Handsome Dave’s neighbourhood bar (no longer bon temps) — Restaurant in Hamilton

Bontemp makes lovely shareable plates that have an air of french elegance amid a warm and cozy atmosphere. It was a perfect place to celebrate a friend's birthday.

Seated at the bar, with the open kitchen right next to us, (which we hardly noticed), the tables and bar seats filled up quickly as the beautiful plates arrived one by one with perfect timing.  Clearly I am late to the party on this hidden gem!!

A nice selection of wines, great cocktails (we would expect no less with owner Dave at the helm!) and the menu was presented in an envelope, tied with twine as if a gift for us.  Merci!  The menu has something to please every palate and our shared plates did not disappoint.

We started with a terrine of braised rabbit, duck confit and foie gras, surrounded by pickled grapes, apricots and cranberries, with a handful of sorrel tossed in a vinaigrette. We discovered sliced nuts throughout the terrine which added a perfect contrast to the meats. It was served with slices of baguette and it was delicious.

Mussels were next, classically done in wine, herbs, garlic and butter.  Flower petals were sprinkled over the dark shells to brighten the plate.  Very pretty.  I wanted a loaf of bread to soak up the delicious broth left behind and thought it would be rude to lift the bowl and drink it...and I did consider it, momentarily.

It was really hard to choose from the Turf menu, everything sounded amazing.  We settled on the beef tenderloin and I am quite certain I ruined the presentation that would normally have torched bleu over the beef, but I am not fond of bleu and they happily put it on the side.  The medium rare beef was incredibly tender and flavourful, lying on bacon mashed potatoes (oh my god) with heirloom carrots that made us feel a bit better about devouring the plate, as we slid our potatoes and beef through the shallot and garlic demi glaze.

Despite the food glow, we had to have  dessert, afterall, it was a birthday celebration!!  We shared the chocolate patē, with fresh whipped cream and berries.

The atmosphere is perfect for friends, family celebrations and date night evenings.  I liked how some of the tables were tucked in nooks that created a private area with glowing candles amid the hustle and bustle of the kitchen line.  Congrats Dave, on creating a lovely Hamilton gem!!  I can't...

had such a wonderful time at bon temps last weekend. cute and cozy spot, love the atmosphere. would be great for a date night. speaking of a date night- ladies - one of the bathrooms (there are two) has a great full length selfie mirror (bathroom is gold black and eggplant, dress accordingly). now onto the food. i eat at a lot of french restaurants and this was most definitely the best pate i’ve ever had. topped with a blueberry compote, the pate was served at the perfect temperature, for both flavour and spreadability. the bread served with it was warm, light, buttery, and perfection. the grainy mustard and pickled onions added great flavour and acidity when building the scrumptious little toasty. the french onion soup had great depth, the layering of bread and cheese did not mess around, was a large portion, and the serving bowl complete with lions heads was just darling. the frog legs were perfectly cooked, covered in a buffalo-esque sauce and served with blue cheese. perfect for someone trying frog legs for the first time, but personally i would have enjoyed a more sophisticated flavour. pasta primavera was rich and buttery in flavour, yet was a light sauce. served with a large mozzarella ball on top if you’re into that kind of thing, we found it was great without. this pasta is seasonal. the only thing that really disappointed was the bread basket. the bread was toasted ever so slightly and served with cold butter. i know- french restaurants love their cold butter. but the bread wasn’t nearly hot enough for it to be warranted. and the bread itself wasn’t incredible. totally fine, tasty, but maybe not worth the calories. i also took off a point off because the plates had finger smudges on them which is a bummer for presentation and photos. i had a non alcoholic espresso martini- it hit the spot. was missing something but im certain that the thing i was missing was the vodka! :’) overall, i want to drive back to hamilton right now to have more pate....

A Slight DISAPPOINTING experience for me. Visited on Oct 23 after seeing great reviews, I had high expectations.

Service: The staff did an okay job. I didn't feel particularly welcomed. We made a reservation for the high table (only option available on opentable) and upon arrival I asked if we could sit at the bar, unfortunately they were all spoken for however the lady staff at the bar was not very pleasant to speak to. (Came off as a little rude.) When we asked for a half portion Charcuterie board the staff was accomodating.

Throughout the night we had to seek the staff for service as they were not attending to our table regularly. Food came out at a slower pace than I expected.

Food: The Menu was priced higher than I expected, given it is located in Hamilton. The prices were comparable to Downtown Toronto's Fine Dining options. $4 oysters is certainly priced equivalent to Sofia in Yorkville, $42 Duck Breast I thought the food was good but not amazing, definitely not worth the price. Bon Temps is priced about 30% higher than they should be. Perhaps Hamilton locals are willing to pay the price premium because there's a lack of choice for modern French but this place won't survive in Toronto with this level of quality, service offered at this price.

The ventilation was horrible. It is an open kitchen and the fan was not powerful enough to take out the smoke. During out dinner my eyes were tearing from smoke and we came out of the restaurant smelling like food.

I think with minor changes they can turn this place around for a better experience.

Please replace the kitchen ventilation system to a much powerful one.

And always remember that a smile goes a long...