red house

great new location!. my husband took my daughter and myself to red house for an early mother's day dinner. the food was wonderful and all the vegetables were crisp and fresh. i loved the iron horse trail salad, and my husband couldn't stop raving about his chef dan's curry bowl. my 4 year old of course ordered the noodles with cheese sauce, and they were more than willing to add mushrooms to it for her; her ice cream dessert was a 'broken' ice cream, which she loved to dip in the cake crumbs once she got over the initial surprise of her ice cream being upside down. my husband finished with a dessert of berries and i had the ferrero rocher dessert which was absolutely amazing! service was great, atmosphere was great. i wish i had taken some photos to post, but i've found red house on facebook and they have some photos on there. i'll definitely be back :)

hi everyone - i'm not a friend of a friend, just a diner. six of us had a mixed experience on saturday, october 21. 

the service was excellence. we had the pleasure of having a very attentive server that really understood that serving is a serious profession.  she was pleasant and attentive allowing us time between courses and checking in with us to make sure we had everything we needed for a good dining experience.  the only thing we had to ask for was for her to take a group shot picture!  she sets the gold standard for what an exceptional server should strive for.     

the meal began with two wonderful charcuterie plates - great meats, pickled veg and other delights.

for a second course, we all ordered the caesar salad - sadly, this was a mistake. the menu item is not a successful salad and far from a caesar. a caesar salad is a pedestrian choice at the best of times yet when poorly done, is a disaster. pedestrian, but like a proper italian classic (which the caesar salad isn't), simple, good ingredients, prepared properly are wonderful. unfortunately, this was not the case for this salad. individual flavors jumped out and stung the palette (with full anchovies, large pieces of radicchio and chunks of cucumber). if you're familiar with a caesar salad, sadly, you will be disappointed in this one. 

the main dishes however, were all unanimously delicious, beautifully executed and enjoyed by all.  the in-house curry was authentic with just the right combination of spices and heat (so good, we bought some to take home).  steaks were perfectly grilled, the duck dish was delicious and the vegetarian options were above average. 

overall, i would return and certainly recommend the red house as a great dining experience.

my and my friend heard about all the good reviews on trip advisor about this place and so i took her for lunch for her bday. i don't know but the food was not good. the soup was salty and tasted like the can and the sandwich wasnt special at all except for the bread. she ordered the cesar salad and it had a full sardine with irs eyes sticking out! yuck ! we got that returned immediately.

sometimes even though so many reviews say good things you'll never know u less you try it yourself. we won't be returning. also there is no parking as it's in downtown waterloo...we had to walk far away.

i've got one thing to say about this place ... it's effing amazing!!!! service was quick and friendly. best caesar in kitchener waterloo, hands down ... the chef is a friend of a friend and is doing some outstandingly creative stuff with quality local ingredients. much love my friends at red house 💕

i ate there in september and i'm pretty sure that by christmas i'd gotten rid of the garlic taste in my mouth.

the atmosphere seemed half-executed. tables, decor, lighting all were fine on their own but cacophony when experienced together.

diffident service: i clearly was not worldly enough to warrant consideration or attention beyond taking my order.

with so many other worthy places to eat in that neighbourhood, i've never been inspired to go back for a second visit.

their food is impeccable. every dish had a story to tell, and i've never had a more palatable meal. we ordered the charcuterie for appetizer. one word: heaven. for entree, we got to dive into the coq au vin and lamb porterhouse. absolutely incredible. for dessert we got the chocolate & mint and pumpkin cheesecake. it was party in my tastebuds. all in all, i've had a refreshing and enriching experience at this restaurant. may i add, their interior and plating is above par. very eclectic. definitely going back!

great little place!. i took my girlfriend for a nice night on a tuesday, and it was packed! it doesn't seat too many so be sure to get a reservation.. although the patio would help in the summer. the food was phenomenal, and the service great. we tried the home made perogies, and their gnocchi.. both incredible. would definitely recommend it for intimate dining!

i was here once a couple years ago and ordered a stir fry. i asked the waiter to make sure there were no nuts as i have a peanut allergy (not deadly, but enough to make me very sick). the stir fry came out literally covered in chopped peanuts. the waiter saw and immediately apologized, and had it remade, but it was a bad enough mistake to ensure i never went back.

so tasty. i was looking at the last minute for a place to take my partner for their birthday; our usual fancy-restaurant choice, uptown 21, was closed for 2 weeks. so glad i found this place. must be one of the absolute best places in waterloo.

