The Block Public House — Restaurant in North Bay

Came here last night with my wife and mom for a belated mother's day dinner. Very quaint yet elegant establishment, really appreciate the exposed metal work and chandeliers. Not a lot of people are complaining about the service but honestly, that alone could ruin an otherwise stellar experience. It took nearly 45mins for us to receive two Beer and Cheddar soups and a basket of bread. 2 hours for our entire meal-hence we skipped dessert. Its not fine dining, its casual gourmet so we expected more prompt service. We didn't even see our waitress for most of the evening. My mother got annoyed at the lack of attentiveness and only when she clanged our empty water bottle against the end of the table did someone appear to refill it. Our waitress never once came by to apologize for the wait or give us some inkling as when we could expect food. Even the Sous-chef/co-owner wasn't too active around the tables. He should be trying to gather opinions from diners so he can establish a system of continuous improvement. I think he was prompted by our waitress to come an make a statement because of the look of our dismayed faces but prior to that he was a co-host. Now for the meat and potatoes, I had the Irish Stew (more like Irish Soup) it was watery but pretty tasty but they went way, way overboard on the amount of Thyme used. Its all I could really taste. My wife had the fish and chips and while she rarely complains she did say that better and larger portions can be had elsewhere at the same price-point. My mother had the Wellington. The meat was well cooked but she thought it needed more seasoning. Really enjoyed the sauce and garnish this dish came with, purple carrots were amazing. In closing, North Bay lacks upscale dining establishments so its good to see a new kid on the block. I just think this kid is still suffering from some growing pains and maybe I'll come back again in a month or two to give them more time to iron out the kinks, speed up their service. Would like to see more Steak...

First time we went to this restaurant, was when it first opened. My wife and I arrived to an empty restaurant and asked for a table for 4. They wouldn’t seat us until our friends (another couple) arrived which was irritating. Our friends were parking. We got sat when they came in. Service and food were both sub par. We chalked it up to the restaurant being new.

My wife and I decided to give them another try on May 31st, 2025 at 4:45.

We entered to an empty restaurant again.

There were a few employees at the bar and one came over and seemed annoyed. She did not smile, say hello or welcome us at all.

She asked if we had a reservation and I laughed a bit (as the restaurant was empty and if was 4:45) and she said sternly “We have quite a few reservations”.

I replied “I guess you didn’t like my humour??” … She didn’t reply and then I said, “Don’t worry ..we will be gone before any reservations arrive”.

She then grabbed two menus and sat us at the worst table in the place (right by front door and hostess stand) and said…”you can have this table until 7”.

We sat down, and immediately got up to leave.

As we left I said to the staff at the bar, “We are leaving because that woman was rude and unwelcoming” .. They all looked stunned and didn’t respond.

I would advise that the staff be properly trained with a warm welcome and greeting customers in a nice and kind way.

So with 2 tries now, and both with poor experiences, we will not be back and we do not recommend this...

Had the opportunity to finally go and try out this restaurant and let me tell you, it did not disappoint! Now where start?! Lets talk about the atmosphere here! Rustic yet classy in a very unique and inviting atmosphere. Now the staff! Our bartender Tikvah was amazing (we sat at the bar)! She was very informative, prompt, professional and personable. The manager Shayla was also very sweet and welcoming. She checked on us to make sure we were happy with everything, in which we were. Now lets talk food! Amazing! The Cabbage roll balls were tasty and unique and did not break the bank. The Bacon Buddy (pork belly sandwich) was a very unique twist with an apple whiskey bbq sauce was to die for and on Sundays is only $10! Accompanied with a side of spinach salad which Tikvah recommended was mixed with fresh micro greens and tossed in a very light orange citrus vinaigrette and was a perfect match to offset the pork belly. The Chef even came out to talk to us to make sure we were enjoying everything! Oh and did I mention $4.00 Caesars on Sundays!? If you check out their Facebook page they have daily lunch specials for $10 which is basically unheard of in this economy. Overall this was a great experience and I cannot...