Went to Stonegrill for my first Dine Out this year. Interesting experience. Each entree is served on a 400C stone, so when the entree arrived, it's raw. Yes, literally raw. But it's really cool because it gets cooked right in front of your eyes. The waitress had to show us how to eat the entree just so everything is well-cooked: we had to cut the meat into bite-size and cook each side of the pieces. Luckily I ordered a seafood dish so it wasn't too bad. The girl at the next table ordered the stuffed chicken, o boy did she have a hard time cutting up her chicken in pieces just to make sure she wouldn't get sick afterwards?! On top of the promoted $25 menu, they also offer a $35 menu which was what I ordered:
Trio Fish with Scallops
Can you see that the fish pieces were raw when they first arrived? The three kinds of fish include salmon, ahi tuna and sea bass. I totally utilized my multitasking skill when I was tackling this plate. I had to cut the fish into pieces, while at the same time to keep them from getting over-cooked. The waitress advised us to move the meat onto the side if we're not eating fast enough. So yes, I was cutting the fish, flipping them to cook all sides of the pieces, and moving the cooked ones to the side. The question is - how do you tell if it's fully-cooked?
It's definitely not meant for people who don't cook! I can't imagine myself eating that stuffed chicken!
But the process was pretty fun.
On the down side, the service wasn't that great. We waited over 30 minutes to get the table. Why? Because the turnover wasn't fast enough. When we sat down, we saw a bunch of dirty tables around. The waitors/waitresses just couldn't do the clean-up quickly to relieve the long line-up at the door. Even with a reservation, you still need to wait for quite some time...
...and the portion is not that big...
Overall, not bad to try it for the experience, and you can just order from the $25 menu (during Dine Out that is). On the regular menu each entree alone costs at least $20+ I believe, and you can make it a set dinner by paying an extra $10 or so. For me, I'm like "been there, done that", and probably won't return in the next while...
Warming my hands over the hot stone
Stonegrill
Food: 6.5
Presentation: 7.5
Environment: 7
View: 8.5 (looking at the False Creek and Granville Island sure is nice)
Service: 6
Overall: 7.1