we split the avocado and bacon pizza for our appetizer. my only complaints are that it is split into 5 pieces, which is hard to compromise on how to share, and that the end pieces were a bit shorter on toppings than the middle pieces.

for entre, i ordered the lamb spaghetti, and my partner had the salmon sous vide. we were both deeply satisfied with our choices. though we usually swap a few bites of our dishes, we found that each of our dishes suited us more perfectly than the other, so aside from the single bite to try, no other bites were shared.

i ordered the sweet beets for desert, and must say i was a touch disappointed. i usually love everything goat and sheep, and go out of my way to order foods which contain either. however, i found the whipped goat cheese was a touch bitter, and the delicious sweet basil syrup which complemented it so well was difficult to wipe up from the plate. i had an alcoholic orange coffee along with this, and found that the flavours really complemented each other. while the drink on its own was too alcoholic for my tastes, and the whipped goat cheese was too bitter, the two balanced each other out. i suspect that the drink needed more coffee for a stronger bitter taste, while the desert needed some sort of additional lemony or orangey flavour.

my partner's desert, however, was a perfect hit. i was a bit surprised at just how broken the broken lemon meringue pie was, but after swiping a bite, i found myself staring longingly at their plate.

i hope to be back soon, and will be sure to try all of their other deserts at some point.

fantastic experience, great service. what a great restaurant. second time at this fantastic spot - and it was delightful - again. had the berry salad and short rib dinner - with a nice dessert. service was fast and friendly. when you go in, make sure to ask for molly. she was attentive and made us feel welcome. a must try if you are visiting or live in waterloo region.

best meal out in a long time! highly recommend red house. i pass red house everyday and think, 'what a cute little place, i have to try it some time.' i wish i tried it sooner! this is the best meal i've had out in a long time! it's pricier than i would usually budget but this was an anniversary dinner. the service was very professional, yet personable. it's a small space so it gets busy, make a reservation. the cocktails are unique, i tried a rhubarb basil cocktail with gin. it was phenomenal. we ordered cesear salads to start. they are huge! you definitely get your moneys-worth. lots of bacon and hard-boiled eggs. i tend to find cesear salad dressings are greasy at most restaurants so i was very pleased with the dressing at red house. i ordered the bird (like quail, similar to a chicken entree). it was too die for! so much flavour! i was also expecting a tiny gourmet meal on a big plate because this place is so tiny and fancy. this was not the case! it was huge! now that i have tasted truly delicious food at red house it's going to be hard to enjoy food elsewhere. absolutely stellar service and food!

great food- one really annoying habit that will keep us away. my partner and i have eaten here twice. both times the food was incredible- like make-noises-out-loud fabulous food! the first time we got a quaint little table in the front that was great, the second time we got a really crappy table right by the door that wobbled throughout our entire meal and had water stains all over it. the hostess noticed the wobble at the end of our meal and apologized and fixed it but by that time we were done eating. now, if someone had been checking on our table after we were served, they would know that. in both of our visits, the same waiter never came to see how we were doing which is a big compliant i have. you always check on your table, it takes a fraction of a minute and can solve problems immediately and it shows you care. the big issue i have only happened on our second visit. now, maybe that's because it was a busy dinner service and we were in the main room, i'm not sure. the spray cleaner that they use to wipe down tables between seating was a blue-haze-of-death. not entirely sure if it was windex or not, but whatever that chemical laden stink was, it gave both of us a headache, destroyed the beautiful smell of yummy food and had us leave before ordering dessert. we just couldn't take it anymore and had to go home and try to recuperate from a bad reaction to toxins we inhaled. it really spoiled the visit in the end and is so sad as we thought we found our new favorite restaurant just blocks away. anyone with any sensitivities - stay clear unless they change their cleaning products. for those who love that "glade-fresh", kinda atmosphere, my taste-buds are jealous of the tasty treats you are eating!
it was really surprising to me to find folks who care about local, farm to table type eating, using sprays that destroy the environment.

when you peruse the menu you see a lot of bistro favourites to pick from. basically the idea at red house is to provide fresh food inspired by quality ingredients.

when i looked at the menu, the restaurant was everything i was hoping it would be. a gourmet restaurant that focuses on quality local fresh food at affordable prices. since it was peach season, i ordered the peach ginger salad with the added squid. my brother decided on the home smoked turkey sandwich and the butternut squash soup.