The Springs

If you are looking for fine dining in the Forest City, look no further. I’m sure most people in #ldnont are aquatinted with the Springs but I must reiterate! This old Church-​turned restaurant is the perfect spot for a date or get together with family and friends.
We had a few pals visiting from Toronto and they are big foodies. We knew we couldn’t just take them anywhere. We decided on The Springs due to its amazing reputation for yummy, interesting, and fresh dishes. I knew they had live music on Fridays which was a big plus.
Instead of ordering 1 meal for each of us. We all ordered 2 appetizers each. This allowed us to try out more items for roughly the same cost. We ordered 8 of the 11 small plates on the menu and were not disappointed.
Highlights would be the escargot, the cambazola, crab cakes, sea scallop dumpling, and the duck perogies. All of the appetizers were very good, and beautifully presented.
We had 2 waiters during the night. One to take care of the orders and the other who brought out the food. The one who took the orders was a bit distracted at times but was otherwise great. The one who brought out the food was really personable.
I noticed the chef going to other tables over the duration of the evening. I kind of wish he visited our table cause this guy was basically a celebrity to us at this point. Phew, well fed, and happy happy happy.
The live music was the perfect addition to the evening. It was beautifully played without being overbearing.
I would recommend this place to anyone looking for a special night out. Expect to pay a bit more (obviously) but what you get in return is top notch dining.

Went here for date night with the Mr.
Ordered 4 appetizers. All were exceptional. So flavourful and complex. We absolutely loved it. Our server was great. Very friendly and always there when you need him. Nothing beats the atmosphere. It was intimate and cozy. Will definitely come back!

Great cuisine experience. Chef created spectacular dishes. Tim my family will be back!

Service was awesome. First thing, and the most important when you first walk into a place.
Menu items varied from casual and normal, to unique and fine. At our table of 4, there was an order of venison, 2 of haddock and chips, and one salmon. All were expertly prepared.
The best menu item though was the calamari — carrying the title «the friendly jerk». Tears of laughter ensued.
The white wine we opened was amazing. Can’t remember the name, from New Zealand. Atmosphere was lovely, food was great, staff was kind, quick and professional. What else do you need? (Other than live music of course…)

The most notable thing about The Springs is the atmosphere. Despite being a wide open design with lots of space, it feels remarkably cozy. There are interesting pieces of wall art hanging that give the place a unique vibe.
The food was good, but for the price was about average. I had the onion soup — was expecting French style, but there was no cheese on it. That being said the actual flavour and texture of the soup was right on. Excellent smoked chicken wings as well. The entrée I had was the scallops and greens. Again, cooked appropriately and flavourful, but not outstanding compared to scallop dishes I’ve had in comparably priced restaurants.
Overall I have nothing negative to say about The Springs, but it just doesn’t seem to have that «it» that would take things to the next level.

The Springs is a great place to have a wonderful fine dining meal in a casual but classy atmosphere. I have not had a meal here that i have not loved. The wait staff are great and it is always a good experience. I highly recommend it.

Enjoyed dinner here last night with friends. Overall, the atmosphere was good, however, the piano bar seemed to have had the potential of overpowering the room (due to the layout of the restaurant). Waitstaff was impressive and took care of our needs without question. A few things to note: Decent selection of wines — Enjoyed an amarone della valpolicella (a bit more in price here than other places in London) All of the specials were sold out prior to our arrival (this happens I guess) but there is no needs to explain what the specials are if they sold out. The kitchen did a great job modifying the individual dishes to conform to various dietary restrictions. Would I go back… Sure, why not!

We visited The Springs as group of seven on a busy Friday evening.
We were greeted promptly and seated at our table quickly.
While the room was somewhat noisy as others have noted we were able to carry on conversations and our waiter made sure that everyone could hear specials and other information. He answered all questions regarding ingredients and assured one diner with a special dietary need that the kitchen would have no problems adjusting the ingredients.
The Caramelized Onion Soup was enjoyed by several in the group and was reported as excellent. The Sautéed Escargots were very good and the presentation was very nice. The Duck Salad appetiser and the Braised Rabbit appetiser were both reported as excellent.
All enjoyed the appetizers and reported them as some of the best they had enjoyed in some time.
As entrées, several diners had the perch special and reported that it was excellent. Nicely presented and very flavourful.
Two diners had the beef tenderloin and both were perfectly prepared and nicely presented. The tenderloin was very tender and moist. Very high marks given by both diners.
The Moroccan Lamb entre was also given high marks and the Espresso and Black Pepper Crusted Venison Loin was given very high marks and resulted in some sharing with others.
All agreed that the quality of all appetizers and entrées was very high and presentation was excellent.
The wine list has some very nice selections. The waiter was also able to separate the wine and food and split each bottle so that each diner paid ¹⁄₇^th. Saved a great deal of calculating at the table and was much appreciated.
At the end of the meal the chef came around to various tables. While at ours he was happy to answer questions around sources of his food and his background. We enjoyed a somewhat lengthy conversation.
While the sound level when the room is busy may not be great for an intimate meal for two, it is not too loud for conversation. The quality of the food and service are well worth working with the sound level.
Highly recommended.

