sunterra market, keynote

sunterra is a great place to pick up something tasty and affordable and decently fast for lunch or dinner. i haven't tried their marketbarso this review is about their 'fast' section. i've ordered their asiago burger many times and it is a great price for a real burger (with asiago cheese and bacon) and a choice of side dish for about $8.50.

went to marketbarlast week for drinks and dinner before a show. definitely a cool place, nice vibe. i liked the tvs and the pizza oven (looked gas). when we arrived we sat at thebarand were greeted promptly by the bartender. he listed off some specials, and we both had the 5$ stella - great deal! we looked over the menu, decided on 2 of the pizzas to share, but they were out of one of them. changed to the smoked salmon pizza & maple habanero ribs. they were both so dissapointing. the pizza crust was so dry, it was like eating a cracker. and there was so little toppings on it. no sauce, 3 or 4 pieces of cheese and 2 pieces of smoked salmon. it didn't taste good and was a rip off. the ribs were obviously re-heated, and weren't even heated through. when you put habanero on the menu, i expect some spice. there was nothing. it tasted like a peach/apricot based bbq sauce, overly sweet, with no heat. when the bartender asked how everything was, i expressed by displeasure but he just walked away. brought the bill, we paid and left. service was quick, prices were reasonable, but if the food sucks and the servers don't care, i won't be returning.

who doesn’t like breakfast food, and some days you don’t want to make breakfast at home. diners & other popular breakfast places are usually really busy on a weekend. this is when marketbar by sunterra comes in. i was not aware that the sunterra keynote had this. my girlfriend suggested this place & it was like finding a hidden gem (maybe it was just us).  it has a big sitting area and very fancy inside. when you walk in you see thebarto your right & a dining room setting to the left. as you go further in, it gets brighter and more of a cafe setting (self seating on both sides).  they also have an outdoor patio, which we couldn’t experience as it was gloomy and windy. the service was quick & efficient. order, pay, receive a table number for your order which they will bring out to you.

probably one of the most disappointing sunterra experiences i've had, that meaning i've had more than one bad experience. i could go on and on about the inconsistencies, lack of quality and deception that sunterra market never fails to offer.

in the year 2010 they advertised their infamous yogurt cups as having fresh fruit, despite the fact that they were and are currently using frozen fruit in all yogurt cups. the trick? the fruit dethaws by the time an unaware customer decides to purchase it. this is straight up propaganda at its finest.

every single thing you buy in the deli is made days in advance. if you think that $10.00 precooked bbq chicken breast is going to taste delicious and fresh, then you have no idea what delicious and fresh is.

so what is fresh at sunterra? technically everything, they just don't serve everything to you fresh that day. it's a marketing ploy that many are unaware of and unfortunately when employed by sunterra market in 2009, i was subject to many situations where clientele questioned the freshness of sunterra's product and i was basically told to flat out lie. for example when a woman approaches the deli and asks if it was fresh made today, i was informed to always tell her yes (even if the product i'd be selling her was made 4 days ago). so what's the catch? they make everything fresh daily but they serve it at a later date. so although everything in the deli was being made fresh daily, the product being sold was not the fresh product made on that day. following me?

anyways let's talk about my disatisfying experience i encountered today after buying a few groceries and eating in the marketbarupstairs (which was nothing spectacular... i had the turkey dinner tonight and parts of my turkey were pink). i thought it would be nice to treat myself to something from the bakery. i saw a lovely looking dessert with a cream of some sort (possibly a mousse) sitting behind the glass in a chocolate cup. i asked the girl working what was inside the chocolate cup, and she said it was whip cream. i mean clearly it was not whip cream, it was a coffee color and there's no way a bakery would use perfectly good chocolate cups and fill it with only whipping cream. i was a little taken back. and then a gentlemen beside me asked the same woman "i'm trying to lose weight is there anything in here that would be good for me to have?" and she said "you can have anything in here, it's all ok" and he replied "no way all these are ok, you're lying to me" and then walked away with his wife. 2 sales lost in 1 minute of her time.

a couple minutes later i was able to find the manager, or supervisor (i'm unsure of his rank) however he was a short bald man (wearing more business attire ie: white collar shirt and tie) who when asked to speak with a supervisor, took it upon himself to help. i never got his name so i can only assume he was a superior.

