Stonegrill On Winchester

My girlfriend and I went to Stonegrill with a voucher for $ 80 worth of food and drink. We ordered cinnamon dusted sweet potato fries (good), two entrees and one dessert to share (bread pudding, just okay).
For our entrees, we opted not to get anything «stone grilled» like so many tables around us. It honestly looked bland, and it looked like a hassle. Korean BBQ is way better (and cheaper) than this. Anyways, she ordered the Bison Steak with Blue Cheese and I had the Lobster Stuffed Chicken Roulade. Both of these were alright, with okay side veggies & mash.
Service was alright, attentive at first, less so as it got busier. The hostesses were rather annoying, they stood around chatting while the waiters were busy, and they looked as though they were sizing everyone up. Whatevs. The food didn’t blow me away, and I wouldn’t be back at regular prices. I don’t mind paying for quality, and this wasn’t my definition of quality.

Heard a lot abt the place and finally got a chance to try it out earlier this year. It is a great idea, similar to Korean Grill — cook your own meal. Services is great very attentive. The down side just as what you can expect after the Korean Grill — you kinda smell like grilled meat for the rest of the night.
Mussels with mango-​coconut curry sauce as a starter… not bad, the portion was decent. 8 oz sirloin, it was really sizzling when they brought out the heated plate. It didn’t take long for the meat to be done. I appreciate they actually provide little sides (potatoes, greens)…not a lot, but at least they try. Bailey’s cheesecake… just like the ones you can get at Future’s Café, I am sure they got the same supplier :)
Overall, it is cool place to check out… some neat selections on their menu… say alligator, ostrich, and kangaroo!!! :P

Sat evening birthday celebration at the Stonegrill ended up with most of us covered in steak fat and reeking of meat the rest of the night. Not the best situation.
The idea is pretty cool, but execution and reality really say otherwise, in my opinion.
Split the sweet potato fries with a friend, they were decent actually and I frequently sprinkle my sweet potato fries with cinnamon at home thanks to this appetizer.
For the main I ordered the Gnocchi and my companions all ordered beef tenderloin that cooks on a heated slab of stone at the table. I can’t say enough how much I was looking forward to watching, participating and admiring this process. So far I was having a nice evening and was sufficiently warmed up with a glass of wine and my sweet potato fries. The steaks arrive, and (minus any instruction at all from the waiter) everyone throws their steaks on the stones. .. and we all sit back and wait. First of all, and this is my mistake, if you go to this restaurant and are the sucker who orders pasta when everyone else gets steak, you will have to wait until everyone cooks their steaks before you can eat (this is provided you are polite and prefer to wait for your company to be able to eat at the same time), which can take up to 10 mins. A few mins into the steak sizzling fest I pick up my glass only to find it absolutely covered in grease spatter from the person across from me. Yuck, I just laughed it off. .. . but so much grease had actually gotten in my glass so I could not finish it. It also splattered all over my top, sides, legs and purse which was hanging on the back of my chair, and I didn’t even order a steak myself. Disgusting! I’m sorry but it was not fun or interesting or different in anyway to get dolled up for a Saturday night just to be covered with steak fat. A chef should be cooking, not the patrons. Especially not AAA steaks. Sorry. I really was not a fan whatsoever.
Oh, and the service was beyond awful.

Cool concept, lacklustre execution. Overpriced for mediocre food and really slow service.

Worst service we have ever experienced. 20 minutes after our arrival for water and 45 minutes until we even received our wine. Almost an hour and a half from when we arrived did we receive our appetizers, which were mediocre, onion-​heavy crabcakes.
When we asked a young server for more bread while waiting for our entrees, we were given a snicker for some reason. When he returned 20 minutes later to drop off our bread, he had the basket in one hand and a bottle of windex in the other.
Our meat was not seasoned at all, and the salt we requested never arrived. We ordered venison, beef tenderloin and bison and although the meat was tender, it was extremely bland from a total lack of seasoning.
The three layer chocolate cake with berries was the only positive part of our experience, although I wouldn’t say it came anywhere close to making up for any other aspect of our visit.

Food: Average and overpriced. They have some interesting items on the menu such as Bison, Ostrich, Alligator, and Kangaroo meat. I ordered the Bison which as good but nothing to write home about.
Service: Not the greatest. Slow and our waitress forgot about us on numerous occasions, which I don’t understand since the restaurant was not even half full. It took 10 minutes after we were seated before we even greeted by our waitress. It then took another 35 minutes for our drinks to arrive (we got our appetizers before our drinks).
Interesting experience cooking your own food on a hot stone, but I don’t think I’ll be going back anytime soon.

