Parlour the Restaurant & Pub

My boyfriend and I ate at the Parlour this evening. We were celebrating and chose the restaurant based on all the great reviews we saw online. It was a disappointment from the beginning. When we arrived we were seated and waited 10 minutes for a waitress who asked whether we had been seen and actually had to go fetch the waitress responsible for our table. We ordered a beer flight and the antipasto platter to start. Well the antipasto platter was described in the menu as follows «Antipasto Platter with Chef’s select salamis and cheeses, artichokes, roasted red pepper, olives, and flatbread $ 18». Unfortunately it ended up being a plate ²⁄₃ full of pickled veggies and there was about 4 slices of plain white cheddar and a few slices of salami, very disappointing. When the beer flight finally arrived we were informed that two of the four we requested weren’t available so we were given two random beers and two we had selected. Finally mains arrived, I had the ribeye steak myself which was significantly overcooked, completely charred and dry– it was ordered medium rare. The Boyfriend had the chicken supreme which was a chicken breast topped with a thick paste like gravy which was entirely grey and entirely unappetizing and flavorless. We ordered no dessert. At no point did the waiter visit our table other than to drop off the food. She never asked how our meal was and quickly dropped the bill off at the end of it all which leads me to believe she was just as aware of our disappointment as we were and was avoiding confronting it despite the fact that we were warm and polite the entire time. For the large bill we received at the end– and even if it wasn’t a large bill, we were entirely disappointed with the experience. One more thing, we noticed the gentleman at the table next to us complaining he was feeling ill at the end of his meal. When we returned to the car we noticed that he was actually being sick out the door of his vehicle. I wish I could say that I made that up but I can’t.

Excellent breakfast! Not your usual breakfast but oh so good with a yummy twist. I had a poached egg which was similar to Eggs Benedict yet not like them — it had mushrooms, spinach and a basil crème sauce. Definitely worth a try.

Every time we come here the food and service are fabulous! One of our favourite restaurants.

Amazing food! Excellent service! The wings were great and the service was awesome! Looking forward to our wedding here on New Years Eve!

Much has changed since my five star review. Vintage Hotels Inc. Is the new owner and they have made many cost cutting changes in the restaurant, pub, and hotel. We stay here every time we visit Stratford, having found the expense worth it. This is no longer the case.

I’ve eaten here numerous times over the years, and this past Monday I stopped with my husband and in-​laws after taking in a show. There weren’t many options in town on a Monday evening before the season starts rolling, and all of my favorites were closed.
So we gave The Parlour a shot. Our server bears most of the blame for the 3 star review, as he was very attentive for about 5 minutes. Then he became the invisible man. More on that later. I do think the kitchen may have to share some of the blame, but it is mostly his.
We began with a round of drinks. Two drank pints of cider (very decent), I had a Toronto craft beer called Mill Street Organic, which was very nice, and my FIL drank a martini. They were not served quickly, which seemed odd as few people were there.
We ordered the day’s special spring roll appetizer. The server only said there were 3 per order. Our experience with spring rolls is that they are rather small, so my FIL placed an order for 2 appetizer plates. They were huge, tasty, full of shrimp and veggies. The exterior was crispy and not greasy. The dipping sauce was nicely spiced with a bit of fire to it. This was starting off well. My BIG complaint is that the server didn’t indicate that each roll was the size of Texas, and though they were cut in half, each half was huge. One platter of these would have been very sufficient for 4 of us. It also would have kept our total bill for 4 below $ 200.
The restaurant was hardly packed, yet it took a long time for our dinners to arrive. MIL and I both ordered a seafood dish that was very tasty, with roasted salmon, mussels and shrimp in a very flavorful broth. They kindly provide two crusty bread slices for soaking up the broth, but I could have used a third.
My husband had the crispy chicken, which was not traditionally fried, but very moist and flavored as well.
The one disappointed with his meal was my FIL, whose steak was tough and bland. The mushrooms served with the order were also chewy, though he did like their flavor.
The server didn’t come by to check much, but finally showed up and asked about dessert. He brought the menu, and each couple chose to split a dish. I ordered a specialty coffee, but they were steep at $ 8 each. It took quite a while for the coffee to arrive, we were almost done eating our dessert. I like to have coffee with my ice cream, not after I am finished.
The desserts were okay, but nothing spectacular for the price. Spouse and I split a warm cinnamon twist a la mode, and the in-​laws shared a lemon crème brûlée.
We were sitting there for a good 10 – 15 minutes before the server finally showed up with the bill. My FIL was starting to drift away in his seat. We were all more than ready to leave, as there was a substantial wait between drinks, appetizers, entrees and then dessert. Dining took well over 2 hours, which made no sense. The place really wasn’t all that busy. We were seated in a side room, which was nice as the noise level was low until a large group came in about halfway through our meal. They were NOT part of the tables our server was handling.
I enjoy not feeling rushed, but when you feel that someone needs to find the server so you can pay up and leave an establishment, you’ve been ignored way too long.

