Wood House BBQ 烤8喝9 Lunch club — Restaurant in Toronto

DID NOT RESPECT RESERVATIONS MADE FAR IN ADVANCE FOR A PLANNED BIRTHDAY PARTY + RUDE STAFF/ MANAGEMENT - If I can give a negative star I would - I booked a reservation in advance for a large group of 20 for a *surprise birthday party I was planning for my boyfriend for Sept 13th and the server/hostess gave me an okay that they were able to accomodate it. The party was set to start at 8:00pm, I dropped off balloons/cakes around 5 pm that day, the server went over the section that she would reserve off for me and I gave a friendly reminder that all the attendees will be 15 minutes early for the surprise - she fully acknowledged and assured me severely times that they would be ready.

To a shocking surprise when I arrived that evening, I found 20 of my guests still waiting outside at 8:10 with no signs of a table being available anytime soon even though the server said it will only be another "10 minute wait". This "10 minute wait" turned into 1.15hr wait and we weren't even seated yet (9:10 on a 8:00pm reservation). I can't begin to tell you all how frustrated I was as they did not respect my reservations and lied about the wait time. The manager was no where to be found and disappeared after 30 minutes and the servers did not seem to even care at all and clearly understaffed. I wouldn't be as livid if they told me ahead of time that they weren't able to accomodate my party so I can make alternative plans but they gave me no time and were not considerate to the situation at all.

For a place that prides themselves on their official website that they love having people who enjoy eating and having a good time in their house as they want their guests to feel like it's their own living room, they definitely did not stand by what the definition of home stands for and lacked customer service standards in the restaurant industry.

I ended up calling multiple restaurants on a Friday night to see if anywhere can take my party, I ended up going to a favorite place of mine down on Steeles, they opened up their party room for me after explaining my situation and the customer service and food was amazing, which made up for our terrible experience earlier......

As for Woodhouse 烤8喝9 - I did not get to try their food but the experience itself already left a bad taste in my mouth and it's enough for me to put it on the back burner. I'll be sticking to my usual bbq skewer spots...

In response to the owner:

I said the RICE was cold. The beef was already explained to us by the nice lady that it was supposed to be cold which we were ok with. What is not acceptable was the Rice was half hot and half cold and I am a Cook so I know that the rice was not fresh. The beer was stale and if you think its fresh, I will not argue.

Yes, it was only $30 for 3 bowls of beef rice, a beer and a pop ( Nope. We did not order spring rolls as you have stated). So, because it is cheap, it does not mean customers should settle for sub-par, low quality food regardless of you being a small business or a big business. Quality should never be compromised.

With regards to how many stars reviewers like me should give, I think it should align to what kind of service and quality I have received.

Contrary to what you seem to imply, I am a staunch supporter of small businesses. But I will also be honest in my reviews. I will not lie. If you want 5 star reviews, please ALWAYS serve quality food regardless if it is a promotion or not. *

Beer was stale. We ordered the promotion buy 2 lunch of same item get 3rd free. Ordered the beef with rice. So bad! Rice was half cold and half hot. Very obvious its old rice that was microwaved. I know its buy 2 get one free but the beef portions were so small! Its like they took 2 orders and split it into 3. Definitely not recommend!

The only good thing here was the nice lady that...

Well that was a surprise. I never really paid Wood House BBQ any attention because I always thought it was mainly a bar, and I'm more into food than alcohol. So when I went here with my wife and a few friends for lunch, we weren't really expecting much.

The surprise began when we entered Wood House and it wasn't, well, bar-ish at all with its bold wood tables, mismatched comfy chairs, and a big teddy bear and rocking horse for kids to play with. We sat down, studied the bbq and non-bbq menu items, and got: Chicken, Beef and Lamb BBQ Skewers: The chicken and lamb were really tasty and tender. The beef was tough and 'stringy'. Squid Skewer: A full squid, BBQ-ed in a nice tangy/sweet sauce. I regret letting my friends talk me out of getting one more. Chicken Popcorn: Really salty (overly so), but man, was the marinade/flavouring so good and tasty. Steamed Pork Buns: This is xiao long bao dumpling. The dumpling 'skin' was a tad thick, but the soup was nice and pork was slightly chewy (in a good way). Chinese Bun and Pineapple Skewers: These were nice side skewers that complemented the BBQ flavours. The bun was grilled dough, and the pineapple had a sweet-ish taste to it.

This may sound weird to people who think of Wood House BBQ as a great spot to drink the night away (and I can see that, given the nice space and relaxed vibe). But I would definitely come back here...