Fox Bistro, Raddison Hotel

640 Dixon Road (neat Pearson airport), Etobicoke, ON                                        RATING: Poor

"Beware weary traveller!"

A group of my friends decided on the Fox Bistro as a good dining location that was central to all.  While waiting for my group to arrive, I ordered a glass of wine at the bar located at the back of the dining room. It was a glass of Wolf Blass Chardonnay for $10. I gave the bartender $15 and waited for change. Realizing that I wasn't going away, he came back to tell me that he had to go find change but it would take some time. Seriously? So I told him to just keep it and he didn’t even say thank you, not even a smile. Rude and surly set the pace for the waitstaff at this restaurant. 

My friends ordered the minestrone soup for their appetizer. None of them finished it because it seemed to be right out of a can, and not a good can at that. I chose the Caesar salad which was a mistake because the lettuce was swimming in a cheap dressing. They must have a dumpster full of uneaten meals out back because this food was not good.  I’m not sure who the ‘chef’ is, but I had an image of a couple of teenagers working the grill with vats of sauces and pre-made entrées at the ready. 

I chose the salmon as my entrée and if the fish hadn’t been pink I wouldn’t have known it was salmon because of the insanely spicy sauce that was doused over the top of the poor fish. It could have been a slab of soggy Kleenex and I wouldn’t have known because of the shock to my senses and a seared palate.  

The third course had promise because it was chocolate cake and if it had been a really good rich dark chocolate cake, I might have forgiven all.  But given my experience so far, I was afraid to take the plunge.  I asked the waiter if it was mousse or cake and he said, ‘both’. Ok, that was a little helpful but I wanted a bit more information so I tried again and asked if it was dark chocolate, and he sneeringly said, “well it’s not white.”  Maybe he was having a bad day, but in my worst moments as a waitress I would have made a bit more effort than that.  I ate the cake because I was desperate for something good to come out of that meal but it was a poor imitation of a chocolate cake and full-on stale. I doubt they make anything from scratch in this restaurant nor do they use fresh ingredients. 

Pull up your socks Fox Bistro because your food is pathetic. You have a captive audience with all the unsuspecting travellers passing through Pearson, so please start serving up some decent fare because you’re giving Toronto a bad name.