I'm going to title this review "So Far So Good", because Stratus will be playing a huge role in my life over the coming year and there will definitely be follow-up reviews as 2015 progresses.
My fiancé booked Stratus as our wedding venue in March 2014 for our October 2015 wedding. We booked it based solely on the view, the fact it is in our price range, and overall atmosphere. When we put down our deposit we hadn't even tried the food (I trusted the glowing Yelp reviews), so when I took my mother, sister, and future mother-in-law for lunch a couple weeks ago I was so nervous that the place wouldn't impress. My fears were quickly dispelled.
I made a reservation and I am glad that I did. It was a Friday lunch hour and the place got BUSY. However, it never felt packed or crowded. I counted about 80 people in the restaurant at one point, and we're only planning for about 60 at the wedding, so now I know that there will be more than enough room for my guests to stretch out and enjoy themselves. We were seated promptly with a beautiful view of the lake and the island.
I ordered the butter chicken for lunch, and the food was served quickly. The chicken had some really good heat to it, and the rice and naan were good compliments to the spicy dish. I had expected the portions to be on the smaller side, but I ended up not being able to finish everything on my plate before feeling on the full side.
My only complaint from the whole day involved, believe it or not, the water. We were asked if we wanted still or sparkling water. Three of the four of us chose still and one chose sparkling. Had we known that a large, $10.50 bottle would be opened for one person, I have no doubt that all of us would have chosen still. I doubt that a whole bottle of water was consumed, and $10.50 is an incredible mark-up for carbonated water. Where it's common place for sparkling water to be complimentary, this was a bit of a shock to see on the bill.
Initially we weren't going to have dessert, but after reading the menu we threw all caution to the wind and decided to try the creme brûlée and sticky toffee pudding. The cream brûlée was appropriately creamy with a delicious sugar top, and the whisky infused caramel topping on the sticky toffee pudding easily stole the show.
After tip (and the overpriced water), lunch with dessert came to about $200 for all four of us, which is perfectly reasonable given the quality of the food and the stunning scenery.
The service was friendly and fast, though I do hope it will be slower paced on my big day (however, I chalk that up to the differences between catering to the 1-hour lunch crowd and catering to a relaxed wedding environment). All in all, I have no doubts that Stratus will provide the perfect venue for my big day and I can't wait to experience everything they have to offer. read more