Atmosphere: 3.0 out of 5
Service: 4 out of 5
Food: 4.5 out of 5
Okay, yes this is a pub for the most part with bar fare, but it is done well.
Creekside is located out in Eastgate and was actually there before the east side become so popular. The fact that it is thriving in the cluster &*(& that is the east end is a testament to the food and drink available.
Atmosphere...well it is primarily a pub. When you walk in - the door even says "No minors allowed". When I first walked in it looked just like a bar - pub height tables, vlt's, tv's with various sports - however there is some better seating upstairs - booths and tables that are a little quieter but still a bar. The decor is looking a little dated but I rather like all the entertainment memorabilia and movie posters scattered throughout. Takes me back to my teenage years in the 80's.
The menu is not haute cuisine - it is pub fare. They advertise Trifon's Pizza so not sure if the whole menu is made by same staff. They have some excellent specials and Friday night a pound of boneless ribs for $5.00 with your choice of sauce. These ribs are fabulous. They are tender with a nice crisp coating.
The entrees are also well done - you guessed it burger. I have now tried the mini burgers that you build yourself and the Mugger. I have to say the burgers are probably not handmade, but they are of a higher end processed patty. The partner in dietary crime had the wonderfully named "Wings 2 ways" - 2 chicken wings (actually seasoned breasts) and 1 pig wing (bone in side rib). Both were well seasoned and cooked just right; and on the second trip a chicken quesadilla with some nice veggies (wanted the steak but that was only a January special :-(). All entrees come with choice of side of course and they offer the regular list of salad (house or ceasar), soup, fries, sweet potato fries and the unique option of Lagers.
This place has a very close to feel to Bonzinii's in the Southend - probably owned by the same folks as the beers are the same and they share the Lagers recipe.
The service was excellent. The waitresses on both our visits were excellent and very helpful with the menu.
I can definitely see this in regular rotation. It is a very popular place - always full with the after work crowd. I will warn you the parking lot is a maze. We didn't know exactly how to get off Victoria avenue and so snaked around by the new hotels. Go in daylight and you can see the maze. A little bit of a challenge to get there but well worth it once there.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
SOHO - sports bar/nightclub
Update: This place no longer exists...it has become yet another nightclub along that dewdney strip. Not that it will be missed - you can get a lot better food in a lot better atmosphere...So long Soho.
Atmosphere: 2.5 out of 5
Service: 4 out of 5 (we were only ones there so they couldn't ignore us)
Food: 2.5 out of 5
SOHO has been around for a while in the Regina entertainment scene. It is located on Dewdney avenue in the strip of renovated warehouses that are home to a number of nightclubs and bars. In my young and wild days I believe this place was Manhatten's which then turned into the very hip New Yorx nightclub and then SOHO nightclub but I may be wrong on the history because I never went to any of those incarnations.
We chose this place out of blind luck - driving down Albert we spotted the billboard advertising a new executive chef who specialized in 'fusion'. Okay - it's newly renovated looking for new clients - excellent lets try it. (Later in my search I found the sports bar has been open since May 09 - surprised then at lack of afterwork customers - maybe why there is a new ad campaign?!?)
The nightclub part - the basement - has been voted best nightclub in Regina by the community newspaper (Prairie Dog) readers. I can't comment there because I don't fit that demographic at all and never really did.
Parking is street (no meters) and I believe people can park across Dewdney in one of the other warehouse lots.
The sports bar is in the upper part of the building - atmosphere is quite nice, love the rustic walls, open beams, great floor (mostly original wood with some concrete touches added - looks a lot better than it sounds) - and great lighting. Like any "sports bar" they have tv's with sports...all on the same channel but hey and some of the screens have seen better days unless you really like shades of green. Mix of tables - pub height and low. A couple of pool and foosball tables to keep folks entertained. Looks like a great place for after work 5 à 7 type of thing. We walked in at 7 and it was just us - but they are newly opened. Needless to say the service was tremendous as we were it, later some patrons came in and sat around the bar itself - not too social.
