The Courtyard Bistro — Restaurant in Ontario

Terrible experience, will not go back, would not recommend. Our party had made reservations for a Tuesday night for 10-15 people. At the time of reservation weeks before our dinner, we did not have a final number to confirm for our party, so we estimated the 10-15. No problems yet.

Cut to our dinner, when we arrive with 10 guests. Upon arrival we were immediately confronted by our waitress, urging that we had reserved for 15 guests and will be charged $25 per person that does not arrive, regardless of our parties total spend for the evening. This was NEVER communicated to the party member who made the reservation. For an extremely uncomfortable 10-15 min, our waitress combatted any effort we made to understand the situation. She detailed that the restaurant made a confirmation call and left a message to relay the possibility of charges if we did not confirm our party size. We did not receive this call. After going back and forth, the waitress was able to confirm that they called the wrong number for the confirmation. Trying not to let this combative start ruin our evening, we ordered drinks and food and appetizers - more than enough to suffice our “missing” party members share.

Minutes after our order went in, our waitress removed all sections of our table that were not used, totalling two 4 tops, and prepared them for other guests. Odd, considering we “reserved them”. Within minutes she sat new guests with ‘our’ seats.

At the end of our evening, almost having forgotten about the charge considering they did indeed use all of our unused seating, the waitress approached us with our bills and DID charge us the penalty! After calling the wrong number to confirm our reservation AND using all of our extra seats, they charged us the penalty! We asked why they felt the need to charge us and the guests who used our seats, and they waitress replied that they “took too many reservations tonight and needed the extra seats” - what a blunt lie! Our server made the decision to double dip by charging our group and taking on more business.

No one in our party would have argued to release our extra seats for other patrons, but to charge our group after calling the wrong number for the reservation and taking on more business with our “reserved seats” is just ridiculous. What ruined our experience was our waitress. Very combative and argumentative. She immediately made our group feel like a burden and feel as if we committed an offence against the restaurant. Because of this I would never go back and I’ll be happy to share my experience with anyone who mentions...

Our experience at The Courtyard Bistro was overwhelmingly positive. Our 2 servers, Eddie and Jaslin were absolutely amazing. They were consistently aware of what needed to be done at our table, were very informative about the food and frequently asked about our meal and inquired if we needed anything. The patio area was lovely, it got busy around 6:00. For starters, the Ceaser Salad was delicious, and the Spinach Strawberry Salad was a combination of many delicious flavors. Both salads were the perfect size for 4. As well, the Wild Mushroom Dip paired perfectly with the toasted crostini. For the main meals, the Fish Of The Day was ordered, a cajun salmon, with a cajun panko and a strawberry blueberry salsa on top. It was a great size and very tasty, the cajun pairing perfectly with the salsa. The other dish was a Pork Medallion Marsala, served in a mushroom gravy. It was delicious, with the perfect ratio of gravy to medallions. Lastly, as we were here for a celebration, a free Sticky Tofeee Date Cake was served. The cake was sublime, with the sauce being the perfect sweetness. As well, a Cookies and Cream Cheesecake was ordered, which was a great texture and the perfect size to split amongst 2. In conclusion, do not drive by The Courtyard Bistro in Pembroke without stopping in for delicious food and...

We were visiting from Ottawa so maybe my dining standards are higher 🤷 Of course it was NYE and we were lucky to get last min reservations anywhere. The New Year's Eve menu was just ok. The drinks, especially wines were very overpriced with the cheapest 5oz glass of red running nearly $10! The soup option was tasty (the other 2 appetizers were both salad). The NY strip loin dinner had a gravy red wine type sauce covering it which made it feel very Salisbury steak-like. Would have been much better if the sauce was served on the side. And it wasn't very good. The pomegranate lamb dish was good and the veggies and potatoes were as expected.

Honestly, the best part of the night (and the ONLY reason I'm giving this 5 star instead of 3) was the wonderful server, Amanda, she was so personable, friendly, and kind without being the typical pushy/rushed in your face "are you done yet" type server. She was an absolute delight, knowledgable, attentive, and really made our evening so enjoyable. She was probably one of the best servers I've ever had in a restaurant and definitely deserves a raise!! Thanks Amanda for making our last minute New Years night so...