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The Watermark Taphouse & Grille
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- Yes
One review for The Watermark Taphouse & Grille
1 review in English
-
Review from Cooper W.
Dundas, ON
6/14/2011
Sub-par at best.
Considering its decor and prices, I would have expected a much finer experience than what we had.
For example, when we walked in the door, we literally stood there for a solid 3-4 minutes before anyone even approached us. It was 5PM on a Saturday.
The Watermark Taphouse & Grille has a reasonably well thought out menu; they claim a visit to their establishment will be a "culinary experience." If by culinary experience they mean: we place food in front of you, then a culinary experience you will have, but that is about it.
I started with French Onion soup. A staple menu item that I expected to be marvelous. It arrived without fanfare and virtually tasteless. It was practically all broth with little to no onions whatsoever. It tasted more like a Knorr or Brio or Esslinger instant broth hit with some onion salt and then covered with a thin wedge of french bread and some Kraft 17% Mozzarella. Underwhelming to say the least.
I also ordered the Calamari. By themselves they were pretty good. Couldn't tell if they were hand-cut -- possibly from a 5-8" squid -- of if they were machine cut and pre-breaded in a warehouse. Based on the price, I hope the former. The accompanying sauces were okay, but again, not impressive. The spicy marinara sauce tasted like Stanislaus or some other such GFS concoction -- it simply tasted flat. Not necessarily bad, just not very good. The Garlic Aioli was the better of the two, but could have used a pinch more of salt and perhaps something green so to keep from thinking you're dipping your calamari into a cup of flavored lard.
Wings: Perhaps the waitstaff require further training; our waitress brought the wings to our table, put them down, said "Sorry!" then snatched them up again and added, "these are not the wings you ordered!" -- Whatever you say, miss.... A few minutes later she returned with the exact same plate. "My mistake," she said. "These looked like the BBQ, but they're actually not." -- Okay, but thanks for cooling them down for us, running them back and forth through the restaurant. Super great service.... They were honey garlic (for my son). I tried one. I couldn't tell which brand of sauce, but I'd guess it was Forty Creek or Cattleman's -- certainly not the "culinary experience" as advertised.
My wife had a confused salad -- pecans and goat cheese and raspberries and sauted onions and greens (sound's okay so far, right?), but then a sundried tomato vinaigrette was thrown on in abundance and drowned everything. Also, personally, I find raspberries and anything "vinaigrette" to clash. Raspberries, in my opinion, shouldn't be on anything, but dessert. Or perhaps in a liqueur.
We skipped mains -- we were pressed for time -- but I doubt very much I will return. As I said before, the prices and the quality of the appetizers and salad, simply don't warrant a second visit.
Why does their website look like an advertisement for The Keg? A homepage with a bunch of smiling models? Hmmm.... Like The Keg and their ilk, what the Watermark is actually trying to sell you on is the experience, not the quality of the food. If you're a man, "Hey, check us out, you might meet one of us here!" If you're a woman, "Hey, check this place out and be hot like one of us!"
Quality restaurants don't rely on models for their homepage.
