Redwood Grill
Restaurant: Redwood Grill
Address: 30 Fairfax Drive, Halifax
Date: April 25, 2010
Fish: Haddock
Cost: $9.99
Two of our reviewers never knew there was a restaurant located in the Bayer’s Lake Future Inn until friends suggested to dine there. The other two (obviously much more well traveled food aficionados) had dined there before.
One thing about eating at a little known restaurant… you never have to wait for a table, and you don’t feel crowded.
When we got our menus we couldn’t find fish and chips on it. Could that be? Did we waste a trip out here? Oddly however, fish and chips was finally located… in the Sandwich section. The Sandwich section!!??!!
Our review experience at the Redwood Grill was unlike any we’ve had so far, not because of the meal, but because of an unusual difference of opinion between the reviewers.
We have a fairly rigid process when reviewing fish and chips at a restaurant. First off, we take turns selecting the next place to dine at. Rachel chose the Redwood Grill because of previous positive dining experiences she’s had there.
So as not to sway opinions, as we eat we do not talk to each other about the meal… we simply examine, taste, and hopefully enjoy. While eating, we typically write our thoughts down, and once the meal is done we score each category and add up the total. Only then do we compare scores and notes.
With the Redwood Grill it was immediately obvious a problem was brewing. Three of the reviewers had the exact same score (which has never happened before), while the fourth was 17 points lower!
A minor fracas broke out at our booth as that lone reviewer doggedly held to their opinion, much to the bewilderment and disgust of the other three. It was only later that evening when the reviewer couldn’t taste a deliciously rich hot chocolate did they acknowledge that perhaps their judgment had been impaired and should be disregarded.
Once that was cleared up it became quite obvious… the Redwood Grill is an excellent place to go eat fish and chips!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Fish and Chips Score: 81
FCP Review Crew
Rachel’s Thoughts
I’ve eaten at this restaurant before and enjoyed the food. However, tonight I couldn’t taste much of anything. Not sure if it’s because I have a cold or because I burnt my tongue on a nice cup of tea this morning (I like it hot).
The rest of my team seemed to quite enjoy the food, and felt it had a lot of flavor, so as a result I feel I have to withdraw my score from this location. I really couldn’t taste much of anything. Maybe I’ll make my way back here at some point and try the fish and chips again.
Rachel’s Final Score: VOID
Poochie’s Thoughts
I had no two clues there was a restaurant in the Future Inn… but I am glad I know now. Convenient location with lots of parking, this comfortable and clean restaurant shouldn’t be overlooked.
I did think the portion was a touch small, both in terms of the size of the fish and the amount of fries. But everything was tasty, really tasty.
The fish tasted nice and not greasy at all. It had a real nice subtle flavor to it. The batter (which is advertised as having a hint of cajun) is great. I wasn’t totally getting the “cajun” promise, but there was no doubt the subtle seasoning added to it made this a winner. It was quite crispy on the outside, but nice and moist (without being greasy) on the inside.
The fries arrived piping hot and were nicely seasoned. I’m not sure if they were homecut or not, but whatever they were I really liked them. It should be noted that you can replace the fries with sweet potato fries, roast potato, roasted garlic mashed, rice, caesar or garden salad for no extra charge. That’s pretty good.
The tartar sauce was Kraft and, disappointingly, it didn’t come with coleslaw.
This was one great tasting meal, and had they tossed in a small bit of coleslaw and were a bit more generous with the fish and chips… the Redwood Grill would be my top pick so far.
Fish
Batter
Fries
Grease
Portion/Value
Condiments
Poochie’s Final Score: 81
Minnie’s Thoughts
The fish was very nice and I really liked the flavor of the cajun batter, but I found it a tiny bit doughy on the inside. I really did like the spice combination they used though… great flavor!
The fries were really good. I don’t know if they were homecut or not, but tasty nonetheless. And, hey! You can get sweet potato fries at no extra cost!
Unfortunately there was no coleslaw with the meal.
Finally, our server was very good! This was a great experience.
Fish
Batter
Fries
Grease
Portion/Value
Condiments
Minnie’s Final Score: 81
Skippy’s Thoughts
This fish was delish! Tender, flaky, moist – but not wet or soggy; lovely flavor.
