Atomica Kitchen / Cocktails — Restaurant in Ontario

My husband and I made plans to meet two of our friends for dinner last night at Atomica. We had never been and they both raved about the food, adding that his family regularly goes there for any family dinners out. Our friend made reservations weeks in advance and we we reserved a table for 4 at 6:15. We arrived on time and were promptly informed by the hostess that we had a 2 hour limit with our table as they anticipated getting a rush of Queens students/alumni (homecoming weekend). The food itself and our server was fantastic. Unfortunately, from the moment arrived, we felt rushed and throughout dinner found ourselves checking our phones to see we had enough time. To top it off, one of our friends glasses chipped and he found a chunk of glass in his mouth. The hostess was the first person to walk by, and when told what happened, she was not shocked, didn´t offer an apology and replaced the drink (still charged him for the drink she replaced).

Just a final thought for consideration to whoever that hostess was and any future wait staff in Kingston...the Queens students come and go, as do the Alumni. Guess who stays and regularly dines there throughout the year and for years to come? The Kingstonians. To be honest, it became a thing of ridicule among us that we weren´t the super important Queens students, so we were getting kicked out in case they wanted to eat there.

We both would like to go back in the future, but will certainly be noting whether we are rushed out again. Not a great experience overall. Woodenheads often gives a 2 hour time limit for reservations, but at least they inform you of that when making the reservation, not...

My girlfriend and I went out for a dinnner here to celebrate the start of the school year. The drinks and food were great. We ordered one drink and one main dish each. As a student the prices were pretty high for me and, considering I had just paid tuition I didn't have very much money. As such, I didn't tip my waitress very much. I would have if I had the money at the time but I didn't. The waitress was fine. She took our order, gave a recomendation and asked if our food was okay. Nothing stellar, but she did her job. After I had paid and was about to leave she approached me and proceeded to guilt trip me in front of the whole restaurant because I hadn't given a large enough tip for such a high bill (one which was already high for my liking). As my response I had to say out loud 'I'm sorry, I just don't have a lot of money'. It was a really sour way to end our experience there and put a damper on the rest of my night. I understand that the waitress was working hard and that the food service industry is a difficult one to work in, but I personally would never confront a student and make them feel bad for not tiping enough. I realize now that if you aren't capable of tiping 15% of your bill then you are not wanted at Atomica. Due to this I sadly don't think I'll be returning to Atomica again. But if you have the money it's a great...

It was a unique experience, and probably the strangest time I have ever had. We went in and they asked us if we were looking for a booth which was nice, then immediately rescinded that as reservations were coming in and would have to move in half an hour and that the bar was open and we could sit there which was fine. So they set us up there and with menus and we decided on what to have for dinner, the bartender asked if we would like anything to drink and we said we were ok for now. Well 15 minutes later my girlfriend decides to get a beer when the bartender asks about drinks again. Anyway we're just trying to decide on the dynamics of what's going on as the restaurant is still pretty well empty, so the beer is done and some people have showed up for these reservations that were coming in (so its been atleast half an hour at this point). So we called a place and ordered takeout, left cash for the beer, and left. I didn't even bother to ask what was going on, or to flag the server down as it was just kinda funny at this point and the story is worth more than having a dinner thats already this bizarre, so can't really comment on the overall quality but it was the weirdest restaurant experience I've had. I give two stars because it was the weirdest time and I suppose thats worth something more...