Barbara Caffe — Restaurant in Hamilton

I went for lunch with a group of twenty. I was not impressed. We were there for an hour before they came around to even take our orders. They did bring us a bread basket and told us the specials so we weren't ignored but then they disappeared. I ordered the grilled chicken which was seasoned nicely but was dry. The grilled vegetables were good though and they gave me a free dessert to make up for the chicken. The desserts were excellent. Carrot cake and a chocolate torte. They told us they added an automatic 18% tip when serving large groups. I don't like when they do this because then there is no incentive to provide good service. As I predicted the service was poor. The water jugs were not filled promptly and it was a long time before they brought the bill. They cashed out a couple of our party because they had to leave early but then disappesred again. When I went to look for someone to bring the bill there was no one around. The worst though was the woman's washroom. It stank. There was no soap or paper towels available. The event was saved by the company I ate with but the restaurant was a definite disappointment. There were some pluses but the service and the food made me give them only three stars. I...

We went to Barbara Caffe for a New Year’s Eve dinner with 2 other couples (party of 6) and had a fantastic meal! The restaurant was beautifully decorated for the season, and the section where we were seated felt cozy and festive. The servers were run off their feet because the restaurant was packed, but they did such a good job of attending to everyone. The service was good but the food was outstanding! I had the short rib dinner (3 of us had this) which came with mashed potatoes and rapini. This meal was so delicious! The short ribs were fall of the bone, the gravy was rich and flavourful, the portion was VERY generous and the rapini was the perfect side. One of our friends had the carbonara and the spicy shrimp starter which she said was excellent, another friend had the sea bass which she said was the best she’d ever had. Honestly, they knocked it out of the park. Despite how busy the servers were (they were short one due to illness) everyone was pleasant and attentive. I cannot recommend this lovely, family run restaurant enough. I wish I had taken photos to...

Although food is good, hospitality is lacking. My family and I have been there several times and always felt the service was subpar, however the latest incident was the last straw! My 93 year old grandmother and aunt went for gelato on a 30°C day. After my aunt got my grandmother in (who requires quite a bit of assistace to move and getting her out of the house is a huge task) were told that resturant was "closing early". Based on the posted times, there was over an hour until the resturant closed. My aunt explained they just wanted some gelato, not a full meal. Again the server told them they were "closing early" and refused to serve them. What place turns away patrons, let alone a 93 year old lady!? I wouldn't waste time trying this place out seeing as they might...