This was our second visit to The Springs. This time it was to celebrate mine and my mother’s birthday while they were in town.
My mother raved about everything she ordered. She started with the duck salad and finished with the teriyaki prawn penne.
My wife and I shared the rabbit arancini as we had enjoyed it the first time we visited. I had the perch special for a main and found it to be very cleverly put together. The perch is not a terribly exciting fish on its own but the salad the chef created beneath it was marvelous and really pulled it all together.
The two other mains both had the tenderloin. They said it was very well cooked but one commented that the garlic butter was a little strong.
I’m sure we will be back to enjoy dining here again in the future.

Ever since it opened, I’ve heard really good things about The Springs, so I went into the restaurant with high hopes, which is never really a good idea.
One of my main complaints was the service. Our waiter came off as a bit unfriendly and nonchalent — I just didn’t get the impression that he cared about serving us. And when he talked about the specials for the night, he spoke only to my mom and didn’t look at me at all. It really irks me when I’m not treated as an equal when eating out with my parents (I’m 23, by the way)! He also didn’t come back to our table once during the meal, which meant I didn’t get a refill on my water.
This left a bitter taste on my tongue and took away from the otherwise good meal. To start we were brought out some bread, which was still warm from the oven. It was delicious!
Next I had the Wildwood Greens Salad, which was a huge portion of fresh seasonal greens with roasted beets, nika cheese from Monforte Dairy, oven dried tomatoes, shallots, and toasted hemp seeds tossed in a citrus wolfberry vinaigrette. This was an awesome combination of flavours — especially that dressing!
I barely even needed an entrée after that bread and salad, but the Harrar Espresso and Black Pepper Crusted Venison Loin was calling my name. It came with root vegetable frites, a chili arugula salad and chocolate pomegranate gastrique. That gastrique was one of the best sauces I’ve ever had! The venison itself was good too, however a bit overcooked for my liking. Also I just want to comment on the fact that this entrée was served in a bowl — how does one eat a steak out of a bowl!?!
Overall the food was really good, but it was just missing the wow factor that I was expecting. Perhaps the presentation played a role in that though — more creative plating would have really enhanced the meal, in my opinion.
But to leave this review on a positive note — because for the most part I did enjoy this restaurant — I want to say that I would go back here again to try some of the other dishes on the menu that caught my eye. And to order a vat full of that chocolate pomegranate gastrique!

Attended The Springs for the first time with a table of 5 on Saturday. I had heard good things about the restaurant and was eager to try.
The décor of the restaurant is lovely, and huge bonus with free parking. The exposed brick of the old church was charming. Service was attentive. We did ask to be reseated at a table further away from the live music as we found it loud and they were not able to accomodate us. The musician did offer to turn down the amplifcation but we still had to raise our voices to have a conversation at the table.
Appetizers: We ordered the Seared Tuna, Rabbit Risotto Arancini, Duck Salad, and Wild Musroom Tart. Our favourites were the Tuna and Rabbit, though we enjoyed the Duck Salad as well. The Wild Mushroom tart was OK, but wouldn’t order it again.
Mains: By far our favourite of those ordered was the VENISON! It was delicious. the chocolate sauce was a perfect finish for the dish. The lamb was also very good and the scallops. I had the pork which was cooked perfectly though I found the dish overall a bit sweet for my taste. Another diner at my table had the «pan spanked» chicken which was a tad disappointing.
Desserts: We tried all of the desserts and were most impressed with the strawberry cheesecake and lemon sorbet dishes. Nothing spectacular…
Overall I would say this is a promising new addition to London’s restaurant scene. I’d go again.

Every person with whom I’ve spoken has had very positive things to say about The Springs. Me, not so much.
They might want to reconsider their choice of stemware. If they intend to serve exactly 6 oz. of wine, they should put it in another glass. On two different occasions I was struck by how little wine there appeared to be. I’m not suggesting that they are short serving; I’m suggesting that appearances matter, and the customer shouldn’t be presented with what looks like World’s Smallest Pour. Not a great first impression since the wine comes before the meal (one hopes).
Ladies, bring a sweater. I did, and I was still cold.
My guest liked her appetizer, but then things fell apart. My main course came with a visitor — a live bug. Not the end of the world, it could happen to any restaurant at any time. The waiter mentioned that this sometimes happens when the greens come directly from the farm. Really, it wasn’t a big issue for me, but it was very off-​putting for my guest. They brought me another dish, and we moved on.
Here’s the kicker — they apologized, but that’s it. I couldn’t believe that they didn’t offer a free dessert or knock a glass of wine off the bill. They even charged us for coffees that were ordered after «the incident». Most customers would not react well to a live bug crawling around a dish, but I played it down (had the bug been in my guest’s dish, things would have gone *very* differently indeed). I doubt that anyone sitting around us even knew about it, since I didn’t do anything to cause a scene. I would have thought that a low-​key response would have merited a token of appreciation, but I would have been wrong.
Lots of people have had great experiences at The Springs, so maybe I had back luck. It’s a handsome restaurant, in a good location (free parking). The service is fine. I actually hope that they do well, but I won’t rush back.