Edgewater Manor Restaurant — Restaurant in Hamilton

This is a follow up to the initial review I posted earlier this summer. My husband and I decided to return to the Edgewater for lunch last week, and made sure to request an alternative waiter. We had Wilson and he was absolutely great. He was very professional, friendly, and answered any questions about the menu in a respectful way - no sarcasm or belittling. Our experience went from poor last time to outstanding this time. We preferred the lunch reservation as the noise level was more appealing to us. Dinner time was way too loud. The food we chose was much better, and we decided to order a few appetizers to share rather than put all of our trust into one expensive entree! The watermelon salad was very impressive and I'd recommend it to anyone! We are very pleased that our one negative experience last time was replaced by one that was similar to the other positive experiences I've had at this restaurant, so changing my review back to 5 stars. We will definitely be back!

(INITIAL REVIEW) Please consider our review and concerns about our experience here. We celebrated a special anniversary at the Edgewater Restaurant this month. Upon our arrival, the restaurant was stunning (as always) - the grounds are kept very nicely. We were very pleased with the noise level, beautiful live music, and romantic atmosphere when we arrived for our 6:30 reservation, however within an hour the noise level got so loud that we rushed to end our meal. Unfortunately it completely changed our experience, as it sounded like we were in a large auditorium. If we return, we will book our reservation closer to 5pm in hopes that it is less busy, however I'm not sure we will return as we were extremely disappointed with our meal. I ordered the $49 Prime Rib and it was terrible. The inside was done nicely, but the outside was burnt. I've cooked better $10 steaks on the stove top. I didn't want to speak up, as we wanted to enjoy our night together and already felt we were a bother to our waiter Darryl who had a dry sense of humour and negativity that came across as very unprofessional and offensive. Our first encounter included him complaining about the day feeling long and being short a chef because of an accident in the kitchen... Not one "Are you celebrating anything special today?" or even a pretend act of interest in us as valued guests. When I did not know what sauce to choose for my steak and asked for a recommendation on which sauce would go well with the meal he sarcastically said something along the lines of "You asking ME what sauce I want isn't going to help you with what sauce YOU want". All I wanted was some advice with a good pairing, as gourmet wording gets artsy and not so common sense. Also the dessert menu given to us was completely different than the one on the website, and to our disappointment there were no good sounding options compared to what we thought would be available. Then to end off our somber vibe, we waited a while for the bill, then a while longer for him to bring the machine to pay and when we mentioned we needed the machine he walked away with his back turned and said "ok", again as if we were a bother. We've had much better experiences from waiters/waitresses at the Keg, and expected nothing less from the Edgewater Manor. Unfortunately our experience with the food, waiter, and noise level will likely affect our decision to return to this restaurant we've had such good previous...

We were getting to discouraged finding a venue that had everything we wanted and didn't feel cookie-cutter at a price that felt at all reasonable, until we found Edgewater and fell instantly in love. The outdoor space on the lake cannot be beat, and the building is stunning. We had exclusive use of the building on the day, and the spaces upstairs were perfect for bride and groom suites. We got married on a Sunday which had a lower minimum spend, but even at their fri/sat prices, for the quality and everything that's included, it's a great deal and they are open to customizations and just about all requests ! We worked with Bastian (manager) and Peter (owner) throughout the process. There were some minor frustrations when what they were each saying didn't match up, but everything got worked out with minimal headache. We were a tad apprehensive when we learned that Bastian would not be the one on that day when he is who we had been working with for months, but worries were unnecessary as Roth and the team were amazing. Roth even put aside two of each hors d'oeuvres for us which was amazing as we didn't get a chance to try most of them during cocktail hour. Food was really important to us and the food at our tasting was really good, but the food on the day was somehow even better. We had multiple guests tell us that it was the best food they'd ever had at a wedding. They were great with topping up drinks all night and the espresso martinis were a huge hit. The late night tacos were some of the best we've ever had, and they even sent us home with a couple extra entrees. The only criticism I have (and I'm really nitpicking because they were all amazing) is that before guests arrived my dad asked for an alcoholic drink and was told the bar wasn't open yet, and during the meal my cousin and I went to the bar to do a shot together and was told no shots until after dinner. I understand there are strict rules around serving alcohol, but when it comes to the bride/groom and their parents, I think small requests like this should be honored, especially when it wasn't a rowdy group by any means. As I said, a minor thing in the big picture. Overall we absolutely loved Edgewater and would absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for a truly special venue that provides top quality service, food, and views without a ridiculous price tag. And you cannot beat the sunset photos by the lake. We also love that because it's a restaurant and not just an event space, so we can return on anniversaries and have a little walk down memory lane. We'd choose this venue...

Have been here before numerous times, and sad to say our recent experience will be our last. We were celebrating a special anniversary and found our server and some of the food fell very short of expectations for a higher end dining establishment such as this. We waited over 10 minutes to be greeted (my husband had even called ahead when he made the reso to have a favourite drink ready for us, which was not, and for more context it looked about 3-5 other tables, with the majority of dining room vacant). The soup appetizer we ordered came luke warm almost cold. We tried to make the best of things, but felt that we were never checked on, when we needed drink refills, out of water etc. (I actually had to get up at one point and ask the hostess to send our server). Once we got the entree - we were never checked on at all to see how it was, which is unfortunate being a steak meal to check the doneness - and the steak was over cooked sadly but with no one coming to ask, my husband just ate it. the server had also suggested us order shrimp (over scallops which We had wanted), and honestly were also overcooked and chewy texture. The server finally came when we were both completely done to ask how things were - a little too late in my opinion, especially when ordering a steak at a high end steakhouse you would expect after a few bites to be checked on. I did say some of the food was over cooked and he said nothing, just turned and walked away immediately making it feel very akward - zero attempt at resolution. This caused us to cut our dinner short, and ask for the bill immediately instead of getting a dessert and another drink or coffee. So unfortunate, but we will not be coming back. For over a $400 bill, I expect much better service, and what we received felt like a bar that is slammed during a super busy time. It really put a damper on our anniversary celebrations and truly a disappointment with a location that is highly rated and we’ve...