Crossroads — Restaurant in Seguin Township

After two years, we finally returned to physically eat at Crossroads on the beautifully appointed patio that offers diners a small peek at Lake Rosseau through the lush surrounding greenery. Cool jazz renditions of pop songs were the perfect accompaniment to our casually paced meal. Along with vegetable spring rolls, I started with a cocktail from their healthy and creative list and Cam with craft beer. Too much ice in that I-wish-summer-wouldn’t-end cocktail probably led me to get a decaf dessert coffee with a shot of Baileys in it later, but that’s the price one has to pay for trying to prolong the natural progress of things.

Still trying to hold tight to August I suppose, we ordered the Summer Artisanal Salad (mixed greens, tomatoes, olives, peppers, onions) to share. Our excellent server kindly made sure we received it on two plates. It’s almost impossible for me to not order the Georgian Bay Pickerel when I come here; the season is so short for the real deal and Crossroads always makes sure it is melt-in-your-mouth buttery delicious. Cam had the enormous Nova Scotia scallops with mango salsa and risotto. The scallops are so large that he actually doesn’t have a problem sharing them with me.

We also “shared” a pumpkin cheesecake for dessert, but as I joked to the table beside us, it’s actually not shareable: I’d get my own next time.

Over the past couple of years, Crossroads has continued to feed and support the community that cherishes it so much. We’ve had take out (fish and chips, prepared pasta dinners, etc.) on numerous times with probably their lasagna being the family favourite (and the saviour when guests suddenly arrived). We have also indulged in the take out “surprise” chef’s box, which was so incredible that it deserves it’s own review. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a delight or if you want to treat the special person in your life (ie. the person who usually makes the food in your house) to some of the best food they will ever, ever eat.

I almost didn’t write this review because everyone who knows Crossroads knows the quality of the food, the talent of the kitchen staff, and the personability of the serving staff. It took us three weeks to get a weekend reservation on the patio--also a testament to how much the place is loved. But, I did want to write this to thank Crossroads for being there for all of us during some challenging times. I hope you know how much we value you and how we all hope you...

There's no denying the ambiance, food artistry and the amazing food that is prepared at Crossroads. My family and I enjoyed celebrating two birthdays the other day. In our opinion, the only shortfall is with the wait staff. We were earlier than the 3:00 pm opening but the Hostess did not greet us, or anyone after us, rather she continued speaking to another couple who she obviously knew. At 3:00 pm sharp, the entire wait staff appeared and started seating us. When we asked for a different table, we were met with a firm 'no', saying all the other tables were assigned. When we pushed back a bit asking 'why', the server went back to the front desk without saying a word, and eventually came back and told us again 'no'. In the midst of asking 'why', a lady server came by, whispered something to him, and we were seated at another table. We then were given another waiter. Slightly awkward at first the waiter took our order. My daughter's entree had a caterpillar cooked in it. She discreetly notified the waiter, who removed the meal and asked her to order something else. Shortly thereafter, the Head Server visited our table and apologized for the insect 'flying into' the meal. My daughter told her the caterpillar was in the food, not that it flew into her meal. The Head Server's quickly moved on. While the server comp'd my daughter second meal, a glass of wine and dessert, we did pay for the caterpillar meal! We were enjoying catching up and moved past the incident when another server came up to us, and asked us to move over to the Muskoka chairs so they could get set up for the next guest. What was to be a celebratory occasion did have some unnecessary hiccups, that diminished an otherwise 5* event. Some of the reviewers commented that guests being seated after them were served before them. We found the same to be true and I presume from the conversation between the guest and server, they were probably regulars. For those that served us, formal training in customer relations would go a long way. You can have the most delicious food and beautiful setting, but it means nothing if you don't feel welcome as a guest in the...

We have been going to Crossroads for many years now and have always enjoyed the beautiful atmosphere, good food and very personable service. We love going for a nice date night out or for special occasions. We we there a few weeks ago and had a great time in the garden patio. I’ve been wavering about writing this review, but feel like this needs to be shared.

I recently learned that Crossroads makes their waitstaff give away an unreasonable amount of their tips. The server has to give 10% of the bill to the other workers and also to the owners get some of their tips. I was shocked to hear this and very disappointed. We cannot continue to support a business that requires their staff to do that. That is half the tip if I leave 20%! When I tip my server I expect that the majority will be kept by them, as they have spent the time looking after us. I understand that other staff should get a portion but this is ridiculous.

We had already been weary about the drastic price increases year after year that don’t seem in line with other restaurants we frequent. The most unreasonable pricing is the wine, but we have accepted that as we enjoy the experience. I would think the owners should earn their profits from the menu prices and allow the wait staff to keep what they are earning. It’s very disappointing, and we will no longer be supporting a business with this practice.

Updated: in response to the reply from the owners at Crossroads. I am aware that “tip pooling” is common practice. Our daughter has worked in restaurants and like I said, I agree with sharing the tips with other workers. It is a disgusting practice for the owners to take some of the tips earned by the staff. And having the staff tip out 10% of their sales is ludicrous. That is half of the tip when I leave a 20% tip! I’m sure many patrons would be disgusted by your response and by your policies. You have shown just how out of touch you are by trying to defend this. If it’s such a good practice, why do you care that anyone knows about it? Support local restaurants that don’t take advantage of their staff or take money out of their earnings to line their...