Proof Bar & Patio — Restaurant in Toronto

I will give this place 2 stars each reason not earned are below:

I came here on Saturday to host my best friends bachelorette Party. I arrived with 9 people in hand and advised we will be expecting 2 more. One waiter brought over an extra seat that blocked the way of the waiters coming from the back of the house. We were seated in the section that seated only 8-9 people. 1 couch, 2 single seats and 3 ottomans. I asked one of the waiters there if we could be seated in the other booth which had more seats. He advised the booth was already reserved and that we could not move.

We said "OK" that was fine, especially if that group came with more people than we did.

The other group arrived, there were only 5 people in the group that were there. This was ridiculous! We were squishing 11 people to fit in one spot while others had a full couch or two person per couch that seated approx 4 people Maximum. But we had to squeeze 5 people on the couch in our area. This was minus one star.

Than the service was horrible. We were there from approx 9:15 to around 11:30 - 12. When we first got there the waiter was barely around. We had to wait a long time to order our food and we did not all order at the same time. It was very staggered. Usually the waiter/waitress writes everything down and knows who had which item. This was not done. We were told if we were going to pay separate bills we had to write what we had on a piece of paper and provide it to the waiter/ waitress when it was time to pay. Isn't this the whole job as a waiter / waitress??? I might as well have got up to get my own food, if that was the case. Also, one of my guests asked for ketchup. So we thought it would be served in a little bowl/dish like it is served on the plate. NO! she brought over the whole bottle of ketchup which by the way did not look all that clean. At least if she put the ketchup in a bowl like it is supposed to be served it would have been a little bit more appreciated. Minus 1 star.

We had to wait forever for our food. Like 30 minutes each time ordering. The plate portions are super small, i do understand if the restaurant is "small plate" style. But if its a small plate and taking 30 minutes to come out of the kitchen than it has to taste incredible. NOPE! it did not. I would give the food a 3.8 out of 5, if i were to rate it. Minus 1 star.

Also, when asked about a mistake on the bills the waiter gave us an attitude. I do not know if she was having a bad day or what? But it was uncalled for. Minus 1 star.

And to top it off, the restaurant was not busy what so ever. There were people coming in and out but no one stayed as long as we did. We had 11 people in our party and each person did order quite a few of items. Also, gratuity was added to our bills. Personally I do not feel it was deserved by the wait staff that served us. There was one waiter with dreads that actually helped us out a little bit who was really nice. But he wasn't our assigned waiter. I think our tip should have been given to him. Minus 1 star.

On the bright side, the place is absolutely beautiful!!! I will give them a thumbs up for that. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING, the chairs were comfy, and the space was very calming. The music was pretty good, but the songs were rotated quite frequently. For a 3 hour time, we heard the same songs maybe 3 times. So rotation may have been every hour. Wish it was a little more variety though :) but that is ok. Plus 1 star.

Also, at the end of our night they provided us with complimentary truffles and brownie which was really nice. I commend them for that. That is...

I would love to give this establishment 0 stars overall if I could. I have never encountered such rude and unprofessional staff.

We briefly attended the restaurant on Saturday August 12th 2017. We had made a reservation for 8:30 pm to be seated on the patio as part of a bachelorette party. Upon arrival the bartender seemed annoyed to have to serve a group of 4 ladies (there were only 3-4 other people in the restaurant at the time).

We were advised that the patio had been closed due to light rain earlier in the day. We told her that it would have been nice to receive a courtesy call to be told that so we could have gone elsewhere. The bartender immediately had tons of attitude and started arguing with me about how she had talked to me on the phone earlier in the day. I was very confused and told her I had not called and had confirmed everything by email. She continued to raise her voice and argue, insisting that she had spoken with me via telephone. I finally ended it by telling her this was a really stupid thing to be arguing about and I wasn't going to continue fighting about a phone call I hadn't made. She then walked away but continued mumbling and complaining about me. At this point we asked to speak with the manager.

Although the manager was nice, he didn't seem to have a good handle on the situation or his staff. He figured out that she had us confused with another group and apologized to us but seemed more interested in making excuses for the bartender. He did go to talk to her but was shrugging things off and she was laughing during the entire conversation.

Our group was made to feel extremely uncomfortable and unwelcome here. The restaurant was dead and it's easy to understand why. The staff did not seem like they wanted to work whatsoever. It seemed like we were ruining their Saturday night of socializing with each other while they were devoid of any customers. We decided to go elsewhere and are so glad...

This was my second dinner experience at Proof, and I wasn't disappointed! This time, we ordered the chef's selection of 5 Pintxos with our drinks. What arrived was another adventure in culinary decadence. We savoured chorizo potatoes that alternately spiked and soothed with heat and texture. That was followed by the famous clams and lardon strips in a broth that MUST be soaked up with the bite-size morsels of bread in the pintxo bread appetizer with EV Spanish olive oil. For lobster lovers, the slider with crab, melts in your mouth. And the fresh-caught Ontario pickerel, deep fried and served with deep fried pickled jalapeno, will spoil you for any other. For our final dish, Chef Andrew prepared us something special. It was, after all, our third visit in a week. Flown in that day from Italy, fresh burrata (translate: freshly formed mozzarella around a soft, creamy centre that melts like butter in your mouth) surrounded by fresh black fig and strawberry slices, and the most amazing home-made frozen raspberry, + some kind of liquor, tiny "ju-jubes", all resting on a bed of rye crisp crumbs, and wafer-thin slices, for crunch. Don't expect to get that last pintxo at dinner though; that's a special offered only on the lunch menu. Go for the food, but stay for the ambience. It's a Yorkville hotspot, so you're very likely to see almost anyone enjoying the very European vibe there. The staff is attentive and prompt, and the focus is on relaxing with friends, or enjoying a quiet evening on your own. Can't wait to see what Chef Andrew comes up with next. Check my review on Trip Advisor for other menu treats and get the...