Salamanders

One of the nieces restaurants I've been in for a long time the food and service are excellent

We had excellent ...

We had excellent service! Almost no wait time and the food was great. My 18 year old granddaughter said it was now her new favourite place to eat!!

Save Your Money

We arrived at the restaurant and noticed there was a set of glass doors on each side of the main entrance door. It was unclear as to which door to select so we picked "door number two" and walked through. We waited to be served but no one appeared. We turned to glance at the other set of doors and a server popped her head out and motioned for us to walk over to "door number one". It was dinner time and I noticed that there was only one other table that was occupied. That should have been my clue. The server recommended I have the Maple roasted pecan salad. She said it was an awesome salad! I decided to go with her suggestion and for an additional cost added a piece of grilled chicken. The order was placed and we waited. And waited and waited. Finally, our meal arrived. Maybe we should have waited a little longer. The salad was terrible and the piece of grilled chicken was tough, cold and tasteless. The server came by and asked how we were enjoying our meal. I told her that it wasn't very good. I was hoping that she would make an effort to improve our dining experience by suggesting that I try something else on their menu or offer a complimentary gift card to encourage a second visit to their restaurant but that didn't happen. The overall rating - the cuisine was inferior, the atmoshere was so so and the service at best, was average. What a disappointed.

Warmth and kindness

Salamanders is a fine restaurant, but something we aren't used to anymore. We are used to speed: get the drink, put in the order, eat like hell and get the heck out of Dodge. This ain't Salamanders. This is a place to slow down and enjoy. The wait staff are friendly and helpful. There's no televisions hanging from the walls. There's no pretention to the wine list. There's no noise factor, because it's quiet. The food is just plain excellent. We've been back several times and both service and food are consistent. Mind you, one night we showed up and there was some mucky muck making a scene. The surrounding tables were ready to pound this slob and pitch him into the river. Since we came to Salamanders to enjoy, we didn't appreciate this guy getting in the way of our chilling out. I find that if you get what you give. If you are courteous with wait staff, they'll kill themselves taking care of you. Thank to everyone at Salamanders for giving us a quiet place to relax.

Went to salamanders for the first time on the weekend. Waited about ten mins to be seated, but got a lovely seat with a view of the creek. Service was exceptional! Couldnt have asked for a better waitress she joked with us made our meal very enjoyable. The food was AMAZING! started with hot artichoke then main courses where 2 pork chops with an apple bbq sauce and steak salad and a crepe.Will be back loved the friendly staff and excellent food and the patio!

ABSOLUTELY THE BEST!!!!!

The food is delicious, to say the least! Service is exceptional, from owners wait staff, chefs, to dishwashers. This place has a wonderful ambiance, very high cleanliness practice, so what if we have to wait 5 minutes to be seated??? I have waited a lot longer than that in restaurants not half as good as Salamanders!!! (and not complained) Servers are not super beings, just human like most of us!!! They just have more bad days than the rest of us, as they have to tolerate more than their fair share of whiners!!! This is the only place in ontario that I will eat fish and chips. They are as good if not better than any restaurant here in Nove Scotia. Their desserts are devine! I have never eaten anything there that I haven"t enjoyed. I am looking forward to returning at christmas and revisiting Salamanders. KEEP UP THE GREAT FOOD AND SERVICE. Cya when I return.

unprofessional service

We have been to Salamnders 5 or 6 times since it has opened. Every time, we`ve had poor unprofessional service. But we`ve kept going because the food is pretty good and because there is lack of options in Kemptville. We seem to return to this restaurant once its been long enough since our last visit and therefore have forgotten about their terrible service. Every time we`ve had to wait around 5 minutes before being seated. We are not greeted in a friendly manner, but told to sit anywhere. It`s as if we are disturbing them. The service is always slow. This time around we had to ask for the complementary chips and cutlery. No one checked on us once our food was delivered and no drink refills were offered even though our glasses were empty. We have heard servers complain about customers loud enough for the tables to hear. This time around we saw kitchen staff go for a smoke break and return directly to the kitchen without washing their hands. This was the poorest service we have ever received and we will not be returning. Which is a shame because the food is good, fresh, abundant and at a very reasonable price. We have yet to see the same server again when we return and it appears they have a very high turner over rate of staff, but unfortunately the problem has not resolved itself over the years and it is beginning to reflect poorly upon the management team.

Fabulous food/service/setting

The food is amazing, fresh, and abundant. Can't wait to return - want to try everything on the menu, The setting is so pretty - both inside and out.

terrible service

This was my third time visiting Salamanders and while the food was decent the first two times around, the third time I didn't even bother ordering because the service was so horrible. Our group was completely ignored, and passed by for the older patrons (we are in our 20s), I had to flag the waitress down and tell her we'd been waiting far longer than any other group. After telling us we had to sit outside (the group who came in after us got seated indoors), she took 15 minutes to bring us our menus (again after being flagged down and requesting them). After another 10 minutes of waiting we got up and left. By this point, the other groups who came in after us had ordered and had their drinks. This is the second time there where I have been treated poorly in comparison to 'family' groups. Completely disgusted, will not return.