I am actually surprised to see some bad reviews on Stonegrill. It’s definitely not the best restaurant in town, but I would say it’s not the worst restaurant in town.
I was here on Saturday evening last week for Winterlicious, with a large group. The restaurant was already crowded, and we were seated at 8:50pm, 20mins past our actual reservation. Like some of the reviews mentioned, I was just standing there for 5mins by my self at the door, trying to grab someone’s attention to make sure I will be seated SOON.
Food:
— Starter bread wasn’t served.
— We ordered every dishes on the menu:
— appetizers: House salad was a regular mixed green salad with not-​so-​special vinaigrette dressing. We weren’t told what the soup of the day was, so we had to guess what we were drinking. But it was spicy, and salty. Mussels were pretty good, but also salty. Both the soup and the mussels would have been great with the bread though.
— main: mains on the Stonegrill was fun to play with, and we were well instructed by the waitress. Tenderloin and Sirloin were both good, but salmon was really hard to cook on the stone and it was easily burnt. Blackened Louisiana alligator was spicy, but they cooked it well considering alligator meat might be detestable to some people.
— dessert: I assume dessert cakes were all bought somewhere else, and they tasted like they were from Loblaw’s.
Service:
— As mentioned in other reviews, it was really hard to get attention when I first walked in to the restaurant. But they were nice in general, and kept insuring us that the table will be ready soon. Our waitress was really nice, and easy going. She constantly made jokes with us, and it was really entertaining throughout the dinner. Although she forgot our requests few times, as soon as she remembered, she quickly acted upon them. It’s understandable when she had to cover 4 – 5 tables of a large party.
Atmosphere:
— It’s really crowded, so there is really a little space in between yours and others. As mentioned in other reviews, it was hard to hear my friends sitting across from me. Also, it was unbelievably hot in the restaurant, because of all the Stonegrill people have ordered. I don’t think it will be a pleasant experience in summer unless they blast their A/​C out.
In general, I would simply recommend this place for its funness.

Was there for the winterlicious on a Friday evening.
Was worse than expected
— service was not good at all — chaotic, slow, and unprofessional
— surrounding was very noisy — difficult to talk with friends
— waitress forgot to charge us a whole bottle of wine on the bill but we informed them (how nice and honest of us) and they charged us… they just said a word of sorry!
— waitress didn’t bring the hot water that I ordered at all!!! I just let it go when my meal came. It was difficult to get water! I shared the same experience with other reviewers.
— main course was so-​so — nothing great, small portion; seems like the veges on the side are out of the freezer bags.
— ambience — not classy and romantic — if you are looking for classy and romantic this is definitely not the place. Wall paper was coming out from the top of the wall that is between the dining area and the kitchen (peeling off and dangling away) ! Very unsightly to be honest… one could see it on the left side as you are standing facing the reception desk when coming in. Just stand at the reception, turn your head to the left and glance up from the first table against the wall, you will find the wall paper peeling off the wall.
Positive:
— appetizer and desert was great as the portion was good and they tasted good — that was all
Won’t go back — for sure.

I would never go back there ever again!
The first time I went there, I didn’t enjoy the food at all. I ordered the stonegrill and I believe it was beef steak. It was terrible! The waitress did not teach us how to use the stone and eventually it grilled till the max where the meat turns very tough! That shouldn’t have happened!
I was forced to go back there the second time because it was for a birthday dinner of a friend of mine! We ordered the Beef tartar as an appetizer and we were very excited because we love raw beef! However, when the waitress brought it down to the table, I wanted to puke already without even trying! The smell was just gross because it smelled like gasoline. It seriously smelled like Zippo or Esso gas station! It was disgusting! I tried it and it tasted like what it smelled it. What a waste of good quality beef! I had beef tartar at many other places before and it’s seriously hard to make it taste this bad. I seriously wonder if they added gasoline into it to be honest HAHAHA! I tried the kangaroo steak only because I never tried that before! It was gross! I don’t even know if that’s the taste of kangaroo that I find it unpleasant but I couldn’t even put another piece to my mouth! I know it sounds like I’m exaggerating but seriously, I’m not!
I tried my friend’s ostrich steak on stonegrill, it was pretty bad as well. I had ostrich meet before and was very good however, at Stonegrill was pretty bad. It brought out the fishy taste of it and just not delcious at all.
My other friend ordered their alligator meat and it was really bad. I tried one piece and it was so tough that I couldn’t even chew it and neitheir my friend. I was like chewing plastic. He only tried ½ of one strip that he cutted out and that was it! It was extremely spicy as well! He tried alligator meat elsewhere and he understood that it should be a tough but not that tough that it’s not even eatable!
The sides such as the veggies and potatoes was also not good which is seriously very hard to let that happen. It was really oily and soaked into oil… period! The potatoes was really hard.
The food was bad but the service was good!
I don’t think it’s worth the price because they don’t really cook anything for the people doing the stonegrill. The meat is not even marinated into anything!

