Swiss Chalet Rotisserie & Grill

I had little time and wanted to have a quick lunch before heading back to the States. I saw this restaurant by the side of the road approaching the Ambassador Bridge and thought, this will do. It did. Quarter rotisserie chicken, adequately cooked but a bit dull, enlivened by a cup of pour-​over sauce, plus shrimp, not quite adequately cooked but nicely seasoned, on rice on the side. Plus a cup of pretty good cream of chicken soup.
Really fast and not too bad. Met my expectations.

As a Canuck now living in Yankeeland, this was the last stop before we crossed back over into the land of «We’re #1!!!». I have fond memories of Swiss Chalet from when I was a child and this location didn’t disappoint.
Interesting, my kids were not impressed by the Chalet sauce, though they loved the chicken. Neither were they impressed by the cheese curds in the poutine, though they ate the fries.
Must take them here more.

This little Canadian was driving back from America over Thanksgiving weekend and it was sad. On Thanksgiving Monday this was pretty much the only place that was open and serving bird.
The staff were friendly, the booth comfy. My quarter chicken dinner was as expected, the sauce divine.

How do you screw up chicken, when your whole business is based around serving roast chicken? I don’t know. But Swiss Chalet succeed in achieving the impossible.
Service is beyond slow. It took 45 minutes for our server to come over, by which stage we were wandering around the restaurant looking for anything to feed our starving kids whose patience had expired.
An hour later the waitress came out to inform that our meal would be further delayed because they had not cooked enough chickens! The place wasn’t even half-​full and yet they hadn’t planned on cooking enough to feed the customers in there.
Eventually, over 2 hours after walking in through the door we got our food. My meal came with the mashed potatoes inside a plastic bag. As I’m looking at it in bewilderment the manager grabs the plate from my hand, unceremoniously dumps the contents out of the plate and informs me that, «That’s how we do potatoes here.»

What a hole. Give swiss chalet a bad name. Drive thru is slow as hell, inside is dirty and old, food is typical, but if you don’t care about the restaurant, close it.

This restaurant is dirty and dark. The food wasn’t bad but it was cold. They give a very unique «tomato» sauce as a dip for the chicken wrap. The Poutine was the worst I’ve had.

I’ve been going to Swiss Chalet since I was a little kid, and I consider it a bit of a tradition when I’m back in Canada to stop in at least once. I must say, they’re just going through the motions at this location.
The serving staff was pretty good and our waitress was attentive, but the meal sucked. My beer was warm, my son’s rootbeer was warm, the dinner roll was cold, in fact they were all pretty much the same temperature. The fries were undercooked, and the chicken was dry. All of this is the exact opposite of what I’ve come to expect from Swiss Chalet.
I let our server know about it and she offered to replace the beer but I was mostly finished by then and didn’t want another. I just suggested she let the manager know they might be having a refrigeration problem. The manager never moved more than 5 feet from his self-​appointed post near the kitchen and bar area the entire time we were there. I had a perfect view of him the whole time, and I never once saw him lift a finger to help any of his employees or come out and interact with the customers. Such as myself, after the server alerted him to a problem. His apparent response? «meh».
Then there’s the men’s room. It was decrepit, obviously hadn’t been serviced all day, and the button for the hand dryer was literally hanging out the front of it by a wire.
This place needs to be shuttered and started over again.

Negative stars needed here!
I’m only reviewing this place to warn others NEVER to come here!
And to think the reason we came was the «friendly» border patrol that kept us in line for an hour and then felt the need to investigate us!
Traveling with my husband, a government employee and an 8 year old, I don’t know what there is to worry about to why they felt the need to take apart our entire car, all the bags in it… arrg
We were tired and hungry and when we were finally let on our way I asked the nicest of the guys where he can recommend to eat, something fast and simple that I can’t find in the US, he told me Swiss Chalet is great and right up the street.
Good chicken he said, ok so off we went.
That whole area in Windsor is really scuzzy and dirty and seeing there was really nothing else to chose from we went.
Interior, old, dirty and creepy, as are the waiters.
Bathrooms, unthinkably dirty, but I had to go so I did, standing up with different napkins protecting me every step of the way.
I had a salad with chicken, did not dare touch the chicken, the salad reminded me of one found while airborne.
The man went with the chicken and I dumped mine on him, he was not very pleased.
The only happy camper was my son who gobbled up his very strange looking burger but commented how his soda tasted strange, the man and I were to afraid to even sip our water.
Yikes, avoid eating here at all costs!

I can’t believe that I’m actually reviewing this place, but FYI, go elsewhere!
Swiss Chalet, yes, I’ve had this in the past, but usually as take-​out or at other locations.
Stopping in at this Swiss Chalet and actually sitting down for a meal, was by fluke. And a mistake. Talk about scuzzy.
I took my senior citizen parents here for lunch and was quite embarrassed after the fact. I of course made the mistake of assuming that this is where they wanted to eat, being a bit older and all. I assumed wrong.
The level of service was good and earned my one star, but the bland meal, outdated décor, and sketchy fellow patrons removed the other available stars.
Go elsewhere! This location looks alright from the outside, but once you step inside — blegh.

I gotta be honest. All I wanted was some french fries and gravy.
I would’ve never had the desire to try such a dish had it not been for the opening scene of Super Troopers. And I’ve never tried to eat a whole bag of mushrooms either, so I can’t say that factored into my craving. Sometimes, I’m a consumer whore, and need to try these things.
But then I discovered that what I really needed to try was a gloriously unhealthy Canadian dish called poutin. Basically the same thing, except with melted cheese curd ontop. A stomachache waiting to happen.
Luckily, I was able to to forego some wicked cell phone roaming by picking up an American signal, and Swiss Chalet was the first place nearby I could go to. For us Yanks, think part Sbarro, part Boston Market, with waiter service. It took a few minutes for someone at the counter to take my order, since they were getting rocked through the drive-​thru, but once they did, and I got my treat, I was back on my way Stateside.
And the poutin is… about what you’d expect. Some fries were crisp, others not so much. The cheese was pretty rich and flavorful, though probably cheap and loaded with salt. And the gravy tasted like your average canned turkey gravy.
I may not have gotten the best that my Canadian dollars could have bought that day, but it has awakened my adventurous spirit, and I will now soon be on the lookout for the best poutine in Chicago. Who’s coming with me?