Bluebird Café & Grill — Restaurant in Orangeville

A Disappointing First Visit on a Special Occasion

We chose this restaurant to celebrate my husband’s birthday and had even called in advance to ask if they could do something special. They confirmed our reservation, but when we arrived, we had to wait over 20 minutes before anyone escorted us to our table.

Unfortunately, the service was the most disappointing part of the evening. Our server greeted us and took our order, but that’s where the issues began. First, she forgot to bring my drink and didn’t return for quite a while. I eventually had to ask another staff member to bring it, as she never checked on us. Then, she completely forgot to place my food order. We tried calling her over multiple times — and though she was standing right beside our table — she either ignored us or didn’t hear us at all. I understand staff can get busy, but the lack of attention and basic service was frustrating.

We waited an unreasonably long time for our main course, and when I politely asked how much longer it would take, she simply looked at my husband and said, “He ordered steak — it’s on him,” and walked away. No apology, no courtesy.

We had arrived around 7 PM, and by now it was getting very late. We were tired, had work early the next morning, and our dogs were waiting at home. I had long lost my appetite, so we asked someone else to pack up the main course as our server was still busy chatting with the same guest seated beside our table.

By the time we finished, it was well past 9 PM — even after the restaurant’s closing time — and we were still waiting for the bill. Despite repeated requests, our server remained engaged in conversation with the same table, completely ignoring us. When I asked another staff member for help, I was told only our server could bring the cheque. Thankfully, a kind and professional waitress noticed our situation, stepped in, and brought us the bill, along with a sincere apology.

When I mentioned it was my husband’s birthday, she seemed genuinely surprised and disappointed on our behalf. I had seen other tables being celebrated with cake or ice cream, which I had specifically hoped for when I called in advance. Sadly, nothing like that was offered to us. However, this thoughtful waitress insisted on packing a small pastry for us to take home, which was a sweet gesture we appreciated.

This was our first visit, and sadly, it turned out to be one of our most disappointing dining experiences — especially on a day meant to feel special. We won’t be returning for any future celebrations. That said, we’re truly grateful to the kind waitress and the young male staff member who made an effort to turn things around, even if...

It was midday on a Thursday and our family decided to grab lunch. I heard so much about bluebird that I suggested we go there.

When we walked in we were greeted by a very friendly gentleman who asked if we had reservations. I thought to myself, "reservations for a lunch on a Thursday?" And i said, no. He checked his seating chart and said there was a table available. Yay!

The restaurant was full! I'm still surprised that this was a random weekday and it was that busy. Note to self: make reservations next time!!

We were seated and a lovely server came over. I'm so sorry for not getting your name but you're amazing. I just remember she mentioned she was Portuguese. She's so personable she made it easy to be at a restaurant with two small kids.

Our toddler is extremely picky (aren't they all?) And would only eat a specific kind of pasta. I asked if they had this pasta and if chef could please make it. She could have said, no sorry. But she went and asked and turns out they do indeed have this pasta and the chef is willing to make a dish for my son. I was elated and so grateful. There are only a handful of restaurants that have accommodated us on this level.

I ordered a goat cheese salad with chicken and my husband got a sandwich with side of greek salad. We asked for a drink recommendation and our amazing server suggested a drink that was not on the menu that met what we were looking for.

Food and drinks come and omg, so so good. Everything is fresh and so tasty.

We came with a toddler and a baby and there is a level of noise that comes with two kids, but everyone was super nice. We couldn't have asked for a better service. Our server has 3 kids so she understood our needs and she knew exactly how to talk to our kids. My son really liked her.

We also had some white chocolate cheesecake and as someone who usually doesn't love white chocolate I devoured that cake. It's so good!!! I want more!!

Our first experience at bluebird was incredible. We are already planning to go back soon.

One thing I wanted to mention as well that made our experience so special. The gentleman who greeted us was making small talk with our son when we first came in and my son mentioned that he wanted a chocolate croissant (we talked about stopping by a bakery after lunch) and the gentleman joked that "I wish I had one too!" So as we were leaving he mentioned that he went to the bakery next door and asked if they had a chocolate croissant but they were all sold out. I was speechless. Acts of kindness are not very common, especially from a complete stranger.

Owner of the restaurant, these two people are stars. They deserve...

So this was our first visit to the Bluebird Café. Wasn’t really sure what to expect, and was very pleasantly surprised. When I think of Café, I think of coffee, cheesecake, and scones.

My wife made reservations about two weeks ago so you do need reservations to get into this restaurant on busy nights for sure Friday Saturday I would imagine.

I would say it is upscale casual dining. We had our table for three hours, which was more than enough we were there for about 2 1/2 and started with the house cocktail called the Bluebird. It was very tasty. It was garnished with a sugared infused lemon.

The staff was very attentive, and they seem to only have maybe five tables each. The menu had great selection, leaning towards an Italian type cuisine, pasta, pizza, lasagna. I think most people could find something on this menu they would enjoy.

My wife had the lasagna and I had the feature seafood Arctic char in a lemongrass sauce with a side of rice.

We started with the Wood Fired bruschetta topped with goat cheese. Feta was an option. The crust was very light crust great flavor. I would highly recommend this appetizer it’s lite but had wonderful flavor for sure.

For dessert we shared the Turtles frozen dessert. It was a mixture of ice cream and cheesecake I believe very good. I did this with a side of Port as well.

The presentation on all the plates was very thoughtful but not crazy overdone. Incidentally, this kitchen is a scratch kitchen everything is made in house making it even more exciting to eat. Hats off to the kitchen staff you guys are great. I believe the owner or someone very senior came by the table to ask us how we were enjoying the evening and the food I can’t remember his name, (please don’t be offended I don’t do well, remembering names), but it was just a nice touch for sure.

The hostess offered to take her coats as it was a cool evening. Bottom line I cannot wait to bring my brother and sister-in-law to this restaurant. They’re kind of foodies we live in Bolton but It was worth the drive and we will be back. Keep up the great work guys.

Sorry for the long review, but I really just wanted to express my gratitude for a great...