After reading some great reviews and word of mouth praises, we opted to take our Mother out for a birthday celebration at the Brigadoon Restaurant in Oxford Mills. We were a group of 11. We all had high hopes for a delicious dinner, especially with the menu options and upper scale pricing. However, at the end of the evening, all of us left without being impressed with their dinners.
I had the Surf n Turf ($56)..filet mignon, 2 lobster tails and sides of vegetables and potato. Both lobster tails didn't have any flavour. Granted, lobster isn't in season right now, but it hardly had that lobster flavour at all. One was real mushy in consistency and the other was tough and undercooked. Side veggies were okay, undercooked (seems to be the trend these days) and the potato of the day (potato leek pie) was bland and uninspiring. It seems like a fried hunk of leftover potatoes that probably just sits in the back all prepared and warmed up in the oven. Everyone in our group were unimpressed with the potatoes. The steak came prepared how I wanted, medium-rare, but I always order rare, because not often do I find a restaurant that cooks their steaks properly. It was also tender, but again, lacking in the flavour department.
My Mom enjoyed her Crispy duck leg, but the veggies were undercooked and she didn't like the potatoes. My Aunt enjoyed her Prime Rib, but again the sides were unsatisfactory.
All in all, no one at our table came away with the feeling that the meal was great, just okay, and definitely not worthy of such an expense. My bill came out to just over $80 with 2 beers, then I gave a $20 tip. The service was fine, however neither the server nor the owner came over to ask how the meals were. It was probably better that way.
This restuarant is the most relaxing and pleasant...
This restuarant is the most relaxing and pleasant we have visited in the ottawa area. The owner and staff are cheerful under pressure. We will visit again very soon.
