Redwater Rustic Grille — Restaurant in Charlottetown

Save your money.

I came home to PEI to celebrate my dad's birthday and decided on this place over the other "fine dining" options in Charlottetown due to the menu options. It was Sunday July 2 and I'm not sure if the crew was hung over or if we simply got stuck with the B team, but I can assure you, we will never be going back.

My wife and I showed up a little earlier than my dad and his girlfriend. Aside from a two top, we were the only people in the dining room. The servers were huddled in the corner chatting and we were directed to our seats. As soon as we sat down, we noticed how dirty(very cloudy with streaks) the wine glasses were.

After about 10-15 minutes of twiddling our thumbs, our server finally showed up. He was extremely quite and to be honest, very awkward. Especially when we mentioned the state of the glasses. Almost as if that's how they always present their glasses. Needless to say, we were already questioning how this place has 4 stars on Google.

Our server was pretty knowledgeable regarding the menu, but that's probably the only highlight. Once we received our food it was all downhill.

Apps ordered were 2 wild shrimp on focaccia, Belle river crab cakes, and mussels. I was told the shrimp were good, but the crab cakes were bland, watery, probably frozen, and nothing to write home about. Especially at $25. As for the mussels, they should have never made it to the table. They were off. Way off! So far off that as soon as they were set on the table all of us could smell it.

Mains were a surf & turf(med-rare), halibut, 6oz tenderloin(med-rare), and ribs. I was reassured that the halibut was good, but their veg, just like the 2 steaks were barely cooked. Ya sure, people will say "al dante", but after about 12 years in kitchens, I can tell you. They were under cooked. The steak was poor quality, without any seasoning and the 6oz tenderloin was almost med-well. The mushrooms were rubbery and flavourless. As for the ribs. They were cooked alright, but nothing to write home about.

All in all. We were horribly disappointed. Especially after seeing reviews and reading the write up of their chef. Who I assume wasn't working that day. Which if it's the case, I would strongly suggest they start focusing on quality control. As a former chef myself, I would have been embarrassed to serve the food we received or even have my name associated with it in any way.

In a sea of decent reviews, I'm hoping that we were the "one off" and this place is better than what we experienced. Maybe bland food is an Island thing and I've been away too long, but at $100 a head, some seasoning and basic knowledge of food quality should...

The food is consistently lacklustre. This time, I ordered the "Prime Beef Burger" with the soup. The beef was anything but prime. It was thin, dry and obviously prepped in the morning, chilled and then barely warmed before serving. The soup was possibly the most neutral dish I've ever had as it was 1° from either great or terrible. The bread was stale and then obviously frozen as the outside was crumbling dry while the inside was nearly fresh. Redwater seems to cut every available corner while pricing as if they don't and using pretense to demand higher costs, which makes it offensive as a customer and deserving of the lowest rating. We had early dinner reservations and were told we had to wait to be seated while the restaurant was 90% empty as they "needed to get our table ready". The server was unprepared, didn't know the the soup (how do you get a serving job without the ability to walk in the kitchen and ask what the soup and specials are immediately when you arrive on shift?) or offer any specials, recommendations or offer to assist us in any way, yet consistently had a lingering presence which bordered on abusive due to the lack of personable care. It was almost as if he knew the food was not great and was unhappy that his tips depend on the quality of food coming out of the kitchen and couldn't bring himself to relate to us. Anyone who rates this place 5 stars obviously doesn't understand food or the restaurant business. There are far better places to eat in Charlottetown. It's sad when a Maids burger and Swiss Chalet bread...

I have never been to the Redwater Rustic Grill in Charlottetown before I have walked by it many times and said when I have a special date I will take them here . So last night Jan 28th 2024 was that night. We had a reservation I had asked for a quiet table in a corner when I made the reservation, they put us in the middle . The waiter asked if we read the special on the way in I said no he looked bothered by the fact that he had to read it to us and for good reason cause he messed it up he was suppose to say apple cinnamon toffee pudding but he said blood animal something instead. Then repeated it the right way we didn't order it . We looked through the wine list and picked a Cab Sav by the glass a wine I was familiar with , he came to show us another one instead as they were out of the one on the menu . So we tried it instead . It was OK. I wouldn't buy that wine for sure . We ordered a appetizer loaded wontons , figuring since this is a fancy restaurant that all appetizers and shareables would be tastfuly small portions we got the wontons it was as big as a full size plate of nachos, it was big , saucy , looked nasty and was not appetizing. Our 2 main courses combined , Mac and cheese and bacon and a 6 oz steak and veggies dwarfed to the size of that appetizer. Now our main courses were excellent very happy with those.

Altogether with tip 173.00 Odd Service Bad wine Terrible Appetizer Great Mains No dessert Not worth the money .

Will I be back , not anytime soon but maybe in the future everyone deserves a...