Best wings around, Nachos also tops. Staff is great. We pop in every Friday night for pitchers and fun.

Always come here for my birthday! Have been here so many times. always delicious. The menu is constantly changing. Also a great place for wing night or drinks on the patio.

After striking out a few times (note to self: 3 days is not enough time to secure a reservation at many Stratford restaurants), I managed to get us a table (via Open Table) at the Parlour for a Saturday night. When we arrived, I realized we probably would have been okay without the reservation, but I’m a safe-​than-​sorry kind of girl. Plus, they were one of only two Stratford restaurants available for reservations on Open Table, and I do love me some dining points.
The restaurant aesthetic is very British pub. Dark wood, stained glass window room dividers, rich carpeting. The chairs were leather and quite comfy. We were put by a window, which was a little on the chilly side but not unbearable.
The menu felt like a combination of fancy British pub grub and Asian fusion. I mean, you can order fish and chips and your date can order a chow mein stir fry. That being said, there were only about 7 – 8 entrée choices. For me, the fewer entrees, the better I feel about how the meal is going to taste. I’d rather know a chef is perfecting a few dishes than hastily cooking dozens of different options and hoping for the best.
My fiancé ordered the haddock and fries. I opted for the grilled steak with chimichurri and fries. Both meals came surprisingly quickly (easily less than 5 minutes after ordering) and were delicious and very filling.
On a recommendation, we opted to split the traditional pavlova for dessert. Unless you a) have a major sweet tooth or b) a hollow leg, I would say splitting this beast of a treat is a must. It consists of a huge mound of melt-​in-​your-​mouth meringue, topped with whipped cream, almond slivers, and surrounded by a lemon curd and a raspberry sauce. «We don’t have to finish it» my fiancé said as it was placed in front of us. Three minutes later we were downing the last of the accompanying sauces. It was light, sweet, and utterly delicious. A must-​have if you’re enjoying a meal at The Parlour.
Everything was a bit pricey, but I discovered this to be true of most places in Stratford. Entrees range from $ 16-​$ 34, so you can eat well for a reasonable amount of money, depending on your tastes.
The service was good, and there was never any worry of us running late and missing our show (the whole reason we were in town anyway).
The fiancé has said that next time we’re in Stratford, he’d be more than happy to return here for dinner. While I like to try new things, I’d be more than happy to join him, if only for another plate of that light, airy masterpiece of a pavlova dessert.

The décor is what one would expect of a place called The Parlour. It’s wood, stained glass and high-​backed chairs. Not much in the way of seating options — it’s the chairs or nothing.
The menu is not large. There were only two things that I could eat, and they were out of one of them. Although I explained my allergies twice to the server, my meal arrived covered in one of the items that I cannot eat.
The prices are not commensurate with the food. For example, at lunch a club sandwich is $ 12, but that is the à la carte price. Fries, soup or salad is an additional $ 4.
The rest of our party advised that their meals were acceptable, but nothing special. I would say the same about the service. One of our party asked for a drink. When all the other drinks had arrived (perhaps ten minutes later), the guest reminded the server who replied «I said that I was getting it.» Not an appropriate reply.

