We arrived for dinner, and a staffer who did not bother to walk across the restaurant to greet us…read moreor seat us did shout out 'welcome'. Since she was not bothering to walk over, I asked if we should just seat ourselves and she cheerily said "Yes, anywhere is fine." So without menus or guidance, we chose a table and sat down, ONLY to be immediately Scolded that that table was reserved by an older dark-haired waitress who appeared to be wearing a sea-through cover-up over a black onesie. I pointed out that there was no Reserved Sign where we sat, taken aback because we had just been told that we should seat ourselves and 'anywhere is fine', but this senior waitress made a face and said "Because I haven't set it yet." Well DUH, OBVIOUSLY, so it was VERY uncomfortable to be bullied by this woman and forced to side somewhere else. Where did she insist on putting us, in a large more-than-half empty dining room? At a table right-smack in the middle between 2 other occupied ones, foregoing any semblance of a private dinner for two, squeezed up beside a very loud, uncouth, and self important preteen who never stopped talking about herself and singing while her mother tried vainly to get her to lower her voice. My husband and I were on a date night after a day at the beach, so tne ambience was negative 10 and off-putting. This older dark haired waitress then ignored us, thankfully, but she ruined the atmosphere for us with her bizarre control issues.
I had the chicken parm, which was quite good, although I had to request more rosé sauce for the penne as the little that was provided was inadequate and left the pasta tasting starchy and dry. This was provided in a ramekin but without a spoon to ladle it on, and required another 5-7 minutes of waiting to get from our waitress, who hadn't thought of it. I guess I was supposed to just tip it over and pour all of it indiscriminately on top, dripping it on the table?
My husband ordered a chicken caesar salad which was very mediocre. It was not served with lemon, or grated pepper or cheese offered at all. The waitress serving us did not tell him that there were 2 size options when he ordered, a smaller and a meal size which was not clear in the menu, and he did not realise until he'd already started eating it, so ended up still hungry after. Of course had he known, he would have ordered the dinner sized. The caesar salad was not tossed well, the dressing was bland and the quantity very limited. The lettuce was a mixture of about 50/50 romaine and chunks of iceberg lettuce (ugh!): disappointing. It was served in a small, narrow boat-shaped dish with high sides which made it very awkward to use his knife & fork together in it to cut up the grilled chicken and to toss the salad to mix in the dressing that was primarily on the bottom. *** BUT THE REAL PROBLEMS WERE THE NUMEROUS FLIES THAT KEPT TRYING TO LAND ON OUR FOOD WHILE WE ATE. We were sitting in the dining room indoors but had to constantly bat at and wave away numerous flies from our food and dishes while we tried to eat. If we had chosen to sit outside and eat on their tiny patio, I would understand that the flies would have been beyond their control. But numerous fat flies buzzing around lazily constantly bothering us while we tried to eat our meal indoors in the dining room?
So, the owners don't like reviews on social media. Not everyone feels obligated to speak directly to you when their experience has been so awful. When one's dining experience has been negative, what could you possibly do to improve it after an hour of disappointment with no interest at all from you or any senior staff? Every customer is a potential reviewer, as it should be!
We had originally planned to dine at Laszlo's Pizza because of their 5 star reviews and stellar reputation, which is directly beside The Kitchen at Sauble Beach, but sadly Laszlo's was closed. Lesson Learned: Don't take a chance on the place next door simply because they are open for business. If you do go to this restaurant, however, you've been warned. And bring your fly swatter!
