Grand Bizarre — Restaurant in Toronto

(2/3)

We also decided to go with the Moët & Chandon Brut Imperial ($275) and Brut Rosé ($275). Our group hemmed and hawed about which tequila to go with, and Lauren suggested the overpriced swill of Clase Azul or Don Julio, and I politely said that no one could pay me to touch those tequilas. Ultimately, my friends said that I should have stopped overthinking it and just went with my favourite Casamigos Blanco ($400) and Bombay Sapphire ($275) for the others who wanted gin.

By the time the F&B arrived, it was 10:55 PM—talk about a letdown to wait for more than half an hour after ordering. But this was where things continued to go downhill for a good chunk of the night.

With handheld food and shareables, none of us minded eating the food from plates on our laps, but the massive quantity of the order, which again could have been avoided if we staggered orders throughout the night, could not fit. There were not enough metal tables, so more corner metal tables had to be brought to our VIP Table to accommodate all of the dishes and two buckets—one to chill the liquor and one with ice and a scoop for mixed drinks. For the record, the buckets were on the floor for a few minutes. Alexander (one of the supervisors or managers) brought out another leather bench without any of us asking so that more of the group could sit down.

It was at this point in the night that Lauren disappeared for more than an hour and a half. An automatic gratuity charge of 20% demands the respective quality and level of service excellence, both of which were sorely lacking that night. It's become a bit of a tradition that on the rare occasion I decide to immerse myself in Toronto's nightlife that I end up serving—but no complaints from me.

Despite the fun special bottle service presentation, there were not enough disposable shot glasses, napkins, or water. We also had to ask for limes to go with the tequila and tonic water for the gin. We had to ask for those things repeatedly at the outset. It's important to note that there were two server assistants dedicated to our area, one of whom was Samuel, and he was laser-focused like a hawk to replenish ice, glasses, plastic shot glasses, and more. On top of that, the SAs never hesitated to clear out dirty tableware and even bent down to pick up garbage.

Alex and Sam brought everything that we had asked for, and Sam even suggested putting a slice of lime into the water carafes and a lemon slice for the tonic water to differentiate between the two clear liquids.

The food is not fine dining perfection, mind you, but it was executed to near perfection. I certainly wouldn't expect anything less from a kitchen staff led by Chef Rainford. Our only complaint was that the tortilla chips were overly salted, but it wasn't a big deal to mention.

Different spots of the floor were sticky, however, whether it's because of the congealed juice or soda pop residue.

After Lauren remembered to come back closer to midnight, I made a point to politely tell her that her lack of service was disappointing; after which, she would not leave our table for 10 minutes straight and then kept coming back every 5 minutes.

On a positive note, the bathrooms, while naturally crowded for a 2,500+ event, were exceptionally clean. The bartenders, for the most part, appeared outgoing, professional, and courteous, though it's hard to be sure just by looking at their body language and facial expressions from a distance.

The security around the stage is very professional, but some stationed around the entrances of the venue are blasé and couldn't care less about their responsibilities.

Mahmut Orhan's performance was incredible, and the lighting was immersive, not flashy or obtrusive. The sound system certainly rivals the concerts that I have attended at Scotiabank Arena or Budweiser...

Really cool concept, loved the ability to eat different types of foods via chips (although I recommend you bring the right handbag to host your chips, or they could provide nicer baggie for them other than plastic that rips easily). We made a reservation for a friend's birthday. I would come back! As long as I don't get the same server, we had some issues with our night.

My main problem was that after a few bottles, drinks and more food purchased, my final bill had a 20% gratuity charge (not a problem at all though this is expected!!), I asked my server if this was her tip just to make sure. I never ever want to leave somewhere without tipping so I wanted to confirm. She said she doesn't get any of it... that it all goes to the house. SO on top of my $90 tip, I tipped another $80. Something didn't feel right with her especially since she conveniently forgot to take off a $150 from my pre-reservation payment when she saw my husband paying but remembered when I picked up the bill to make sure it was all okay. She ripped it out of my hand and stormed off with it to correct it before I could read through...and to top that she spilled almost half our bottle onto the floor pouring shots and only brought one shot in exchange for spilling it. Long story short, I asked for a manager who confirmed that what she said was NOT true. Half the gratuity does in fact go directly to the server. The manager was great about it and refunded me the second tip. Like I said the managers were really attentive but the young staff here seemed to try gouge us.

Overall Good: Excellent staff overall, various managers were always in on checking on us. They only had craft beer for the night for beer options and brought my husband over to the bar to try them all out and figure which he'd like. Gorgeous decor!! A place to dress cute and enjoy your night for sure. Loved that I could be in a club/resto/lounge all at the same time Food was all delicious -DJ was great, I see people complaining that they played different genres but this worked well for our group. Only thing missing was hiphop, not one single 'current' hiphop track played from what I can remember.

Bad: They are open once a week and conveniently the most affordable white wine on the menu was somehow sold out @ $65 a bottle.

-The show was terrible. This was the biggest disappointment as it was what we were most looking forward to from reviews. Amateur and stripper like, Burlesque should still have class. It was really bad honestly. For the atmosphere and prices of food and drink this was awful. Perhaps a one off for the week but a disappointment none the less.

-A bit of a counter to staff keeping tables clean is that we'd turn for a second and a drink would disappear or an almost finished meal would be gone..I guess they're use to people wasting plates.

To enter, even though we had dinner reservations we had to pay for 12 chips minimum with taxes and gratuities it came to $58 ish dollars, this was not disclosed on initial reservation but was not a biggie considering we were having dinner anyway... but that's the cover eating or not and those chips don't work for drinks.

That's my bit....

(3/3)

Past midnight, 15 Saskatchewan Road was packed to the rafters which was certainly a sight to see. I was amazed by that because news media reports have said that 72% of Canadian restaurateurs have increased hours worked by ownership and management, while 64% have reduced hours of operation. When adjusted for inflation, restaurants have seen a 12% drop in GDP from 2019 to 2022. In-person dining in Toronto has also declined by nearly 10% between May to September 2023.

And just to drive the point home, nearly one in four Canadians will need charitable services to meet their needs through the holiday season.

So what's the point in concluding the review with a pretty bleak painting of the economic outlook? Because despite the challenges, the night that Mahmut performed at Grand Bizarre, it was the biggest and most electric party that I have ever seen.

The Grand Bizarre experience really lived up to its promise of world-renowned House musical talent, even all the way from Türkiye.

But God forbid if you end up being "served" by Lauren because whether it's due to incompetence, or worse, the lack of care, she would be an unmitigated disaster without some serious self-reflection and improvement -- put it simply, she would be a black hand at any venue of Toronto's oversaturated nightlife scene.

To wrap up this review, the following excerpt from Anton Ego's monologue (in Ratatouille) ties everything together with a nice bow: "In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations, the new needs friends..."

Grand Bizarre invites you to be their guest as they pioneered the concept of social dining aka the Supper Club in the city. I only hope that they are committed to continuous and consistent learning and service excellence.

PS, open Saturdays only, but here's hoping to expanded days...