at $39.00 each, as it comes with choice of soup (a tasty corn chowder today) or salad, choice of mains - salmon or pan seared striploin steak - and accoutrements, and finally, a very decent crème brulé for desert. Note: neither tea or coffee is included, but Kudos to the waiter who threw it it for free. That was a nice touch. Although, the salmon was only ok; it had a funky sauce on it that I didn't like and scraped it off, and it was a bit dry. Hubster does a better filet of fish on the barbeque. Oh well! But the steak wasn't bad. The main dish that one friend ordered had the "sauce" underneath the food; she asked that it be put on the side. She didn't end up eating it; not to her taste. Apparently it's the sauces that this chef is doing differently; a few different items run through a blender. The sauce on the fish was done in the same manner; like a few otherwise hard veggies or whatever, purreed and heated. Not to my taste either, unfortunately. read more