Jac's Bistro — Restaurant in Oakville

My girlfriend and I were literally just here now for our one year anniversary.

The food was pretty good, above adequate! My girlfriend and I felt that the calamari had been re-frozen and was very tough. The seafood pasta which was advertised of being with shrimp and lobster came with 3 shrimp and precisely 2 portions of lobster; one the size of my thumbnail and the other approximately 4mm x 7cm.

These things were totally acceptable. That’s just how it is at some places.

Herein lies the issue:

The service throughout was decent. Pretty fast to be honest. At the end of the meal, when my gf gave a tip that was equal to 8% of the total bill - which I believed to be relatively fair compensation for the service received - the server went back to the bar and mocked and laughed at the tip she received. She and the bartender had a back-and-forth about how little the tip was, laughing about it. Our server at one point said, “7 percent,” and began to laugh. At another point she said to the bartender, “that other table had a great tip, not like the one that lady gave us.” She then came over and politely asked if we needed anything else, as if she was forgetful that we were at a table situated less than 10 feet from the bar/cash out, where they were laughing and mocking the tip, in a restaurant that had literally two other occupied tables other than us. My gf works extremely hard for her money and was taking me out for a special dinner that was completely on her and it was very special and thoughtful. It was difficult to end the night having the serving staff laugh about how much she had tipped them.

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Edit: I forgot to add this until we talked about it randomly. When she went to the bathroom before we left, I saw the server (not the bartender) go to the back. My gf was taking longer than usual and I wondered what was up. When she came out after I saw one of the kitchen staff walk out from the hallway with her. It turned out someone had locked her in the bathroom from the outside and the kitchen guy heard her knocking and let her out. I’m not necessarily saying it was the server, but it seemed like a dubious coincidence. Even the kitchen guy looked a bit disappointed and shocked.

End edit.

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The past 3 restaraunts she and I have been to are Cucci’s, Chop and The Keg. All restaurants have difficulty reaching the impossible “perfect service”standard, but we instantly realized through this experience why certain restaurants grow and last, and others unfortunately do not.

We personally won’t be coming back here and would not recommend it if asked.

Written Wednesday, April...

Seems unacceptable customer profiling could be taking place, as well, the food was average tasting.

When we came there were several tables available, but they could have been reserved. I am Caucasian, my colleague is of Indian descent (Mongoloid). When we asked for a table, we were asked if we had reservations. We answered in the negative, we asked if we could still be seated. The hostess hesitated and then offered an attractive table to us and stated we could sit there but no where else.

While we were seated we noticed three mature Caucasian women come in, who did not have reservations either. When they asked for a table they offered a lovely table by the window. Now there were three available tables left. Another group came in, and apparently they are regulars, they were immediately seated to a table. They could have had a reservation but there was no mention of it, we were seated right next to the hostess and could hear everything. What we heard is that their usual table is available for them.

Next we had a lovely Mongoloid couple come in and ask if they could have a table. They were immediately refused a table.

Within the next 5 minutes, a group of three Caucasian gentlemen came in and were immediately seated to a table. Its possible they had reservations but when they came in, they asked to be seated and they were immediately seated.

For the rest of our meal, we paid attention to see if the other two empty tables would be filled. To our dismay they were not. Its possible that the reserved tables had a no show but we were wonder why when another couple came in 35 minutes later, they were not seated.

We were one of the last remaining people for the lunch hour and it was disappointing to see that many were turned away. Further we also noticed that all the patrons were Caucasian and any non-Caucasian was turned away. This could be coincidence but from the moment we were seated and had the hesitation it got our attention. I would like others to start taking notice and stating their experiences if they have noticed the same occurrence.

In regards to the service and food, it was average. The food looked better than it tasted but then again I am a Toronto foodist. Food wasn't bad but...

I am writing to express my disappointment with our recent experience at your restaurant, where we celebrated our parents' 50th wedding anniversary. As loyal patrons, we have always appreciated your establishment, and our parents are frequent visitors who are well-known by your staff. Unfortunately, our experience November 30 did not meet our expectations. We had requested a custom cheesecake earlier in the week to mark this milestone occasion, but were disappointed to be turned down. Upon arrival, we were assigned a server who was clearly new and overwhelmed with multiple tables, leading to subpar service. We received drinks only once throughout the evening and were charged extra for additional bread. Although I acknowledge that prices have risen, I was taken aback by the substantial increase of $13 for the steak and frites dinner compared to your menu only one year ago. Moreover, the supplementary charges for substituting vegetables with potatoes seemed excessive. Considering the significance of this occasion, I had anticipated a more tailored and attentive service. Notably, we were not offered a complimentary dessert, which was particularly disappointing given our earlier request for a custom cake. I felt it necessary to share my disappointment, as this occasion is truly singular and will not be repeated. It’s very clear our business has meant nothing to you as I wrote in by email and spoke with you over the phone only for you to be defensive and argumentative stating you needed to do your “own investigation “ and here we are two and a half weeks later and no return call. Unfortunate circumstances here but it’s very clear where we stand as customers and we all will be looking for a new place who would appreciate...