Stonegrill on Winchestor
51B Winchester Street
Toronto, ON M4X 1A8
(416) 967-6565
Website: http://www.stonegrillonwinchester.com
Stonegrill on Winchestor
When it comes to fine dining in Toronto, you can definitely say that we go all out. Every year the City of Toronto hosts a two week long event called Winterlicious, where local GTA restaurants participate and provide awesome deals for your avid food fanatic.
Ever wanted to try a fine dining restaurant but found the meals a tad expensive? Well fear not, Winterlicious helps target that demographic who loves to fine dine but are money conscious. I will categorize myself as one of those individuals. However, when it comes to fine dining I believe that the price you pay for a dish should be represented in the quality and portion of the meal, not in the dress code or decor.
On to the topic of review – Stonegrill on Winchester.
If I could say one thing about the restaurant, I’d say Stonegrill is quite interesting. They are conveniently located in Cabbagetown, home to many different delicious restaurants on the strip. Stonegrill is located near Parliament and Carlton on Winchester Street, which provides lots of free parking. When you walk into the doors of Stonegrill, the first thing you will notice is the smell. The smell within the establishment is quite smokey because of all the meat grilling on the mini barbecues (stonegrill).
Stonegrill with Meat
As soon as you walk in, you can instantly see the decor of the restaurant. It has a very cozy and romantic feel. The right amount of light for an intimate dinner out with friends, family or your significant other.
Where I was seated was behind a television and a relatively comfy seating area with a fireplace. However, the decor was not what fascinated me to try the restaurant but more the opinions and reviews I received from my friends.
Our Experience
We were slightly early for our reservations by 15 minutes but due to the amount of free tables, I don’t believe that was an issue. As the night went on however, we noticed that the tables started to fill. We waited about 10 minutes before we were even acknowledged by anyone. We were seated in a very secluded area but we noticed that another couple seated nearby who came after us, was served their water first and their order taken first. That was our first turn off of the restaurant. Finally, one of the waiters came to get us some water. However, he did not take our order. It was after about 5 minutes that our actual waiter came and took our order down.
Our appetizers didn’t take long to arrive, more or less 5 to 10 minutes. After completely consuming our appetizers, we waited patiently for our “Stonegrill experience.” We were constantly chatting during the evening (but noticed that our food has taken 20 or more minutes so far) so when we saw that three other tables who had arrived after us had gotten their main dishes, we started to look for our waiter. He seemed quite oblivious for a bit, which was the second strike at the restaurant. He finally noticed and came up to our table. He asked us whether we got our main dishes yet and we replied no. He then apologized and said that he put it into the system but was unsure why it got mixed up. He left and came back shortly to inform us that our meals were arriving soon. Seriously, how hard is it to heat up a stone and put a piece of raw meat on it? Clearly not that difficult because that is what we got.
I ordered an Organic Sterling Silver Striploin that came with some side vegetables, roast potatoes and mushroom wine sauce to compliment the steak. I ordered the 26 Day-Aged Beef Tenderloin with the same sides. It was pretty interesting to watch the meat cook in front of us. However, those rare meat lovers like Ray, had to constantly take the meat off of the stone grill to prevent it from overcooking. I on the other hand didn’t mind it because I enjoy my steak medium well. I found the steak quite mediocre. It didn’t have any specific taste that I was hoping to achieve. It was good, but I felt it could have been a lot better. The only good part of this experience is that your steak is constantly kept at a hot temperature providing the perfect texture and temperature to eat (as long as you don’t forget and overcook it).
The dessert we had consisted of Strawberry Shortcake and Bailey’s Cheesecake. For a restaurant such as Stonegrill with their pricey menus, one would assume that they possibly made their desserts in house, or ordered from a fine external bakery. However, that is not the case.
LaRocca Cheesecake
We overheard the waiter telling another table that they get their desserts from an external bakery that uses fine ingredients and that it was very delicious and well worth it. When we got our desserts, I felt the cake were pretty standard, borderline generous. But when we tasted the desserts, I felt that the shortcake tasted too simple and was absolutely convinced that the cheesecake was something from LaRocca that could be purchased at Loblaws. I did a check on the LaRocca website and it was indeed the same cakes. I explicitly remember the spider web chocolate that topped off my cheesecake with the Oreo crunch on the bottom from my last LaRocca experience. LaRocca desserts are good don’t get me wrong, however, for an establishment charging extreme prices and giving us desserts that we can purchase on our own from Loblaws, it didn’t leave me with a lasting impression to go back again. Especially with the combination of bad service, mediocre taste and long wait time.
In the end, Stonegrill on Winchestor was a dissapointment. With a Winterlicious price tag of $35 a person (not including taxes or tip) where one would receive an appetizer, steak, and dessert, I believe the money could be spent somewhere else, IE) The Keg Steakhouse. If you thought that $35 was expensive, just go to the restaurant on a regular day. You will notice that an appetizer will cost you about $9, a steak $45, and dessert another $9 adding up to a grand total of $63, give or take $70 with taxes (one person). $70 for something that is not extraordinary is just plain absurd. The only way I would go back to Stonegrill is during Winterlicious and that’s if I am feeling generous in blowing $35.
Why do I think so lowly of Stonegrill? For one, the service was extremely slow, the food was mediocre at best, and the experience was not mind blowing as some people had suggested. In addition, the prices on the dishes were just plain ridiculous. PERIOD! If you plan on charging such high prices for your food, please use some of that revenue to hire additional staff to better your service. I am sure there is enough money to spread around and keep your pockets full at the same time.
Overall, on a scale out of 10 I would give Stonegrill on Winchester a 6/10.
Price – 5/10 – Prices is just outrages
Taste – 6/10 – Taste is meh!
Size – 6/10 – The portion is what it should be for a steak.
If you would like to share your experience on Stonegrill on Winchester or have additional comments you would like to share with the readers, please write them below in the comment section. Subscribe if you like the blog.
In the meantime, eat wello and enjoy.
Contributed by Lana.D
tdotoeatswello 