when i explained what had happened, he basically acted like he didn't care. i'm telling him about how his staff behind the bakery are unknowledgeable and he tells me "well they aren't trained in knowing weight loss products" and i said "they clearly aren't trained in any of the products you have for sale". either way, i pointed out the dessert to him and he told me it was a tiramisu mousse, further proving the fact that his staff lacks knowledge in product, and he just still didn't care.

first of all, if i am running an establishment that deals with food, i'm going to want my staff to know about what they are selling, and if not, i'd hope there would be tools available for these employees to know what they are selling (a sign for example in the front of the case distinguishing what dessert it was would've been perfect). if staff are really lying to customers about what's in a product it could result in serious problems. for example, let's say i bought the chocolate cup with what she told me was whip cream, took it home and ate it and died from an allergic reaction all because i thought it was just whip cream when in fact is was a tiramisu mousse the whole time?

but let's face it, the real icing on the cake is the fact that the manager of keynote sunterra straight up didn't care at all about the lack of knowledge his staff has, he wasn't apologetic for the treatment i received, and above all his lack of care for serious potential liabilities is outrageous. he is putting sunterra market at a serious risk by not hiring thorough and competent staff, but overall it reflects more about him and his lack of care for his career.

who doesn’t like breakfast food, and some days you don’t want to make breakfast at home. diners & other popular breakfast places are usually really busy on a weekend. this is when marketbar by sunterra comes in. i was not aware that the sunterra keynote had this. my girlfriend suggested this place & it was like finding a hidden gem (maybe it was just us). it has a big sitting area and very fancy inside. when you walk in you see thebarto your right & a dining room setting to the left. as you go further in, it gets brighter and more of a cafe setting (self seating on both sides). they also have an outdoor patio, which we couldn't experience as it was gloomy and windy. the service was quick & efficient. order, pay, receive a table number for your order which they will bring out to you.
absolutely loved the experience here at marketbar, & i can’t wait to go back to try more. hopefully next time we will be able to sit on the patio.

check out my blog for full review & pictures

neat selections. really enjoyed the food selections in the restaurant and market area. loved the saladbarand foods to go. also, the bakery- especially the cakes and pies. the prices are not bad for entire cakes. where places with not so great cakes could charge more.
i really liked the food and array of desserts and coffee in the restaurant area. the food was light but filling- i had their tacos and my friend had their pizza. i did not leave with a heavy feeling. i like the quality of their food each time there.
the only negative thing is the service. people working there were friendly, but the process of ordering was confusing. it was my first time there. didn't know where to stand to order and had to look for the sign. the menu was in two different places.
the guy taking my order was not paying attention to my order. i was placing an order for my friend and myself. he assumed i was cancelling my order when i started to order for my friend. the guy then was making food for me that i did not even mention.
my friend and i thought: "they must be starting out that is why they are not organized in the restaurant...". by the looks of it, this area was a bit of a problem for a couple of years by the looks of past reviews.
still would go for the food. the food, concept and building itself was marvelous.

i've eaten at this location once or twice a week for the past year and a half.

the saladbaris just so convenient that, damn the price, i keep coming back. i've been doing the keto diet for a long time, so it's an excellent place to get your fats and proteins as well as your allotted 20g of carbs in leafy green vegetables. i've also eaten their baguettes (which are really good), their squares, which are as good as mom makes them. they make a lemon coconut square that i really like and i feel like is very good value. their canoli is also very good; as is their meatballs in the deli department.

when you are in the checkout line you also get to watch hipsters pay a premium for buying groceries from their hella expensive grocery store. it's a lot of fun.

why i keep coming back to sunterra:

their saladbaris convenient (but expensive)
their dessert selection is really good (and more reasonably priced)
it's the only place near work where i could manage my macros

this is a really odd attempt at a restaurant and a take away in one space. i do not like that you have to walk through thebaror restaurant to enter the take away section or that the restaurant is so far away from the washrooms. the food was okay but a bit over priced. service was spotty at best. had gift certificates or i wouldn't have gone and definitely won't be back.

very modern great atmosphere. i love the layout very modern and the food is great also i like the fact they have an winebarvery cool. very clean as well
i would defiantly come back again.

market is great for lunch. can't speak to the restaurant itself, even though the smells are lovely. i use this place for healthy quick lunch carryout and it definitely fills that bill. saladbaris fresh and stocked, many sandwich choices, lots of fruit. quick in and out is what i need and the fact that there are nutrients in my food here... total bonus. :)