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 AT A GLANCE
Zemra Bar Lounge
778 St. Clair Avenue West, Toronto, ON
416-651-3123
Contemporary
St Clair
Venue:
Bar, Restaurant
Hours:
Tue. to Sun.: 5:00pm - 3:00am
Price Range:
$$ (affordable)
Payment:
American Express, MasterCard, Visa
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THE BUZZ
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IN THE AREA
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3 Reader Reviews | I hate complaining.
I now work in retail, and I've done my fair share of working in all kinds of restaurants - greasy spoons, five-star swanky places where there was no item on the menu under $40.00, bohemian-vegan-granola bakeries in hip Prairie towns, and breakfast places where the Sunday morning line-up started going around the block at 7am.
I hate complaining so much, in fact, that I am surprised that I have actually gone this far to write this review. My usual take on bad service in a food-serving place is usually 'Must be having a bad day.' It happens. We are all only human.
We chose Zemra because the reviews from Now and Eye and the Toronto Star were all pretty good and very positive. The online menu was enticing, and the prix fixe of $20.00 seemed more than reasonable.
We sat down, all six of us, and we took our time ordering our food within the next 45 minutes, as we were all talking and chatting and having a good time. Our drinks didn't take too long and the tasty appetizers arrived pretty quickly.
But then someone noticed the meals had been ordered over an hour ago, and one of us had a deadline for a movie with other friends. We had to cancel her meal as her drop-dead deadline came and went, and then the bartender arrived and offered us free shots.
Okay, that appeased us for a bit.
Our waitress was telling us that another ten, fifteen minutes and our food would be there.
It took another 45 minutes for the food to arrive.
We were not offered any other drinks.
Our appetizers dried up pretty quickly too.
I hate complaining. I really do. But then we looked around us and saw that there were maybe ten guests in the restaurant, so there was a total of fifteen patrons in the restaurant. Not enough for two waitresses and a bartender to have a total meltdown like we had to go through.
One of our party did head off to the washroom, and on his way he checked out the kitchen, where there was one lonely cook working her ass off and looking very stressed out.
The food was okay. The fish was a bit dry; the pasta sauce was just a little less than adequately warm; and the steak was okay. Only one person suffered a night of indigestion, but should this count towards the bad review? I will let you decide.
I hate complaining. But the minimum they could've done is given us our drinks for free. We ended getting a $12.00 on the total bill - hardly enough for five unhappy people, each having at least a couple of martinis or beers and the prix fixe. We could've easily just all gotten up in a huff and a puff, making a big show of slapping a couple of twenties on the table for our drinks. But we didn't do that.
Instead, we waited patiently, and waited, and waited. And when the time came, we passed on dessert, on more drinks, and decided to get the hell out of there.
1. Anonymous's Review :: June 15, 2007 |
I hate complaining.
I now work in retail, and I've done my fair share of working in all kinds of restaurants - greasy spoons, five-star swanky places where there was no item on the menu under $40.00, bohemian-vegan-granola bakeries in hip Prairie towns, and breakfast places where the Sunday morning line-up started going around the block at 7am.
I hate complaining so much, in fact, that I am surprised that I have actually gone this far to write this review. My usual take on bad service in a food-serving place is usually 'Must be having a bad day.' It happens. We are all only human.
We chose Zemra because the reviews from Now and Eye and the Toronto Star were all pretty good and very positive. The online menu was enticing, and the prix fixe of $20.00 seemed more than reasonable.
We sat down, all six of us, and we took our time ordering our food within the next 45 minutes, as we were all talking and chatting and having a good time. Our drinks didn't take too long and the tasty appetizers arrived pretty quickly.
But then someone noticed the meals had been ordered over an hour ago, and one of us had a deadline for a movie with other friends. We had to cancel her meal as her drop-dead deadline came and went, and then the bartender arrived and offered us free shots.
Okay, that appeased us for a bit.
Our waitress was telling us that another ten, fifteen minutes and our food would be there.
It took another 45 minutes for the food to arrive.
We were not offered any other drinks.
Our appetizers dried up pretty quickly too.
I hate complaining. I really do. But then we looked around us and saw that there were maybe ten guests in the restaurant, so there was a total of fifteen patrons in the restaurant. Not enough for two waitresses and a bartender to have a total meltdown like we had to go through.
One of our party did head off to the washroom, and on his way he checked out the kitchen, where there was one lonely cook working her ass off and looking very stressed out.
The food was okay. The fish was a bit dry; the pasta sauce was just a little less than adequately warm; and the steak was okay. Only one person suffered a night of indigestion, but should this count towards the bad review? I will let you decide.
I hate complaining. But the minimum they could've done is given us our drinks for free. We ended getting a $12.00 on the total bill - hardly enough for five unhappy people, each having at least a couple of martinis or beers and the prix fixe. We could've easily just all gotten up in a huff and a puff, making a big show of slapping a couple of twenties on the table for our drinks. But we didn't do that.
Instead, we waited patiently, and waited, and waited. And when the time came, we passed on dessert, on more drinks, and decided to get the hell out of there.
2. Stef's Review :: June 15, 2007 Stef's Rating: 1 Stars |
A complete hidden gem! I almost hope nobody discovers this place so I can have it all to myself! GREAT food, cool atmosphere and totally affordable. Why go downtown?
3. Christie's Review :: 00, 0000 Christie's Rating: 4 Stars |
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778 St. Clair Avenue West, Toronto, ON |
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MBO Toronto :: Toronto Restaurants & Dining Guide
