Rock Garden Bistro — Restaurant in Hamilton

This bistro is located in what I consider one of the most beautiful gardens in the world, the Rock garden. The bistro is located at the top of the former gravel pit and if it wasn't for the amazing vegetation, you might be able to look at the bottom of the pit - also, if you had a long, stretchable neck might help....

We arrived here mid week, just before lunch and decided to recharge our batteries with a steak, which was simply amazing: juicy and thick, no wonder for the first time in many years I was able to finish it while trying to contain my enthusiasm before visiting especially the Rock garden, which I must say, is simply amazing due to it's setting, flowers, bushes, pond with several varieties of lilies our USA koi carp pond could not compare while watching cute bumblebees and hummingbirds passing not far from our terrace table shadowed by a big umbrella, busy with their pollination.

The young staff is very nice and friendly and by the time we left the bistro to start our 'garden adventure' we noticed how busy the place was with polite clientele. Not sure if this would be a madness at the weekend but since we are not fans of crowds, I guess we will never experience this. Most surely we will return to this amazing place, summer or winter - just need the smile of the...

Food ok! Service ok! Ambience not ok! In a sunny Sunday afternoon, five of us walked in to the bistro with no reservation. Even though there were tables available, we were finally seated after speaking with 3 servers! No hostess at the doors to greet you! Servers were serving both the restaurant and the banquet hall that was hosting a party of baby shower guests! The Bistro could have scheduled more staff for the day knowing there was a special function! So staff don’t have to run around both sides trying to serve and please everyone! As far as quality of food concern, it’s mediocre! It’s RBG! We expect a bit more. But it did not meet the expectations! Apparently on Sundays, we had no chance but had to order from the brunch menu! 2 guests in our party ordered brisket skillet which came in a bowl, brisket was under cooked, tasted like pulled pork, potatoes (says home fries but came as boiled) were cold, and the half small size burnt tomato was served on a side dish with absolutely no effort to make it look pretty! The egg Florentine was ok, breakfast sandwich wasn’t too bad and the croque monsieur was fine! However, our server was polite and quite apologetic about our encounter with 2 earlier servers and tried to smooth things out! Overall, it’s a...

We came on a Sunday for Brunch. We had a reservation which was helpful as it can get busy.

We were, however, one of the last tables to be served Brunch which turned out to be a bit weird. While we waited for our food, the servers were busy reorganizing the restaurant for a private event next door as they were evidently taking both rooms once we were done.

We weren’t feeling rushed but it was awkward having tables moved around us. The party was also starting next door so we had their music to entertain us as we ate.

The food was good although the Coconut pancakes’ texture left something to be desired; they were vegan so we expected them to be a little different. We had never seen anything quite like it. It didn’t look very appetizing but thankfully they tasted ok.

We also tried the Croque Madam, Rock Breakfast, and the Brisket Skillet. All three were quite tasty!

Once you leave the Bistro, you can walk around some of the nearby gardens. In season, they are breathtaking.

We parked across the road as the parking lot closest to the restaurant is very small. There is though room to drop off people before going to find a spot should they not want or be able...