Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Artbar

Artbar
101 Queen St. North
Kitchener, Ontario N2H 6P7


We went there long time ago so I don't remember what we had. I only remember it was in the middle of the winter. It wasn't snowing but definitely ice here and there when we walked between the restaurant and where we parked. The restaurant was VERY quiet; we were the only customers (other than of 1 or 2 other couples). We talked to the guy who minded the store at the time. He told us that most people didn't seem to know that this restaurant not only run during the theater season. They were normally very busy before the play but ...well, we saw how empty it could be.

We've tried some edgy restaurants after our visit to Art Bar, so I am not sure if we will still consider their food edgy and nice. What I remember clearly is the reduction for duck breast. It was so rich and flavorful. But again, not sure if it is because I was (probably) the only person ordering that dish that evening.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just a heads up that the URL is now working!

Anonymous said...

A few years ago I had the worst restaurant experience of my life at Art Bar, so I haven't tried it again. I went with two friends before attending an opera at Center-in-the-Square. Everyone in the place was going to the opera and we told the waiter that we were too. We were about the first table to arrive (before 6, for an 8 PM curtain). Nonetheless, we got our mains just minutes before the curtain rose and only had time for a bite or two. The meal came with dessert and coffee but we had to forego those. All the other diners were having the same problem. And it seemed to be caused by a rude, negligent attitude, not any problem like a power outage that you could forgive. At one point I reminded the waiter that we needed to leave soon and he snapped at me that I'd get my food in plenty of time. The whole thing was very unpleasant.

Anonymous said...

I concur with the previous post. We arrived at 6pm, ordered by 6:15 and received our appetizer within 15 minutes. But then waited another 45 minutes for the main course. We didn't get our dessert until 7:50 and didn't have time to eat. We had to run to our seats and return at intermission to pay our bills. Both bills for our table were wrong, we were overcharged on several items. We had to go back after the show to finish paying. Our concerns about the slow service were dismissed, in fact the server tried to blame us. Two members of our party of 6 arrived less than 5 minutes late, and somehow that was the cause of all the slow service. I can't understand why we couldn't have a meal within two hours. Not recommended at all. The food was so-so, kind of hit and miss, but the service and response to our concerns made it rather unpleasant.

Anonymous said...

Just thought I would leave a note as I am not seeing any updated reviews of the ArtBar on the net.

Since 2007 ArtBar has flipped is staff and has a new chef and new servers.

The problem with everything taking too long isn't an issue anymore and I have seen them manage a full house and get everyone out to their shows on time.

Disclaimer: I am married to the one server.