Woodwork — Restaurant in Edmonton

I don’t normally bother writing Google reviews but I felt like I needed to write one after my experience at this restaurant. To summarize: The service was absolutely terrible and the restaurant was unable to provide me with any food - I am celiac - due to cross contamination with gluten even though we had called in advance and were told accommodations could be made.

My partner and I came here the other night to celebrate our anniversary. My partner had called a few days in advance and asked if the restaurant would be able to accommodate meals as I am celiac. The person he talked to on the phone stated many of the dishes could be made gluten free, that it would be no problem to accommodate someone who is celiac and that the fryer is also gluten free. Sounded great so we decided to go! We came to the restaurant and there was one server who was handling the front end to seat people, and also was the only one taking orders and handing out food. She sat us down at a table and then sat two other groups of people that came after us. After that, the server did not come to our table once. We sat at our table for almost 20 minutes at this point and I was unable to decide on what to order as there was nothing marked gluten free on the menu - I would have to ask the staff. I saw the server start taking orders for the table for the group she sat down after us, and then she moved onto the second group she sat down after us. She had poured their cups on their tables with water - and we had empty cups still on our table. I definitely made eye contact with her but we were ignored…. At some point, the bartender came over and maybe noticed this, as he poured water for us. I asked him about gluten free menu options since finally someone decided to come to our table to check in with us, and he told us that he would check with the kitchen. After this he went back behind the bar, so we waited even longer. He finally went to the kitchen staff when I looked over at him and he saw me. He walked over to the kitchen and asked staff about what could be gluten free, then came back to our table and unfortunately told us that everything is cross contaminated in the kitchen as the restaurant makes their own sourdough and there is flour everywhere in their small space. Also, we were told that although technically no gluten items enter the fryer, the fryer was not gluten free due to all the high risk of cross contamination on items - so there is likely particles of gluten in the fryer. My partner had said we called in advance and were assured celiac could be accommodated and that we were also told there was a gluten free fryer, but the bartender stated that it is not possible and he does not know who we talked to. We do not know the name of the person we had talked to on the phone unfortunately. Honestly, it’s totally fine if a restaurant does not accommodate someone with celiac disease - I understand! But to have waited so long and wasted soooo much time because the server ignored our table and never checked in with us…..that’s unacceptable. I’ve never been straight up ignored by a server at a restaurant. This left me so incredibly frustrated and angry with the whole experience. We were out late and because of this huge waste of time, lots of restaurants were already closed or closing so we didn’t have many options that could accommodate my need for a gluten free meal. I would honestly not recommend this restaurant to anyone I know because of how my partner and I...

Their website describes it as a “cozy restaurant with a hip vibe serving seasonal, wood-fired dishes & barrel-aged spirits.” Let me start by asking: why is it so dark in here? Cozy is one thing, but this feels closer to nap-time vibes. And while we’re at it, why is it so loud? Between the music and the chatter bouncing around, it made the place feel busier than it actually was. A little sound dampening would go a long way. Visually, the vibe is cute and cozy, but the noise level really throws it off. Also, $200 for a market cut Wagyu steak—are we sure this isn’t the U.S. market?

Food Brussels Sprouts Elote: Fantastic. Cooked well, with a good amount of char. The chipotle lime aioli and feta added the perfect balance, and the slight sweetness pulled it all together. Highly recommend.

Steak Frites: Fries were excellent—super crunchy and flavorful. The salad was forgettable. The beef itself was flavorful, mushrooms cooked perfectly, but unfortunately, the steak was closer to medium-well than the medium-rare I asked for. Still good, just not quite right.

Snake River Pork Chop: Very tender and tasty. The pork was the star. The veggies, though, were unmemorable and didn’t add much.

Sticky Toffee Pudding: Delicious. Rich, sweet, and absolutely worth ordering.

Drinks Fleur de Lune: Smooth, fruity, and balanced with a slight kick at the end. The dragon fruit really came through.

Pomme d’Or: Light and refreshing, starting with citrus and finishing with a kick of cinnamon. Both cocktails are worth trying.

Service Service was friendly and attentive, though the mains came out a bit slower than I’d like. Nothing deal-breaking.

Other Notes It was uncomfortably hot inside, even on a cool September evening.

The dress code for staff is basically non-existent, which doesn’t match the atmosphere they seem to be going for.

Prices are high, but that’s expected for this kind of “experience” restaurant.

Overall Woodwork is worth checking out for the experience, especially the brussels sprouts, desserts, and cocktails. The noise, heat, and a few small missteps hold it back from being amazing. I wouldn’t go out of my way to come back, but I wouldn’t tell someone not to...

We had great service on our visit. Very attentive server, and they even comped one of our desserts due to it being a birthday dinner. While they came around often, they weren't pushy with the cocktails, and when I said I was the DD they remembered, which was nice.

We had the bone marrow and pâté too start. The pâté was a terrine, which has bits of meat mixed in and was delicious on toast with the greens and shallots. The bone marrow was very interesting and flavourful with the cassis garnish, but left us wanting more as the serving size is fairly small.

The butcher's cut was a Flatiron steak done medium rare served with veggies and potatoes. The steak was outstanding, tender and delicious with a very pleasant taste from the charcoal grill. The potatoes were also delicious. Very filling.

Pork ragu was the other main we ordered. Perfect thick pasta noodles and an unbelievably flavourful three-meat sauce. Small portion for the price but the flavour was almost overwhelming in its intensity at times so it was still very satisfying.

Dessert was the chocolate mousse and the maple...thingy. I can't remember what it was called. The mousse was the standout with toasted nuts on top. While very good, I found the maple cake to be a bit overly sweet, though the salted caramel was very good and the whipped cream helped to dampen things a bit.

Cocktails were the bramble (good), a martini (better), the beatnik (even better, though very weird) and the peony (best). The martini in particular is a fairly large pour, but the peony for me had the best balance of sweet, fizz, alcohol, and bitterness. I only had one sip so it may get even better throughout the glass.

Highly recommend. We were in fairly early which was good, because the open space makes it quite noisy as rush hour sets in. Reserve well in advance, the place is popular and it's...