PORT — Restaurant in Pickering

I enjoyed the restaurant for the most part. The patio has to be the draw most people are after. Sitting outside watching the water and sunset was a nice change.

Drinks: We had the rum punch. They were OK...but not for the price being charged for them. I've had much (much) better at a 1/3 less cost. At least the bartender could have put all the ingredients being described. Not to "nit-pick" but at $15/serving at least give me the satisfaction of adding the nutmeg. This drink could easily be made for $10 or $12 at most.....again...just my opinion.

I give the restaurant a 7/10.

Service:

While the restaurant had a descent amount of patrons it was not full. The waitress we had was just OK...I would have liked to have had her stop by a few extra times as we required something but then I did notice she was taking a very long time at a few other tables...maybe talking or discussing the menu but an extra long time.

Parking: Parking is horrible but they do have a few spots. We got lucky as someone was leaving but the lot was absolutely filled as the space they occupy is very limited. If we didn't find that spot I believe our only other option was paid parking along the street if you could find a spot or the lot at the end of the pier which is also metered.

Food:

The food we ordered tasted fine but could have been a bit better for the price they charge for it, otherwise I'd be able to rate it better than a 7/10. First the pasta we had was good but it was commented at our table that it seems a bit dry tasting, probably due to the fact it sat under the heat lamp waiting to be picked up or waiting for the steak order to be ready.

The Focaccia bread appetizer was absolutely delicious. No complaints on the taste. I could eat it all day. The oil/balsamic bowl had too much oil.....with the balsamic sinking to the bottom you really had to dip the bread all in to get to the balsamic leaving you with too much oil in the bread. I prefer the taste of both with the bread....maybe others like just oil...A little less oil would save you money too.

The tuna panko appetizer was very good. I'd order it again! Loved it.

The Surf and Turf should be renamed to Steak and a very small Shrimp/Scallop skewer. When I read Surf and Turf I'm thinking of a dish served with both meat and fish....this one the steak was exactly as described but the shrimp/scallop skewer was (in my opinion) an embarrassment to put on a plate. In my opinion, it was one up from cocktail shrimp and something that resembled the smallest scallop I've ever had...maybe from a can?? For what is served and described this dish is way over priced....The steak was cooked exactly as I wanted and tasted great but this restaurant could "up its game" with the shrimp/scallop skewer portion and still keep the price the same...it would keep the customers way more satisfied and at the same time not lower your profits. While the "seafood" portion tasted OK....it could have been much better. Maybe put Black Tiger Shrimp instead of the cheap Pacific White Shrimp or whatever you use. The BTS are not going to make your price points change and your customers will be a bit happier seeing a much larger, better tasting shrimp on the skewer. If the scallops are too expensive then make it 4 Black Tiger Shrimps and no scallops...again....just my 2 cents.

I'll probably not be back anytime soon as the money I spent there would be better used elsewhere but who knows....I've been know to give everyone a...

We had a reservation made in June, over two weeks in advance, requesting a table with a view. Instead, we were stuck at a terrible table jammed between two hallways, next to a dusty divider, with a stale dishrag smell that lingered the whole night. Not an environment that says “premium dining.”

We had to pay $5 to park on the street because the lot was full. When we arrived and gave the correct reservation name, the hostess said we were the first to arrive and seated us in a comfortable booth in a different section. Our friends, who made the reservation, later found us and brought us back to their assigned table. When they asked why we weren’t seated with the view they had reserved, they were told no, with no offer to move us once other tables were cleared soon after.

We ordered two appetizers to share. For the calamari, we requested the dairy-based dip on the side due to an allergy. It arrived without the dip at all. We had to follow up and ask for it. The server didn’t take responsibility, just kept piling on delays and repeating, “sorry for the wait,” while still charging full price for everything.

Before ordering, I specifically asked what the vegetable of the day was that came with the steak. The server told us it was broccolini. Based on that, both my friend and I ordered steaks that were supposed to come with fingerling potatoes, mushrooms, and the veg of the day. Instead, they arrived with unlisted filler sides that weren’t mentioned on the menu or by the server. We asked for the broccolini and fingerlings we were told we’d get. They brought them, but then charged us $10 extra for the correct sides we were originally promised. That is absolutely unacceptable.

I also ordered the Spanish gin and tonic. The server told me it came with grapefruit, lemon, and lime. It arrived with an orange. It’s a small detail, but at this price point and with that level of pretense, you can’t afford to get the details wrong, especially not over and over again.

Dessert was a final letdown. One of our guests has a serious dairy allergy. After waiting far too long, the manager came over to say the sorbet wasn’t available. They offered fresh fruit instead, and comped one slice of strawberry cake, which she couldn’t eat anyway. Who wants a bowl of plain fruit when they’ve been led to believe there would be peach or raspberry sorbet?

Despite premium menu pricing, the service was inconsistent, poorly informed, and hapless. No meaningful efforts were made to acknowledge or correct their own mistakes, just a string of delays and charges that added up to a deeply frustrating, overpriced experience.

The only view we got was of hallway traffic and dusty décor. Not the water, not the sunset, and certainly not the hospitality or attention to detail that should come with this price tag.

Not returning. Suburban dining at its most...

Had a very up and down experience at this restaurant. Went for anniversary dinner and had a nice time. The location and views of the water are pretty. The food was great (fried Brussels sprouts, pizza, and creme brulee) and our waitress, Olivia, was very friendly and lovely.

But we had a very negative customer service experience afterwards. During our meal, a Margherita pizza came to our table instead of the prosciutto one we ordered. They were apologetic and took the Margherita pizza back. We had to wait longer for the prosciutto pizza but it didn't dampen the mood as the food was delicious.

We didnt realize until we got home that we were charged for both the pizzas. I called Port twice the next day and they didnt answer. The day after that I called twice and there was still no answer (no place to email on the website and didn't have time to go into the restaurant). I finally left a voicemail. We decided if we got our money back, great, but we didn't think it was worth it to go back to the restaurant to ask for it, we would just let it go.

To our surprise, we got a phone call back from a lovely woman who understood our situation and told us to come in to get a refund. We were in the area and came in 10 mins after that phone call, pleased with the customer service and the quick resolution of our problem.

However, when we got to the restaurant, the atmosphere was completely different. The hostess discussed our situation with a few ladies for a while before a different woman came out, angry, mean, and intimidating, and questioned us very rudely: "What's the problem? Who called you to come back? When did she call you? Do you have the receipt?" After she looked at our receipt, she turned around and stalked off without saying anything. We were never rude at all, but she was extremely pissed off for some reason.

We were left alone for a few minutes until the hostess came back and gave us a refund. We are thankful for the refund, but we never received an apology and were treated very badly when we came in, even though we were called and asked to come back. Whoever called us on the phone was sweet, but the interaction in the restaurant was weird and hostile. We understand people make mistakes and we just wanted that mistake corrected.

It's unfortunate that the food was great because now we have no desire to...