Wharf & Feather — Restaurant in Ontario

I had high hopes for this restaurant, but my Valentine’s Day experience was a complete disappointment. I made reservations specifically because of their Kingstonlicious menu, which prominently featured both cheese and chocolate fondue along with appealing mains like mushroom risotto and steak. Nowhere on their website did they indicate that this menu would change for Valentine’s Day.

To be sure, I even called the restaurant on the day of my reservation to confirm, only to be told that they weren’t offering the cheese fondue because they didn’t have enough pots. A restaurant promoting fondue but lacking the equipment to serve it properly? Unbelievable. They only had four pots, all reserved for their outdoor seating, which had been fully booked before I even made my reservation. This was never disclosed anywhere. I even asked them to note my request for cheese fondue, as I’m pregnant and had been craving it. They said they’d try—but made no promises.

When we arrived, the atmosphere was completely underwhelming. The lighting was not romantic at all, and they seated us right by the entrance, next to the host stand. Every time the hotel doors opened, we were hit with a blast of cold air. To make matters worse, the restaurant had no real separation from the hotel lobby, so we constantly heard people going in and out of the elevators. Definitely not the intimate dining experience we had hoped for.

As for the food—what a disaster. They refused my fondue request, so my only options were French onion soup (which I couldn’t have as a vegetarian) or fresh mozzarella with tomato and balsamic. I went with the latter. It took 40 minutes to arrive—just for a few slices of tomato and a cheese ball. No bread, no crackers, nothing. I asked for bread because I was starving, and the server said he’d check. He never came back. 15 minutes later, another server randomly brought out some bread—by then, I had already finished eating.

The mains took 1.5 hours to arrive. By then, I felt like I was going to pass out from hunger. The restaurant was clearly understaffed, with our waiter also acting as the bartender. At one point, he reassured us the food would be out “soon” but we still waited another 30 minutes after that. Given that the mushroom risotto was a key part of their set menu, they should have been better prepared instead of making everyone wait. It was a total failure in planning.

Dessert arrived within 5 minutes of finishing dinner, which felt rushed. Normally, there’s at least a 15-minute pause between courses, but they seemed desperate to turn over tables. The chocolate fondue itself was fine, but nothing special—just melted chocolate with some fruit and crackers.

I understand that Valentine’s Day is a busy night for restaurants, but that should be expected. Patrons shouldn’t have to deal with poor planning, miscommunication, and excessive wait times. This was supposed to be a special Valentine’s dinner—our last as a couple before becoming a family—but this restaurant completely ruined the experience. First and last time...

WORST SERVICE my friend and I have ever experienced. A friend and I were staying at the hotel for the weekend and decided to try this restaurant for breakfast based on the convenient location within the hotel. The website and the sign in front of the restaurant in the lobby indicated that breakfast is served until 11:00am. We arrived at 10:15 and waited patiently at the entrance for a hostess/server to seat us. At 10:30, a disgruntled server approached us looking annoyed that we were there and said sternly “you two come in here and then I’m closing.” We shrugged awkwardly and entered the restaurant (we should have left!!). The waitress moved the sign (that indicated the hours of operation) to block the entrance behind us and then left us standing there in between tables of other diners for about 10 minutes. While we stood there another pair of hotel guests approached the entrance. As the waitress was walking by she shouted at the new guests loudly “WE’RE CLOSED!” even though it was only about 10:35. The guest behind us looked shocked and tried several times to speak to the waitress as she passed by huffing and puffing and the waitress completely ignored her. We were finally seated and then waited another 20 minutes for the waitress to return to take our order. In the meantime, the ignored guest at the entrance approached the waitress and said “excuse me, the sign says you’re open until 11:00” to which the irritated waitress replied “Fine, find yourself a seat and I’ll get you served.” The waitress continued to walk around loudly sighing while doing seemingly nothing for the duration of our time there. The food was mediocre and forgettable. We each order a glass of orange juice which arrived 45 minutes later after our meals were almost done. I will say the waitress comped the juice when our bill arrived so I suppose that’s the silver lining. Overall, this was absolutely the most abysmal service I’ve ever experienced. Will absolutely never return and would recommend others steer clear unless you’re into being treated like a burden and scolded like a misbehaving child - all the while spending $50 for a nightmare breakfast. PS: Go to Peter’s Place! Absolutely lovely breakfast and top...

Disappointed. We had decided on this place to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary a couple weeks ago in September of 2021. After peeking at the menu and pictures of how romantic this place looked online, we were excited to have our dinner here to celebrate our special occasion. It would be our first time eating at a restaurant since the pandemic.

We arrived in time for our reservation (we requested the outdoor patio) and had to wait a few minutes for someone to seat us. Excitement filled as we were wondering if we'd be sitting near the flaming fireplace or near the water with a view as we could see tables available. Finally, someone came to seat us and we gladly followed her to our table....it was a very short walk away. It was the first table from the outdoor entrance tucked away in a corner where they store all of their extra chairs/heat lamps.

We sat down and thought about it and decided to ask if it were possible to sit at one of the empty tables deeper into the patio. Unfortunately we were told that they were reserved for a large group that wasn't even sure if all would show. We explained that it was our anniversary (we even put that in the "notes" section of our reservation) and our first time eating out yet they were unable to guarantee a table for us if we were to come back later (our own suggestion). There was no effort to take our number down to call us if a table opened up. There was no effort to make sure a decent table would be reserved for us for our special occasion even if it was put in the "notes" section when the reservation was actually made.

We ended up leaving disappointed. However our night was saved when we ended up at a nearby restaurant with a fantastic view! They were full at the time but offered to take our phone number and text us when a table was available even without us making a prior reservation! Our anniversary turned out amazing...it's just that we did not spend it here at the Wharf & Feather. The food and patio looked inviting, but unfortunately the service and understanding of its customers...