Bayside Variety Kitchen + Bar — Restaurant in Barrie

This was a big disappointment. There were three of us for dinner, we ordered the Rhubarb Collins and Night Moves cocktails and a beer, the octopus and the burrata appetizers, the cod, the duck, and the burger for mains. The Night Moves cocktail was nice with interesting botanical flavours; the Rhubarb Collins was overly sweet and tasted nothing like rhubarb, full disclosure I ordered it with whiskey instead of vodka. The burrata dish was well constructed, the sourdough was perfectly grilled, the combination of earthy beets and vibrant golden berries was lovely. I love grilled octopus as a rule, this version was overcooked and rubbery and wildly under seasoned, the puttanesca was bland and tasted like it came out of a jar, and the grocery store arugula was dressed with olive oil and salt. For the mains, the burger was the best of the three, good salt balance, solid cook, fluffy brioche bun with black sesame seeds. The fries with it were visibly saturated in oil and soggy with no crunch, the truffle aioli was fine. The cod was nicely cooked and completely devoid of flavour, dull red curry with mushy rice, the king oyster mushrooms were nicely cooked and perfectly boring. The duck was cooked to the correct colour but it was very chewy; the "cherry" sauce just tasted like watery demi glace, the rice was overcooked and way too salty, and the bok choy and cabbage were limp and flavourless. Our waiter Casey was excellent, the service was exceptionally attentive and unobtrusive, any time we needed anything he was immediately present, and he recommended the burger which was one of the better dishes. I left off one star because the table wasn't crumbed between courses and I personally consider this a staple of high end fine dining. The ambiance of the restaurant is nice, it was not overly loud despite being completely full and the lighting is moody and intimate. I would consider it wildly over-priced for the quality of the food and cocktails, the menu is ambitious but the execution...

My husband and I tried Bayside Variety Kitchen & Bar for the first time tonight as a date night during Localiscious. Wow, it did not disappoint. The restaurant has a cool, laid back, simple & chic vibe. Our waitress Olivia was very attentive (refilled our water glasses as soon as we drank from them, meals were brought out in a perfectly time fashion etc.) Olivia also provided great suggestions for our meals. For the localiscious event, you get an appetizer, a main & dessert for 45$. For drinks, I ordered the rhubarb collins & my husband ordered an apple cider. For appetizers: my husband ordered the croquettes (braised short rib & Gruyère cheese, parsnip purée, smoked bacon sauce, crispy leeks, chive oil) & I ordered the burrata for two (cinnamon bruleed fig, date purée, fig & pomegranate compote, walnut & pistachio gremolata, grilled sourdough (+$5). There was an extra charge of $5 for the burrata but it was well worth it as it is a large portion that is shareable. For mains: my husband ordered the linguine (mussels & clams, parsley, roasted garlic & white sauce & I ordered the chicken (soy & mirin marinated chicken thighs, Asian mushroom risotto, bok choy, scallion). For dessert: my husband ordered the pineapple fritter (spiced battered & deep fried pineapple rings, cherry dole whip & I ordered the Nanaimo bar cheesecake (coconut & chocolate crumble, whipped cream cheese custard, chocolate ganache. The portion sizes were perfect, the food was amazing, the service was great, the vibe was chill. All in all an amazing first experience! Looking forward to our next one. Sorry, we didn’t take pictures of the food, the drinks or of the restaurant…we were too busy enjoying our date night & savouring our...

A group of 5 of us came for dinner and ordered cocktails, apps, wine and entrees (sirloin, lamb, duck & risotto). The food was great, delicious, and well prepared. The service started out strong with a complimentary glass of sparkling for our party. It wasn't clear who our actual server was, but the two gentlemen were friendly and polite.

We ordered a bottle of wine at the same time we ordered our entrees. The server forgot about it, which happens and I would've been happy to ask for it but they didn't check back in with us until our food was almost finished. We tried to wait to re order the wine but our food was getting cold so we decided just to eat it and order a glass, except no one came back. When they cleared half the table, we were going to order dessert and cocktails but then they didn't come back for another 20mins to clear the remaining plates. At that point we were tired of waiting and decided we'd go somewhere else for an apres. The bill was dropped and again we waited so long that we ended up just going to the bar to pay it.

We enjoyed our time and the food was great but the service could've been better. We were going to have a bottle of wine, desserts and cocktails for 5 but we didn't get the...