Zees Wine Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Niagara-on-the-Lake

We were a large party who booked a reservation at Zee’s grill far in advance on a weeknight. Upon booking, we were made aware that our request for patio dining was noted, and told it should not be a problem given our early dining time. Earlier that same day we returned their call to confirm the reservation, and again were assured that outdoor seating was on a first come basis. On both occasions, we were left to understand that if the patio was not full, we would be seated there.

On arrival, we were told an indoor veranda table was prepared for us. We explained that we preferred outdoor dining as we had an at-risk toddler in our group (though no explanation should be needed during a pandemic if a party is more comfortable eating outside). Although there was not a single table seated outdoors, they made every excuse to not seat us there - high likelihood of rain (it was actually a very low chance and it in fact did not rain), discomfort of the servers due to heat (every other patio on the strip was open and bustling without complaint), etc. There was even a sliding door in front of the table in the veranda but they argued we were to open it “only if absolutely needed” as to not let air conditioning out. When we told them we were upset at the very least about their lack of transparency regarding availability of their patio, they gave no plausible response other than it was not a guarantee but a request.

We have been to Zee’s Grill many times over the years while visiting Niagara, and have recommended it to a number of friends in the past. We are regretful to have supported an establishment that clearly does not appreciate individuals’ COVID-19 precautions, nor have the sensibility to provide options for those more at-risk or who simply choose to minimize their health risks. This was the one and only restaurant where we came across this issue during our few nights’ stay in NOTL, and I would urge you to choose another great restaurant in the...

Edited for May 2023: Zee's wowed us yet again on our return trip and dare I say, the food was even better than before. I called to make a reservation ahead of time and requested to be seated with Kim--it had been four years since our last visit but we knew she would be the best! Everything was wonderful, from the food to the atmosphere, but especially the service. Kim provided fabulous advice on wine pairings with our entrees as well as the same bubbly warmth that we remembered from our last trip. The short rib (a few changes from last time, but even better!) was so tender that a knife was completely unnecessary, and my husband had the tenderloin which was the best either of us have ever had. We couldn't decide between a dessert martini or an actual dessert, so we got both. We each had an Up All Night (their variation of an espresso martini), he had the chocolate lava cake, and I had the lemon blueberry tart. All was wonderful! We will make sure that we come to Zee's every time we visit NOTL. It's seriously that good.

(Original, May 2019) My husband and I visited Niagara-On-The-Lake for our first time at the end of May. I booked the trip as a weekend getaway and we stayed in Niagara Falls itself, but spent our first day in NOTL. I made a reservation for dinner at Zee's and everything was wonderful, especially our server, Kim. Kim made excellent suggestions (shout out to the braised short rib, it was fabulous), and her warm personality and service made us feel welcome. She provided some other recommendations for us in the area as we are from the US. Each course that we had was delicious and we left very full and satisfied. We are already planning a return trip, hopefully this August, and we would love to dine...

The food was good at Zees and definitely good value for money as it is pretty cheap compared to other restaurants. The ambience at Zees is not as good as at Hob Nob or Prince of Wales. But what makes it a place I will never visit again is the service. It was a very racist place and both the host and the server treated you badly if even one of you was not Caucasian.

We had made a reservation at 7 pm on open table and couldn’t specify that we wanted a table on the verandah. We reached there at 5:45 pm and asked the host if we could add that to our reservation. She said – no it is on a first-come-first-served basis. So we reached there at 6:45 pm and as we were walking we could see 4 empty tables for 2 on the queen street side. There was a couple ahead of us and the host asked them where they would like to sit and they pointed to the queen street side and she led them there with no fuss. They were a Caucasian couple. When she came back to us, she said she had a table on another side which was a bit claustrophobic and at the back. I said – we would like a table on that side and we can wait if the table needs to be set. She said – “Does it HAVE to be that side?” I said – yes and she reluctantly asked us to wait and that she would go and check. She came back and said she could seat us. In less than 5 minutes she led another couple to one of the two empty tables near us with no fuss. My husband who is Caucasian said – she was racist and I said – sadly, I had to agree. Though I have never faced racism at Zees before, I will never go back there. Next day we went to Prince of Wales where the service was uniformly excellent to all regardless of...