The Walker House — Restaurant in Saugeen Shores

I very rarely take the time to write negative reviews, but my recent visit to Walker House in Southampton was so disappointing that I feel it’s important to share my experience in detail. This was supposed to be a nice evening out, but unfortunately, it turned into one of the most frustrating and unsatisfying dining experiences I’ve had in years.

From the moment we arrived, the host staff was amazing sat us with respect and a smile

After waiting what felt like an excessive amount of time for our drinks, we placed our food order. I specifically ordered a steak medium well clearly stating how I wanted it prepared. This was supposed to be the highlight of my meal and, given the prices on the menu, I expected it to be cooked correctly and with care. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

When my steak arrived, it was completely overcooked — dry, tough, and grey all the way through. There wasn’t even a hint of pink inside. It was almost inedible, and it tasted as if it had been left sitting for some time before being served. The sides were bland and clearly not fresh, making the entire plate a complete disappointment.

This level of customer service was extremely frustrating. Mistakes can happen in any restaurant, but what truly matters is how they are handled. In this case, it was clear that there was no genuine care for the customer’s experience. It felt like they simply wanted to move on as quickly as possible without taking any responsibility.

The overall atmosphere of the restaurant didn’t help either. The staff seemed unorganized and overwhelmed, constantly rushing around without focus. Tables around us sat uncleared for long stretches of time, and it gave the entire place an unclean and neglected feeling. Even basic requests like refilling water or checking in on how the meal was going were completely ignored.

Considering the prices Walker House charges, this lack of professionalism and attention to detail is completely unacceptable. When a restaurant positions itself as a higher-end dining option, the food quality and service need to reflect that. In this case, both were severely lacking.

By the end of the evening, we were left feeling completely let down. What was supposed to be an enjoyable meal turned into a stressful experience that left a bad taste — both literally and figuratively.

There are many excellent restaurants in and around Southampton where customers are treated with respect and the food is prepared with care. Sadly, Walker House is not one of them. I cannot recommend this place to anyone, and I will not...

I guess I’m the only person who doesn’t think this is a good place. Maybe I’m just unlucky and order the bad stuff, but of the 4 times I ate here, once was good. I don’t remember what I had. I just remember the other three times because they weren’t good! The first time was during Covid and we went for lunch , after having the butter chicken special, which admittedly tasted good on the first bite, it dawned on me that it must be jarred sauce because I started to feel nauseous and couldn’t finish it. It was also very oily.

The second time was with different friends and we all enjoyed our meal. My friend, especially enjoyed her steak. The third time was with family members and I had to leave and go stand outside because my face suddenly felt extremely hot as tho I’d eaten hot peppers - some MSG or something because I didn’t order anything spicy

The fourth and very last time I will ever be cajoled into going there, I stupidly had the special, which was buttermilk chicken…. There was a restaurant in Pike Bay that used to make this, but have closed down now. It came on a waffle and was wonderful. I always went when it was buttermilk chicken night.

Well, when it came at walker house boy or boy, was it a disappointment! It was very, very very dark and hard and deep fried like old Kentucky fried chicken. I was really disappointed and sort of broke off the outside to try to eat some of the chicken inside it was that oily and gross. We were going to an event, so when I paid, I said on the side, to the waitress, that it really had not been very good and I don’t actually want to take it home with me.

She mentioned, why didn’t I say some thing… but not only were we going to an event after, I was with work colleagues, and didn’t want to make them uncomfortable, and isn’t it awful when everyone’s order takes half an hour and then everybody has to wait for your order to come once again? I have no issue with this waitress, but I have to give a poor rating because the other two poor experiences the waitresses were not very interested in the poor quality food. Maybe they were just used to hearing it.

Oh yeah and it’s Loud. I’ve never sat on the other side maybe it’s nice and quiet over there. But who cares? I didn’t even pay for these meals and feel ripped off. If the lighthouse is open, I will head over there. I’ve only been there for breakfast, but it was one of the best...

Normally I leave a review either if a place is excellent or terrible, so why am I leaving 3 stars? The service and the place itself were fine, my food was decent, but my wife's food was a disappointment.

We had garlic cheese bread and caprese flatbread to start, and the garlic cheese bread was good (more cheese than garlic, which I like) and the flatbread caprese was also good (again, plenty of cheese).

I got the boss burger which I liked, they say 9oz and it's definitely a big patty. The fries might have been fresh cut, they had the bits of skin that indicate real potatoes. Good fries, good burger.

My wife got the rib eye steak, which comes with rice and vegetables. The steak looked OK but somehow it only had a fraction of the flavor such a steak would normally have. You might say that's because she asked for it well done but I would say that we've been to a number of steak places that do a good well done steak, and even I can do a decent job of it.

The rice was described as "pilaf" but it really wasn't - pilaf is supposed to be light, fluffy, not stuck together, and flavorful due to cooking in stock and spices. My wife suspects they made it yesterday and microwaved it today, I suspect they cooked it in dishwater.

The vegetables almost certainly came frozen and were microwaved. I really don't think there's any justification for doing that.

Having said this, the restaurant took half off the steak dish after hearing it wasn't good, so again decent service.

The steak dish really reminds me of something off Gordon Ramsay's show where the chef just stopped caring about the food he makes. And that's too bad because it's a nice looking restaurant with good service and some of their dishes are good. If they cleaned up their act on the steak entree it would have been a good overall experience.

I'll also mention that two plates and a cup came visibly dirty. Fortunately the plates weren't used for food so we just got them switched. The cup was just for water, and I felt bad harassing the waitress so I just...