Blowers & Grafton (Whyte Ave) — Restaurant in Greater Strathcona

I was at this restaurant last Friday with 2 friends. I wanted to order an additional meal for us to share and asked the waitress if they had mussels. She showed it to me on the menu and I saw it was cooked with beer. So I declined and said we will do without. However, the waitress said she could ask, maybe the meal could be cooked without beer. She came back later on and sad we had 2 options: the mussels without any beer or the mussels with beer without alcohol. I chose the first option, NO beer. The meal came, I ate 1 mussel and immediately smelled and tasted beer. I call the waitress and confirmed that the meal we chose with NO beer, was the one we received. She confirmed. One of my friend tasted a mussel and was convinced it contained beer. I called again the waitress to say that I chose the option with NO beer but it doesn't seem it was the case. She confirm once more that the meal was beer free. She added, smilling: "... That's a special meal we made for you". My other friend tried it and also confirmed it contained beer. Therefore, I called the waitress and asked for a container to put some of the meal of mussels so I could analyze it in laboratory. That's when the waitress start triping over her words saying that she will confirm again with the kitchen. A while after, a lady came (manager?) and apologized saying they was a misunderstanding. Considering the number of time I asked if I got the correct meal, I found this explaination hard to believe. The mention the analysis in my lab created shambles and I receive apologies for something I was assured did not happened. The lady (manager?) said our bills were on them... so we would leave happy. How can we leave happy when someone decided to take away our right to choose what we eat? I and my friends felt cheated and humiliated. The way they looked at us in the eyes and lied about a meal.... a $20 meal!? Is it a new trend or a new customer retention strategy? It appeared to me as a culinary misrepresentation and it is wrong. The restaurant did not know our background history with alcohol. Yet, they decided they had the right to force it down our throats. I am leaving this comment so others are aware of this practice and pay attention to what they eat. I accepted the manager's offer to pay our $20 times 3 bills, surely not because we couldn't afford it but because is was the very least they could do for such an inconsiderate behavior. I and my friends will never go to that place again, nor will I recommend to anyone. They are better restaurants out there with better...

I'm a Newfie and hubby's from Halifax so we were both quite excited to check this place out - and we did on our first visit to Edmonton after it opened.

The short: delicious food (highlight: garlic fingers and donair sauce), friendly, attentive staff and a relaxed, social atmosphere perfect for food and drinks.

The long: Food - We had mussels as the appy and split garlic fingers and Foragers' Pizza as our main. It. Was. Delicious. The mussels were a good portion size - value for money but not too much that you're too stuffed to enjoy the rest of your meal. The fingers were by far the best I've had since I left The Rock - unreal. I think hubby would've drank the donair sauce if that was socially acceptable. He stuck with the beer menu instead and happily downed a couple of the craft offerings. The crust on the pizza was thin, light and crispy but flavourful - a welcome change from the usual chewy, doughy crusts you get around town - and topped with mushroom and sweetness - a perfect blend. We ended up with a take away box as well because it was too much deliciousness for just one sitting.

Staff - Our waitress was cheerful and very attentive. I judge my service based on how long my water glass stays empty (Is that odd? I really like water.) and she topped it countless times for me - perfect! She was also a great mix of friendly but not invasive, which was great in the atmosphere. There was a live musician who played a mix of covers and originals and was crazy talented. And the owner even dropped by to make sure we were enjoying our food and experience.

Atmosphere - It was exactly what I'd want in a homage to the East Coast - open pub style with rustic decor. It felt welcoming but not crowded. Check out the ceilings when you go - the beams are pretty awesome and they look to be part of the original build.

All in all, a wonderful experience. We left happy and full and will definitely be back. It's a great place to start the night, spend the night (well, until close - I doubt they have cots) or...

We arrived and were told it would be a 10 minute wait. There were quite a few tables open, but not cleaned. We agreed to wait since it seemed a tad short staffed. Walked around a couple stores on whyte, came back and the tables were still all just as dirty. After 15-20 minutes we got seated, and people were still leaving which meant more tables were dirty. In the time we were seated and ordered drinks, another two top was seated. It was about 15 minutes until our drinks arrived, and there were clearly a few other customers who were there when we arrived that were getting frustrated with the service. Once our drinks arrived, we were able to order the garlic fingers, and our meals. While waiting for our food, the two top seated after us got their shareable first, and they received the same one which we ordered. Tables were still dirty the entire time, no one was cleaning them. Our shareable arrived, and it was good but pretty mid. After eating the shareable the waitress informed us they were out of romaine lettuce for the club wrap. We agreed a greens mix would be a fine substitute. It wasn’t until an hour after initially arriving that a majority of the tables were cleaned because a 2nd server arrived. We received our food, and again the food was fine. The wrap was very soggy from the substitute. All the food seemed to be slightly over done and not worth the price tag. That being said, somehow the food is the only saving grace for this place, the service was lacking. It seemed very short staffed, and I had no confidence asking for a manager because it genuinely didn’t appear that a manger was even on shift. Especially since an umbrella from the patio next door fell on someone, broke a glass, and not a single manager was seen discussing it with the...