Rôtisserie St-Hubert — Restaurant in Gatineau

Had a really bad experience with this place. I reserved online on a Wednesday. I received a confirmation number for my reservation, making me believe that my table was booked for that Friday. I also received a reminder about my reservation on Thursday. So you can imagine my surprise when the restaurant called me the day of my reservation, at 12:30, to let me know that they were fully booked for that night! I asked the lady how was that possible since I had my confirmation number. She told me that the internet booking system, which is used by many restaurants in the area, was not reliable. I told her that I used that same system before to book at other restaurants and I never had any issues with my reservations. She told me that they only looked at the online reservation Friday before lunch (remember, I had booked 2 days prior) and that this is when they realized they didn't have a table available for our group of 8. And then she had the guts to tell me that I should have called! Like, really lady??? Why is the restaurant even giving the option of booking online if they don't plan to honour the reservation? And you know what the worst part is? That lady didn't even seem to care (Why would she? They were fully booked for that night after all....). Didn't try too much accommodate us, and NEVER apologized for this screw up. So I let her know that I was really disappointed by this poor service, and that I was not impressed that I now had to find another place for my group of 8 people. She replied that there should be plenty of restaurants that could accommodate us (last minute, on a Friday afternoon, for the evening...yeah right). Clap. Clap. Clap. (this is me slow clapping to her champion remark).

So all in all, if this is the way they treat their clients, I prefer taking my business elsewhere. And I would recommend you do the same.

PS: I had to give a rating of 1 star because unfortunately, Google didn't let me...

If you want a chicken experience that is not quite as good as Swiss chalet, this is your place. The funny thing is I remember it being exactly the same 35 years ago when going through Quebec. There is lots of good stuff, the plain coleslaw is wonderful, and unlimited refills. Water refills we super fast. I can't understand why there was no salt on the fries, particularly when they are just plain, uncoated fries. Adding salt at the table is not the same. The sauce is ok, but you don't get the feeling it was made from chicken drippings. Its more like institutional hot chicken sandwich sauce. My wife had a BBQ Cesar as well, and it was pretty poor. Watery. Any of the pre-made Ceasars are soooo much better. Daughter had the chicken Ceasar salad and enjoyed it 10/10. The weirdest part however was when we were presented the bill and the waitress asked how much change I wanted back?? In my 50 years of dining, never have I been presented with figuring out how much tip I want to subtract from the change amount before I have paid? I didn't have my reading glasses, and couldn't really understand how i was supposed to know how much the bill was and how much I should leave, well not leave, I had to figure out the change amount and then deduct the tip amount? And when it was apparent that I would need a moment to figure out what was going on the waitress stood there and made it super uncomfortable. Just bring me my change, and I'll take it from there.. my 100$ bill covered the bill easily, I just dont understand what was going on, very unconventional. Then I guessed at a change amount, and my change came in loonies amd quarters? Like a pile of it. Just wierd. Anyways, its a nostalgic experience, but it will likely be another 35 before...

So, this is a tricky rating and review.

First of all, the service was excellent. The staff talked to me very slowly and clearly once they realized my French skills are offensive to their language, but I wanted to get some practice. My partner doesn't speak French, so they talked to her in English. That was actually very kind.

Second, the food that was made/cooked in the kitchen was excellent. An absolute delight. Also, the environment is calming, relaxing and family friendly - they made sure to have two separate locations inside the building for the bar and the restaurant, so you can still go with your family through the right door and leave them to go get some drinks with your buddies through the left door (while you argue that you are still technically with the kids).

However... I ordered a noodle soup and I swear I could taste the can, like they just returned from grocery shopping, opened it and served it. The somewhat pricey food we paid should not taste like canned soup. To contrast that with the delicious roasted chicken was quite jarring. The cherry on top was seeing dirty utensils (they don't use disposable). My fork and spoon looked like they hadn't been cleaned properly. No problem. I asked for new ones, but it kind of ruined my experience because then I started thinking how clean could the plates be and my brain just went down the rabbit hole after that.

This was my first time there, so I can't say if my negative experience was an isolated incident. I will definitely try it out again based on the positives I had...