Bru Garden Stratford — Restaurant in Stratford

I write this review with hesitation & appreciation for what the Bru gardens was and still could be.

This is a must stop spot in Stratford during the summer time full stop.

The atmosphere, the beer garden aesthetic, the options for some local brews, is amazing if you're just stopping for a pint.

The food and service is what takes this from an easy 6/5 star to barely a 2 review.

Ive been twice since opening for the season this year, food has taken a huge step down. For such a focused and relatively easy menu, my burger wasn't up to standard for the prices they charge. The patty itself was under done for a smash burger, pickles were limp and lifeless, the tomato although nearly in season was worse than what you would get at 11 pm at a subway. I asked for extra aioli was charged for more & it was even the same as what was one the bun.

What prompted me to write this review was the state of the French fries, as easy as they should be when you charge 7-9 dollars, were soggy underseasoned and not fresh for 5:30-6 pm on a Friday night. Simply unacceptable for how busy it was.

This was also the first time in a while where I went out of my way to not tip. I recognize I was sitting during a busier period, but the service was truly no different then a fast food restaurant. It also seemed as if they had more than enough staff coverage for the evening as well. It took a considerable amount for time to come over after being seated, North of ten mins to get a drink order, another 10 after receiving the drink then was served the food described above. I could've said anything during the 5 seconds the waitress asked how was our food and it wouldn't of registered.

Bru garden please see this review! This has potential to be a must stop spot in southwestern Ontario. Please add back more local brews vs the cheap corporate beers like it use to be. Please keep to small but easy menu, but make refinements, it's so easy to just melt cheese on a patty or put more than a single slice of microwaved bacon on the bun. Take the time to develop the servers like you have at Gillys!

Even with 2 stars I'm still gonna recommend. But please...

The selection of alcoholic drinks is pretty nice, at reasonable prices.

The food was pretty disappointing, the smash burger was so thin and overcooked. The price was reasonable but I wouldn't buy food again. The pulled pork was incredibly chewy and not so fall apart. The fries were fine.

Service was mediocre, none of the condiment accommodations for the burger were followed thus resulting in an even less enjoyable eating experience. The waiter was nice and polite, however didn't really listen to what we ordered unfortunately.

The outside atmosphere is beautiful, and very enjoyable to socialize.

TLDR, great for drinks, and I'm sure the more you have the better the...

The server and rooftop patio atmosphere were good. Food and kitchen service, on the other hand, were very disappointing. I ordered the smashburger with cheese, and it came out completely raw. The server apologized and had the kitchen make up a new one. Unfortunately, the new burger came out with a patty half the thickness of the first, completely overcooked, barely any sauce, no flavour and was missing literally half the toppings (they forgot the pickles and onions, which come standard). Ended up giving up on the smashburger at this point, the server apologized again, and I left hungry. Cool place for drinks but would caution against ordering any food...