District 5 Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Dartmouth

My friend and I gave this place a try on a Sunday morning. The restaurant was not too crowded.

I'll start with the positives. The servers were pretty sweet. The restaurant felt cozy. They played music - sounded a bit like a coffee house kind of playlist which I like although I did find it a touch loud. I chalk it up to me getting old. I ordered the Eggs Benny and my friend had the District 5 breakfast. We both agreed our eggs were poached perfectly! I personally think that's an art. To cut into a runny yoke while the whites are fully cooked, my favourite kind of egg. The eggs benny is served on a biscuit which I found delicious but kind of rich. The home fries were delicious. I think they were likely baked or roasted and then deep fried for brunch. The insides were fluffy and the outsides were so crispy. All meals come with a side of greens in some kind of creamy dressing which I couldn't quite discern but it was good and tasted house made. I love greens with brunch.

There were just a couple hiccups which were rectified. The food took awhile to come. I think because there was a table of 6 that just put their order in at the same time. Since it doesn't seem like the restaurant is packed at brunch, they may have only had one cook in the kitchen. The servers kept the coffee coming and kept updating that our food would be coming soon. We didn't mind. We were there to chat and enjoy brunch and were not in any rush. When the food came there was hollandaise underneath my biscuit which looked kind of like it had firmed up so I put my finger in it - cold. I let my server know but I didn't want to send my food back. So she brought out a side of hot hollandaise which was a good solution for me. She also knocked a couple bucks off the tab which I appreciated but wasn't necessary.

Everything on the menu was $21, which I found a bit strange but the $18-$22 dollar range seems pretty standard for brunch places these days. Our server told us they had a complimentary mimosa with brunch, which we gladly enjoyed. You don't get that everywhere so it was a nice touch and a great value add. It didn't come until mid-meal so I didn't get a picture of it.

We saw a few other breakfast items go out. The burger looked massive so if you've got a big appetite, they've got you covered.

Overall, we really enjoyed our visit. There are going to be hiccups sometimes and it's so nice to see a restaurant that wants to make things right for their customers. I was sure to let one of the servers know that every single bite on the plate was delicious.

The last thing I will mention is parking. Since it's downtown you might have to drive around a bit to find parking. We were able to get something not far from the restaurant. I had a knee replacement and am currently walking with a cane so we were relieved to find something close. Unfortunately, I can't speak to wheelchair...

This morning my husband and I went to District 5 for brunch.

I got the avocado toast, mark got the district 5 big breakfast.

I will start off by saying the reason I went there for brunch is because I’ve been there numerous times for supper and always loved the food. It has always been phenomenal.

When we first sat down, we were handed menus, and a glass of ice water. When the waitress came over to ask what we wanted to order, we told her what we wanted. She did not ask if we wanted coffee or anything other than water, so we had to ask for coffee. (In my experience at other places, the waitress or waiter has always asked if we would like a drink other than water). She came over with 1 full cup of coffee and one 1/2 cup of coffee. She said that there was more coffee brewing, so she would top up the other cup once the coffee was done. The cream and milk were warm, so not refrigerated and the coffee was cold. I noticed there was only 1 pack of sugar on the table, so I asked for sugar (since there is two of us having coffee) to which she pointed out that there was already sugar on the table (weird, cause there is two of us), after I said yes, but we need more, she brought over 2 more packs of sugar.

They really missed the mark on most of the food. The avocado toast was amazing. So delicious. However, the potatoes were undercooked. Still raw in the middle. My husband’s bacon was overcooked, almost burnt.

The waitress came over to ask how everything was, and I told her the truth and mentioned what was wrong with the food. My husband had 2 bites of the bacon he was given and didn’t finish the rest.. I had 1 bite of the potatoes and didn’t touch anymore.

I asked for my bill, and she had stated that she gave us a 10% discount for the problems…. This equated to $2.10…… I honestly feel like it was a bit of an insult.

I will not return for brunch any time soon. I was very disappointed with the...

When District 5 first opened I was excited cause it was a new addition to the area that seemed promising. My first visit was just a few weeks after they opened, and the server was seemingly confused and made some errors, but I hashed it up to the place being new. Then a few months later I reached out via social media asking about whether they were showing a certain sporting event. I didn’t get a reply, which is understandable, but a week later I looked and the message said ‘read’, but there was no reply. Seemed unwelcoming that there was no reply. Anything would have been better than that nothing.

My mom, being new to the world of delivery apps was wowed by them. And I hashed it up to her appreciating good fish and chips (maybe it’s true?). But her rave reviews had me wonder if my disappointments were just bad timing on my end.

I still waited several months before I went back, because there’s reliably great places in the neighbourhood. My girlfriend and I flipped a coin over whether to try district 5, which she had never been to, or Jacob’s Lounge, which has never let us down. District 5 won the coin toss. It was the same as before. Confused service, choppy delivery, and the food was fine, but kind of disappointing itself, and couldn’t make up for the lacklustre experience.

Overall, it feels like a place launched by people that never worked in the service industry, tried to check all the boxes they saw on Bar Rescue when they launched, and then forgot to bring in seasoned staff to train people, so it’s a bar that would be featured on Bar Rescue. When we were going, my girlfriend made fun of me because she felt I must have been embellishing my two prior disappointments with this bar, but she understood what I meant quickly enough. Also, they should turn the heat on, it was really chilly in there. I gave two stars because at least they made my mom happy...