Cotta Food Bar — Restaurant in Ontario

(Response to owner included)

The service was polite, but the place seemed understaffed.

The food was for the most part not well crafted. (The steak was so mid)

For the price point it does not impress, or particularly delight.

The interior decor was low-mid

The bill of our table (2) bill came to 150$ there are superior options for that price point.

Positives:

Descriptive menu with Dietary Options visible. The staff was polite and professional

Response To owner:

I agree the staff was great! very polite and professional.

The server was busy, and she was working very hard and fast, but she didn't have enough time to clean up some of the tables (hence why I suggest the place was understaffed). Saw her moving forward professionally and quick, but when we got there, most of the tables were just not clean, including our own which had some sauce on it, we just put a napkin over it and moved on (I am not super picky about this, but it since the owner says it was well staffed, thought I would bring it up in the response)

The ingredients were high quality without a doubt, however the steak had a pretty disagreeable taste, and the ceviche was simply mid (I expect to be delighted at this price point, and even though it was pretty okay, it was not competitive, or worth trying again) (Note: my partner liked her dish, and I liked it too, it just overall wasn't really outstanding food, between what we tried, on top of that everything else is why I am giving it a 2/5)

If for example there is a fly in my soup, thats something I will say to a server. If i'm just not impressed 2/5 sort of deal, I would find it awkward, maybe rude, or uncomfortable to bring that up to server, after a below average dinner, last thing I want is awkwardness and confrontation.

Decor: There was dead flowers on every table. The granite tables, and subway tiles walling gives a feeling of a household kitchen or bathroom, not a high end establishment. The light fixtures were cool! but aside from that overall the lighting was not flattering, not low lighting, or bright lighting, rather just dull and un-intentional... (some places create a low lighting mood, some create a very lit, bright atmosphere, Cotta did not seem to have any intentions with the lighting to enhance any part of the design. The lighting was not creative, used, or delightful)

Cotta is objectively not a bad place... but in comparison to what you can get for the price, it falls below average, therefore I give it 2/5 stars. Maybe we just came at an unlucky time, these sort of things happen at restaurants all the time, you cant be perfect for every single customer. Best of luck to Cotta, Keep striving to be a...

We recently visited Cotta Restaurant in Windsor, Ontario for my birthday dinner, and while the food and atmosphere were lovely, the service we received from our waiter Steve ended up completely ruining what could have been a wonderful night. Let me start by saying - the restaurant itself is beautiful. It has a warm, inviting ambiance, and the Italian-fusion menu is creative and full of flavor. One of our friends ordered a fish dish that was absolutely perfect - moist, well-seasoned, and delicious. My mom was so impressed that she decided to order the same dish. Unfortunately, when hers arrived, the fish was overcooked and a bit dry. She very politely asked if it could be fixed or accommodated somehow , never once asking for it to be removed from the bill. But instead of responding with understanding, our waiter immediately got defensive and snapped, "I'm not taking this off your bill." My mom calmly explained that she wasn't asking for that, just hoping someone could take a look at it. He then made a completely inappropriate comment saying saying she was "ruining the birthday." As if that weren't bad enough, he took her plate, grabbed her own fork, and started poking at the fish right in front of her, insisting there was nothing wrong with it. It was awkward, disrespectful, and completely unnecessary…the kind of behavior that makes guests uncomfortable. A little while later, he did come back to the table, but even his "apology" wasn't really an apology. He just said something along the lines of, "The owner made an exception to to take it off the bill," and that was it. There was no genuine acknowledgment of his behavior, no real effort to make amends. My mom being the kind and respectful person she is actually ended up apologizing herself, saying she hadn't meant to cause any trouble. Then she just stopped mid-sentence and said, "You know what, never mind." It was clear the situation had already left a sour taste. It's a shame, because Cotta truly has great food and a beautiful atmosphere. The kitchen and concept are outstanding but service like that can ruin an otherwise perfect experience. I really hope management addresses this, because the restaurant deserves better representation...

A mixed review, this place has alot of potential. The decor is very nice. The bar make great cocktails. That said food has some catching up to do. The Cesar salad was executed perfectly, nice presentation and very blananced. It went down hill from there. The pizza presentation left much to be desired( see photo) and the excessive use of corn meal ruined the curst and the texture( corn grit in every bite). That said the mixture of olive tapenade and salami was great if it was put on a decent bread. Next the steak, we were told we be getting roasted potatoes and vegetables. As you can see the ribeye is placed on top of soggy arugula and served with the side of kids meal fries so not quite as described. And those fries...If you are a parent you know what fries I am talking about, the left over fries from your kids that is stale but you eat anyways. And don't get me started on the sauce that was poured all over the steak. Way to go ruin an othewise perfectly cooked steak. I wanted to taste the meat but the semi sweet A1 style sauce was way over powering. Maybe put it on the side? The service was quick, friendly and efficient. Just a note to the staff that tops off water, they poured still water over my half full glass of sparkling water, it was too late to stop them and we didn't say anything but something to be mindful of. Bill total for 2 drinks, 1 pizza, 1 salad and a ribeye was $165 on the higher end price for the food served but expected. Would we come back? Yes! but only for drinks...