Wild Orchid

Rabbit was unbelievably good sardines were delicious. Mussels were good too. service was very friendly. It's a go to place.

Good spot for Portuguese seafood in the Hamilton area. Large restaurant with lots of tables and a full-serve bar at the back. Portion sizes are quite large and hearty.

Salada Portuguesa - Comes in small or large size. Pretty nice salad with mixed greens, cucumber & tomato slices, red onion, and drizzled with olive oil vinaigrette. You can opt to add goat cheese.

Mixed Seafood in Pimento-based Sauce & Garlic Bread ("special" appetizer of the day) - Large portion for an appetizer... comes in a large bowl with 2 different types of mussels, clams, scallops, tiger shrimps, and 4 large toasted garlic bread. You can ask the sauce to be non-spicy.

Pao (Baked Bread) Stuffed with Cod - Best dish in the restaurant. It's quite large and best to be shared. The Pao is freshly baked, crispy on the outside and soft, tender, and very aromatic in the inside (cod mixed with garlic and other spices). It's so good that it can be a filling meal on its own when paired with salad.

Bacalhau Da Casa - Cod loin is quite salty, but comes in a nice big chunk with bones. The grilled vegetables are over-cooked and very mushy. The roasted potatoes are ok.

Grilled Pickerel - Portion size of all the fish and seafood dishes is quite big. This one comes in 2 large & long pieces of grilled pickerel, topped with a delicious tomato-based sauce. The seasoned rice with peas is very yummy! It also comes with grilled vegetables (zucchini, red pepper, eggplant).

Arroz De Marisco - The large size comes with a good amount of shellfish and rice. It's more saucy and has more liquid / broth compared to the more mainstream Spanish paella. It's best to let the liquid / broth evaporate first (it keeps warm really well), to give time for the rice to soak in the sauce. This dish is quite flavourful and I like the mix and amount of shellfish (king crab legs, lobster, mussels, clams, black tiger shrimps, bay scallops, etc.).

Dessert: Portuguese Tart topped with cinnamon & ice cream - The Portuguese tart comes out warm, with crunchy crust and soft topping. It's one of the best Portuguese tarts I've had. The cinnamon sprinkles just take it to the next level.

We had grilled sardines, which were good, and the red sangria was very good. BUT the seafood paella for two... come on... parboiled rice in tomato soup??? And the cost of it $45. Horrible! No dear chef, what you made is NOT 'Paella de Marisco', paella should be dry. Look it up. Friendly advice: If you don't know how to make it, just don't serve it! And call what you made 'Paella Soup' instead... it might be a new hit in Hamilton!

We were in town for a conference and had heard about the seafood platter at Wild Orchid so made our way down to pig out. We succeeded. The food was good and it was pure joy to have a massive earthenware bowl filled with lobster, king crab, prawns, scallops, mussels, and clams plopped in front of us.

The place reflected its Portuguese food and drink sensibilities. The service was excellent and super friendly. We wanted cocktails to start but the bar wasn't stocked with the various ingredients. Our server tried really hard to accommodate us which we really appreciated. In the end we had green wine which was new to us, but was great with the seafood.

Highly recommend this place but make a reservation to be safe as the place gets busy.

This was one of the most baffling, awful experiences I've ever had at a restaurant.

Went to Wild Orchid tonight, and at the outset, had a fairly decent meal. My table and I were enjoying ourselves.

Then, I look in the bottom of my whiskey, and notice no less than TEN DEAD FLIES floating in it. As I'm not looking for protein via bugs, this understandably puts me off.

I tell our server. To say she did not act appropriately would be an understatement. I get a halfhearted "oh...sorry," and she takes the glass away. I am baffled by the level of apology, as it truly seemed she did not grasp the fact that THERE WAS A FAMILY OF DEAD BUGS IN MY DRINK.

I'm then told that "this happens sometimes" because "flies just get in through the tops of the bottles." What?

The manager then comes to the table. She says I don't have to pay for my drink. I tell her there is no chance that I'll be paying for my meal, period. Her response is even more baffling: "Well, what was wrong with your meal?" What was wrong is I was served a pile of bugs! I reiterate there is no chance that I'll be paying for this. She says she'll speak to the owner, though does so with a pile of attitude.

Our server then comes back to tell me I won't be charged for my meal -- but guess what? I look at the bill for the rest of the table, and there is the charge for the whiskey that had the bugs in it. Through either sheer incompetence or outright audacity, they tried to charge me for a drink full of bugs.

In short -- do not attend this restaurant. And I will certainly be calling the health department first thing Monday to suggest that they pay a visit to this unclean, incompetent establishment.

Pleasantly surprised by the good quality food in a cozy setting. Traditional Portuguese dishes with reasonable prices. We ordered the arroz de marrisco (seafood rice) and stuffed calamari, as well as chorizo for an appetizer. All quite good, and the portions were large. Chorizo was a little disappointing as it was already cut up and not flaming. Bottles of wine were very reasonably priced.

I have eaten here twice for lunch, and been a few times just for a well chilled beer The food is excellent: fresh made, quality ingredients, moderate portions. Presentation strikes the balance between meeting expectations and being surprising.

The decor and ambiance are tasteful. Think classy contemporary, with "second date" lighting. The tables are as small as they could be.

On the first visit the table service
was good.

Poor service on the second visit. While there were maybe 8 other patrons there, the waitress never checked back after bringing food, acted imposed upon, and let me sit for 10 minutes after finishing before I had to approach the bar to ask for the bill. She spent a lot of time thumbing a phone and chatting in Portuguese with the only guy at the bar.

The last time I was there, I ordered a Creemore Springs tallboy lager, and was charged more than 8 dollars! This is well above the price of any other beer on their menu. An explanation or heads up would have been nice, but ultimately there is no excuse for them jacking their customers like this.

I have not been back since the bad service and the beer-robbery. A pity, because the food merits my business.

Tasty Portuguese cuisine. Ranya recommended seafood platter for me, which is very big and fresh! It smelt so good and contained lobster, mussels and fish inside.

I would rate this 3.5* when I had dinner here on Nov 16/14. It a cool restaurant with a nice environment. For a appy we had Pao De Algarve which was solid. Had the Haddock Fillet Steak & Filetes com arroz as main, both of which was very tasty. All-in-all very tasty & a do over.

The Wild Orchid is a must go to if you're a seafood fan. I ordered the mussels and the seafood linguine and both were great. More importantly they serve sub zero heinekens and they are so cold and crisp and amazing. I've gone back just for the beers.