This centrally-​located restaurant was the only one with availability for a last-​minute Saturday evening dinner between shows, and I am so glad my husband and I took the plunge and went with an unfamiliar restaurant for our annual Stratford Festival trip.
Let’s walk through the experience, shall we? :-)
Décor: upscale bar
The seats in the dining room areas are incredibly cushy and comfortable, which we were NOT expecting given their rather executive aesthetic. The colours are dark and understated, which makes the place feel calm and cool. The tables are adorned with these lovely little lamps and fresh linens, and when the water is served in a wine bottle and your cocktails in little carafes (depending on what you order), the effect is quite pleasing.
Cocktails: 2 Long Island Iced Teas with 3oz alcohol each ($ 9.50 each)
These Long Islands were delicious, and tasted surprisingly benign for the amount of alcohol in them. Just the right amount of sweetness.
Appetizers: 2 Caesar salads with warm bacon lardons, crostini & grated parmesan ($ 11 each)
The salads were very yummy, especially with the bacon lardons, but the Caesar dressing is applied inexpertly, with a puddle of it sitting underneath the greens. The hubs and I had to do some mixing at the table before we were able to eat, but what a small bit of exertion to do for such an amazing salad! The dressing was garlic-​y and pungent, and, like I said, the bacon lardons are the best!
Entrees: Parlour made half-​pound beef burger charbroiled with crispy bacon, old cheddar & fries ($ 16) + Grilled flat iron steak, chimichurri & fries ($ 25)
My husband had the burger, and he had zero complaints whatsoever.
I asked for the steak to be cooked medium well, and the server recommended it no more than medium, as per the chef’s preference, so I took her suggestion, and I was SO glad that I did. I don’t think I’ve ever had a steak more perfectly cooked. It was delicious on its own, but the chimichurri sauce was PERFECTION. I was sopping it up with steak, fries, bread, you name it.
Service: Our server was efficient, friendly, and knowledgeable, and I have zero complaints.
Overall, this is an excellent restaurant. I highly recommend anything mentioned above.

On something of a whim, my Mom and I decided to make a second Stratford run this year. Circumstances were such that we dropped in at the Parlour for dinner again too.
As always, the escargot and pavlova were to die for and the service was fantastic. My Mom got a prime rib special that was –amazing-​… the meat was tender and juicy, the potatoes and carrots ridiculously flavorful, and the textures perfect. Oh and it came with a pudding that called to mind the guilty pleasure of well-​made fry bread.
For me though, this time, I decided to try the grilled beef tenderloin. It… wasn’t as good as the duck. Or the prime rib.
The beef, a decent portion, was good in and of itself, and the mushrooms as a component were very flavorful. However, something about the dish as a whole really didn’t work, at least not for me. My companion wasn’t a fan either, but she detests mushrooms in general so probably isn’t the best person to ask.
For me, I think the main reason was a creamy spinach garlic spread on the beef which seemed to have been put on cool. This, in turn, seemed to cool down the meat so that it was lukewarm under the spread. I’m not a big fan of that. Also, the flavor was so strong that they really overpowered a lot of the other components, and the creamy/​sticky texture was too much for the tender beef. The mushroom gnocci were also rather heavy on what seemed like a pepper flavor, and also very soft. Again, as a component, they were fine, but I honestly wasn’t a fan of the dish as a whole. Definitely not something I would order again, especially when the prime rib and duck are so amazing.
So, a bit of a disappointment there, especially considering the price, and a dock of a point, but it’s definitely still on my top 10 list of restaurants to go to when I’m in Stratford and one I would recommend.

Stopped in for a quick bite. The Parlour appears to have read their reviews a few times too many. The servings were way too small for the price, and the Caesar dressing on my salad could have used some garlic… tasted more like mayonnaise.

Mediocre coffee, packaged jams, eggs overdone and looked scrambled (should have been overeasy)
Nice ambiance, friendly service, Mennonite sausage was what drew me here… and not enough to make me return.