Nice batter; cooked perfectly. Which kept the grease (acceptable) out of the fish. My only disappointment: The menu stated the batter would have “a hint of cajun spice,” where I wanted more than a hint. (Okay, even a real hint would have been nice.) But in all fairness, I’m guessing spicy cajun fish batter might not be everyone’s thing, and they did specify a “hint,” so I can’t penalize them for that.
And the fries. Mmm, potato-y, and cooked… al dente. But wait – these were fries, not pasta. (Can you imagine? I’d like an order of deep fried fish and pasta, please.) Tasty with or without ketchup, and yummy even when cold.
Overall, a very nice meal, surroundings, and server (she went over and above to assist us, plus she had to put up with Poochie). And if you’re into sweet potato fries, bonus! No charge to swap ‘em with the regular des frites. Highly recommended.
Fish
Batter
Fries
Grease
Portion/Value
Condiments
Skippy’s Final Score: 81
I haven’t tried the fish and chips at the Redwood, but the fried haddock I had was so delicious and moist that I’ve told several friends to try it and no one’s disagreed. Plus I love sweet potato fries. Unfortunately, if they are busy you can wait awhile though.
I’ve been eating at Fredies since Tammy opened and agree they’re great, but sometimes you just want the fish with no batter.
Keep up the good work so I don’t have to waste my time eating bad fish and chips.
Sandy, your feedback sounds credible to me.
And it’s like Poochie says: every customer is a reviewer. Because even if you don’t create a fancy blog to share your thoughts on a meal, you’re still probably gonna tell your friends – especially if it was a negative experience – and word of mouth is still the best form of advertising.
So unfortunately for them, restaurants always have to be on their A-game. It’s tough. But it’s a tough business to be in.
And I wish we could guarantee our readers would get exactly what we enjoyed or disliked, only for the purposes of assisting them in wisely spending their hard earned cash. But if restaurants were able to guarantee consistency in their meals, then we wouldn’t have to write reviews that contradict popular opinion, like we did with Phil’s: http://fishandchipsplease.com/phils-seafood/
Agreed. It could simply be that I caught them going into a lunch rush. Like they say “One point doesn’t make a curve.”
Sandy… thanks for your comments. The batter on the fish served us was nice and crispy on the outside, yet still moist on the inside. We certainly couldn’t call it “mushy”. But that brings up an important point regarding restaurants and their food which we can’t review… consistency.
It’s important for restaurants to be consistent in the food they serve. Who wants to go to a restaurant where you never know from day to day if you’re going to get a delight or a dud?
As reviewers we can only judge what is served us that day. If the establishment is inconsistent and we get a poor sampling which results in a bad review, well… too bad… they should realize that every customer is a reviewer and deserves their best effort.
However, if our properly cooked fish was the exception to the norm… there really isn’t much we can do about it.
While our review of the Redwood Grill was quite positive… the beauty of your participation in the comments helps readers get a slightly different perspective, which is a good thing.
How about it readers, has anybody else out there tried the fish and chips at the Redwood Grill? If you so, tell us what you thought.
So, I happened to be at the Redwood shortly after your review. I love the Redwood. Myself and my wife often go there before a movie. The food is generally great and the prices are excellent. Atmosphere is excellent as well.
Wish I could say the same for the F&C.
Let’s get the fluff out of the way. The service was great, prompt and courteous. The food arrived quickly and hot. The portions were good and prices reasonable.
But the fish was poorly cooked. Period.
It was greasy and it was doughy. I couldn’t easily get a clean forkful because of the mushy texture.
Sorry, but I have to take a pass on the Redwood for F&C.
(Again, this is just my $0.02 for whatever that’s worth … probably less)
Ms. Whiteplates… I was just as surprised that there was a restaurant there at all. Who knew! And it was very tasty… very tasty indeed.
We ordered the regular fries with our fish and chips for judging purposes… you know… apples to apples. But somebody at out table also ordered something else and got the sweet potato fries with it. They were good… and for an additional .75 (I think) you could get a curry mayo or some other dip which I can’t remember.
For a few reasons I’m kind of surprised the fish and chips are good. The pictures really show the batter to be crispy which if I ate gluten I would be all over it! And sweet potato fries? The inane sign they have out front really belies their food.