Went to this restaurant to celebrate a friends birthday. Ordered both the Beef Tenderloin and Bison. The restaurant was clean and the ambience was fun although very expensive. We overall initially enjoyed the dinner.
After dinner, all members of our parties started to feel ill. 24hours later after a horrible night of fever and chills with vomiting and diarrhea we contacted the establishment of food poisoning.
No response was given from Management. After spending over $ 50 per person we expected healthy clean meats. We were mistaken. I’d be weary of anyone thinking of going to this place. There are much better options in the area.

Lobster and sirloin was delicious and well-​seasoned, but a little dry. Kangaroo (?!?) was not worth trying — there was very little flavour.
Points for romantic ambience (soft lighting, innocuous music) and the concept… but prices are high and service is virtually non-​existent. They were friendly enough, but unless you’re planning on lingering at least 30 minutes per course, frustration will ensue.

There is a lot of mixed review on Stonegrill. It’s an innovative idea of DIY teppanyaki on a volcanic rock. It’s novel and fun for the first meal, but that’s it.
Ordered:
Mussels in white wine — Portions was good and it was tasty. You can taste the white wine intertwined with the mussels with each bite.
26-​day aged AAA beef tenderloin — Food quality is top notch. But portion control was terrible. Several guests at my table ordered the same 8oz tenderloin, but some were so thinly cut that by the time the meat arrived at the table, it was almost 70% cooked. So much for cooking it yourself.
Cherry Cheesecake — Bleh. It was less than memorable. It is something you’d find in a supermarket.
Note: If you come in a big group, be prepared to be squished in your table. And the lack of ventilation in the restaurant made it almost unbearably uncomfortable.

My boyfriend and I came here because we had a wag jag voucher and I was determined to use before it expired.
We first came on a Monday and were surprised that they were not opened Mondays (that’s what I get for not checking before hand lol) so we came back on a Thursday. Upon walking in, we waited a good 5 minutes to be greeted and seated even though 3 waiters passed by and looked at us. It was a very awkward 5 minutes. I wasn’t sure what to do. Finally a waiter came out of the kitchen, noticed us and then seated us immediately.
We ordered the spinach and feta lasagna and the surf and turf. It was a huge struggle to get water on our tables and at some points, it didn’t seem like anyone was even working (there were 4 waiters but ii really only felt like 1 was there).
Food was ok. it doesn’t really stand out much for the price you’re paying. The lasagna was a huge portion and had three giant pieces of garlic bread. lobster tail was a good size too. My side veggies were bland and boring, some of them were mushy and others were still crunchy.
I think the way the operated was that each waiter had a role to fulfill so there was this one guy that was setting up tables the whole time we were there. and it wasn’t like there were that many tables turning over. So overall, ok food and horrible service. I probably won’t be back for seconds.

I enjoyed the service and food very much! Personally, I drink A LOT of ice water and I never found myself having to wave the waitress down to give me some water haha. Also through out the dinner she came by very often to check up on us and even chatted us up. Plus a point for when I asked for a picture she suggested to go to the lounge to take the picture minus a point for not really know how to take pictures LOL
We order the Appetizer of the day which was kobe beef, it was 3 slices of thinly sliced kobe beef and the stone was seasoned with salt. I must say the kobe beef was the high point of our dinner. We also order the mussels in blue cheese my gosh it was quite a big serving compared most places. IT WAS SO DELICIOUS. I’m not a big fan of blue cheese but I just kept eating. They give you a lot of other choices for sauces too and the waitress seemed to recommend their beer or blue cheese most.
We were kind of stuffed with the mussels at this point but for the main course we order the seafood platter and the surf and turf. For my ex seafood platter that comes with TIGER SHRIMPS, SEA SCALLOPS, CUTTLEFISH. The lemon got burnt before my boyfriend even began «cooking» and it just had this weird smell. Everything was so bland. It was really disappointing. For my surf and turf the lobster tail was way over cooked, I was pretty peeved about that and the sirloin was just sirloin hahaha nothing much to say about it typical piece of meat lightly seasoned with salt.
We concluded the appetizer was DEFINITELY the hit for our night! We will be coming back again I am looking forward to trying the fish combination and many more appetizers. But it’s not a good sign when I just want to order appetizers and not the main meal.

