I keep thinking that this place must be a part of a social experiment. Food was just not good. There was celery on the nachos, which was a first for me, and they were horrible. Everything tasted off, we waited 55 minutes for our food with one guy serving the place. I truely can't get over how this place stays open and how they have any 5 star reviews? Maybe I missed the secret doorway to the real restaurant. And... cherry on top...it was sooooo cold. Everyone was wearing their coats!!! Go down the road to the Boiler Room. read more

Well where to begin, from the outside this place looks like a typical roadhouse. When me and my wife arrived we were not greeted and no servers were to be seen. I waited 5 min and then just picked a seat, two other couples were already sitting. Eventually an elderly man Mario the owner comes out of the kitchen after I could hear him shouting at the cook to serve us...at this point I ordered a rye and coke and my wife asked for a diet coke, and a simple order of burger and fries. While taking the order Mario must of had pink eye because he kept rubbing his eye while talking to us, but we never saw him wash his hands. We should of made up an excuse and left at that moment. But we thought how bad could it be.... The rye finally arrived and it tasted like cigarettes. I kid you not. The diet coke was not diet but tasted awful. As we waited for food and started looking around I noticed all the dirt and dust, along with empty glasses and plates left out along with an abundance of garbage pilled up all over this place. Not to mention the half fillied up green alge fish tank right at front door. Kinda gross if the seating area was this bad I can only imagine how bad the kitchen was... The only two people working were the cook and mario. Mario was yelling at the cook several times while we waited for our food...at this point we were committed. After about 30min the food came out. My burger seemed like it was boiled...or cooker a few days ago and re-heated. The gravey must of had too much in the dish because it looked like they poured some back out, and left me with about 3 tablespoons, it's ok because it was gross anyways. My wife had sweet potato fries...don't get them they were soggy grease covered limp fries. The condiments...omg they are using old bottles and re-filling them. Not uncommon for ketchup in glass bottles, but the mustard squeeze bottles were all sticky like the dishwasher melted the outside of them. I didn't risk it. The best part about the meal was my regular fries. They were actually good. Other then that this place should close up and clean up. Don't visit for the food. I'd stick to bottled beer if you stop in. Maybe offer mario some some help to clean the fish tank. read more

Is 1/2 a star possible? What a joke of an establishment. Cool decor but that's the only allure of this joint. BF ordered a hamburger, fries and something almost resembling gravy. Hamburger was a good size but overcooked. Small amount of fries. Gravy...yuck!! I ordered the curry roti. I asked the owner if it was authentic curry roti. He said it was. See the pic. I don't know what it was but it was definitely NOT curry roti. It was a conglomeration of minced pork and chicken with rice in a tortilla wrap. Not even in a real roti. Sooo disappointing. Tasted horrible too. Like curry powder was added in last minute. Took one bite and was disgusted. On top of all this the pop was flat. Our order took over 40 minutes to arrive. We left never to return. read more

The Cookhouse Saloon - a burrito and french fries - Canadian (New) Near Me - Dwight, Ontario

When we first walked in, the decor and vibe of the saloon seems fantastic. A few more steps inside and no one greeted us. We waited a bit than just decided to sit down. The waitress came over, we ordered our drinks and food right away (simple pub fare snacks of Nachos, Fried Pickles, and Potato Skins). The food took over 40 minutes to make. The Fried pickles and potato skins were very hot, but the nachos were very cold, also, I'm pretty sure they were stale. I always see this place on my way to Algonquin and have always wanted to give it a try. I now know it will not come back. read more

