Hamilton, ON
905-777-9675
In her opinion:
I have to thank Urbanspoon for letting me know about this restaurant/bar/great place to hang! It was on the top of their "Talk of the Town" list and I did some research! I liked what I saw.
We ventured down to Hamilton today with the intentions of trying Work...we quickly learned that they are opened Tuesday to Sunday from 4pm to 2am. This remind me of Garde Manger in Montreal. That's not the only similarity...a great blackboard menu and great food.
After killing some time, we walked in shortly after opening and were greeted by the lovely, Isabella...she's the entire bar and wait staff! She brought us water right away and took our drink orders.
I had a glass of Rosewood Estates Riesling which is one of their house wines. This was a nice light refreshing wine. It is actually a nice summer sipper.
On to the food...let me behind by saying that I was stoked. I was so excited about eating here...I wanted to sample as many things as possible, so we tried to pick a few things off the large blackboard menu.
We ordered "Avocado Fries", "Braised Beef Sandwich with fresh Horseradish", "Sesame and Sriracha Pork Nachos" and "Confit Chicken Wings".
The avocado fries were good...a unique item. It was served with a coconut curry sauce or a ranch dip...I asked for both and actually preferred the ranch dip with the avocado.
The braised beef sandwich was also good. It was a good tasting sandwich with good beef flavour shining through. The horseradish added the right amount of zing to this sandwich.
The sesame and sriracha pork nachos were absolutely amazing. The best nachos that I have ever eaten in my entire life. The Asian fusion aspect to this dish was truly innovative and delicious.
Finally, the confit chicken wings were out of this world good. I had never had chicken wings done in this manner and they were incredibly delectable. So good that they didn't need the bbq sauce that was served with them. The blue cheese dipping sauce was homemade and also excellent.
Overall, I enjoyed our dinner very much. The food was great. This restaurant is fabulous and a definite place to try out!
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In his opinion: I was very excited to try this restaurant and wanted to see what all the fuss was about. The fuss would be the fact that this restaurant was one of the most talked about in Ontario on the Urbanspoon review site, and that usually means great things.
We arrived in time for lunch just to realize that the restaurant does not open until 4 and goes till 2 am, in which I suppose transforms into some sort of "bar" at that time. We "killed" some time in the nearby waterfront of Hamilton and were back right at 4. Many others followed us in around the same time.
The menu is extremely eclectic and very appetizing making the decision about what to have not an easy one. Plates range from "Portabello Sandwiches" to "Confit Wings" and also Bok Choy Noodles". The debate was a bit lengthy but we ended up sharing some plates.
I ordered a Nickel Brook beer and was pleasantly surprised with its smoothness and taste.
We ended up ordering plates to share and it was a great choice. I will start with the "Confit Chicken Wings". I'm of the opinion that all meat can and should be confit so it wasn't a hard sell for me. The wings were gigantic, well cooked and the skin was as crispy as one would expect on a confit. Major bonus to start with.
Next came the 'Avocado Fries". I had heard so much about this dish and I know it has become a popular one in the pub scene, but I was yet to have tried them and this venue seemed like a good place for it. Breading avocado slices and baking them or deep frying them seems like a genius idea and it is indeed. They were delicious and I reckon, they would make perfect pub grub anywhere.
The "Sesame and Sriracha Pork Nachos" were probably the highlight of the meal. I could have these nachos everyday and not get sick of them. The nachos chips were very well covered and the portion of the sriracha pork was generous. The cilantro gives it the final touch that balances it all together. A must try when at this restaurant.
Lastly there was the "Braised Beef Sandwich" which although wasn't bad at all, it was the only dish that disappointed during the whole meal. I thought that the beef could have a lot more flavour then it did and in the end it fell flat in comparison to the other dishes.
The Good: Great food selection and friendly engaging staff make this restaurant a "do not miss".
The Bad: They did not have the cheesecake and watermelon ice that I was looking forward to. In fact it lacks a dessert menu all together.
The Verdict: The fuss or word on the street is pretty justified as the quality of the food is great and the selection even better. The restaurant is more pub than fine dining so go and visit it with that in mind. Great place also for some late night drinks and some "upscale" type pub grub.
I give it 4 out of 5 Olives as rating
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