I LOVE THE FOOD AT THIS PLACE. When I think about it I salivate. I dont know why but the way they do their steaks, or wherever they buy it is fantastic… to start but the longer it stays the worst it gets… I’m a rare steak fan… The restaurant is very cute.
Now a few concerns:
— Expensive
— Not Enough Food… Usually eat more after
— Service is hit and miss
Cost: 2 people, 1 apps, 2 mains, 1 desserts $ 120 – 180 (depends how much I feel like drinking).
Food quality: ⁵⁄₅
Food quantity: ²⁄₅
Wine Selection: ⁴⁄₅
Service: 3.5÷5
Perfect for: First dates, anniversaries, any romantic setting.
Would I Go Again: Yes

I have to say, having read some of the previous reviews here I was a little bit concerned going to this place, mainly on the account of service. Luckily my worries were allayed by a very pleasant young gentleman who attended to our table and was very helpful with the choice of food and wine. Since we went for the stone cooked food experience I can’t comment on other dishes, but the two orders of stoned meat and fish arrived in a very timely fashion and when we asked for an additional stone to replace the one that was getting cold, we got right away.
As far as the stoned fish and meat go, they are what you’d expect: no seasoning except for salt. So you will definitely experience the full flavour of whatever you’re having (we decided to go the whole hog and tried kangaroo, venison, wild boar, tiger shrimps, sea scallops, salmon and tuna; my personal favourites were tuna and venison, and I’m still wondering what part of kangaroo looks very much like a sausage). The potions were quite generous and we couldn’t even finish what we’d ordered.
If I had to criticize, there’re two things I’d like to point out. First of all, the place has no cooking hoods over the tables, so the odour of whatever you’re cooking (especially meat) will linger for some time and will make you smell like a boar too. This is somewhat alleviated by the size of the place, but is still an oversight in my opinion. Secondly, while the stones are more than adequate to cook sea food and vegetables, they are not nearly big enough to cook any decently sized steak. They just don’t retain enough heat and even if you use a succession of 10 stones all you’ll end up with is a shoe sole like crust on the outside and an absolutely raw meat on the inside. So you have to cut the meat into smaller pieces, which does make it less juicy.
Overall I liked the place (very nice service, great atmosphere and unique experience), though they definitely could’ve put more thought into the details. I would give it 3.5 stars, but since it has to be an integer I’ll have to round it down to 3.

Came here to celebrate my brother’s birthday with the family, and since I’ve been to the one in Vancouver I knew what to expect. The place itself is in a strange neighbourhood, I would never venture over there if not for the dinner. It was not a busy night, but the waiters were never around. The theme of the night was empty water glasses. The food was good, the steaks were delicious, the seafood platter was a lot of food and a great combination. I ordered the game combination (I chose kangaroo, wild boar, and venison), and it was interesting. The boar tasted the best since it was pretty much like pork, but kangaroo meat is super gamey.
Overall, it was just okay. The place is nice, the atmosphere is great, the food is decent (and fun to grill on your own), but the lack of attention from waiters is what bummed me out.

I think that I will always be a kid at heart-​The Stone Grill provides adults with an opportunity to play with their food in public with no eyebrow raising. We made a reservation for the Saturday night, but it was for 2, and quite frankly, we could have gotten away with not making one. About ¾ full, it was pleasantly humming with activity. The ambiance was warm and inviting, and the work of a local artist covered the walls.
We were shown to a table quickly, and the girl checked our coats for us-​another plus. It took probably about ten minutes for our waiter to come to our table, he was most apologetic about not being there sooner. We placed our order, and were in for another 10 minute wait.
The owner actually came with our wine, and we had a interesting discussion about the artwork. As the evening progressed, I noticed that he made the time to visit every table, which I think is a very nice touch-​obvious that he cares a great deal about his business.
Moving on, our inexperienced waiter breezed in with a dish that wasn’t ours-​when I pointed out his snafu he apologized, found the right table, and on the way out of the dining room, stopped in for another apology-​it was actually more entertaining than annoying.
We had ordered the celebration platter as an appetizer, which consisted of a garden salad, crab cakes, calamari, and ribs. The garden salad dressing was amazing, the calamari was quite tender, and had a super light batter on it (they were deep fried). It came with a little dish of sauce that was some sort of purée of red pepper and other spices-​did not go with the calamari at all. I couldn’t really taste the crab in the cake as there was so many spices in it and the guacamole on top had quite a kick. I’m actually not really convinced that they remembered to put the crab in. They hid a cucumber slice on the bottom of the cake which provided a crunchy palate cleanser after all the spice. The ribs were cooked perfectly-​fall off the bone goodness-​but the root beer sauce was a little strange, especially paired with the other items on the platter.
When our main course arrived, it was very exciting with all the sizzling and little speech that came from our waiter-don’t touch the stone! The meat only had salt on it, which promptly fell off my meat as I was cooking it. I also found that I had to take the meat off and put it on a side plate to prevent it cooking more than I would have liked-​which made eating my meal a little awkward. I got the surf and turf– and the lobster had to be taken off right away too as it comes fully cooked. My little side plate (the size of my palm) was packed! The lobster would have been better with a little butter to dip in, and it didn’t come fluffed, which made it difficult to scrape out especially as my work area was cramped. The meal came with veg on the side-​a little bland as well. My potatoes were overdone and the mushroom sauce was not worth dipping into either. Overall, my main wasn’t amazing-​but it wasn’t bad either. My dining companion found her steak to be somewhat tough.
I ordered a three layer chocolate cake for dessert, while she ordered the cheesecake. My cake was not three layers of chocolate at all, it was 1 layer of chocolate mousse, some weird white spongy cake, and a layer of coconut on the bottom (blech). The cheesecake was amazing however, and we ended up sharing that. Our waiter was most receptive to the comments about the gross three layered cake, and was fairly timely with the bill and getting our coats for us.
Fun for the experience, not somewhere that I would go on a regular basis.

