PORT Restaurant

Five of us went to the Port on December 16, 2011. Overpriced food and mediocre service, however the two most ridiculous things They don't accept debit cards and instead direct you to their ATM located in the lobby. REALLY! The $200 I just spent isn't enough, they actually need an extra $3.00 for the use of their ATM. Am I in a bar or a high end restaurant. The second cheap thing no bread at the table unless you're willing to pay an extra $2.00 for bread and butter. REALLY! Again, the $200 for my meal isn't enough -- the greedy owner actually needs an extra $2.00 for bread. I'm disgusted and appalled at this nickle and diming when you're spending good money for the food. Message to the owner I hope you enjoyed asking me for an extra $5.00 because I will never spend another cent in your restaurant and will tell everyone I know not to spend their money there either!

We were 5 in our party and visited Port's last evening. First time visit for all of us....3 generations of family members. The restuarant was not overly busy and we were greetly well at the front. We requested a seat on the patio and the waitress accomodated moving us. Gorgeous scenery and ambiance. There was a small jazz band playing...wonderful!

Appetizer was Goat cheese...scrumptuous. I ordered the rib/brisket combo....very good! Other orders included the cashew chicken, Kobe burger and the Whitefish. All thoroughly enjoyed. Bread pudding for dessert...amazing!

Just a couple of suggestions which would have made this a 5 star experience
* Debit card acceptance...we were surprised that debit was not accepted and ended up having to pay cash.
* We had to keep asking for water.
* No bread brought to the table. It is a relatively inexpensive item that goes a long way with patrons.
* Waitress seemed somewhat inattentive. She was not a BAD waitress, but we didn't get the feeling that we were a priority.

All in all, we will definitely go back.

We were at The Port on Saturday and I have these comments. We arrived at 1130 for lunch. Staff very pleasant. The table we were seated at had not been wiped from the night before. Rice bits and crumbs. My creamer had hardened food bits from the dishwasher. One of my party had a small ramekin with sugar that had baked mustard on the side. None of this is acceptable in any restaurant but at the prices charged, some attention needs to be paid to basics. It makes one wonder what shape the kitchen is in if this is what they feel is acceptable in the dining room.

On a positive note, our waitress was prompt and pleasant. The desserts were very good.
This is our second time at this restaurant and our last.

One word...AMAZING. Fresh sustainable food. Everything from the service to the food was nothing but amazing. Had the Diver Scallops and the Calamari to start followed by the pasta with braised short ribs and the best baby back ribs we have ever tasted..finished with Creme Brule with candied figs. Excellent...portions are large...
Can't wait to go back.

Love it, great food fun atmosphere.

I have been to Port a number of times in the past year or so. The decor is comfortable, the view of the harbor is fantastic, they have a wide selection of beverages (fairly decent wine selection), and for the most part the service has been fine. The first couple of times I went the food was absolutely amazing--very creative ingredients used to make very interesting and delicious dishes. Unfortunately, the past few times I've been there, I noticed that my favourite dishes have been removed from the menu (even their signature Port Poutine with fresh green peppercorns is gone). Very few interesting dishes remain--in fact, there is no longer anything on the menu that I would want to go back for. I'm not sure what happened this place had great potential but appears to just be going down hill.

We have dined there several times, both with family and business associates and had very good experiences. Usually we have been served by Ian or Matt and always had great service. On our last visit, however our service was dismal at best. We were served by several different people, all very young but none of them seemed to have a clue. The food seems to be going down hill as well. The menu has become more like the other big box restaurants. When we complained about the calamari, one of our many servers snidely suggested we try something else as calamari is by nature chewy. What arrogance. Very disappointing.

Great first impression by the front end (reception). We were a last minute reservation for 4 celebrating our guests recent engagement and were seated at a window overlooking the lake and marina. I ordered a Spicy Ceasar, it was amazing! Mojito and wine was fine as well. I bought some Gift Cards from Costco at Christmas and this seemed to be the perfect occasion to use them.
We were served by Ian. Appeared from the beginning to not be very interested in his job. Seemed seasoned from his age but not having a good day. Very unhappy and unwilling to smile. Ordered calamari (terrible) and proscuitto salad (very nice). Ordered 2 tenderloin, medium rare, Cowboy medium rare and ribs for our mains. TERRIBLE cut of tenderloin - the worst I've EVER had. When asked how our meals were, Ian walked away mid sentence. When called on his reaction he sent over his manager - Mark. Absolutely NO resolution!! Offered to re-do the steak but it was much too late to do this. No offer to take it off the bill and no compensation in the end. Our bill was $250.00 for the four of us.
We are regulars at other steakhouses and have never been to a more overpriced spot in the GTA.
If you are looking for poor service and quality of food at over-inflated pricing, eat at Port Restaurant.
I welcome any response from the owners as I am still dumbfounded by my experience here.

I have eaten at this restaurant at least 7 times before writing these comments-the most consistently disappointing dining experience I have had for both lunch and dinner in this region.Menu reads great, food is poor, I have stopped going the last time I was there the salad greens were wilted, the overall food quality was poor,menu items not available, items from a store bought mix ,portions small.Just awful.

