"Overeaters' Delight!"
I’ve never been a sushi lover, but having spent six months in Thailand in the 1980’s, I love Thai food and always enjoy seeking out new Thai restaurants. My husband and I had achieved a life milestone and chose The Spoon & Fork on the Queensway for our celebratory dinner. It was an opportunity for him to enjoy some sushi and for me to indulge my love of Thai food.
We made reservations for 7:30 pm and given that it was the
eve of a long weekend we fully expected the restaurant to be busy. Upon arrival
we reminded the harried hostess of our request for a booth and promptly received a sarcastic
wise crack in response. Not a great first impression. We were eventually seated
on the mezzanine level of the restaurant that overlooked the main floor. The
ceilings are very high and the room somewhat cavernous, which unfortunately resulted
in an unholy din that became even more alarming as the restaurant filled to
capacity around 8pm.
There are two dining options at Spoon & Fork. The usual a la carte menu, or an all-you-can-eat tasting menu for a flat rate of $27.99. A word of warning! Read the fine print on the menu, because if
you choose the all-you-can-eat option and don’t end up eating what you order, a bill will be presented at the end of the
evening for the uneaten dishes. The obvious negative result of the flat rate is
that it’s very difficult to avoid falling into the trap of overeating. We definitely dove head first into that particular trap.
We ordered several appetizers including vegetable and shrimp
tempura, won ton soup, Thai dumplings and coconut shrimp. My husband ordered a variety of sushi while I tucked into an 8 piece avocado cucumber
roll. I was completely stuffed after the appetizers, which had me in a bit of a panic because we had teriyaki beef,
green curry chicken, pad Thai, pineapple fried rice with chicken, beef and
shrimp still on the way! The beef teriyaki was cooked to perfection and melted
in my mouth. The pad Thai was a beautiful blend of lemon, peanut and garlic flavours
with tender shrimps over rice noodles. We enjoyed the tempura which was nicely
cooked although a bit more oily than it needed to be. The coconut shrimps were
slightly overcooked making the shrimp too chewy and the deep fried coconut
coating a bit tough to get through. My
husband quite enjoyed his green curry chicken and found the sushi to be fairly good. Not fantastic, not horrible, but good. The Thai dumplings were lovely, although the peanut
sauce was too plentiful and too sharp a flavour for such a mild dish.
After the appetizers, I began eating like a machine in order
to clear the plates and avoid an extra bill at the end of the evening. I wasn’t
sure how seriously they took that threat, but I wasn’t about to test the
waters. At the end of the meal I practically waddled out of the restaurant and
even a late evening march around the neighbourhood with our dogs didn’t liberate my overstuffed
stomach. I freely admit that it was a discomfort of my own making.
The food at Spoon & Fork was good; there was no doubt
about that. But the experience was
overshadowed by the clack and clatter of dishes and people shouting to be heard
over the noise. Plus we had the added stress of having to eat everything we
ordered. At $27.99 per person, I’m sure
the restaurant is doing well, because we noticed that the more expensive food,
such as the beef and shrimp, were presented in small portions whereas the rice
and noodle dishes were plentiful. Our bill for one drink each plus the all-you-can-eat rate was $90 including tip. Yes, those drinks were pricey.
I gave this an Average to Good rating; however we agreed that we would not choose this restaurant a second time because the food wasn`t good enough to compensate for the awful atmosphere. Well done on the food front, Spoon & Fork, but some noise cancelling headphones should be handed out with the menus upon arrival.
I gave this an Average to Good rating; however we agreed that we would not choose this restaurant a second time because the food wasn`t good enough to compensate for the awful atmosphere. Well done on the food front, Spoon & Fork, but some noise cancelling headphones should be handed out with the menus upon arrival.
Restaurant link: http://www.spoonandfork.ca/queensway.php
