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February 2024 by Julie Mower
We went for Valentines dinner and i woke up sick the next morning. Definitely not going back. During soup fest we thought they had the best soup so we figured the rest of the food had to be good as well. The only thing the are good at is soup.They tried to sit us in the bar. Not sure why they are pushing couples out on Valentine's to sit in a noisy bar. Especially when half the tables were open in the dining room.We waiting 1 hour for our soup. Then waited for the appetizer. I got the caprese salad that was dry. No marinated anything or balsamic vinegar. Another table had to ask for dressing for their Caesar salad. And again we waited for our meals. My husband's scallops were gritty. My meal was the poulet penne it was luke warm so I'm suspected that is what made me sick.Then come to dessert what we ordered at the beginning of our meal was not available. we ordered cheese cake and red velvet creme brulee. we were offered regular creme brulee but yet tables after us were able to get chocolate creme brulee. This is very poor planning for the chef. He should have mad sure there was enough dessert available for the not packed restaurant . We should have been compensated for that. We ordered from the $75 4 course valentines menu and what i ordered did not even equal $75From start to finish we were there 2.5 hours. All the food took way to long to come out. I wish we had gotten up and left when i suggested it 45 minutes into waiting for food.
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February 2024 by Kianna Nyanjong
I went for Valentine’s Day dinner (I was not aware of the $75 prix fix menu), nonetheless i would like to start off by saying the service was amazing. The staff is very welcoming. The food on the other hand? Not very impressive giving the price point. Very small portions, no flavor just bland. Overall I had to bring my food home and add flavor to it for me to enjoy. It’s just not worth the money, and I had very high expectations. Ambiance was nice though.
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February 2024 by Bettybopp
We were unaware that the Valentine's menu was pre fixe because reservations were made on Open Table, shocked to find out upon arrival it was $75 per person. Our server seemed to forget we were there on aeveral occasions. Waited for wine, waited for utensils once dinner was served. We took dessert to go because after over 2 hrs, we needed to leave. We were not in a hurry, but felt ignored most of the time. We ran into some friends that were leaving shortly after our arrival, they said they'd had same server and she was awful. Food was very good, nicely presented. It is hard to go back to a place when service is so bad, regardless of how good the food is, especially considering the price
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December 2023 by Ed Aycock
Was very disappointed. The waitress was new so we knew it’d be a bit slow so we gently reminded her about the soup or salad with the entree and she says, “ I know. I bring it out to you.” But she had already taken our order, come back and hadn’t asked which we preferred. But she got it eventually.But the food … this place is not cheap. It’s Manhattan prices in upstate NY so you expect it to be good. But the butter for the bread was stale. Not rancid but stale and so it was inedible. The Caesar salads were small and less than stellar. And the Beef Wellington also suffered as the beef was flavorless and tough.Wouldn’t go again.
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November 2023 by Dawn D.
Excellent in every way! Ambience, cocktails, absolutely delicious food, excellent service. We drive an hour and a half for the experience and we do this multiple times throughout the year.
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September 2023 by Unimpressed
Food presentation left much to be desired. My filet was delicious but the potatoes were so dry. The vegetable, oy, about 8 pea pods sautéed, some were a vibrant green as they should have been but the others were this drab army green. I have always loved The Canal Side because they were the best at everything, not so much anymore.
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September 2023 by chris holl
We had high expectations, but were let down by overpriced, mediocre entrees. It seems like their definition of fine dining is equivalent to the filet o fish at McDonald's. I hope to visit again and have a better experience.
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September 2023 by Ricardo T.
I'll start with saying that prior experiences there have been great and that the unexpected death of a great chef can cause an upheaval. That said, it's expected that there will be uneven food and service performances. The service was consistent, even, drinks were good, no issues with service or ambience, still a delightful spot to dine.... The food, an appetizer of calamari was inedible, had to be sent back. While told there was no meat in the corn chowder, it definitely had bacon. The entrees the house special was an encrusted haddock which in and of itself was good, the accompanying rice was mushy, tasteless, and lukewarm at best. The grouper was tasty, but shrimp overcooked and the portion did not meet the price point. An accompanying couscous lacked flavor and was also lukewarm at best. I have no issues with the rest of the dessert, drinks, etc. now for three people, one appetizer, two entrees, one which was split, 4 drinks, and one dessert the bill was $178 and change. Way to much for the food served. I'll come back because I'm certain the ship will be righted and small issues fixed, but you never get better unless you know what's wrong.
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August 2023 by LisaJ
We loved our dinner at Canal Side Inn. One of us had the salmon special, one had the haddock, and I had the porc osso buco. We each had dessert - cheesecake, lemon cake, and mousse. The food was perfect. The service was wonderful. I would definitely go back.
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August 2023 by AtniD
Bartender was friendly, knowledgeable about the drinks and he was the best part of our visit. Servers were friendly and warm too. Food was expensive but we weren't really impressed with the flavors. Service could be faster - we waited for our food for over half hour, server brought us bread with no butter or oil. The experience was much better at the bar than the dining room, though we would visit again sometime.
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August 2023 by Marc Reeve-Newson
I was helping a friend get his boat through the Erie Canal. We tied up downstream of lock 17 and I decided I wanted to go into town for a hot meal.My server Olivia was very personable and the food was excellent. The owner happened to be there and invited me to join him and his family at their table (Thanks Dave, those were some good conversations). The night ended up being far more of an adventure than I'd planned. If I'm in town again I'll be sure to visit.
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August 2023 by JohnC
Third trip here. Food continues to be excellent despite sad loss of Chef John with whom we had previous interactions. Our Server, Megan was charming and good natured, in-spite of our frequent chiding of her. She certainly added to the experience. Nice to have a place like this in LF! The staff continues to do a great job keeping things going despite Chef John's passing.
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August 2023 by RosemarieL
What a nice place for a quiet dinner. Owner made a point of coming to each table to say hello and ask about our stay in the area. Service was excellent, everyone was attentive. Food was amazing. Generous portions, nice variety in the menu and wine/beer/spirits offerings.
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August 2023 by DonnaGB1
The chef at Canal Side recently passed away. The new chef, who worked with him, did an admirable job. The food was good, but, not the usual standard. Brussels Sprouts had a good taste, but, were huge and tough. My partner's steak was too rare, but, otherwise, very good. My entre', salmon, was delicious. Overall, the entire experience was good, but, there is room for improvement. We will go back.
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July 2023 by Valdez
This night was as good as ever and will forever be remembered. We found out, with great sadness that Chef John passed away the next morning. Our sympathies to the family and his friends. He was a great chef and a great human being. My wife and I will miss his laughter and good nature.
