Blowers & Grafton (Windermere) — Restaurant in Edmonton

Mar. 2025: Three of us had supper on a Sat. evening. We reserved on Open Table. It worked well. We arrived and were seated. The table had three menus. The server arrived promptly and was professional and friendly. The first thing we noticed was the lighting was so dim we couldn't read the menus without using our cell phone lights! Kinda disconcerting.

We muddled through, and ordered three cocktails/drinks and our mains. Shortly they delivered two (not three?) small plates and cutlery. The drinks arrived soon after - a sweet cocktail, a beer and a regular Ceasar. They were good - except for the Ceasar. It was their standard, rimmed with steak spice, but was way too hot for what you'd normally expect. We asked for and got some more Clamato for it.

The mains arrived. We had two Philly Cheesteaks and a Steak Sandwich. All good, but we had to ask for a third cutlery setting. We also had to ask for salt and pepper, and vinegar.

The food was very good to excellent. Given we had two hand-helds, though, they could have provided more napkins instead of the bog-standard one apiece; we needed more and had to ask for them.

Overall we had a decent meal, but the dim lighting really detracted from the experience. Yes, the place was busy, but the service was haphazard and not what you'd expect for spending nearly $130 (with tip) for supper for three.

Definitely not the same dining experience we had 6 months ago.

Food ... yes, good. Atmosphere and service .... not so much.

Oct. 2024: Four of us had supper on a Thursday, arriving just before 5 pm. There is lots of parking. There weren't too many patrons, but the place filled up after 5:30. It's fairly big, icluding a large outdoor side patio. Service was fast, friendly and professional. There is a very good menu selection (it's online). We had drinks first - 2 each of beers and cocktails. There was a good selection and they were fine. We had lobster mac & cheese, fish and chips, hali cheesesteak sandwich, and a smashburger. Plus, a shared order of blueberry grunt with ice cream for dessert. The food was very good with large portions. Mains are about $20-30. All in all a great meal. We very much recommend this restaurant when you're...

Update 2: I ordered take-out and I was pleasantly surprised. I ordered a Crispy Chicken club wrap, fries & Gravy and a side of Clam Chowder soup. I started with the soup and it was still amazingly hot, the way soup should be. It was so hot that I needed to blow on it to eat it. Every bite was full of seafood and tasted delicious. Next I dove into the wrap which was packed full of crispy chicken and all the goodies that went with it. Scrumptious! I was only able to eat half because I was so full. The French fries and gravy were pretty standard—not bad, but nothing special. They did the job, but the real stars of the meal were definitely the soup and the wrap. I was a little worried about doing a take-out order, but it was definitely above and beyond my expectations. Way to go team at Blowers & Grafton!

Update: We went for dinner again, and I'm glad we did. Naiomi was our server, and her service was top-notch. The meals/appetizers were delicious. Nachos were a feast in itself, and fish tacos were great. Two of us had the steak sandwich, and the steaks were cooked to perfection, tender, and awesome flavor. I hope tonights experience will be the same in future visits. Thank you, Samantha!

Original: Four of us went on a Sunday night. It wasn't very busy at 6:15. Our waitress was very "blah." She was barely friendly, and I felt like she really didn't care about her customers. A dip was forgotten, and she did apologize and bring it, but quite some time after our food was delivered. At the end of the meal, my hands were quite sticky, and I asked the waitress for a wet nap. Waited and waited, and decided to use my water to clean my hands. She finally came over without the wet nap and asked if we wanted our waters refilled. I explained that I used my water to clean my hands because of her not bringing me a wet nap. She never even apologized, but she did bring me a new glass of water. The food was very good, but the wait time between the appetizers and our meal was atrocious. I believe it was approximately 45 mins! I guess I assumed service would have been better, being a higher end restaurant. I'm not sure if I...

Fish Tacos (7/10) Light balanced flavour. The coleslaw adds texture to the Haddock and tastes fresh. There's a little kick to it with the chili oil which doesn't overpower the balance of flavours. Haddock was tender and perfectly cooked with a crisp golden seared crust.

A little confused by the wrap. Softshell was crisped a little too much. Conflicted with the crunch of the veggies.

Poutine Donair (8/10) Cheese curds are fresh and squeaky!!!! Be sure to order on Tuesdays and Thursdays when they get them in from Quebec!

Wish the cheese curds would be highlighted more... gravy is very flavourful as well but both are really easy to lose in the sea of sugary donair sauce. Can't give a 10 because of the over dressing on donair sauce.

Blueberry Salad (7/10) It is definitely blueberry. The flavours match and the raw red onion does well to lift the salad. Found the goat cheese to weigh down the salad in combination with the dressing and candied walnuts puts a heavy sweetness which isn't offset by the faint citrus hints... potential for this to be great.

Atlantic Seafood Chowder (10/10) Definitely the highlight for this meal. Packed with flavour. Ratio of seafood to soup is well-balanced even without the upgrade to ultimate. Nice to see a two staged chowder where seafood is still tender. The fresh dill on the top was a nice touch and really brings out the flavour.

Ambience Lively atmosphere with Harbour front feel. Nice touch with East coast patio fire and chairs. Love the barrels! Nice touch!

Service (10/10) Prompt and friendly despite the packed restaurant. Drinks and dishes were served promptly. Waitress was very patient and knowledgeable about the menu and quick to inquire about details on food and...