I like this restaurant / bar and an honest review would be 3.5 stars. I will round up because I really like how the place is laid out and the décor. The bar area is very open and fun with table tops and a small area to dance on the weekends. It is very close to where I live and it is easy to get home after a drink or two. The place is not perfect by a long shot, but the atmosphere helps out a lot inside.
The food is hit or miss. I would say it is closer to very good than good, but there is some work to be done. I ordered the poutine here three times so far and I love poutine... but the sauce they put on it takes all the crunch out of the tots. The Canadian style poutine comes with a thicker gravy and cheese curds that fried potatoes hold up to better. I wish they served that sauce on the side because the meat on top of it is delicious. They also don't use cheese curds, they use a cheese sauce almost like an Alfredo. It has really good flavor, but combined with the brown sauce it makes the tots in the middle mush.
The fried oysters were my favorite thing I had from here so far. The oysters were huge, the apple fennel slaw was outstanding... very well balanced dish and very satisfying. I got the fried calamari last night and myself and my partner were really disappointed as it was surprisingly bland. It was actually better as leftovers when I heated it in the toaster and the flavors could mix with the calamari from the toppings in the doggie bag. The pork sliders are excellent and are highly recommended. It is the same pork on the poutine, so they have that part nailed down in the bomb category.
The salads were really not great. We ordered the spaghetti squash salad and it was average... nothing stood out and nothing was terrible. Another time we ordered the burrata... the tomatoes did not seem overly fresh and it was again ok, but I would not order it again. There at a limited number of vegetarian options so this is why my partner orders salads there..
I love the bees knees martini there. Gin, honey and lemon served in a cocktail shaker. The first time I went there we had more than enough to fill the martini and enough liquid to fill the glass and keep the cocktail cold as it was drank. The subsequent two times I went there however, the martini shaker was half as full and only filled up my martini glass 50-75% without any extra in the shaker to fill my martini. The large part of the martini that holds the most liquid is the top, so if it is 75% full it is really 50% less full of liquid. It is given a boston price, so they should give a consistent and healthy pour every time, but it is by far not consistent.... its a shame because the taste is dead on delicious. I would rather just have a martini poured for me to the top instead of having my shaker delivered to keep my drink cold if my drink is poured short.
I can't speak highly of the service there for consistency either. The first time I went there the server was great. The next two times not so much. The second time, I was literally sitting at my table for fifteen minutes before anyone came over to even ask if we wanted anything. It took so long that I was at the bar by the time somebody came by. It wasn't even busy, it was Wednesday this week when I just wanted a drink. After that point however, the service was much better and personable. The last time I went there last night, the server was just not good. I had to ask where my poutine was three times, when it came out to us it was stone cold. I had to continually flag her down for anything and she gave an attitude. My drinks were always poured short (not really her fault as that is the bartender) but the part that was her fault is that I was not given a shaker for my third drink to keep the contents cold through my martini even though it was still poured 75% full.
I'm bordering on lowering stars and revising my review, but I really like the taste of the cocktail an some of the food is excellent as is the atmosphere so I will keep it at four stars for now. I hope I just caught a server on a bad night, but I think I will just sit at the bar next time as I can ask directly to have my martini poured correctly next time. It should be filled up to the top and not 50-75% full. Anyplace else like Passport that serves a martini, pours it up to the brim as it should be for the extra cost. Fix this problem and you will have a regular customer for the life of the restaurant... if the martini is under poured next time I will just head to Passport, Zef Cicchetti or Townshend for the cost. read more