NeuLokal — Restaurant in Toronto

“Warning to Potential Customers: Our Experience and Defamation at Neolokal” !!!!!!!!

On July 5th, my spouse, our friends, and their young children (I specifically mention this to emphasize the family setting) went to a restaurant called Neolokal. Our reservation was for 7:30 PM, but our table was only ready at 8:00 PM. However, we did not raise any complaints about this. (This can be clearly seen in the restaurant’s security camera footage.)

The venue was quite crowded, and there was only one waiter on duty—who was also quite inexperienced. As a result, the service was incredibly slow. However, since it was our friend’s birthday and we had a small child with us, we chose to remain quiet. We did not let it ruin our mood. We ate our meal, paid our bill, and left the restaurant without any issues. (This can also be clearly seen in the restaurant’s security camera footage.)

After returning home that night, my spouse posted an honest review on Google about our experience. In response, the restaurant owner replied with a passive-aggressive comment. At first, we saw this merely as an unprofessional approach and did not pay much attention.

However, later the restaurant owner deleted that response and posted a much more serious and defamatory comment — claiming that my spouse was a “very bad customer,” that we “disturbed female customers” there, and that despite being warned, we “lost control.”

Until we saw this new comment, we only thought we had received poor service. But now we realize this is a serious issue. We never expected to be subjected to such slander simply for providing honest feedback. During our time at the restaurant, we received no verbal or physical warnings. We ate respectfully and left peacefully.

My purpose in writing this review is twofold: to warn potential customers about the treatment they might face here and to inform the business owner that we will initiate legal proceedings in the coming days.

We have the following evidence:

A recording of our friend’s phone call to make the reservation,

The receipts we paid at the restaurant,

Screenshots showing that after my spouse’s review, the restaurant owner repeatedly tried to add my spouse on social media,

And most importantly, we are confident that the security camera footage from that night will completely refute the owner’s allegations.

In addition to this review, I will file complaints on the following platforms:

Google, Better Business Bureau (BBB) Yelp TripAdvisor

and the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal (OHRT).

If the business owner is making such ugly and baseless accusations, they should provide their own evidence just like we have. We demand that they share all security camera footage from that night.

I want to make it very clear: There will be no one more determined than me to follow up on this matter. No matter how many months or years it takes, and no matter how much money I have to spend on lawyers, I will never give up...

My partner and I went for dinner at Neulokal while we were on a walk. They were very accommodating, and seated us immediately.

The atmosphere was really nice. The interior is spacious, with tunes playing and is lit well.

Service was decent, if not odd. We bounced between servers, and they could have been a little more attentive, to be honest (given that the restaurant was half empty at the time). We tended to wait for longer than the larger party across the floor from us, who seemed to be getting a lot of attention.

Drinks were good (we ordered Somersby Mango-Lime ciders - cans). We ordered the Avocado Roll with Salmon and the Patatas Bravas to start. For our mains, we ordered the Panzanelle and the Beef Tenderloin Salad.

Oddly, we got our mains first - and we each received the others' plate, though we didn't think about it (since both were beef-based salads). The Patatas Bravas arrived after, and the Avocado Roll with Salmon arrived quite a bit later (maybe 5-10 minutes after the potatoes).

The Avocado Roll with Salmon was decent - with nice flavours, though a bit strong on the sauce and not enough flavour in the salmon). We wouldn't order the Patatas Bravas again, as the "salsa" tasted basically like tomato paste and parsley (though, the potatoes were cooked well).

The mains were nice. 5 strips of sirloin done very nicely with fresh veggies and herbs. It's a shame that these were delivered first as it would have been nice to finish with these (we wanted to eat it while the steak was hot).

Overall, a mediocre experience - but to be fair, this restaurant is relatively new. The menu is eclectic, with a wide range of dishes - something that is quite challenging to pull off. Tightening up the service would help a fair bit.

Looking forward to seeing the improvements one day...

Highly disappointed in my experience.

Stopped by for drinks and a bite while in the neighbourhood with some friends. When we stepped in, the young lady was confused and ran off to speak to an older lady as we said we do not have a reservation (most of the restaurant was empty, it was only 8pm).

Eventually we were led to a table, where we waited almost 15 minutes for a server to come greet us, give us menus and we had to wave him down to ask for water after. Again, the restaurant was not busy. There were hardly 10 people inside.

When we were ordering, the server was confused about who was ordering what, and asked us to point out the item in the menu multiple times (Assumed he was new so not a big deal). When the food came he just placed the plates down in front and we had to distribute amongst ourselves which was a bit odd.

A note on the menu by the way - seems to be all over the place, and the only starters they have are soup. Not a good choice for the summer. No fries, nachos, small plates or anything.

I watched as the bartenders worked and made my drink - I had previously worked in the restaurant industry for many years behind the bar, as a server, and even as a manager. The woman was confused, the man kept looking at recipe cards. They were also free pouring certain ingredients which you should only do if you are highly experienced. My drink arrived completely watered down and tasted awful. It was a complete mess.

No one checked in on us while we were eating, and my friend had to chase down the server to grab the bill - he had also forgot what we had originally ordered.

Skip this place if you can. Far better places to eat and...