The Farsides — Restaurant in Montreal

If you want a quick review, i’ll tell you don’t waste your money.

If you need a bit more to make up your mind, let me tell you about my experience at The Farsides;

It started off by me reaching out to them because we wanted to make a reservation for the Hawaiian bbq menu and they had no information on when and how it was happening anywhere on their website nor social media.

The response I got was upbeat and pleasant so at this point we were excited. Hawaiian bbq happens on Sunday so we booked for a month later, to celebrate my sister and I’s birthday.

So when I tell you that when we got to the restaurant Sunday only to be met with one of the most haughty waiter I ever encountered, we knew then and there we had made a mistake reserving at that establishment.

After taking our order in clear annoyance, without taking any drink orders she left and we started contemplating abandoning our table and discussing our other options. Yes it was that bad already. We also realized quickly that despite making a reservation for the Hawaiian bbq, only the “regular” menu was offered. We flagged our waitress down to ask about the Bottomless Sangria which was the thing that made us want to give the hawaiian bbq a shot to which she said: “it ends at 6 so its too late, sorry”(it’s advertised on different blogs with different information so beware).

We continued discussing our early disappointment and I assume got overheard by one of the bus’s boys because our waitress came back with AN ATTITUDE CHANGE. But it was too late, we didn’t feel welcomed and already felt like we were overpaying for the experience. (Before food, wait for it)

And then the food came. We ordered two time remixed fries and some dim sums as entree. My boyfriend and I’s portion of the fries had a hair buried in it. I wish I was kidding. They offered to bring us a new order or to comp the fries with the hair (we didn’t touch it after finding the hair anyways). The dim sum were drizzled in what tasted like a supermarket teriyaki sauce. Our main dish were just as disappointing, my boyfriend ordered a 27$ burger made of “no name” soggy buns, you know the ones you buy for your backyard bbq. I ordered the pineapple boat chicken thai which was a half empty pineapple which only purpose was to hide how empty the plate really is, 1 small scoop of rice, and the soggiest burnt chicken (go figure that one out). My sister got the braised beef, and I think she got the most disappointing meal because the plate had nothing on it. A small spoonful of spread purée, no veggies (seen on other pictures) and a small bland piece of beef.

I believe our disappointment was obvious when our now “nice” waitress came to ask how the food was and all she got was crickets. We were too over it to even argue. She insisted to receive our feedback, which to me means they knew they had messed up.

She told us to wait and came back offering free shots or a free dessert (AFTER we had already paid our bill) that we declined. Again we just wanted to get out of there and try to make up for the bad experience somewhere we knew we would feel welcome.

It’s safe to say we won’t...

I recently went here for my birthday and, honestly, I regret it a lot. I was so excited because it’s a “throwback super club,” but I didn’t even stay long enough for it to actually turn into a club. The inside is very aesthetic and well-decorated (cute and thoughtfully done ) but the crowd was much older than us (we’re all 20), so the vibe just wasn’t really our scene.

Now, let’s talk about the most important part and the reason I’m rating this place a 2/5: the Food

Funky Mojito – 2.9/5 Pretty mid. Nothing terrible, but nothing special either. Definitely below-average compared to mojitos I’ve had before. The chili didn’t add much flavor, just a tiny bit of spice. Could’ve been much better. ASAP Strawberry – 4/5 I liked this one! You could taste a little alcohol, but not too much. Honestly, it reminded me of a Starbucks strawberry açaí lemonade. LL Cool Juice – 4.85/5 Easily the best one. It was oddly thick, which weirded me out at first, but it was super tasty. Overall, the drinks were decent probably the best thing I had all night. Now for the worst part: the food. I have never been so disappointed in my life.

Pad Thai – 3/5 This didn’t really taste like pad thai. More like teriyaki. Thai Express does it 15x better. While it was edible, the chicken was overcooked with a weird taste. Average at best. Steak – 1/5 This was the real downfall of my night. I thought the $29 steak deal was amazing and was so excited to have my favorite meal for my birthday. I ordered medium rare I know what medium rare looks like but what they brought me was basically still mooing. Completely raw in the middle. I sent it back (staff were nice about it), and when it came back it was definitely better, the sauce on top was extremely bitter so much so that I had to chug my drink to get rid of the taste, and I could still taste it afterward. I forced down maybe 2–3 bites before giving up. Horrible. I don’t like arugula, so I didn’t touch the salad. The fries were good and well seasoned, but they mistakenly put a piece of bacon on them and I strictly cannot eat pork. I understand mistakes happen, but with so many people and religious groups who don’t eat pork, that’s a pretty big oversight and one that made me quite unhappy especially since i don't eat it for religious reasons. They did compensate my meal, which I appreciate, and our waitress (wish I remembered her name) was super kind and attentive. Honestly, she made the service the only redeeming part of the evening.

But overall? They ruined my 20th birthday dinner a night I won’t forget, but for all the wrong reasons. Sad and disappointed. I won’t be...

All Talk, No Game.

The Farsides boast a fun and funky atmosphere, with cool decor and upbeat attitude. Their menu and staff are bilingual so there are no communication issues if you are from out of town. Service was very helpful and eager to make our experience as delightful as possible… from explaining the menu in detail, offering up options and even coming to the rescue to fix our wobbly table.

The two stars comes from the sheer disappointment of the food menu. Although it all reads very well (such as combinations that would be great together) …that’s where it ends. We ordered three items to share between the two of us. The “Signature” Crispy Wings, Bangkok Street Skewers and the Pad Thai. Let’s start with the Signature Crispy Wings. In pictures they look fantastic, it’s actually what brought us into the restaurant in the first place, but they were overly “battered” creating this very thick crust that was hard to bite through. Not only that but the sauce they were tossed in was bland and boring… Coupled with a coconut ranch sauce that was an attempt at being creative, but the combination of thick crust and watery “coconut only” flavour sauce was rough. Throw in a side of coleslaw that also seemed to be tossed in the same watery coconut sauce and it was literally a recipe for disaster. Incredibly difficult to finish.

The Bangkok Street Skewers weren’t anything to write home about, overcooked, chewy, bland and boring.

Lastly the Pad Thai. Three strikes and you are out. Again, heavily lacking in flavour, super greasy, with incredibly overcooked chicken and shrimp. (My jaw shouldn’t hurt after eating) It was made with cashews instead of the traditional peanuts (which in comparison cashews heavily lack in flavour). I understand if you want to avoid allergens, but the flavour in the rest of the dish needs to compensate for it. Unfortunately this dish relied on that missing ingredient and fell flat.

All in all I would not recommend eating at this establishment. I can tell the entire menu needs a complete revamp just with the three dishes we had. Either that or whoever is running the kitchen needs to make a swift exit. I feel the passion within this restaurant…you feel it in the energy when you enter, you feel it in the staff, you see it splattered on the walls. It’s hard to deny that the creator made such an extraordinary space, but it did not translate to the food. Someone needs to get out of that kitchen, and someone equally as passionate about food needs to be put in it. Act fast Farsides, or soon you’ll see your profits turn...