The Civil — Restaurant in Kitchener

Edit: I spoke with Brandon the owner and agreed to come back. As previous the pizza and drinks were great. Both Brandon and his brother were apologetic and made sure we had a great time. While they could have just ignored it, they owned the issue which says a lot. We will be back.

I recently dined in at The Civil with some friends. I had heard great things about it and was eager to try it. On arrival our waiter, did seem relatively new to the role, to give this context, I have worked in Food and Beverage in 6 countries for large luxury hotels. He was pleasant and made every effort to accommodate. Received our initial drinks and they were well presented and tasty (Flights).

We ordered pizzas and my girlfriend made sure to advise the waiter she does have a gluten intolerance and ordered the gluten friendly specific pizza crust. When her pizza was brought out, I clarified with the waiter it was gluten friendly and he said yes. Immediately following ran back to the table to let her know he made a mistake and forgot to make that note for the kitchen and he would get it fired immediately.

To this point no issues and it was handled well. I understand mistakes sometimes happen and appreciated his sense of urgency in resolving it. They also waived the charge for her pizza which I thought was a kind gesture. The new pizza took approximately 18 minutes to come out of the kitchen. At this point everyone else is done eating.

What really left a negative taste in my mouth was the conversation I overheard between our new server and who I believed to be the manager. His words were "you need to go talk to that table, there time is up and we need the table, They need to settle the bill."

I can appreciate that they have policies in place and agree with the application of it, but at this point, my girlfriend has just gotten her pizza, is a slice in and we now have a waiter telling us its time to go. We were not here this long because we wanted to be, but rather as a result of you and your staff's actions, or lack there of.

I am disappointed that we were made to feel like we were an inconvenience in a situation that we had little control over. The pizza was great, and overall the service was okay, but in light of the way in which we were treated, I will not be returning and could not wholeheartedly recommend this restaurant to...

Update. JUNE 2025. After spending 2 previous birthdays here, I didn't think I could be wrong with a third time. Told them immediately it was a BD celeb so she said they would do something special for sure. It took more than 20 mins to get staff to get our drink order. Flights for all. Nothing like the previous one we had. Less flavour and more watery. Pizzas for all: time didn't matter as we were not in a rush. So disappointed with the pizzas! I am still wondering how they cut the pears so thin! There was barely anything on those pizzas. The one that was supposed to have brie...never saw the brie. The one with arugula, a few leaves were thrown on top, not even on the pizza but like they forgot and added at the last min. We were done and they didn't acknowledge the BD so we reminded them! We had to remind them. They made a drink that said Happy Birthday on it. Liked it but was so disappointed already with the drinks, the food and service! I get that not everyday things have to be perfect but when you have higher expectations, it is different. I don't think any of us is coming back.

Such a cool place! We were looking forward to trying the flights and we had mixed feelings. The pina colada ones were mostly ice. The margherita...I really enjoyed it. Not a lot of alcohol but it was good nevertheless. The sour whiskey was fine too. Could also use more whiskey but we loved the way they make the different flavours. So creative and yummy at the same time. The pizzas...we had the cause which was ok. We found it too sweet but had to order another of the one that has brie and pancetta...that one only deserves a come back!!! The dough is delicious too. We ordered a spinach, feta, strawberry and pecan salad and we liked it but it had sooooo much balsamic vinegar that we had a hard time eating it specially the bottom leaves as they had most.of the vinegar. Service was exceptional! I should have noted the name.of our servers but forgot so thank you all! We felt welcome and cared for!! Ordered a few times.and did not have to wait much for new drinks or even for the other pizza we decided to order again!!! We are coming back for sure! Perhaps to try other...

My spouse & I decided to dine in this past Saturday evening. Upon entry we met a broken table top leaning against the legs and an immense amount of dirty glassware decorated the bar top. So we decided to dine on the outside patio instead. We then ordered cocktails that took 15 mins. The Margarita flight was pretty but lacking in flavor, completely diluted with ice by the time it got to me. The fruit garnish was dry, withered & old. My spouse ordered the Elderflower whiskey sour which just seemed flat.

We ordered the Just all the pepperoni which was not a bad wait time at all. The pizza was pretty good, hot & we love cup pepperoni! We asked our waiter for plates and cutlery. He seemed to have "forgotten" & went on break. My spouse had to get up, go inside & seek out the plates himself. Thank you to the chef, because she had to give them to him, apologizing for the inconvenience. Our waiter finally returned 15 odd mins later saying "sorry for the set up" and walks off... Leaving all empty glassware, didn't clear the table nor bothered to give us napkins. He wasn't attentive at all & the restaurant wasn't busy nor being cleaned by him. He didn't follow up if we needed anything, No sauce, no additional toppings, no, napkins, no additional drinks-which we were going to order a second round of but the damage was already done. (To add; in the hospitality industry, upselling is beneficial to a business and authenticity is crucial to maintaining repeat customers) Service was flat and subpar. We left with dirty hands and actually a dirty taste in our mouths after that service. I question returning because I believe this spot has potential but NOT with the type of service...