Visited the Port restaurant last night with 3 friends - my first visit. Had made a reservation, but the restaurant was not busy at all. Greeting at the door was warm and friendly.

All menus on the table were lunch menus, not dinner. When dinner menus were requested, 3 of us received dinner menus, and the 4th another lunch menu. A little more attention to detail would be nice.

Everyone enjoyed their meal. I ordered the Chorizo and Red Pepper Stew which was unusual and delicious this was served with a mini baguette. My main course was the Arrabiatta bowl, served with linguini as requested, rather than the penne on the menu.

Dessert, shared by all, was the Triple Chocolate Pate - fantastic - a lovely dessert and really good for sharing.

I had 2 glasses of Wyndham Bin 999 Merlot which is lovely the 2nd glass, however, was a very small pour.

In my one visit, the biggest omission I found here was that, except for the mini baguette served with my appetizer, no bread of any kind made an appearance at our (or any other) table. The Port does not serve a bread basket, and for a restaurant with such a high opinion of itself, and with fairly hefty prices, I find this to be surprising. It goes a long way with me when a restaurant serves a somewhat imaginative bread basket, along with oil/balsamic dip, butter, and/or some other spread such as a homemade interestingly-flavoured hummous or a tapenade.

Based on my first visit, I would return.

Decor, ambiance, setting is fantastic. What a terrific view of the Bay, even in middle of winter.Have been there 7 times. Food ALWAYS been 1st class.
It comes hot and the staff serve everyone at your table at same time. In large groups this is a treat that most restaurants fail to accomplish.
Glad to finally see great food in a great atmosphere and setting. Other restaurants in the area have good food but location not too impressive. Ports is a fantastic place to impress clients with. Agree with some other comments that making reservations are difficult. 1st impressions, either on the phone or at the front door is VERY IMPORTANT. Management should make sure to try and accomidate those reservation requests and make sure tables are used to their maximium potential by those waiting to pay good money to enjoy the Ports. Also should pay a little attention to the parking. Upon my visit July 16th I saw 2 different incidents where the occupants parked their car, and 1 took out 2 bikes and the other a stroller from the vehicles and proceeded to go for a bike ride and a stroll with the kids dowm warf street to the beach at the end.
With the paying customers trying to find reasonible parking it might be a good idea to have someone from Ports keep an eye on the parking during the busy hours. All in all a fantastic place to visit and eat. Great place to entertain friends and family and clients.happy to be a customer

good food, good service, good atmosphere - definitely would return

Have found the food and service to be very good...but getting a table has been a terrible experience. Have had problems making a reservation on 3 separate occasions - was told no availability. On one occasion we took a chance and went without a reservation we sat in the bar area to wait for a table for 45minutes while a large section of the lounge (several tables) were empty. They were reserved for a birthday party yet the guests never sat down the entire time we were waiting for our table. How can more than a dozen seats be empty for 45minutes while guests are busy socializing? Either sit down or move on to a different venue. One another occasion, a very large party was expected who (I suppose) never showed up because the seating arrangement was ultimately dismantled again there were at least a dozen seats set aside for over 1-1/2hrs while people waited for tables. I know this because we were seated beside these tables the entire time - this after waiting over 20minutes to be seated (and we had a reservation). I know reservations are not a precise science, but this restaurant needs to do a better job of handling the flow of patrons on very busy nights.

A friend and I went for lunch. She had a wrap with the daily soup and I had the Chicken Breast Sandwich with fresh cut fries. We shared a bottle of wine.
She said the soup was amazing and she quite enjoyed the wrap. My sandwich was great but I found the bun difficult to cut with a steak knife so can only imagine how difficult it would have been to try and eat it as a sandwich. My fries would have been amazing if they had not been double dipped in oil (they were obviously cooked a second time which made them tough). I never understand why restaurants do that - as a customer, I feel that it represents the mindset of the chef and kitchen staff.
All in all, a very enjoyable experience. The decor in the restaurant is lovely and the exterior view is very easy on the eyes. I'm quite anxious to experience the patio this summer.

Great place... just what we need in Durham. Not cheap... but well worth it 'cause of the quality. Wait staff good, nothing like a Manhattan waiter, but we only tip 12-15% here in Canada as apposed to 20-25% in NYC. You get what you pay for...
You have to go, it is a very nice place, especially when the sun sets!
Drinks are great and reasonable and food is very tasty.

Fantastic atmosphere.

Poor service. Ok food. Medium rare seems un-attainable with cook. Bar area very attractive. Patio as well. Nice for a drink, i'll go elsewhere to eat.

We have visited the Port on occasion since its opening. We find the food very, very good. The issues we have had is with the wait staff and attentiveness to detail. On one occasion, the wine didn't come with dinner, and we finally had to get up from the table and ask for it, as we couldn't get anyone's attention. On another occasion, the food came, but no cutlery. Overall, this is an excellent addition to the Pickering area, but unless the management deals with the staff issues, it won't last long. Harish Parmar 905-831-0947

great kunch, loved the hanger steak.

A refreshing change from the other offerings in the area. Not pretentious, just an enjoyable experiance. The menu offers variety and every dish offers unique flavours. The bar/beer/wine selection is better than most restaurants in Toronto.