905.578.9900 2247 Rymal Road East Stoney Creek, On http://www.symposiumcafe.com
I'd never been to Symposium before the other night. It's one of those places that you just hear great things about, but never actually get out there to try it for yourself. I have friends who'd been, but their stories fell a little short for me.
The ambiance of the place is quite nice, not overstated. It's a classy cafe. Soft chairs, lots of plants, and just slightly subdued lighting. The bar is made of dark wood, and is full of bottles. It would be good for a variety of outings. We were there for a family dinner, and one of my parents' friends stopped at the table to say hi as she was just leaving her book club. It would make a lovely casual dinner date spot too.
My dad ordered the Maryland Crab Cakes for an appetizer and generously shared one with me. But only one, because they were too delicious. I don't blame him for keeping them mostly to himself. They were full of crab and fried lightly so that the inside was still soft but the outside was just a little cripsy. Served with a sauce, kind of a lightly spiced thousand island dressing? But it complimented the seafood perfectly and wasn't too spicy. Barely there spice. Definitely recommending them to anybody who likes crab cakes, or anybody who likes to eat delicious things.
My main course...well...so i kind of made up my main course. I wanted the grilled veggie wrap because it was made with guacamole and goat cheese. Because guacamole and goat cheese are two of my favourite foods. But I wanted the Crispy Chicken Wrap because it had crispy chicken. So they made me the veggie wrap with crispy chicken. And pesto mayo. Guys. The pesto mayo is SO GOOD. And it made the whole thing AMAZING. Exactly everything I wanted in a sandwich. The best part? I told her my dilemma, and SHE suggested the substitution. I didn't have to be a food diva or anything. Just an example of excellent customer service, unlooked for but completely appreciated.Now, there was a downside. It's a tiny one. Doesn't even effect everybody. But the fries...they weren't terrific. They were not crispy or hot. And I didn't complain, because my sandwich gave me such a hard foodgasm that I didn't mind cold fries so much. But just as an FYI, fries are not awesome; I recommend paying a little extra for the onion rings. Which were firm and not too greasy. Much more delicious.
I don't normally mention customer service in my posts, just the general feel of the people that work there. I don't think it's fair to judge a place simply on how one person treats you (be it good or bad), because if you go and don't get that person you'll have a different experience and think I'm crazy. But I have to mention it here because through the course of our dinner we talked to three different servers (two extra waiters brought our food out so it would all get out faster) and the owner. And all of them were absolutely lovely. Our waitress, Crystal, was so nice and welcoming, and HELPFUL. She made sure we all got exactly what we wanted and left with smiles on our faces.
The food, and ambiance, and all the things at Symposium are delightful and delicious. And because of this, I was expecting a much higher price tag than what I actually got. My meal, drink included, was less than $20, even with the substitution. Granted, we didn't get dessert there, as it was a birthday thing with the fam, so we HAD to go back to the 'rents place for cake and prezzies. So I can't tell you about the desserts. But from the look of them...well, I will be going back there at some point to try out the enormous pieces of cake available. Because seriously, they looked to be about a pound of cake. And I'd like to eat a pound of cake, wouldn't you?
