decent food, exceptional service. went here wednesday night as part of the celebration for my girlfriend's 3 year anniversary of coming to canada.
the moment we walked in we were greeted, seated, given menus and had our drink our taken. now, they weren't very busy (late on a wednesday) so i can't say from personal experience if it would be the same, but still a good start. i had to ask for our waters a second time, but i think they were just waiting for the glasses to finish washing because they came out warm (the glass, not the water). and our waters were full the entire time we were there.
we ordered the edamame & baja fish tacos for appetizers. we were told that the edamame were quite spicy, and being spicy food lovers we were excited. unfortunately, they were not spicy at all. however, they still had great flavour and were cooked nicely. the tacos were great. i don't really care for seafood, but all the flavours went together quite nicely. the sauce they came with was spicy, perfect for us. didn't need too much of it. on the last bite, my girlfriend found in her mouth what was either onion/ginger peel or a piece of paper. we showed it to the server, just so they were aware (we didn't expect anything from them, it was the last bite). our server apologized many times, and we were given another order and had them taken off the bill (so we didn't pay for either order). the only thing i might criticize about how they handled the situation is the server told us the kitchen thinks it may have just been a piece of breading from the fish. we knew this wasn't true because my girlfriend found it in her mouth, couldn't bite it and you could bend it without it breaking. this however is just a minor thing, they handled it very well.
for our mains, she had the sirloinsteak& prawn skewer, i had the peppercorn new york. both steaks were cooked perfectly, medium rare. i thought the seasoning on mine was just right, she thought it was a little excessive. but that's just her personal preference. the sauce for my new york was alright. in small amounts it was good, but i wouldn't pour it on my steak. her prawns were also delicious. great flavour, cooked nicely (i'm quite sure they were poached, but who knows), presented beautifully. we also enjoyed the mashed potatoes. good texture, seasoned well. they came inside a spring roll which added a really nice crunch. these potato spring rolls also had melted cheese and whatever else on them, a nice touch. our veg was a mix of roasted vegetables, they were good. considering the rest of the food, it's best they kept the veg simple otherwise it would just be too over complicated.
so, in conclusion the food was pretty good (much better then i thought, being a chain restaurant) and the service was near flawless. would definitely go back and recommend to someone else.