Chinched — Restaurant in St. John's

Food has always been good, and I gave it a 5-star rating 4 years ago. However, I am back to change it to a 4-star rating now because I feel really hurt. I have celebrated my birthday three times here in the past, but this year, I am extremely disappointed. We made a reservation a week before my birthday, but when we arrived on time, the waitress informed us that they were 'busy' and seated me at a table facing the washroom. I politely requested a different seat for my birthday, but she refused to accommodate my request, not even pretending to do so. Throughout the meal, the washroom door remained open, which was highly unpleasant. Furthermore, the waitress used an uncomfortable tone while reiterating how busy they were and insisted that we finish the meal within 1.5 hours, even though we had just sat down. After placing our food order, she did not bother to check on us or inquire about the quality of the food. When she changed the water bottle, it was done hastily and with a hint of rudeness. Her fingers even touched the inside of the bottle, yet she said nothing and left it on our table. When we finished our main dishes, only one dessert arrived instead of the two we had ordered. Not wanting my partner to witness me eating the cake alone, we had to wait for someone else to check the table and inform them of our missing order. Despite the disappointing experience, we still tipped 18% for the meal. However, this birthday experience has left me deeply hurt in numerous ways. I used to love Chinched, which is why I celebrated my own and my parents' birthdays here in the past. Unfortunately, I will never go to...

It's my worst dining experience in recent 5 years for sure. I am surprised nobody said how pretentious their food was! Appetizer portion for entrees and we had to buy soup and instant noodle on the way home after dinner so we won't go to bed hungry. Had the food been any good, the small portion and price would not be an issue as we were ready to splurge on our last meal in Newfoundland, but unfortunately what we ordered gave us no confidence in ordering more from Chinched. Maybe we were unlucky with menu that night, here is what we ordered: lamb shank (stay away! flavorless and chewy, I didn't know you can mess up lamb so bad), cod dumplings (somehow i assumed it's American dumplings my bad, but it's 4 pieces of Asian potsticker with cod filling, not much flavor, avoid), potato-wrapped cod (highly praised by waiter, tender although a bit salty for my taste, but $26 for 2 pieces of nugget-size cod was not my idea of entree), crispy pig's ear (quite good, the only item met our expectation).

The waiter was pleasant and courteous, but food left us wanting.....At the end of day we three so wished we had repeated our tapas experience just a few blocks down, we would have been...

This is everything you could possibly ask for in a cosy casual, yet classy St. John's eatery. The wait staff are skilled, friendly, and very knowledgeable, and the food is clearly prepared by skilled chefs who take pride in their work and are confident in their creative skills. Even down to the cocktails, the effort put into creating a menu that stands out from the pack is evident. I had the ramen, which I was very nervous about after having numerous terrible bowls of ramen at non-ramen shops, but it was an absolute success. A lot of love was put into that little bowl. This is absolutely one place you can't skip if you're visiting St. John's. UPDATE: Went back for a second time and tried a few more dishes. I just keep falling in love with this place more and more. The second floor is beautiful (though they are moving locations soon), and the server this time was just as knowledgable and great as last time. I think this solidified Chinchwad as one of my fav restaurants in St. John's. Cod tongue's better than I've ever had, and the charcuterie board...