Hayloft Steak + Fish — Restaurant in West Jasper Place

I heard good things and had expectations that this was going to be a meal worthy of the celebration I was having, disappointed is the best I can say.

Overall: Expensive for what it was and to be honest I’m unlikely to go back and even less likely to recommend to anyone else.

Beverages: To start, the cocktails were good as was the wine which was reasonably priced. A definite plus.

Staff: The staff was fine but not exceptional. It seemed a bit of a confused situation as a staff member came by and gave us our menus but wasn’t our server or the host. Then 30 seconds later our server was there expecting to take a drink order. Servers were bussing tables which I appreciate needs to happen in a busy restaurant but there also seemed to be someone dedicated to that task which made having a server do it seem odd.

Main course: Steak was very good and properly cooked which I appreciated. The bernaise sauce was semi-broken and had clearly been “fixed” with cornstarch or a thickener making it congealed and gloopy. The Lobster topping left me surprised because there were no discernible parts or pieces. It was shredded so finely that it could practically have come from a can which is was certainly disappointing.

The broccoli side had good flavour but the sauce was so watery you had to let things drip off so it wasn’t a giant mess. The broccoli itself was a mixture of undercooked and properly cooked which was surprising.

The potatoes were fine, but not amazing. They were definitely not worth the price being asked and most people can make ones as good or better at home.

Fish: This is where I had and continue to have the most disappointment with the night. They were out of the fish feature item which the server didn’t know until we ordered it. The suggested sablefish alternative from the regular menu was barely acceptable and I realistically should have sent it back. The skin on the fish was not cooked properly (it should have had a crispness to it but didn’t) and was bad enough my wife felt she couldn’t eat it. The fish itself was okay but lacked flavour which was a common issue throughout the dish. The rice was bland, almost flavourless, and lacked texture it was essentially a paste. The kimchi lacked sufficient spice and vinegar to cut through the absurd amount of oil used. I say the oil was absurd because it coated your entire mouth after every bite to the point it was hard to taste anything else. I understand the kitchen was trying to go for something like a bibimbap but it fell flat and the dish was essentially irredeemable.

The (I assume) manager stopped by to ask how things were and when we said “okay” did not follow up. The server also did not follow up when we expressed we were disappointed in the fish main course we ordered. In fact they seemed to start to avoid our table when they realized we weren’t thrilled.

Overall I think 2 stars is generous and only is because of the steak itself. As I said, I will not be recommending it to others and it would take a lot to convince me to try them again.

Total shame because as I said the steak itself was...

I knew when there were no prices for steak on the menu that it would be pricey. I am fine with that though if i am getting a good dining experience. Sadly, this was an awful dining experience.

I came here for dinner as a party of four. The interior of the place is nice. It had a really good atmosphere.

The server at our table made an error on our order and this resulted in only one person getting what they had ordered. To make up for it the manager came and offered us the food that was not on the order. It was a nice gesture but really they offered us food that was going to be thrown out.

Finally our food came out. I ordered the 12 oz striploin steak that was $62. This price was just for the steak. I was quite disappointed with the taste and cook on the steak I had ordered medium rare and this was more rare. Barely any seasoning on the steak.

I ordered the cheese mashed potatoes as a side. This was awful. The texture of the mashed potatoes was not pleasant for the palate. I do not recommend this side. Another guest in my party ordered the same side and came to the same conclusion that I did about it.

The sablefish was good. This item was not ordered by the party but was quite good. However the beans that came with it were not the greatest. They made the dish really dry.

The salmon dish was ok. The salmon itself was meh but the spinach rissoto was good.

One guest ordered a margarita and it was $16 bucks each?!? Really overpriced. The pints of beer were $12.50. Felt this was reasonable but highlights how overpriced the Margarita's were.

Overall - 1 out of 5. My biggest issue was with the restaurant messing up our order. They brought food that they cooked in error but when the bill came they said they gave a huge discount. This was a lie. What they did was remove the items that were not on our order to show a large discount line but it was just correcting the error. Just be honest and say "we are giving you this food for the mix up,".

I understand people make mistakes and all but I do expect a business like this to own up to it. Especially with the high price point per person. They should have paid the food portion entirely OR covered the drinks that we ordered.

The food rating overall is 1 out of 5. I would not recommend this place for a nice dinner. I also would not recommend this place for a casual night out with friends unless you in the mood for a burger. The burger and Sable fish were good. If you come here order the burger or Sable fish. The steak...

This place was on our To-Eat list and tho it's tucked into the corner of the Cameron community it is definitely worth the drive.

Edmonton doesn't have many steak houses (specifically non-chain ones) and this one got top marks from me and my foodie friends.

Staff were knowledgeable and friendly, ambience & decor was pleasant and enjoyable (didn't feel stuffy, casual but dressy dress code depending on the occasion that brings you there) food was fantastic.

We ordered appies to share (beef tartar, crispy brussel sprouts and deviled eggs) and each bite was a treat. Flavors are strong and smokey and if your run out of baguette slices try some of that beef tartare on a crispy brussel sprout LOL it's a coupling you didn't know you needed!

We each ordered from their Classic Steak Cuts (ribeye, striploin and tenderloin) which was a 30 day dry age. Prepared perfectly and definitely and eating experience in itself.

Their steaks are served a la carte so we shared a few of those and everything compliments nicely. Heavy favourites were the baked ratatouille and the chicken fried oyster mushroom clusters (sounds like a mouthful but it's one you literally want in your mouth).

Dessert is a must and the lemon meringue semifreddo was a huge surprise. It has a frozen lemon mousse base topped with citrus fruits and surrounded by almond meringue and meringue shards. You need to have a bite that has all these layers in it b/c the meringue MELTS in your mouth and the frozen mousse and citrus fruits is the most refreshing after taste. Order it. Try it. PS the apple tarte tatin is tasty too but eat this first before the semifreddo as it's a hard act to follow.

Customer service was on point as we had a small mix up on one of our sauces & steak but it was corrected quickly and the floor manager brought us a topper as a good will and welcome gesture. It's small things like this that differentiate the success of new restaurants in our food scene.

I would consider this place a special occasion restaurant (especially their dinner menu) and absolutely somewhere you have to treat yourself to...