Alternate Grounds Dockside — Restaurant in Sarnia

Date of Visit: Sunday, July 7th, 2019

We drove to Sarnia for a day trip to meet a friend. It was a beautiful day, so we decided to have dinner at a Waterfront restaurant on a patio for that full summer dining experience.

When we arrived, it was not very busy, and we decided to eat on the patio, where there were about 1/2 of the tables occupied. Our hostess seated us in the middle (table #46) which was fine. There were several servers milling about, going to all of the various occupied tables, serving food, getting drinks, clearing plates, etc. While we sat there for over 10 minutes, none of these servers came to our table. One worker cleared a table that left beside us, but she never looked at us. a new group of people came to sit at that table. We were virtually ignored by everyone. We tried to get people's attention, we tried to make eye contact, we put our menus down and to the side, all to try and get someone's attention, but no one even looked at us. A server went to the table that just sat down next to us, and started uttering "Can i get you something to drink?" when one of our party interrupted her and said, "before you take their order, can we get someone to take ours, we have been waiting here for over 15 minutes now without so much as acknowledgment". She was obviously shocked, and genuinely sorry. She got the girl who is 'covering' table 46, and that girl (with dyed pink/purple hair) basically threw shade saying (in an terse voice) "if your taking this table - go ahead." and she walked away to her other table. The girl who took our table (a blonde girl) was very kind after this encounter, and turned the entire negative situation into a more positive experience.

That unpleasantness aside.....

The location: beautifully situated on the water with views of boats, and birds, etc. The food: We had the tacos (fish & Shrimp), and the chicken tenders. The tacos - you get 3 very LARGE tacos (no sides - but you dont need anything else). They were very good - over full with fillings of fish, coleslaw, pico de galo, etc. These are more like 3 large burritos that just did not get folded. A lot of food. The chicken tenders are not your average chicken tenders - These are huge pieces of chicken that are beautifully battered and fried, served with sauce of your choice and a salad. Meal portions are fantastic. You will not leave hungry. The flavours could be 'amped-up' a little, but still very good.

The Prices - very reasonable. No complaints about that. You get a lot of food for the price you pay.

They have local craft beer on tap which is nice as well. There is plenty of on site and free parking. They have a nice covering above the outdoor patio that provides a nice mix of sun AND shade so that you are fairly comfortable. Dining on the water can be a bit chilly even on a hot day.

This review would have been a 4/5 if it had not been for the unpleasantness of being ignored at the beginning. I would think that instead of fighting over who's table it is, that you would be happy to pick up a table and get the tip that...

We were passing through Sarnia and stopped to see the Tall Ships at Centennial Park and were so glad we stayed for dinner at the Alternate Grounds Dockside at the marina. It is a wonderful location right on the water with a beautiful view of Sarnia Bay. We were warmly welcomed and seated at a table outside on the dock, on this night there was a live band playing, the sun was shining, boats sailing into the marina, the atmosphere was fantastic and fortunately the food was great too. The dinner menu was very eclectic, unique fair that screamed out "try me first!" We started with salads that came with our meal, the Summer Berry was awesome and the Traditional Greek was delish. We had our young son with us who is gluten sensitive and they made him the best buttermilk, corn flour chicken tenders and fries he ever had; in a separate fryer. We also had the Cafe Ruben, which was so tangy and flavorful with the sauerkraut, Dijon, and 1000 island dressing, it was stacked thick with corned beef on marble rye, yum. We also sampled the special, it was an amazing lobster roll that was going to be added to the main menu by popular demand and I could taste why. As you could surmise we all loved our food, the scenic ambiance is the best it the city and the service was great. We plan to go back for breakfast, apparently it has a great menu, took a peek at it, lots of cool, tasty options...yes I'm talking about you Crab Cake Benny. 'Til we eat again,...

Service is terrible, food quality is hit or miss and the prices are way high for what you get .

This is an update to my previous review went there had to sit inside because of the rain which is fine except the windows didn’t look like they had been cleaned in long time. Waitresses asked what I wanted and I told her I was torn between the Greek salad and the buffalo chicken sandwich. She suggested the buffalo chicken sandwich and the wine that most people would order. this is where it all went downhill first my wine, which was $20 for a glass was served in a small glass that came straight out of the dishwasher . It was not dry and it dripped every time I picked it up. Secondly, the buffalo chicken was so overcooked and greasy that the buffalo part fell right off while using a knife and fork to cut through the sandwich which was so dry. The french fries which she should’ve offered me the upgrade of the Greek salad because that’s what I really wanted, but she did not we’re frozen from a bag extremely disappointing I will never return to this establishment and I wish everyone to be aware that when you go there if it’s just to sit on the dock, you get...