The Whistling Duck — Restaurant in Brighton

Let me start by saying the food was mediocre. The orange juice was good though.

So COVID protocol here is a little confusing. I hope to clarify it for you so you don’t have to suffer the same experience and you get to enjoy your meal outdoors with a great view. Perhaps a public health inspector could also clarify the rules.

What’s not acceptable to the owner:

Kids sitting on their own (we were planning to sit with the kids when the food came) Kids coming to the adult table (mask or no mask, even if there’s zero risk of being within 2 meters of anyone else) MANDATORY? sanitizing of hands prior to entry

What is acceptable to the owner:

Indoor waitstaff wearing their masks as a chin strap and talking to other waitstaff Kids 6-10 years of age walking in to their tables without masks even though there is a sign at the front that says masks MANDATORY asking the owner to take a picture of you without a mask on the patio, BUT kids are not allowed in the same area even with a mask

The owner is incognito and can sometimes be found sitting at other customers tables (maybe even your table) with a cloth mask for longer than 15 minutes. She can also be found inside the restaurant staring at you or your kids to make sure you’re not causing too much trouble like getting up too much. If she approaches you, she may not introduce herself as the owner, so it may seem like a stranger who can’t mind their own business but it is in fact HER business! Unfortunately I still don’t know her name…

What a terrible experience. And I’ll just add that I don’t mind at all people taking pictures, or kids walking in without masks. I’m also pro-mask and vaccination. As long as we’re outside and you’re more than 2 meters away from my family and I or you’re masked, I’m good. Plus hopefully most of us are single or double vaccinated by now.

Hopefully we’re near the end of this pandemic so we can avoid this nonsense. Protecting yourself and your business from COVID and COVID outbreaks are still extremely important but if you’re going to enforce rules make sure you do it consistently! The optics of this look terrible. And introduce yourself, as it can go a long way!! Maybe provide a genuine apology and a discount too when you screw up. Take some responsibility.

And don’t order the mac and cheese; our kids...

We selected this place for our 1 year anniversary dinner. It's an one hour drive from us (one way). Nice to be by the water and have a nice dinner. The staff is very nice and welcoming. They reserved the furthest table, closest to the water for us. Very Nice. No place is usually perfect at everything. So I hope my comments are welcomed and not offensive to the owner or staff. The Calamari appetizer was tasty. Thumbs Up. The main course (Mango Salmon & N.Y. Strip) both Tasty ! Wifie really liked her Salmon.. Thumbs up. I think the Steak could have come a bit hotter to the touch. The Mashed Potatoes were very soft and tasty. Thumbs UP and two thumbs up for the gravy ! Oh, Waitress didn't ask if I wanted fresh pepper on my steak. Not sure if they have any or not. The rice I got by mistake instead of the mash, on initial serving, I shared with my wife and it was bit under cooked an bit hard still. The Veggies as side on the plate were just fine in taste (better with the butter I put on them), but were only 4 pieces (broccoli/carrots). a few more would have filled the plate a bit more. Didn't get water re-fill unless I asked. No biggy, just saying. The berry-chocolate cheesecake was to die for, yummy ! Thumbs Up. Sadly they were out of the Chocolate cake, and I was cheating on my diet, so wanted bit extra.. That's o.k. We had bought an Apple/Caramel pie from the big apple on the way, so we had bit more dessert at home. The B-52 Coffee I had (first time trying one) tasted nice.. Thumbs up. Could have come hotter (assuming the drink doesn't have anything cold mixed with it ? ) Online menu says $2 off appetizer w/order of dinners, but didn't get that off. Didn't notice it till after got home. I'm sure just an oversight, since they re-opened after the lock downs.

• Overall* We really like the food and the nice staff and beautiful lake front patio. We will go back soon with the family. I'll have to be ready to cheat on my diet again, for some chocolate cake and cheesecake :-)

Didn't give 5 Stars, cause, well, it was very nice, but gotta be perfect to get 5 stars right ? I used to waiter and have some training in Hospitality, so I am little bit finicky. Hope ya'll give them a try and enjoy a patio...

Was so looking forward to going here, read some good reviews. Went for a long awaited anniversary dinner out with my husband and the kids, and was initially pleased by the ambiance of the restaurant. Unfortunately, it was pretty full on the lakeview side of the restaurant so we were seated on the bar side, no big deal really. We didn't wait long for the waitress to come over and take our drink order, but we did wait at least 10 minutes for another waitress to bring over half the drinks, then another 10 minutes for the second half of the drinks, which the milk was poured so full in the glass, the waitress was spilling it all over the floor and table. She didn't even bring anything to clean it up, we had to go to the bar and ask for napkins to clean her mess. Another 10 minutes for someone to take our order. After another half an hour waiting to be served our food with really well behaved kids getting extremely hungry and anxious, and bored (nothing for them to do at this "family friendly" restaurant") we finally asked if it would be much longer for our meals. We said we'd been there an hour now, and the waitress replied that we may have been there an hour but our order only went in a half hour earlier. Hmmm, wonder why that was? (Because we had to wait a half hour for our order to be taken perhaps?). She said it'd be about 5 more minutes, but didn't offer to refill any of our empty drinks or even apologize. I actually had to ask for ice from another waitress for my daughter's water, as I'd asked for ice water but just got room temp water, no ice. My other kids complained that their milk was warm. When our food finally came, brought by yet another waitress, we still weren't asked for a drink refill. No complaints with the food itself, other than my cranberry feta salad (my main course) was saturated with dressing and I couldn't finish it because of that. (i should have ordered the dressing on the side I suppose). Long story short, food was not bad, service was terrible. Will never go back, and will definitely not...