the rook and raven

nice place. i went on a date here with my boyfriend. came in and sat at the bar to wait for a table, which we had no problems with. once we sat at our table a few minutes into the meal we we unexpectedly moved to another table as more people were arriving to join the other tables to the right of us. again no problems as we understand that it's friday this place is busy. all in all we had a good time and meals were good. we'll bebacksometime soon for sure.

really really good!!! i had only been there for wine and cheese before but 5 of us went there tonight and we all loved our meals and appies, service was waaaaaaay better than any time i have been there before... will gobackfor sure!

spouse and i very seldom come downtown. thought we'd check it out. it was quiet. we like like to sit up at the bar. at first the bartender wasn't overly friendly but warmed up eventually.
the menu sounded interesting, bebackto try many items.

tldr:
pros: options for dietary constraints, service is relatively fast even during high time, servers are laidbackbut still attentive, fairly decent prices on the "snacks" and alcohol

cons: very heavy handed on the salt with most dishes, uneven cooking for steaks, can be a bit loud during high time if you're looking for a romantic night (but i mean it's a pub so...)

whole review:
food (rate: 3/5) 
i've been here 3-4 times already, and i've been fairly satisfied with their dishes (i've had the fish and chips, marinere mussels, cream of mushroom soup and their surf n' turf special). one thing i've found consistent across each visit is how heavy handed with the salt they were. i actually found that their fish and chips were a bit oily, and had a great crunchy texture on the outside. the mussels were cooked perfectly, and the sauce was fantastic -- not too heavy on the lemon, but just enough to give it a bright tang to the wine reduction. the only thing wrong with this dish was the amount of salt that they had in the sauce. i love me some salt, don't get me wrong -- but they're pretty heavy handed with it here. the same can be applied to the soup, but it had some great flavours in it.

*surf and turf special: i wanted to put this in its own category, just because i really loved it... but there were some issues. the steak; our table ordered 3 of the surf and turf special (char-rare, medium and medium-well). the char-rare came out beautifully, but the medium was done more like a char-rare and the medium-well was done more like a medium-rare. granted this was done during high time, however my family didn't have the heart to send itbackto the kitchen and get it re-cooked when they were so busy, but certainly were not too happy with their cut.  the big problem with the steak was how uneven the seasoning was -- and when i mean un-even i mean one end of the steak was seasoned, and the other end was not. so basically you would be cutting into this steak and have over-salted meat for the first half of the steak, and then the second half is just... steak. the shrimp had a lot of salt and garlic on it, but the veggies that came with it were fine. baked potato... meh. it's a baked potato. 

service (rate: 4/5) 
pub service in general is my preferred style -- it's not in your face, and doesn't give off the feeling that they're tying absurdly hard for more tip. the server we had was well-versed in the selection of beers they had available, and had great advice on the best beers to go with which dish. surprisingly enough, high-time service still had impeccable attentiveness even though they were basically packed; i was extremely impressed! 

atmosphere (3/5) 
typical to a british-style pub, you see the typical dark wooded furniture, walls and floors. a tad bit dark in there, but i wasn't particularly bothered. it was just.. ordinary. so nothing much to comment on it. the music becomes fairly loud at night, so if you're looking for a quiet night out this probably isn't the place for you.

so we tried this restaurant for the first time this evening. the food was good and pretty tasty. we came around 6 and were seated right away. the woman who greeted us was so friendly. our server on the other hand made us feel like attending to us was a chore and then another table came and she was super cheery. so that was pretty disappointing and all the reason for rating lower.backto the food though. i had the grilled sirloin with fries and it was good for the price. i quite enjoyed my meal. my friend had fish and chips and that was also very good. lastly my boyfriend had the pork belly main with potatoes and saskatoon berries and that was by far my favourite ! overall the food was good and the service was mediocre . we plan to return and hopefully the server in more pleasant this next time.

simply put its hands down easily best place downtown for food and drink. people may say otherwise but in my opinion the food is creative the specials are amazing and creativity is evident. not a lot of places are as bold with there flavours and risk takers from beef cheeks to duck pb and j my past experiences have been great and equally as great are the drink features. the menu is silid from top to bottom. creativity front of house andbacka true gem and great representation of a dining experience that never disappoints. see you there again soon

outstanding every time!. one of my favourite places to eat in saskatoon. great beer, wine and cocktail menu. their weend specials are always worth a try. bison short ribs are delicious and filling. chicken dish very good too. nice appetizer choices - the lobster calamari is outstanding. great food and wait staff. will gobackthere again and again.

mixed emotions. i was excited to try this place out. the atmosphere was in between restaurant and pub. service was okay, the host seemed a little agitated but the server was great. we ordered drinks and dessert. drinks were good, service quick but the dessert was actually inedible! panna cotta with caramal candy, you couldn't actually eat the candy part, it was so hard and sticky it immediately bonded to your teeth! we ended up not finishing it for fear we would pull a tooth out! i think i would gobackbut just stick to the drinks.

