Ministere of seafood — Restaurant in Abbotsford

This is a first for me zero stars!! I had to give one just to get my review out there! Massively disappointed to say the least. Upon arrival there was no one in the restaurant, the place seemed clean but not much has changed since the change over from the sushi restaurant. The lack of French and Italian decor was tacky especially when you hear that this is a fine dining experience. We had a table of 4, 3 of us had alcohol beverages which were not the best whiskey sours I have had and the dirty martini was ok. We ordered 2 appies, salt and pepper calamari and crab cakes. When they arrived at the table, it was wings and 2 tiny grey looking crab cakes. Since the order was wrong, we tried to get our waiters attention several times but he completely ignored us and had someone stand at the kitchen to get the guys attention. The waiter made it out that he was doing us a solid by not charging us and had the calamari on order. The wings were dry and tiny, no sauce, no garnish. The crab cakes tasted and smelled fishy, looked grey with a small amount of tartar under them and a side of spring mix. When the calamari came out, the dip container wasn't even 1/4 filled with dip, no garnish, no lemon, they were chewy and had pieces of banana peppers battered and deep fried with it. Only the rings came, no tentacles. We ordered 2 seafood linguine however the waiter tried to upsell to another pasta as he said there was more seafood on the plate (seafood linguine had mussels, clams, prawns, fish, calamari with tomatoes and arugula) and then had convinced them to have it with white wine sauce, we also ordered the lobster bisque and steamed delight 1/2 lb mussels, 1/2 lb clams with white wine sauce. The pasta came out undercooked, not even al dente, there was no sauce or flavour, the seafood was mussels, a couple of prawns and a couple of scallops, no bread, no pepper or parmesan cheese offered and had to ask for it. The lobster bisque was runny, no chunks of lobster and tasted like it came from a can, had to ask for cracked pepper and parmesan, . The steamed delight had mostly mussels with a few clams, lots of sauce so we shared the sauce and had it poured on the pasta, it came with 2 dry small pieces of focaccia not buttered, we asked for extra bread and it came slightly toasted, no butter. We were ignored most of the meal and sat with empty drinks and plates most of the time. We were the only ones in the restaurant until near the end of our meal. As it was a birthday, the waiter brought out a creme brulee which was nothing to write home about. When the bill came, we saw that the seafood that they upgraded to was $39 where the seafood linguine with what they wanted was $36. The waiter had a very thick accent and we could barely understand him and felt pressured as he was a bit aggressive. Will never go back, I would have been so embarrassed if we had anymore people that wanted to go there try it and have lowered expectations of what the place really is. In a town with a lot of competition and great restaurants that don't try and over sell themselves as something they are not,...

All I can say is Wow. I took my Wife here for dinner this evening and after reading reviews online I knew I we had to try this place. My expectations were high going in…. Ishara (Our Server/Owner of the restaurant blew them out of the water).

We started with the seafood chowder and a Caesar salad. The best Seafood chowder I have ever had (and it’s not close). The salad was good too. The Owners attention to detail to making sure my 2.5 year old got his food immediately. To making sure everything was looked after from cutlery, to our beverages (he poured me water multiple times through the evening).

We then got our Seafood boil. I’ve had seafood boils in the past but none like this. The sauce that the seafood was accompanied by was literally to die for to the point where I titled the bowl when all the seafood was gone and made sure every last drop was looked after. My 9 year old son also couldn’t get enough.

Ishara, our server, payed special close attention to my Wife’s Alcholic beverages and although I don’t drink… was blown away at the variety they had on the cocktail menu. We finished our main course and he brought us a dessert menu where we ordered a Sticky Toffee Pudding that rivalled the Sticky Toffee Pudding my Wife and I had at Gordon Ramsey’s Hells Kitchen in Las Vegas a year ago. Not too sweet, but, you could taste the Dates… and again…. The attention to detail by a World Class Chef.

At the end of our amazing expierence Ishara informed me that they also have a 55oz Tomahawk steak on the menu that they serve with an assortment of seafood and a Cognac Peppercorn sauce. I will spend my Birthday here on July 21st and can not wait to return.

These Gentlemen made some regular costumers this evening. And sincerely…. WELL DONE gentlemen. Best meal I have had in a...

Did not live up to it's reviews. Server was sweet & friendly but not on her game at all, slow, unorganized, mixed up orders, explained issues with meals to the wrong people, Has several items posted to the wrong guest on the bill, WOW, just not good. Now for the food.... way over priced for what it is, I mean $29 to $41 for a small bowl of pasta, please! Lobster bisque was ok flavour but watery consistency. Green salad out of a box with a few shrimp on top $29 Ahi Tuna was ok but any sushi place in town does it the same or better for less. To be fair the pan seared Halibut got a good review from the person eating it as did the Halibut fish and chips, but again the server dropped the dinner salad at the seat expecting a side salad and by the time she came back to the table, the wrong person was eating it. Sorry guys, $468 for what we ate and experienced does not warrant a second visit. This place is not recommended for any kind of special event like an 85th birthday party. PS: DON"T PASS OFF TAP WATER as something else. Putting it is a bottle doesn't make it's chlorine smell or taste go away. Buy a filter if that is what you are severing people: Response to owner's reply.... Thanks for the offer of gift card compensation but it is very unlikely we would ever return to your restaurant based on this first experience. I am glad to see you take reviews seriously and I hope they help you improve all that...