Not so good the second time 'round.

The last time we ate here was our first visit ever, and we left mightily impressed. So, being in town, we decided to stop in for some dessert and coffee. We arrived after 1 pm, and most of the other patrons were wrapping up their lunches and paying their bills. As such, there was a flurry of activity happening, and a server distractedly waved us in and told us to sit wherever we wanted. The restaurant is divided into two indoor parts, and I thought it would make a nice change to sit in one of the booths. However, upon seeing the state one of the patrons had left the table, we quickly turned on our heels. Someone had brought a young child and there was food everywhere. I know, I cannot blame the restaurant for this, but it was off putting nonetheless. Frankly, I am shocked someone would bring a child to eat in a restaurant if more food lands on the high chair, table and floor than in the child's mouth, but I digress. We ended up sitting near the bar and noticed one other couple had just come in, so we were not lone diners. We sat and waited and waited and waited some more. I noticed the other couple exchanging looks, as well. This was mostly because every staff member was less than 5 feet from us, and yet, we were all being totally ignored. Clearly, they were settling up the lunch time takings and getting ready for the evening rush, but it was simpy poor form to leave hungry, paying customers sitting there like lumps on a log. Finally, one of the servers stopped by to take our order, and we ordered our desserts and beverages. And then the waiting began again! I made a trip to the washroom in the meantime, and as I passed the disgusting, food-covered table again, I was shocked that in the 15 minutes that had passed, not one server had started on cleaning it up! Then, went I went into the washroom, I surprised our server who was seated inside with her cell phone. She jumped up exclaiming that she was trying to take a short break and rushed out. I was left a bit stunned, shaking my head. Was I supposed to feel guilty for wanting use the toilet? Was there no other place for the girl to take her break? Obviously not! Went I exited the washroom, the same server was cleaning up the food debris, and we exchanged a few words with regards to the unholy mess that had been left behind. I rejoined my husband and was dismayed to find that our dessert and coffee still hadn't been delivered to the table! Well, of course not, our server had taken a break and then cleaned up the mess before fetching our orders. Really inexcusable considering it was dessert, and they only needed to be plated and brought to us. We both ordered simple coffees, nothing fancy, and even that took forever. When the desserts were finally placed in front of us, we had to ask for cutlery. It was a total disaster! And all the while, the staff buzzed around us, discussing all and sundry, carrying boxes and bags of supplies past us and the other couple. I ate my pie in total shock. It was totally unprofession. IF there is no other place for the restaurant staff to organize themselves, then perhaps they should close at a set time so that diners are not subjected to this kind of thing. People go out to eat in peace and to be waited on, not made to feel like they are in the way or unwelcome. It was really objectionable and disheartening. To be fair, the desserts were tasty, as was the coffee. The service was subpar and general attitude from everyone there was total disregard. We had to ask for a coffee refill, and then we had to ask for more cream. Honestly, I began to wonder if there was a hidden camera somewhere. The other couple's facial expressions and body language pretty much confirmed my suspicions that they, too, were in shock. When asked if they wanted coffee or dessert, they quickly asked for the bill. Instead of a nice, leisurely coffee break, we were all subjected to a circus-like atmosphere and the noise to match.

This place is wonderful!

This is our new favourite restaurant! We dropped in early, without a reservation, and were seated quickly and had a great view of the water. The staff was friendly. The food was really tasty! We were surprised with some complimentary chips, and they were delicious. So few restaurants give you anything for free these days...even bread and butter is hard to come by, so this was a welcome treat (especially since we were really hungry when we got there). We shared an appetizer, and the portion was large enough for both of us to be satisfied - and we're both big eaters. Our entrees were huge, and I had to stop eating halfway through the portion, to leave room for the yummy desserts which, again, did not disappoint. Everything was well-seasoned, fresh and as pleasing to the eye as to the tongue. A really, really nice surprise. This restaurant surpassed my expectations on all fronts, and I would highly recommend it. It is no wonder that within an hour of our unplanned arrival, the place was bustling. We will most definitely be back!

Wonderful!

Ive been to Salamanders a few times and will definitely go again. The food is amazing, fresh and great tasting and the portion sizes are huge! Ive had the soup and salad for lunch, the soup is homemade and delicious and the salads are fresh and crispy. I love the maple pecan salad. They have wonderful zucchini sticks and also homemade potato chips mm. My family loves this place the food is just wonderful!

One of the best dining experiences we have ever had...bar none! The food quality and portions were excellent, the alcoholic beverages actually had alchol in them (refreshing change) and we were treated very nicely throughout. We will definitetly go back as often as we can. Steve, the waiter was great.