The Kingston House — Restaurant in Toronto

Hopefully this review might help others and maybe the management will take the feedback:

As a local, I wanted to like this place so much, but alas, that was not meant to be. TLDR The hostess was great, service was lacking, their social media promos are inaccurate (eg. Friday half-price apps was not honoured), and the kitchen is incredibly short-handed (i.e. if a prix fixe menu is offered, call in to check if the menu item you want to order is actually being cooked that night). We didn't get to actually trying their food, but when you go out of your way to try a new place, first impressions are everything.

Long version:

Maybe it was just an off night for Kingston House the night we went, or they still need to figure out their rhythm, but we were looking forward to a Friday night of food, drinks, and service. Instead, had to reorganize our night and ended up at another local neighborhood restaurant.

I'll start with the positives...the hostess. She was kind, empathetic, and well-spoken. She made an otherwise incredibly negative experience, not as bad.

Strike 1: While we arrived pretty early (~30min) for our reservation, half the restaurant had empty seats with the other half nearing the end of meals (many tables paying for their bills). Yet we had to wait 15-20min to be seated at one of the empty tables. We probably could've been seated either at the bar or one of the empty tables and I'd be at least 1 drink in before ordering my meal. I get there are other resos, but with many tables already paying their bills, they could've easily read the room to shuffle things around.

Strike 2: Service was sparse, almost non-existent. The entire dining room was serviced by 2 servers that had to be flagged down for every single thing. It looked like their first day on the job. We're not high-maintenance people, but it's in your best interest to at least take drink orders ASAP. Ensuring an adequate # of servers to expected volume of customers is important.

Strike 3: Kingston House was offering the Prix Fixe Winterlicious menu, and a big reason we came was based on their social media saying Fridays had half-price apps. Nope. This was not true. Update your social media then.

Strike 4: The menu offerings. We then decided to order al-a-carte from the menu because we're not fans of Winterlicious (we've had many "licious" experiences and the food is typically mass-produced & not as enjoyable as the regular items). Low and behold, the server then tells us the only available items on the regular menu are hand-held items. Apparently the chef gets overwhelmed and shuts down certain menu items.. but wait, you're a restaurant.

We then pivot to order a mix of the Winterlicious menu & al-a-carte hand helds, only to find out the kitchen is not prepared to make the coconut onion rings (a side-dish) that we were looking forward to ordering as well. Why even give the option of the regular menu if you're pretty much pointing all customers towards the Winterlicious menu?

Strike 5: The breaking point. Server comes back saying the IPA beer I just ordered was out. I subsequently order their other IPA on the menu, and he says that's out as well. I was fuming and absolutely done at that point. We walk out and go to another local neighborhood restaurant that actually has it together.

I do hope they eventually get organized. Still frustrated about the experience and we'll see if we give this place...

We made reservations for a Christmas work dinner to support local… but was just not the experience we wanted. They were fully booked for the night with parties and only two servers, one being the bartender. We waited 10 minutes to get her to come over, waited another 20 for our drinks she was so busy our appetizers came first. And the food was bland, 3 of us got medium rare steaks 1 was cooked medium rare with one being overcooked and the other undercooked, mind you they had 3 pieces of steak cut up already so you’d think they’d check. The calamari had this orange sauce tasted like nothing, the wings were ok thanks to the franks they were smothered in. We relayed this to the owner he brought this dessert board to make up for it. We felt rushed but the staff were unprepared (never got steak knives, they handed me the machine without a bill, waited for the bill etc.) and when you’re spending $300 on 5 people for dinner it’s difficult trying to support local when the service and the food were mediocre at best. I hope this was a one off but sadly not worth coming back. You can spend money at places where you can 100% know that you aren’t being served frozen to fried dishes. I hate making reviews like this but in this economy when you go out spending $100 for a nice night should equal you spending $100 worth of a...

We recently had my Mother's 80th birthday party here after having had brunch a few times. We really loved the vibe and the atmosphere, and the owner Krishna is always so warm and friendly. I want to give Krishna, Aunika, and the rest of the staff full props for being so excellent on the day of my Mom's 80th birthday. Kingston House put out an appetizer and lunch buffet, and the food was so delicious. People went back up for seconds and thirds. The staff was so warm, patient, and friendly with all of the party buzz going on. They were so accommodating always checking and asking "how are we, are you good?" The staff of The Kingston House was so solid they helped us all the way to the end in even helping us pack stuff up.

The vibe of The Kingston House is a clean, chill, vibe. I know for a fact their Sunday brunch is awesome, but I'd say you could go there at any time of day and have an amazing experience. While I know that people in The Beach/The Beaches long for the nostalgia of places that are no longer there, there is something so very welcoming and familiar with The Kingston House, and it has made such a great addition to the neighbourhood. I highly recommend it. Thank you again to the staff for making my Mom's 80th birthday party such a beautiful, fun, and...