Emma ordered all supplies locally and insisted on the best quality; therefore, the Estaminet quickly became known for serving the finest foods and providing the most sought-after lakefront atmosphere.
This is the second time that i have visited this establishment. We had early dinner reservations for our group as it was a friends birthday. It was not busy inside, but for the amount of time it took to get our drink orders, and worse - our dinner, everyone was starving!!!! Drinks took about 20 min, while the food took....wait for it, 1 hr 20 min!!!! Dinner orders were very simple, nothing that took too long to cook. By the time the food had arrived, everyone was ready to go.
There was no point in taking this out on the waitress. Food took to long, and it was meadiocre and overpriced for what it was. Should have all just gone off to the lcbo, picked up some wine and pizza!
A group of us got together to have brunch at the Water Street Cooker. After waiting a few minutes at the door to be sat, we were seated right at the window. Excellent view! The service was O.K. We noticed after they fill your glass the first time, they are not to quick to fill your glass back up. The food was O.k. The eggs benedict weren't very hot, and looked like they had been sitting out for a while. The omellette station was good, but maybe they could find a friendlier cook. Salads all were average, nothing creative. I would maybe give it one more try, maybe for dinner, probably not brunch buffet.
I did find the entrance a little strange, in that they do not have a hostess on the first floor. I thought the building was unique and overall had a quaint atmosphere with a great view. Our service was great, despite the size of our group. The appetizer was filling enough to be an entree, although I did manage to wolf down my beef tenderloin special that was cooked to perfection. Other people in our group had similar experiences with their entrees. The menu is limited (often are in fine dining), but they have many specials to choose from and they all sounded good.
On a nice sunny day, the view over the lake is very nice. That was the good part, and I could have had that from a park bench! The selection and variety of the food was small and poor. The "Couscous salad" tasted like sawdust from the very small salad selection. Flies were buzzing around the food - very unappetizing. The roast beef was gross, the eggs benedict overcooked, and the other hot items just marginal..The seafood soup was very good, but this and the fruit for the waffles were the only things with any redeeming quality. Not nearly worth it for the price. I won't be back.