uncooked fish - thanks stephen. just ordered fish and chips at the rook & raven. the fish was delivered to the table uncooked. i sent the fishbackto the kitchen and stuck with the ribs. stephen, the hipster waiter, didn't even take the fish order charge off the bill. thanks stephen. we enjoyed the r&r service.

good food - be aware it is 19+. i have had the burger and it was amazing. my husband had the pork belly and just loved it. he could hardly wait to comebackand try the place again. went a different time for appetizers - mostly enjoyed the poutine, but found it to be too salty - i wonder if there was a mistake because i (and my sister who was sharing it) have a very high tolerance for salt and find myself adding it to just about everything, but this was pushing it for both of us.

i am editing this review after posting earlier about my friend and me being turned away because she had a baby (who was sleeping). i received feedback from the establishment that because they are licensed first as a tavern, they cannot allow anyone under the age of 19 in the establishment or they will be fined. i think it's just a good heads up for people to know ahead of time. (it also would have been nice to be given that explanation by the individual who asked us to leave, as i think my friend and i are both reasonable people - and being given the explanation now, it makes complete sense).

ribs were inedible. before i begin, i will preface this story by telling you that i am a trash compactor. i eat everything. i do not send food back. i am a quiet guy and i don't like to make trouble, and i always tip 20%.

i ate here with my wife. she had been here a few times with her co-worker and they both recommended it. they had a rack of ribs on special, and i ordered it. the rack was huge, however even with the steak knife provided, i could not cut the ribs. i told the waitress of my troubles, and she took it to the kitchen and brought itbackcut into individual ribs. i tried biting into one. could not get through the meat, it was tough and full of gristle. i ate the salad it came with, and when the waitress returned i told here that i was sorry, but i can not eat these ribs. she took it away without comment. when she brought our bill, she asked how everything went, and my wife explained once again that i was unable to eat the ribs, and could we get them taken off the bill. she talked to the manager and he said that because it has already been rung up, there was nothing they could do. wtf. will not try again.

best chicken livers in town by far. service was a little below par tonight but i will comebackagain and again nonetheless. duck p,b and j is a must try


-----27 mar, 2013-----

pork tenderloin came highly recommended by my server. although it was a little more well done than i would like, still very tasty. excellent wine list, great service, i will be back

professional service and soothing environment !!. i tried rook and raven couples of weekbackwith one of my friend and i must say i loved it. we chose a place near by the large entrance window on sofas that had a view to watch outside on the street. started off with the cocktails and i was surprised to see the beer cocktails on the menu. tried one of them with guinness and cola and i never regretted for my order. lady who was serving us was professional and had a warm gesture to make us feel comfortable. chicken supreme was the best ever i had and i am planning to gobacksome other day with family this time. all in all a good experience and a nice place to dine out. highly recommended !!

another great visit!. spent tuesday evening with you folks again. i'm consistently blown away by how incredible this establishment is. the server who who helped us (i can't remember her name, but she was serving in the raised area at thebackof the pub) was phenomenal. one of the best servers i've had, and she was very busy. sp was attentive, knowledgeable and never left my water or beer empty.

i had the black bean and lentil burger, and it tasted better than ever before. i tried the sweet potato chips for the first time, as well, and i could literally have ate my bodies weight in them. they were delicious.

thanks for being consistently amazing. i will bebackagain soon and will continue recommending this place to everyone i know!!


-----14 sep, 2013-----

love this place. always consistently great food. the service can be hit or miss but it's always worth the wait. it is a more of a pub style restaurant, though, so i expect the service to alter.

the veggie burger was perfect. it was the perfect size. i was able to eat the entire plate without feeling indulgent, which was great. the burger itself was crispy, hearty, and didn't fall apart. it was full of flavour and the bun was great. i highly recommend it for anyone, even non-vegetarians like myself!

my friend's both had the mac n' cheese and loved it. i personally found it to have too strong of a bacon flavour, but i am not a huge bacon fan so i am biased in my opinion. they both licked their plates clean.


-----25 apr, 2012-----

i was incredibly impressed with both the service and the food. i had the chicken club in ciabatta with a bacon chipotle tomato soup. the chicken club was unique and unlike any i have had before with the perfect crispy bacon. our waitress was so friendly, efficient, and incredibly helpful. i look forward to goingbackmany more times.

love this restaurant!! i've been here 3 times now and each time i've left after having a great experience! the service is always wonderful and the menu has so many delicious choices! plus they have some unique beers on tap and everything is reasonably priced! they don't take reservations which is tricky when you come with a large group but you can hang out at the bar while you wait and the staff does all they can to speed up your wait for you!! i can't wait to comebackhere again!