Oliver's Steakhouse — Restaurant in Oakville

I was very surprised that an upscale restaurant like Oliver's, would be offering a coupon on wagjag, they were offering a five course tasting menu for two, priced at $120.00. I guess it's better to fill seats in the middle of winter.I am actually a restaurant manager and have managed several fine dining restaurants in the UK and NYC and I am only too familiar with servers not liking coupons, as I guess they feel that that do not get tipped on the full amount and the cliche is, people that use coupons are cheap. But the servers are not the ones paying that steep lakeshore road rent are they? I think that a tasting menu is a nice introduction to attract new customers. I purchased the deal for my sisters 60th birthday as a treat. I wanted everything to be perfect. I called the restaurant a few times, prior to our reservation to ask them what they did for birthdays, and inquire about their wine list. The deal on Wagjag was for 2 or 4 people ( We were a party of 3) I arranged to pay for the third person on site. On the actual night of the reservation, we were running late and called to let them know, as I was driving from Lewiston NY, to meet my family that live in Oakville. the border was a little busy, and it's annoying when people stroll in late without a courtesy call.On arrival, the place looked stunning and we were given a beautiful window seat. The sommelier came over and took our wine order, and we fished out the two wagjag coupons and handled them to our server immediately, as even though, we had read the fine print and restrictions. being in the business myself I wanted to be safe. There was a table of four directly behind us. We were just getting settled and happily sipping on our wine and admiring the decor, when the server, acting manager and Sommelier ( ALL THREE OF THEM)

Approached the table waving the vouchers at us saying they would not scan and we would have to call wagjag.( Why was it our job to call Wagjag?) Surely this is something between the restaurant and wagjag? My sister looked as if she was about to burst into tears and my nephew looked mortified as the table behind us were staring at us like we were criminals! I said to the server “ Wagjag is closed their hours are 9-6 Monday -Friday “We can prove that we paid, I can show you our email receipt” The sommelier then chimes in and says “ You have a couple of choices pay for the wine and leave, or order from the regular menu” We have had at least 15 wagjag coupons tonight and they have all scanned perfectly, and wagjag will not pay us if they do not scan. We were left speechless, and really shocked as all three of them left the table, I mean we had already paid wagjag, why should we order from the regular menu? Their attitude was ""Sort it with Wagjag" After a few minutes, the acting manager( The nicest of the three) Approached the table, and said “ We have decided to honor the coupon even though we probably won't get paid” It was a real damper on the evening. Even though it was discounted we still spent over three hundred dollars and the food was amazing!! My guess is, they had a restaurant full of coupons and people drinking tap water and did not get tipped well!! I am usually a big tipper and leave 20 percent even if the service is mediocre. The three dinners, wine and tax came to $270.00 I normally would have left at least $60. I gave them a $30 tip because of the embarrassment and upset they caused on a 60th birthday!! For such a classy establishment you would think they would have...

This restaurant is a ridiculous attempt to create a poor definition of one of life's great joys and from the other reviews, it seems many of you are nouveau. The complete experience should be characterized as an absurdly choreographed reinterpretation of fine dining luxury as observed at great distance though a dislocated lens. A series of mimicked, but not understood acts, gestures and barely passable attempts at gastronomy trying to masquerade itself as authentic through price point. The fact is, diners with any real experience with true fine dining restaurants will see the woody performance for what it is. Servers in fine dining restaurants have years of experience, a deep understanding of etiquette and more importantly why and when to apply the behaviors demanded of it. Therefore, to affect the latter they will observe from a far, anticipating a guest's needs, when to appear and when not to be seen. It is a profession, not a job. Therefore, it requires a deep knowledge and experience and perhaps most importantly the ability to comport oneself in a manner which is inherently deferential to the guest's class and station as that is the definition of being "in service". Culture, class and taste is acquired over time, a product of experience resulting in a deep appreciation of the most subtle of nuances which define and distinguish, the elegance of which are found in their brevity. They are not simply assumed by air and stillborn attempts at sagacious locomotion. It is on the final thought which brings us to the most ostentatious duplicity, and perhaps even larceny, the food. The ability to elevate and deliver on the expectations of gastronomy is and must always be the anchor to which these few moments, stolen back from the terminal passage of time, be tied. Moreover, is the is the balanced combination of art and science and it not simply left to the individual interpretation of one's palate. From each plate's inception, there are no restrictions which prevent a chef from comparing and contrasting the colours and brush strokes on his canvas from those of the great masters, or at the very least those in the immediate vicinity. And while a chef may not be a great master, honesty with himself is honesty with his diners. A chef should elevate those dishes he does best, not charge forward into the cannon fire of a superior menu. There is no dish which is superior simply because of its name, ingredients or perceived positioning. Elevated quality, delivery and consistency will always be the bedrock foundational of a great restaurant. Furthermore, unless the blanket assumption is that price is the defining component of quality and luxury, then the price point here just does not align. The truth is, there are more than a few Michelin-star restaurants which are materially are more accessible that this restaurant; however, experienced fine diners have also dined in some of the most expensive restaurants in the world and have spent many times more on a single meal that the price point here and have not thought twice about cost because it left them with an experience. And that is where this restaurant completely misses. There is no experience, just rewarmed cliches thought to define luxury in an attempt to replicate that which is not inherently understood only perceived. So, if you are a diner and are new fine dinning, this is not the place to establish a benchmark as it will only leave you a failed imprint of a part of life's most gratifying narrative which everyone should...

I do not recommend this restaurant and am completely astonished that it gets any 4+ reviews. The decor is the only attribute Oliver’s has. I need to say that I’ve eaten at many Michelin Star restaurants around the world and know excellent 5* food but this restaurant barely deserves a 1*. My favourite Beef Carpaccio appetizer was horrible bc the wrong grade of beef was used and the slices were thick, fatty and l had extreme difficulty cutting through the slices which means I didn’t eat much of it. I’ve been eating beef carpaccio, a favorite dish of mine for 50 years and it was the worst and wasn’t anything close to what beef carpaccio should be. Lobster Bisque practically had no lobster. Scallops were not seared and undercooked…. I began feeling sick to my stomach after eating one (asked the waiter to box up the remainder to take home, which the next day I broiled the scallops and they were fine). My guest had Lobster Gnocchi but barely any lobster on top and it had no flavour. It was a belated birthday dinner for my guest so l insisted we order dessert for him since my digestion was churning and doing somersaults after eating an undercooked scallop, so I couldn’t stomach any dessert. He was disgusted by the food and simply wanted to leave quickly but I convinced him to have a birthday dessert, which was another disaster. It took the waiter at least 30 minutes to bring my guest his dessert only to experience a chocolate stale, hard rock mere sliver of a chocolate slice that needed a knife to cut into it and neither of us had a knife…. Our waiter was nowhere to be seen and when he eventually showed up 30 minutes after that because he got busy with other new customers, it took him another 15 minutes to bring the bill. I have to say that the waiter gave preferential treatment to my male guest by cleaning off table crumbs on my guests side of the table but not my crumbs even though I paid the bill of $350 which only included one martini and one bottle of Perrier. It is obvious that this waiter didn’t show me, a female, the same respect as my male guest. Our experience was astonishing. The Chef and Owner of this establishment should be completely embarrassed …. My guest had been to Oliver’s in the past. It was my first time eating there. My guest was so disgusted he wanted us to leave without me paying the bill because we were waiting so long for the bill and the whole food experience was disgraceful !!! My guest left while l waited to pay the bill. We will never return to this establishment and won’t recommend it to anyone.

The Owner and chef should be...