Red Rooster Portuguese BBQ — Restaurant in Vaughan

Yesterday we had the worse experience a customer could ever have in a restaurant. This place used to be one of our favorite places to go for chicken, but that just changed for ever yesterday. It was raining so my family and I decided to eat there instead of taking our food home. The lady in the front was not very helpful, so it took a long time for us to get out order right (that is what I thought), one of the things we ordered was "ONE shrimp pattie". We received 3 patties and thought that the portion was just 3 parties, so we didn't say anything but noticed that they were cold as ice, so asked the "kind" waitress to warm them up for us, she took them and brought them back with a bad attitude, they were the worse patties we have ever tried, they were soggy and tasted terrible, again we didn't say anything because we just wanted to have a good time. The waitress brought our order and she was so unkind, we asked for sauce and she was replying with a tone and rolling rushing us. Anyways, we had dinner and i went to the cashier and asked her if i could pay my bill, I said to her that, even though I was going to pay for them, we order 1 pattie and received 3 instead and that they were horrible!, she wasn't looking at me or paying any attention (same happened when we were placing our order), so I said "Are you listening to what i am saying"? she was not replying so i said with pleasant voice, "I am talking to you so please listen to what I am saying', at that moment the "kind" waitress that was "looking" after us, jumped into the conversation and started yelling in front of my kids and the clients that were waiting for their orders, she said that I had a bad attitude (now me??) and that I didn't have the right to talk to her friend like that ... Whattttt??? I was just saying that I just had a bad experience with my order, and asking the cashier to pay attention to me, and this lady started yelling at me out of the blue? Is this really happening? (I thought to myself) My kids were petrified and I was in shock! I was never yield at by a waitress, OMG! She went on and on and on. I, of course, didn't want to engage on fight with her so I asked for the supervisor to come, she did and told her what happened, she was very apologetic, but honest to God, this is not acceptable, since when customers don't have the right to ask for good service, good food, and respect?? Aren't we paying???. This was of course my LAST visit to this place and I will make sure I prevent everybody to go there, one day I highly recommended it, but today I strongly recommend ... PLEASE DON'T GO THERE! go some where else where you are respected and appreciated...

I ordered a bifana sandwich and asked for the traditional sauteed onions and sometimes peppers that go with it. They didn't know what I was talking about and didn't soeak Portuguese even though their menu also includes Portuguese. Instead I got an overcooked thin cardboard pork meat with no seasonng but red paste on it that u couldnt taste with half a fresh onion chopped inside a bun. Yes! Fresh onions! Who does that! I'm not sure if someone stepped out of the kitchen and there was a fill in, but man I have never had this before and I make it a habit to support Portuguese restaurants when I am out of town. I drove 15 kms from a course to this closest Portuguese place for this. I was even late getting back. I don't know if this is normal. I have never written a post EVER but could not let this go. I apologize for offending and kinda feel bad for even bringing this up but I just had too. I still feel like I can't believe what was made. I am not dissapointed but truly in awe and a bit amused by such a bad, bad sandwich by a Portuguese place that has the most recognized and pretty hard to screw up Bifana. I'm trying to look for a reason. It is possible there was some guy picking up quite a few trays of food so maybe I just got the whatever treatment since they were busy. I hope that was it. Man it was cardboard inside bread with chopped fresh onion. Sorry but it made me sad since no Portuguese eatery place ever did that to me ever. I applaud your business and it looked like your customers were enjoying themselves but today your bifana on a bun which is a sandwich difficult to screw up was a piece of cardboard inside a bun. On a positive note, the bun was fresh! Wow! Wow! And Wow! I was kind enough to leave a tip. Like I said, I don't post ever and kinda think like the glass is half full about life but please bring the bifana back...

A cozinha portuguesa é uma maravilha de beleza. (Portuguese cuisine is a marvel of beauty).

Stopping in for lunch at Red Rooster Portuguese BBQ (Maple - East), I was in for a treat.

Going in for the full Portuguese experience, I ordered the Cod Cakes (Pastéis de Bacalhau) and Chicken Breast Slices (Peito de Galinha) in piri-piri sauce. The Cod Cakes held together nicely, lightly flaked and delicate to the taste. Although cod/bacalhau is inherently salty due to the method of its preservation, these Cod Cakes were flavoured and done just right - beautiful.

The Chicken Breast Slices were an impressive sight to behold, proudly displaying their grill marks, and glistening in the orange of the piri-piri sauce. The meat was melt in the mouth tender, about 1/4 inch thick, with the piri-piri sauce providing a moderately spicy impact while showing nuance and discernment on the palate. For a hungry person on a cold day, the portion size was just right.

And although I generally avoid potatoes, I loved the French fries as a side-dish. Crispy but not overdone, expertly salted and seasoned, they were fantastic, as good or better than any chip-truck anywhere. The rice side-dish was okay.

To cap off the lunch, I enjoyed two Portuguese Custard Tarts (Pastéis de Nata). The creamy texture and sweetness of the caramelized egg custard filling contrasted nicely with the crisp, flaky puff pastry. Well-composed, the tarts maintained their form and didn't fall apart while enjoying them - well done. One isn't enough, highly suggested to get two.

At the end of the lunch, Ricardo from the staff came over. We enjoyed a relaxed friendly conversation, and he convinced me that I need to travel to Portugal, from Oporto to the Algarve - it's all good. And until I get there, there's Red Rooster Portuguese BBQ - it's so good, it's Portugal...