AquaTerra — Restaurant in Ontario

I picked this restaurant due to the online menu having options that my husband likes, as it was his birthday. I read the reviews after making the reservation, and decided to keep it, hoping for the best.

Unfortunately, we had an overall negative experience. We must have waited 20 minutes before the waiter came to take our drink orders. A family was seated next to us about 3 minutes before this. It appeared that he had forgotten about us. Throughout the meal we noticed that the waiter accommodated our neighbors with small things. They were given a pitcher of water; the waiter took their order before us; they were asked if there were any dietary restrictions; they received their food before us; the waiter checked in on them; and they were offered dessert. We did not receive this same level of service.

I looked at other tables (maybe our neighbors requested the pitcher of water…) no all the tables had one. We were not asked about dietary restrictions, nor dessert. While our neighbors finished their meals paid and left, I had to ask the waiter for our check several times, and we waited a long time for it to arrive. While ordering, we asked several questions about the menu, of which the waiter kept replying that he would have to ask. Maybe he was new? He didn’t even know if they had orange soda for my daughter.

These are all small things, but they add up. I think the service at this restaurant is hit or miss, which is absurd for a high end restaurant. When you go to a restaurant that charges these prices, the service must match. I believe that the service should be consistent, delivering, and knowledgeable. I almost wonder if we were being discriminated against for some reason. We were dressed down, not shabby looking, but not suits and dresses either. We are American… I don’t know, but we certainly were not given the same wonderful experience as our neighbors were given.

As far as the food goes… the menu was not the same as what I saw online. Apparently it changes often, which was disappointing. In addition, the options were extremely limited. I ordered the pumpkin mazzaluna (excuse the spelling). I didn’t enjoy this at all. The mushroom ragú was good, but I have had better. My husband had the beef tenderloin, which he enjoyed very much. I tried his, and it was quite good. We ordered the sourdough bread to share, but all agreed something was really off with it. I will say that our waiter brought us a different loaf, but it was still off. To the waiter’s credit, he took the bread off the bill.

All in all, I have to give a thumbs down on this restaurant. I don’t recommend it. You may or may not receive the experience you are hoping for. If you don’t, then you’ll be spending upwards of $150-$200 or more for a mediocre meal and congruently the service at a high end restaurant where you pay for every item on the menu.

I recommend that this restaurant train staff better to be consistent with every customer that comes to be served… I understand that you can’t make everyone happy, but you need to aim higher than 50/50, when you are exuding a higher level dining experience… you have to at least try and match it, as close as is possible, for each and...

I went here in the Summer and absolutely loved it. The service was amazing. The food was great. Decided to go back today and had a horrible experience. 1. Asked if the menu was the same as a few months prior. Told yes. Nope. It wasn't. It was a different Autumn menu. Fine. Still found something I wanted. Asked to sit in sun, told I couldn't as they were taken and I had no reservation prior. Ok. But the whole 1hr-ish that I was there, the seats in sun remained 100% empty the whole time. I was freezing as the heaters were pretty much useless. 2. Asked the server, who was extremely unwelcoming, and not courteous if I could take shallots out. She thought shallots were ... bread (!?). Never in my life have I met someone who thought shallots are bread (Sidenote: they are onions). She came back and told me, yes - the shallots are large and not shredded in meal and so we* can remove them. Cool 3. Dish came. With several large shallots. I mentioned this to her, and the response was "well, you can take them out" ... what was the point of me asking then? What was the point of you saying your kitchen could take them out? The hostess then came to also chime in and say the "shallots are pre-mixed" ... well, then why didn't the server tell me that? That's why I asked! Offered a bowl so I could pick them out. Ridiculous. Now, I could have eaten this dish. And I realize this may not seem "serious" ... But out of principle, I just couldn't. If another diner asks for a dish without asparagus, do you bring it out with and tell them "go ahead take it out!?" 4. Asked to pay for wine I had partially drank. Cash. Told I can't "because of COVID" they can only "accept cash but not give change" - does that even make sense? We'll take money but can't give back money? ... I had my cards, but no. If you don't accept cash "because of COVID" (which by the way is not even legal) then tell the guest beforehand. Eventually it was charged to hotel and yes - I got my change. So looks like cash can be accepted after all? 5. The real kicker. As I left, I explained all this to the hostess. Why I declined the dish. An apology? No. She just said "got it" ... had she apologized, I could have at least walked away with some peace. I was so happy and excited to go back. I am sure many will still go here and have a good experience, but I want you to at least know you aren't always giving a stellar and...

My wife and I had an outstanding experience at AquaTerra during a stay at the Delta in Kingston, ON. Very friendly and accommodating staff, all of whom we interacted with went above and beyond to ensure our experience was the best and most convenient.

One example, during work trips my wife preferes to pick up her coffee ahead of time instead of using the hotel room coffee maker in the morning. She's always on the go, so It's quicker and more convenient for her, she simply reheats it in the microwave. It was our first evening in the hotel and we hadn't yet figured out the coffee situation. Some hotels have carafes set up in certain areas but we hadn't seen anything like that, so she had asked our server the question while we sat waiting for drinks and he informed us that there is a Starbucks counter in the lobby where we can buy a coffee. Immediately after telling us this he said, "I'll go get you one. Large, regular, cream and sugar?" So he heads off to get her coffee and returns with it, no charge. He simply said, "It's on me."

Another example is the special consideration given to our vegetarian diet. We don't consume egg or dairy products either so we often ask to have certain menu items modified. In this case we had stopped by the host to request a menu and told him we were vegetarian and just wanted to see what options there were. He brought us a menu so we could look. We made reservations for the following evening and sat down for some drinks. Satisfied that there were enough salad and vegetable options on the menu we put the whole thing out of mind. After being seated the next night our server, April, took our drink order and told us that the chef would be out shortly to discuss vegan food options for our meal. That was quite a pleasant surprise! A few minutes later executive sous chef Greg Hogan stopped by our table with some wonderful ideas for a custom created dinner plan just for us, including an appetizer, soups, salads and main course.

This is by far the best dining experience we've ever had and plan on returning to AquaTerra on future visits to the Kingston area. I highly recommended AquaTerra, and the Delta is a very nice hotel too. Beautiful location to watch loons fishing near Battery Park. Kingston is a great little walking town with lots of shops as well as other unique pubs and...