The Restaurant at the Bruce - Stratford

We visited Restaurant at the Bruce shortly after it opened and weren't overly impressed. We were glad that we gave it a second try....great service, excellent menu and atmosphere, and the best wine list we've encountered in this part of Ontario. It's definitely on our list for a return visit the next time we're in Stratford.

Great service but very poor quality foodThe yogurt parfait was too little for too muchThe eggs were sent back twiceVery disappointing The coffee was weak and tasteless

Such a disappointment. The ambience and staff were great but the food did not match the service and surroundings. This is an expensive restaurant without the quality to warrant the price. The cauliflower dish was presented with precisely 3 florets and some tasteless pulses which was embellished with 3 crumbs of blue cheese. Hardly as described by a chef with an ego as big as the prices charged. Other members of our party had equally disappointing meals at these inflated prices.

Food okay but overpriced.Staff attentive.Bread hard.Think the chefs ego exceeds his talents in the kitchen.

This is not my first visit to this restaurant. First, I shall comment on the dinner and next, I shall comment on breakfast. We ate there twice in August. For dinner, we had the three course meal. For an appetizer, I had the Beetroot & Brie - poached baby beets, cider vinegar, brie cream, heart nut and lemon verbena. It was lovely and the flavours truly complimented each other. My daughter had the Haida Gwaii Albacore Tuna with pickled cucumber, Ontario sake, wild rice, nasturtium and dulse emulsion. She said it was excellent. For the main course, we both had the Top Meadow Beef Striploin - with pomme pave, roasted onion purée, cipollini onions, kale and green alder jus. The food was very good, with the pomme pave served piping hot. However, my steak was only luke warm and I would have liked it to have been hotter. Perhaps it was a preference on my part, or the plate was held until the potatoes were ready; however, I was looking for a more consistent temperature throughout. My daughter enjoyed her dinner.For dessert, my daughter had Honey - honey semi-freddo, Canadian hazelnuts, lavender and violet gel, egg yolk custard, croissant tuile and honeybush tea syrup. I ordered raspberry, but the server brought cherry. I didn't complain....it looked good to me. It consisted of cherry mousse, white chocolate curd, meringues, hibiscus gel, cherry leather, sparkling rose & elderflower sorbet. It was very tasty and light. My daughter said her dessert was outstanding.For breakfast, we both had the Bruce Silver Spoon, which consisted of two Murray Farms pasture raised eggs, triple cooked spuds,choice of bacon or sausage, sourdough, rye, or multigrain bread or fruit. My daughter had the bacon and sour dough toast. I had the sausage and the rye toast. We both enjoyed our breakfasts and the butter and delicious homemade strawberry jam. The highlight was the tea, which was called "The Bruce Blend." It was amazing. We both agreed that our breakfast was wonderful.To conclude, yes, I would return to the Bruce. They aim to please and they truly offer many tasty options for both dinner and breakfast. Service was really top notch. Our server really bent over backwards to please us. That is why I purposely did not send back the dessert, which was served in error. I knew that whether it was raspberry or cherry, it would be great, which it was. If you are in Stratford, the Bruce restaurant is definitely worth a try.