Hudson Public — Restaurant in Brantford

Last night a group of 10 of us went to this restaurant prior to the show at the Sanderson Theatre. We arrived at 5 pm. Our reservations were made quite sometime ago with specific instructions that we wanted to be seated inside. We were put outside in the sun (the umbrella did not shade the entire table) and our group was split into a table of 6 and a table of 4. It took sometime but they eventually got us a table inside. Drink orders had already been placed when we were still outside, so there was a little confusion (very understandable) when we were moved inside. From this point on it was a disaster. The restaurant was very busy with lots of people going to the show which was to start at 7:30. There was only 1 server in our section and she was completely overwhelmed. I was not timing this, but I think it was probably a good half hour before our order was taken for food. Our waitress was so overwhelmed that she was running back and forth to deliver drinks and food. There was nobody helping her at all. At one point she came to our table apologizing for the slow service and she was crying. We tried to calm her down as did several other tables. This was not her fault, she had no help. Our food arrived close to 7 pm, so we had to eat very fast. My food was good and the serving was generous. One of my friends had the Philly Steak Sandwich and the beef was burned to a crisp. It was literally charred black. There was no time to ask for another one. As food was arriving we asked for our checks so that we could pay, and get to the show on time. Our waitress was so flustered that she had to ask each of us what we had so that she could make the bills. We all went up to the register to pay and it was complete bedlam. There was a stack of bills and we all looked for our own. We arrived just in time for the show, thankfully. This was not the fault of the server and we all tipped her, but in all this not once did we see a manager step in to help. Finally a few of the other servers and the hostess stepped in to deliver food. Too little to late. I don’t know the situation…perhaps a server did not show up…or was it just understaffed, but there should have been a manager there...

3 of us cycled from Hamilton to Brantford - 48 km. We went here a few times before when we have cycled to Brantford as they have a nice patio where we can have out bikes in view, so we picked this as our destination to have lunch, before cycling back 48 km. We arrived around 12:30 p.m. and there was lots of space on the patio. We waited and waited and waited. No one came out. We tried to get someone's attention and we were just ignored. After 25 minutes 2 of us sat at the bar to at least order a drink. We sat there for 10 minutes and were just ignored. My friend stayed and I went back outside and started googling patio restaurants in Brantford. My friend asked to order drinks and server said "where are you sitting" and my friend said we would like to order some drinks, and the server replied...."where are you sitting" and my friend said outside. and the server said "someone will get to you." So 3 of us outside on the patio waiting waiting waiting....for about 50 minutes now...on a very hot day after cycling, we were looking forward to having a water refresh. We finally got up to leave. Server came out to help a couple who had been there way before us, as we were leaving. She totally ignored us, said nothing, no apologies. Absolutely crazy!! I actually can't believe this happened. We will never go...

It was our first time at Hudson Public and wouldn't be our last for sure. We happened to come when Laurier had an event in the other half of the restaurant so it was a little chaotic, on top of all the people out having dinner or catching dinner before going to Sanderson Centre for a show. Our waitress was friendly and checked up on us as she is able to given how busy it was.

Due to the large volume of people, the restaurant was a little slow to get orders out. But all the food came out pipping hot. We had the fish and chips and found the portions to be quite generous. The beer battered fish was delicious, you can taste the beer. It was crispy and fluffy with just the right amount of batter. The fries were also crispy and well seasoned. The coleslaw was a little watery and not as creamy as expected, but still tasted delicious. The only thing I didn't like was the parchment paper between the tray and my hot food. I found that after a while, my food got stuck to the parchment paper and I ended up eating some of it.

The pricing for the food is fairly reasonable for the quantity that you get. Good location for sure as it's right in Harmony Square and within walkable distance to other stores and Sanderson Centre across the street.

We happened to be there when there was live music playing, the guy on the guitar was...