Dianne's — Restaurant in Ontario

My wife and I went to Dianne's on a Thursday at about 530pm. It was overall a great experience.

We walked over from beautiful Confederation Park in historic downtown Kingston and were greeted by the hostess. There was no line, and we were offered indoor or outdoor seating, both of which had several available tables. The outdoor tables on the east side of the building had a waterfront view. We chose to sit inside simply for the weather conditions at the time. The indoor atmosphere was lovely and reminded me of being at a beach. The music was appropriate and wasn't too loud. The mood was well set, and the tables were comfortably spaced from one another.

We immediately served water, and our waitress (Harper?) presented herself well and was very friendly.

I ordered a spicy Pineapply margarita, which was unique and delicious (shaken with jalapenos for the spice but the pepper itself not included in the drink). My wife ordered the Sangria, which was refreshing. They were served promptly, and our food order was taken.

The prices were wide-ranging, so there is something on the menu for a lavish date or a budget evening. We chose shrimp and Baja fish soft tacos, both of which were flavourful and light. I preferred the baja fish to the shrimp...the shrimp were good, but the fish was delicious! I liked that you could pick how many tacos you wanted instead of having a fixed menu. Sides were not included, and the tacos were fairly small, which made the price somewhat unbalanced.

My wife ordered a side of the house slaw, and I had a side of fries and gravy. The slaw was good but seemed to be vinaigrette based. The fries could have been crispier but were very well seasoned. Unfortunately, the gravy was not good. They say it was beef gravy, but it didn't taste like it. The gravy was gelatinous and tasted weird...

How did the staff take the criticism? Very well! She apologized for the gravy, removed it from the bill, and let the kitchen know how it was received.

For dessert (I forgot to take a picture of the menu), there were 4 options, which all sounded heavenly. We chose to split an order of salted caramel cake with whipped cream and fresh berries. Let me tell you... wow! It was $14, but it was very large and extremely rich. Very, very good, but we had to box half of it for later.

The good: The location*, the wide-ranging budget menu, great service, delicious food.

*given the location, if there's a festival or something downtown - good luck getting in. Maybe plan to come another day.

What I'd fix: A candle would have been nice at the table, and a larger portion for price. All meals should come with a side, even if you only include a scoop of slaw with the tacos.

I included my final receipt, and tipped 20%. Highly...

I'm very conflicted. I've actually waited a week to write this review because of our experience. For those of you not wanting to read...THE FOOD IS INCREDIBLE.

Okay with that out of the way. Here is how it went down. We came at 1:30 in the afternoon on a weekday. Hoping for a quick meal before going on a boat cruise at 3pm. We missed the boat entirely and didn't leave until almost 4pm.

Let's get the atmosphere out of the way. Pleasant, hustling and busy. Popular spot with lots of servers running around (good). Fish on the wall and a nautical vibe.

The hostess who welcomed us might have been in training but was flustered by people in front of us because they were trying to sit outside but then couldn't decide about inside. So it took a while to get to us; who just wanted to eat inside. A second server helped her out and was very nice. Our actually server was quick and had water at the table the VERY second we sat down. No need to ask. We liked that. They also had a high chair for our little guy.

We put our order in pretty quick and my app of oysters came out quick. They were great, nothing special compared to some but fresh with nice accoutrements.

Then....we waited....and waited. Way over an hour for our food. Our server let us know they were delayed but no real timing other than "soon" and no explanation. An explanation would have been helpful to appease us. We went to change our little ones diaper and on the way up heard servers talking wondering where we went.

I should mention at this point the server apologized profusely (still with no explanation) but offered a massive discount on our meal. Nice, but we just wanted food!

We sat down and the food still hadn't come. I took my little guy outside for a walk and after another 15 or so minutes the food finally came. The kids meal was cold. Lukewarm fish and cold fries. The fish was good but still sad that it was cold. Probably ready for a while which they could have at least brought out for our little guy.

My food and my wife's (lobster roll and fish cakes) were wonderful. Good temperature and super dooper scrumptious. At this point we were told our meal was fully comped (we didn't have any drinks but water). We still offered to pay/tip but they wouldn't accept.

So that's our experience. What i have for advice is just to be honest and let people know if there was an issue or mistake. It helps in understanding and we would have still paid and...

My experience is, probably, not a typical one.

I went solo, asking for a table in the (almost full) patio. From the get-go, service is friendly and prompt. Easy to walk around in with a cane, and the outdoor patio at least is fairly accessible.

In the pictures, you'll note an oyster shell next to my House Limonada.

I did not order oysters.

The table next to me ordered oysters and gave me one. It was delicious. When my drink arrived, two more people joined our corner of the terrasse. By the end of the evening, we were fast friends. It's impossible not to give 5 stars for atmosphere when that happens.

Your mileage may vary.

As to the food...

I chose a couple of tacos and salad. Cider-battered fish and jumbo shrimp al pastor, on 4.5" white corn tortillas. The flour they use is so fine and so white, I wouldn't blame people for thinking that these gluten free goodies were made of wheat, but the flavour is all corn.

And then their Casa Cesar. Fun fact: Cesar Salad is of Mexican origin. It's from Tijuana, to be specific. So to see Dianne's reclaim it, swap out bacon bits for chorizo and glam up croutons for all they are worth is a balm on my half-mexican soul. And then, there are pepitas everywhere.

Pepitas are roasted, spiced pumpkin seeds. They taste like pure joy and provide a most satisfactory crunch.

Quite frankly, my biggest problem with Dianne's is that there are 7 things I want to eat, and I only have one stomach.

Spice level: mild Great for groups; fun cocktails, lots of mocktail options and Mexican...