Grassroots Restaurant — Restaurant in St. Thomas

On Friday, my wife and I celebrated my birthday at GrassRoots. Rating is a solid 9/10.

We only go out to dinner a couple times a year, having 2 kids under 4 really puts a strain on things, so we like to treat ourselves when we do. I am a former Chef that is not easily impressed and rarely inspired by other people's food, but that was not the case tonight. It has been a good while since I have eaten a dish that makes me want to jump into the kitchen and give the line a hug.

The menu is the perfect size for me, it only had about a dozen food items in total and I wanted to try every single one (even the vegetarian dish, but I would never order that). The ambience was nice, very small and cozy with a Dry Ageing fridge on display 🤩

We started with the Pork Belly Bites. My god 🤯. The Kimchi cutting through the fat of the pork with sharp tasting fresh herbs made for a fantastic bite.

My wife got the Pasta with braised beef and bone marrow, it was her first time trying marrow and she was not a fan (lucky me) but loved the rest of the dish. The Fresh Pasta was cooked well but the sizes were inconsistent (just nitpicking at this point), the braised beef was tender but still in small chunks and the flavours were on point.

I got one of the three steak features, 8oz Dry Aged Tenderloin with Broccolini, Roasted Potatoes and red wine demi. Steak was cooked and seasoned perfectly, the sauce was fantastic, the vegetable worked with the dish and wasn't just an after thought or thrown on the plate (my biggest pet peeve at a restaurant), and I would like to know how those potatoes are prepared because they were crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

We shared the Buttermilk Tart with Apple Butter and Hazelnuts, it was delicious but not what I was expecting. The flavours were great, I didn't understand the berries though, maybe just for colour?

One glass of wine and 2 beers, it came to $170 before tip. More than we like to spend but it was better than The Keg's $200 bill for similar meals Highly recommend if you are willing to spend a little more.

No photos taken as I find that annoying in public. I'll leave it to the restaurant to get pictures...

My wife and I went to Grassroots recently for dinner, and it was absolutely delicious. I ordered the dry aged braised beef with cipollini onions, beef tallow-fried potatoes and a craft beer jus, which was amazing. It was the most tender beef I've ever had in my life, it genuinely melted in my mouth, and the onions were super tender and buttery. The only issue I had was that the crispy potatoes didn't seem salted at all, but the texture was great. My wife had the grilled octopus, which she loved. She said the texture was really nice for that type of dish, a crispy exterior and soft interior. I also tried it, and I would agree. And she said that the other assortments of butter beans, chorizo and and tomatoes were equally delicious. We also had the scotch egg to start with, and although it's quite a small appetizer, it's got a lot of flavour, and the aioli it came with was delicious and a good level of spice. And to finish it off, we shared the creme brulee, which had a perfectly crunchy top layer, and a delicious custard underneath. Also, the lemonade was delicious.

So all in all, just a lot of deliciousness! And although I unfortunately cannot remember the waiter's name, he was super knowledgeable about the menu, and personable, and helped make the whole experience very pleasant.

This restaurant is fantastic, and definitely deserves (and needs) a much larger location, because they are achieving some wonderful culinary creations over there, and the current location is far too cramped and therefore quite loud when full. Thankfully that won't take anything away from how delicious...

Our visit to Grassroots in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada left much to be desired. We started with the mushroom dip, a promising dish on the menu. Unfortunately, it did not live up to expectations. The brioche bread served with the dip was overly sweet, overshadowing any mushroom flavor and paired oddly with the strong hints of lemon zest or juice. The combination was confusing and unappetizing.

Moving on to the crispy chicken sandwich, it featured a mix of sweet chili sauce, flavored mayo, homemade vinegar cucumbers, and pineapple. However, these flavors did not harmonize well, leaving us with an unsatisfying taste experience. Additionally, we were surprised to find two pieces of thigh meat instead of the expected crispy chicken breast. The use of untrimmed thigh meat, full of excess fat, further detracted from the dish. The fries were crispy but excessively salty.

Despite sharing our feedback with the server, no corrective action was taken, and the promised offer of a discount or credit for a future visit was not honored. This lack of follow-through, coupled with disappointing food, left us feeling let down. Ultimately, we had to seek another dining option later that evening.

In summary, our experience at Grassroots in St. Thomas fell short in terms of both quality and value. We are willing to pay for well-prepared, high-quality food, but unfortunately, Grassroots failed to meet our expectations...