Updated Review
We find ourselves in Regina quite often do to work, and one of us makes the Sage lounge our office. There is much to love about this place outside the food, especially as a business traveler.
Outrageously good: Chicken Wings
Highly Recommended: Breakfast buffet, pancakes, BLT, Burgers, Falafel
Quite Nice: Herb Roasted Chicken, Baked Chorizo & Goat Cheese, Cherry Ribs
Not to our taste: Honey Stung Chicken, Roasted Sage & Bacon Chicken
AMBIANCE AND SERVICE
Decore is minimalist and very neutral. However, the dim lighting in the evening makes the bar area cozy. Seats are reasonably comfortable and tables are large, which we find important in a hotel restaurant. It's popular enough that you can overhear people ordering "the usual", so staff pay attention to their regulars. What we like most is that we are utterly unrushed. When settling in for 5 hours to get some work done there is never any pressure to keep ordering nor to pay our bill and leave. They give us a lot of privacy and space, leaving it up to us to get their attention if we want something, which in these circumstances is perfectly appropriate. We have even spent hours here having nothing but tea, and the waiters have treated us with the same consideration as when we have a big meal with wine. We also find this place great for business meetings as you can find yourself a table with no one immediately around to overhear anything and volume is comfortable so you can have a civilized conversation.
THE FOOD
Most of the appys are great. Burgers, flat breads and sandwiches are lovely. Mains are alright. We've learned to stay away from the ethnic food selection.
Chicken Wings: Best chicken wings EVER! So addictive, we can't visit Wild Sage without ordering them. They reach a crunchy bliss point that just makes our souls melt with happiness, with a lovely light spice coated on top. They're so good, you don't really need a sauce. However, they do come with a delicious selection of 4 sauces so you can enjoy a variety of tastes.
Cherry Ribs: 5 tasty ribs come out basically blackened, a little crunchy on the outside and slightly sweet. Served with julienned carrot, cucumber, and onion in a creamy sauce - nice and refreshing for the palate.
Herb Roasted Chicken: This was on special while we were there, and it was lovely. The chicken breast was a bit on the dry side, but the herbs were marvelous as was the coconut mango verde sauce.
Breakfast Buffet: It has all the standards with a couple of variations from day to day. We love the fresh mini croissants, the sausages are a good quality, fruit is tasty and fresh, and we love the omelet station. You can also ask for a soft boiled egg if you like. If you're particularly creative you can put together some delicious porridges (I recommend stirring in peanut butter and slicing some banana on top) and breakfast sandwiches (fried egg with cut up sausage and some baked beans is my favorite).
Pancakes: Fluffy buttermilk pancakes with a lemon butter, saskatoons, and dusted with confectioner's sugar. These are amazing! Sometimes they come out extra fluffy and the size of your plate, sometimes they come out a bit smaller, thicker and denser - we assume this has to do with who happens to be cooking them. However, each time they're amazing. The batter and lemon butter combination are so good, maple syrup is actually a distraction because it drowns all the lovely flavors.
Honey Stung Chicken: We enjoyed this dish for a few bites, but then tired of it quickly. The description on the menu is quite misleading. It is easy to assume upon reading that there will be a bed of vegetable slaw with some crispy wontons for added texture. Quite the opposite is true: this dish is basically a bowl of wonton chips with only a few slivers of vegetable for colour - a bit of a stretch to call that a "slaw". The spicy honey was delicious, and so were the tender bites of breaded chicken. While the bowl of wonton chips were nice and crispy without being greasy, it became a very flat dish after a while. The guilt of eating an entire bowl of fried batter also sunk in with each bite and made it harder to eat. In the end we just picked out the chicken and left a lot of wonton chips behind.
Roasted Sage & Bacon Chicken: The chicken is served with a Sea Buckthorn berry and Citrus Compote, which makes for a very sour tasting chicken, and made it impossible to taste any sage or bacon. Generally, the chicken entrees made with chicken breast come out a bit on the dry side. The compote did taste quite nice as long as you took a mouthful of rice with it, which helped mellow the flavour. The wild rice and English pea and carrot pilaf was truly lovely. Not a lot of wild rice, but enough to add a bit of texture and flavor complexity. read more