The Cookhouse Saloon - The bar - Canadian (New) Near Me - Dwight, Ontario

I nearly feel bad giving a single star because it made for such a wild story. A group of five of us went in for brunch on a Sunday. There were two patrons at the bar but otherwise the restaurant was empty. The waitress was very nice, laid back but attentive and genuine. I can't imagine what it is like for her to work here for reasons that will soon become obvious. Three people in our group ordered grill cheese, I ordered a Western Sandwich with no bacon and the 5th person ordered eggs over easy. This last item set into motion a very bizarre sequence of events. After about forty minutes, the grilled cheeses arrive cold. The waitress was very apologetic but said the cook was having tremendous difficultly making the eggs over easy. She said he had already gone through "a million" eggs and couldn't make it work. We offered to take the eggs any other way but she said it was OK and that it would be out shortly. Another twenty fifteen minutes passed. Neither my Western nor the eggs were anywhere to be seen. The waitress was clearly getting agitated and we heard her grumble, "we need a cook!" somewhere in the distance. She then whisked past us and into the kitchen,. A further 20 minutes pass... The waitress is now nowhere to be seen. A man at the bar leaves his stool and and goes to pour himself a drink from the other side. Someone at our table wants more coffee so I follow the man's lead and go get the pot from the back area and pour a cup. Another 10 minutes pass. At this point, we just want to leave but there is no one to even ask for a bill. A man storms out of the kitchen, then another man. Both clearly agitated but I have no idea what about. They disappear and I decide to go into the kitchen and try to figure out what has happened. I get to a door with a window on it and try to make eye contact with our waitress. She looks away but another man comes out and asks what I want in a frustrated voice. I said we'll take the eggs however he wants but that we need to head out. He tells me that it will take a few more minutes but we'll get the order. We entered at 11am; its now after 12:30. It is the man from the kitchen that finally emerges. (clearly our waitress is in hiding - I think she was embarrassed by the whole thing). He has our two meals in hand. Without apology or explanation, he sets our meals down saying gruffly, "you ordered breakfast?". He sets down both meals and leaves. The order is wrong. My Western has bacon (I'm vegetarian) and her eggs... after all that... arrive sunny side up. I went to the bar, where the man from the kitchen now was, and asked for the bill. He brought it and said he removed the cost of the food. What was weird is that he didn't offer an explanation, an apology or any other commentary. That was that... One of the weirder dining experiences I've had. Its really too bad as the restaurant itself has had a lot of attention spent on creating a fun roadhouse interior and the waitress deserved a lot better. I hope whatever horrific management issues they have get sorted out. Until then, best to stay away. read more

The Cookhouse Saloon - the exterior of the restaurant - Canadian (New) Near Me - Dwight, Ontario

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We had a wonderful time at the Cookhouse in Dwight. Both Mario (The owner) and Kevin (his son) are wonderful hosts. We were a group of 5 for the first night and I had the pickerel which I had tasted before at other restaurants but none of them could come up to the pickerel that Mario cooked. We enjoyed the food so much that the second night 3 of us got a take out and I had the Baby back ribs - absolutely delicious. They just fell off the bone. I would recommend both dishes. The Cookhouse itself is great fun with lots of memorabilia and we had such a wonderful evening. Thank you guys for making the end of our vacation so enjoyable. read more

Guy was sitting at the bar in his socks, next to another smoking. I actually had to tell him to stop as we were eating. The squirrels and chipmunks were cute until I saw them up on the tables eating the leftovers. Nobody tried to shoo them away so I couldn't help but think they were probably at our table before taking s*its and eating off of our dishes. The waiter was slow and had to send my beer back because it tasted like soap. Don't go there! read more

Can't say I'd come back here again, we waited 45 minutes for our food and we were the only people in the restaurant. Our water tasted like metal, good thing we had water bottles in the car!! Once the food FINALLY arrived it was very bland, my pulled pork sandwich was more of a pulled pork soup on a bun. I would not recommend read more

Arrived to find what appeared to be the owner behind the bar drinking and smoking with his buds. More buds show up and basically 6-8 people smoking, no masks. 7 fries with my burger. Washroom disgusting. Waiter was a nice guy. read more

Terrible service, terrible food... I sent a message on their facebook page a week before our visit to set up a table for lunch on Saturday for 10 people that was never responded to. I called the day before and spoke to a person. I called again that morning and again spoke to a person. When we got there, they only had one server and one person in the kitchen. It was half an hour before the first drink appeared on the table, and an hour before the first food arrived. Special of the day was fish, but they had no tartar sauce. I had the pulled pork sandwich which was some kind of diced pork. I sent the message on their facebook page, I called ahead the day before and told them there would be 10 of us, so that they would have ample warning and have enough staff on hand. I should have checked the reviews before I set this up.... read more

