Kate O.
Yelp
Today my family and I enjoyed lunch in a dome on the waterfront at the Westin Bayshore Hotel. We didn't know what to expect as we'd never been there before, but I wanted something festive and special for my daughter and granddaughter this holiday season, and the dome was it.
Everything about it was absolutely first class. We loved the privacy of the dome, where we could play our own music on the sound system and there were no noisy neighbours at the next table.
For lunch week days there is a minimum spend of $150, which wouldn't be hard to meet with three of us. Our orders were smash burger with fries ($24), steak frites with a small salad ($35) cauliflower steak with lentils, roasted carrots, squash and various other veggies ($28), and truffle fries ($13). 750ml bottles San Pellegrino sparkling and Evian still water were $8 each.
The only rather underwhelming item was the cauliflower steak. It was basically a big chunk of undercooked cauliflower. The diner expected it to be perhaps glazed and caramelized after a long, slow grilling, but it was not that all all. It looked raw, it was hard, and disappointing. When the server, Emily (more about her later) asked how everything was, the vegan in the room was honest and said her meal was disappointing as it just seemed like a hunk of raw cauliflower. She offered to take it back and get a redo, and did. It was somewhat improved, a little softer, more sauce on it, but still disappointing. "I would not order this again," she said, and I was sorry that one of us did not completely enjoy her meal.
The fries all around were absolutely delicious, crisp on the outside, fluffy inside, the way they should be. The burger was huge (two patties) with REAL cheese, tomato, lettuce, etc. Came with a pile of fries and the diner was happy and could not eat it all.
The steak portion was small (5 oz.), but very tender and tasty. Again, gorgeous fries that stayed crisp. It came with a red wine peppercorn jus that was a lovely addition to the plate. Even the little side salad of arugula and frisee was tasty. No complaints there.
For dessert we had to try the freshly made sugar donuts (6) with a cotton candy cloud, whipped cream, honey drizzle and fresh berries $19. This was a fun and delicious ending to the meal, and was shared easily between the three of us.
Perhaps the best part of the whole experience was our server, Emily, who was hospitality personified. We all felt she did absolutely everything she could to make sure we felt welcomed and taken care of. While we sit comfortably in our little private dome, the servers have to brave the elements and slippery patios to go back and forth, indoors/outdoors, to take care of their guests. It's winter out there! But that didn't stop Emily from being friendly, attentive and taking care of our every need. We never once had to wonder where she was or feel abandoned. Emily was on the job, and with a smile on her face.
When she brought the bill she pointed out that we hadn't yet met the $150 quota (which really surprised me) and suggested we might order something else to make up the $16 difference (if we wanted to). We decided we may as well have another order of the donuts/cotton candy scenario to take out and enjoy later. This was soon brought in a Westin shopping bag, the donuts boxed and the cotton candy separate in a large Ziploc bag.
We were never rushed out, as each dome seating is allotted 2.5 hours. We could have stayed longer but left at 2:00 to get a taxi home in the grey drizzle. We are already talking about when we can enjoy the Bayshore's dome experience again. It ends for the season around Mother's Day, to make way for summer patio dining.
I recommend the Dome experience 5/5, and if you're lucky enough to get Emily as your server, she cranks the rating up to 11. Fabulous!