Under new management, the Fernwood Inn has in many ways resolved some of their earlier operational and culinary issues.
The best news: they're open for business at all the times one might expect a pub to be open: lunch and dinner, everyday.
The menu design has improved greatly and looks much more like a pub menu, and less like misdirected gastropub menu. A sensible length that includes everything you'd be looking for on a pub menu..
We visited twice over a one week period and had two contrasting service experiences. The first time we sat on the relatively busy patio and the service was friendly, but totally inattentive. We waited too long and ultimately our drinks arrived - not terrible, but not great. I am however happy to report that they have addressed the short pour pints issue I previously complained about.
Our chicken wings arrived considerably more promptly than our drinks, and while I hate the $1 add on for blue cheese dip, they were tasty and neatly presented. It's pretty common practice to serve blue cheese dip with wings. If I'm going to asked to pay an add on, I'd expect the dip to be something superior to what I usually get included in the price. For example, maybe some visible pieces of blue cheese in the dip. Not a crime, but annoying.
When we went to settle our bill at the bar, the server directed us to the bartender, who then turned his back on us while he adjusted something on the back bar. Upon completing his task, he nonchalantly processed our bill.
On our second visit, the service improved considerably. Seated inside at dinner time, the server was quick with our drinks and refills and was respectful of the allergies of one our guests. The chicken wings were again tasty, the dip was the same. We had the Montreal Style Meat Stack - an open faced sandwich. The meat, sauerkraut, rye bread and cheese quality was good, it tasted fresh and the portion was spot on. Having come recommended by a friend, we tried the prawn, chorizo and polenta appetizer. It sounded good and the presentation was great, but I thought it could have used some work in execution. It needed a bit of sauce to cut the salt from the sausage and the fat used for frying the polenta. It was topped with tomato wedges, which seems like a sensible choice to me, but they were a very under-ripe and bland tomatoes - can't do much about that off-season, I understand. That said, I would have processed the tomato into a sauce or relish or the like, to augment their flavour and give the dish some acidity to balance off the fat and salt. I did like the watercress and goat cheese garnish - good call.
Despite the service issue noted, they have a great patio for people watching and I'm sure I'll find myself there over the summer. Not to mention, I'm sure the patio service will improve as the weather warms and servers feel more like going outside in the nice weather.
January 2007
We've visited the Fernwood Inn three times since it opened, we've tried to visit six times. While the Fernwood Inn has a number of things going for it, their big problem is the hours of operations. Currently they open at 5 pm Monday to Saturday and 4 pm on Sunday. I've heard rumours it's staffing problems in the kitchen, or maybe Fernwood doesn't have much of a lunch clientele, but it boggles my mind why they don't open the bar earlier. On three occasions we've arrived in the afternoon and haven't been alone as we stood outside, pulling on the door and scratching our heads.
The renovation has been successful and the ambiance has improved dramatically from its predecessor, the George and Dragon. The washrooms in particular, are lovely. The service is acceptable, but not overly attentive. Last night, when I needed an extra chair, I was directed to the back of the restaurant, where I could go get my own and carry it back, over the head's of other patrons.
The bar service needs some work. Not a lot of interesting beer on tap and the wine list, is pretty uninventive. Their house wine is Sonoma Ranch - which you can learn more about on bus shelter advertising around town. Most notably, they're sloppy with the draught pours, which arrive 1/2" short, give or take.
I had the duck entree ($16.95) for the second time. The first time I had I asked for it medium rare and it was, I was happy. The second, I asked for medium rare and was assured this was the only way it served. It arrived medium well and I'm pretty sure it had been microwaved from a lower level of doneness. It seems funny to microwave it when it was probably cooked properly to begin with, but I guess someone panicked about serving it underdone. It had been sliced before microwaving, I could tell by the way the fat on the individual slices, curled in unevenly, compared with the meat. The accompanying mashed potatoes and veg were decent, but oddly there was a slice of cold cucumber wrapped around the hot potatoes.
The only vegetarian entree option was a vegetarian cannelloni. Pretty lame in my opinion - no effort to address this clientele at all. In this neighbourhood I'd expect a little more attention to these dietary details.
I have confidence they should be able to address the food and service issues with better staff and more training, although some of that training might come in the form of an angry pint drinker freaking out about the short pours. The hours drive me crazy - pub drinking is something people do in the afternoon, nevermind the fact that from a business perspective they're turning away customers. Hopefully, by summer, they'll get this major issue resolved.