The Cookhouse Saloon is your typical roadhouse diner. It's right on Highway 60 which makes it easy to stop at. Conveniently on the way to Algonquin, this is where you want to stop before or after a trip. Cold beers, ribs, steaks, burgers, beef dips - it's typical diner food and it's not bad at all. The interior is really great - this rustic cabin pub. Cool posters on the walls, funny signs, dollar notes from all over the world stapled to bars - it's an experience in itself. Service wise, it's always a little grungy and short staffed. But that adds to the charm. It's my go to spot every year after a trip in the park. It's a tradition and my favourite diner in the area. read more

Will not come back here ever again. Service wasn't very good. Not once were we checked up on. We waited 45 minutes for food that wasn't great. There was also no one in the restaurant at this point so I feel bad for the people who came after us. The water was not good at all, you could almost taste the metal, very odd and undesirable. Food was mediocre at best. The buffalo wings are extremely spicy btw. Small portions sizes too. Had to ask for straws too which shouldn't be necessary considering the pandemic that is currently happening. Overall, I would not come back again, nor would I recommend this place to anyone else. read more

Owner is a lovely character and the food is great at a good price. Worth the stop if you're on your way in or out of Algonquin on hwy 60 or snowmobiling around lake of bays in the winter. read more

Stopped here with 5 friends for a late lunch the day after Thanksgiving, so it was not busy. The waiter who greeted us was unwelcoming to say the least. We chose to sit outside at a table some distance from the restaurant door. Upon ordering our waiter informed us if we wanted separate bills it would take him an hour to do them! When our meals arrived at the side door approximately an hour later we happily assisted the waiter by bringing them to our table. Afterwards we cleared our own plates. Whilst doing my share I tripped in a large pothole and while cleaning up the broken dishware missed that one of my companions paid the entire bill rather than requesting split checks as we had previously discussed. I subsequently went in and the cook rang up my meal which I happily paid. After discovering a few minutes later my meal had been oaid for waiter was beyond rude and told me he didn't know how to re-imburse the credit card overpayment. I understand he may not have known how to reverse the transaction however he wouldn't go ask the cook top help out. I was offered a credit, but as a tourist 2 hours from home it is unlikely I will return in the foreseeable future. After several minutes of discussion it was obvious I wasn't going to get anywhere and chose to leave. After reimbursing my traveling companion for my meal a pickerel dinner and ginger ale cost me upwards of $60. The meal was tasty, albeit cold. We all felt compassion for the waiter and the circumstances he was attempting to deal with, but in the end the total lack of service warrants my first ever review of an establishment. read more

This place was awful. We literally waited for 30 -40 minutes to get food and the wings i got smelled like a rotten fish. I think they have really old stuff in their fridge and just over cooked them. It was just a terrible experience and what a waste of time. Dont ever come here. read more

My mother always told me that if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all. The fries weren't horrible.

A disclaimer to begin: this place appeared to be having some big issues the night that we visited, so I am not sure if our experience was typical - I hope it was unusual :) Our visit began when we were greeted at the door by a flustered waiter who told us to sit anywhere as he raced past. He returned about 15 minutes later and we ordered our drinks and food. Some 30 minutes later he returned to say he'd forgotten our appetizer and he could put it through now...but it could take between 15 and 45 minutes...there was no way he could know. Given his obvious extreme reluctance to put through the order (and his rather odd comment that the kitchen was 'a conflicted work environment right now') we decided to just wait for our main meals. In the meantime we got started on the brilliant collection of National Geographic magazines. Having learnt some great facts about the history of cartography and a 1992 view of where the space race was heading, our meals finally did arrive and things deteriorated quickly! The cheeseburger was reasonably good...the chicken Caesar salad, on the other hand, was terrible. The 'full chicken breast' specified on the menu somehow morphed into tiny stone cold pieces of dry, inedible chicken - the server said they could rectify this 'relatively quickly', however I was not keen on eating chewy pieces of cold chicken that had been reheated. As I said at the beginning, this may have been an unusual night, so I hope this is not the norm (and the National Geographics were excellent :) read more