Stonegrill on Winchester, on a Thursday night, DON“T GO HERE!
Rating scale 1 — 10 (10 being the best)
Ambiance: 6 — we sat in the lounge area by the bar in front of a lit fire place and with a flat screen TV displaying an NFL game. However the lighting, dining area and bar were more upscale that of say… The Keg. Overall, not crowded with patrons.
Drinks: 8 — The dark rum and coke was really tasty with more than enough rum.
Service: ⁷¹⁄₂ — Attentive and good natured server. Did not come right back after the main course was delivered to see if it was up to par, however.
Food: 6
About the food in detail: The spinach salad was delicious, with a light, tasty, citrus-​based salad dressing. That’s about it! The crab cakes were bland, and did not taste at all like it contained even one smidgen of crab. My mates Ostrich on the Stone (you cook it yourself to medium rare) was devoid of any flavour, and tasted slightly gamey. Even the sauce that came with it lacked gusto. My hamburger with lobster and guacamole topping, delicious as it sounds was a disappointment. Due to an overwhelming hunger and missing server, I ate 75% of my hamburger and all of its accoutrements without the way hardened and teeth cracking Ciabatta bread it came enclose in. As well, the potato fries were about 5 minutes away from being cooked properly. Needless to say I did not finish my meal.
The server gave us a complimentary Grand Marnier crème brûlée, which was not bad, but lacked the richness, creaminess, and silkiness of a true custard. My mate had a comp coffee which was pleasing to her palate.
Overall, this restaurant’s strength is not its food.

My buddies and I always have the «East side west side» debate. I’m obviously biased living on the West side as I tend to spend more time on College, Queen West and King West. However, I think the East side won last night with their contribution of Stone Grill. This place has great food, ambiance and service, but there is an entertainment kicker in effect here. I will get to the kicker in a minute. The location of the restaurant lends itself to some sketchy people kicking around. Again, what I like to call East side charm (although the gentrification of the area is happening at a blistering pace). Once inside the restaurant there is a really nice bar lounge area where people tend to congregate before dinner. I always love starting my meals off this way, kind of sets the pace for the night. Especially when you have a large party as we did. Back to the entertainment factor. The restaurant always has guest chefs, music, or dishes from other local restaurants. For instance, our night we had the Sushi Chef from the Drake Hotel. So it gives it a fun surprise factor. The real draw to the Stone Grill is just that. The food comes out on plates made of Volcanic rock. These rocks are heated for up to 8 hours and come out at 740 degrees with your meal (be it selected Beef, Chicken, Seafood or Veg) sizzling on top. It is up to you to cook it as you wish. The very knowledgeable wait staff guide you through this fun process, so no need to worry about overcooking. One small piece of advice, if you are a slow eater like me, you may want to pull your food off to the side of the plate so you don’t overcook. The service is absolutely fantastic but it was very slow. This somewhat puzzles me as the food is cooked on your plate. At any rate, the décor, the food (once it got there) and the company all made this place one of my favourites on the East side. If you are looking for a different food experience, fun and higher end, this is a good spot. Be prepared to hit the bank Machine prior as its fairly pricey (between mains start at about $ 20). If you want to see the venue, they have a cool walk through on their website