It was girls’ night out – we were looking forward to a good steak, a glass of wine and a tasty dessert! Chairman’s Steakhouse is a new restaurant in a funky community in Mahogany, in the heart of Westman Village, right on the lake. It’s a beautiful restaurant, with a few different dining areas including a lounge, a main restaurant and a private room where we were seated.
Upon arrival you have to register your vehicle for parking in the lot or inside the restaurant. You can check your coat and if you have to use the washroom you can enjoy the heated toilet seat and the fully adjustable wash and dry (if you know what I mean LOL).
The male servers wear funky white tuxedo-like jackets and the ladies wear classy matching outfits. There were staff young and old – experienced and not. Our male server was very well informed about the cuts of steak and explained them all to us, including the difference between dry and wet aging and the local source of the ingredients. The menus are neat – they light up from behind, similar to an e-reader.
We each ordered a glass of wine; glasses ranged from $11-20 for a 6 ounce pour. I wasn’t very hungry but I couldn’t go straight into my main without trying something else from the menu. I ordered 2 hors d’oeuvres at $4 each – the beef tartare served with a potato gaufrette, and the truffle devilled egg with northern divine caviar. J ordered the foie gras sandwich with saskatoon berry jam on brioche (I didn’t get a picture of it). I really liked both of my hors d’oeuvres and would definitely order both of them again.
The house-baked bread was delicious, served with a handful of little cheese bread balls and a tasty butter. Unfortunately the lighting in the restaurant was not conducive to pretty pictures…
We each ordered a 14 oz ribeye steak ($53) and an extra side. Though the menu in the restaurant doesn’t state it, when you purchase a steak you get one side included; extra sides are $9-14. Two of us went home with leftovers so you could definitely share the sides. I ordered the Hennessy peppercorn jus for $6 to pour over my steak… a small bowl of sauce that was super tasty but way overpriced at $6.
J ordered the brocollini with garlic, parmesan and butter and also the mac & cheese with gouda and herb crumbs. She quite liked her sides, but I didn’t try them. R ordered the roasted mushrooms with lemon garlic butter (delicious!) and the baked cauliflower au gratin with gouda (as did I)… I took my lactose pills and didn’t worry too much about dairy tonight!
I ordered the potato rosti with gouda, bacon, sour cream and scallions. The baked cauliflower with cheese sauce was delicious and it reminded me of big family dinners growing up. The potato rosti was delicious and it would be great served with lots of different proteins.
I have to say that the three of us didn’t love our steaks. The flavour was great and they were cooked well but they were fatty. Yes, we got the ribeye for the flavour which comes from the fat, but I wished I had gotten the tenderloin instead.
For the price of our meal (with 2 glasses of wine, the food and tax/tip I spent $142) I thought service should have been much more refined. When our mains were brought out by multiple servers our sides were all mixed up – no one knew which side went to which person and with the lids of the cast iron dishes we were running out of room on the table. I was quite frustrated with the fact that the 6 sides were not properly tracked and placed – they should have known where each dish should go.
For dessert we each ordered something different ($11 each) – R got the carrot cake with grilled pineapple, maple cream cheese icing and candied walnuts. She really liked it (so did I!). J ordered the New York style cheesecake with cherry compote, and pumpkin seed brittle and we both liked this one too!
Best of all, I liked my lemon tart with Italian meringue. Super delicious! But… the server that brought our desserts mixed them all up again… my lemon tart was put in front of R and I just grabbed the plate and put it in front of me… at this point I had no more patience.
Finally, when the bills came they were mixed up as well. I had to pull out my pen and make notes for which side/sauce/dessert went with each person. After a clean up attempt there was still one dish on the wrong bill.
All in all, I’m not sure what rating to give this restaurant… The food was very good while some of the service was great and some of the service was subpar. Will I go back? I’d like to go back for lunch in the spring and enjoy the view on the deck with the sun on my face.
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