Full bar menu - although when asked what's on tap the server couldn't quite remember and it turned out to be the basic domestic choices you would find at any bar.
The menu is bar fare - a mix of appys, sandwiches and burgers etc - nothing I would call 'fusion'. Not exactly what I expected from the billboard advertisement or the website I checked on when we got home.
We went for the standbys - Ribs and burger. Ribs were not what was expected - rather than a slab of ribs they were boneless rib chunks (much like dry ribs) bathed in the chosen sauce which would be fine if that was what you were expecting. The burger was well cooked, good bun and dressed well but definitely not made in house - generic burger from the freezer, made with real meat, not too many fillers, but no love for the burger. Fries and Sweet Potato fries were also from freezer - although the aioli for the sweet potatoes was very tasty. Freezer was also the original home of the veggies that accompanied the ribs. Steaming fresh veggies would add a special touch and probably decrease food waste - because frozen - yuck.
As an aside - and directed at all restaurants - when I see a cook outside the back door having a smoke I question the food. Not because of health issues but because the cook has chosen to fry his taste and sense of smell. My expectations are immediately lowered for the food. If we had noticed this cook outside before we went in we may have made another choice - we did later see him go out for a break with his cigarettes which may have answered a few questions on the plate.
SOHO is a try-over type of place. Just getting their feet and trying to build their clientele from the nightclub reputation they have. I would recommend this place to folks looking for an after work nacho and beer break. If you want the basic food - it works - especially if you like the generic out of the box stuff that is being served at a lot of the chains...I don't so I'll probably try it again in the summer and see how they fair but it won't make it into my regular rotation of Regina eateries. I believe it is somehow associated with McNalley's (Irish pub down the street) whose food I don't go out of my way for either. Not sure if the owners are the same but the menu looks it.
Give SOHO a chance - it's a nice place for drinks but needs to work on full menu.
Atmosphere: 2.5 out of 5
Service: 4 out of 5 (we were only ones there so they couldn't ignore us)
Food: 2.5 out of 5
SOHO has been around for a while in the Regina entertainment scene. It is located on Dewdney avenue in the strip of renovated warehouses that are home to a number of nightclubs and bars. In my young and wild days I believe this place was Manhatten's which then turned into the very hip New Yorx nightclub and then SOHO nightclub but I may be wrong on the history because I never went to any of those incarnations.
We chose this place out of blind luck - driving down Albert we spotted the billboard advertising a new executive chef who specialized in 'fusion'. Okay - it's newly renovated looking for new clients - excellent lets try it. (Later in my search I found the sports bar has been open since May 09 - surprised then at lack of afterwork customers - maybe why there is a new ad campaign?!?)
The nightclub part - the basement - has been voted best nightclub in Regina by the community newspaper (Prairie Dog) readers. I can't comment there because I don't fit that demographic at all and never really did.
Parking is street (no meters) and I believe people can park across Dewdney in one of the other warehouse lots.
The sports bar is in the upper part of the building - atmosphere is quite nice, love the rustic walls, open beams, great floor (mostly original wood with some concrete touches added - looks a lot better than it sounds) - and great lighting. Like any "sports bar" they have tv's with sports...all on the same channel but hey and some of the screens have seen better days unless you really like shades of green. Mix of tables - pub height and low. A couple of pool and foosball tables to keep folks entertained. Looks like a great place for after work 5 à 7 type of thing. We walked in at 7 and it was just us - but they are newly opened. Needless to say the service was tremendous as we were it, later some patrons came in and sat around the bar itself - not too social.
Full bar menu - although when asked what's on tap the server couldn't quite remember and it turned out to be the basic domestic choices you would find at any bar.
The menu is bar fare - a mix of appys, sandwiches and burgers etc - nothing I would call 'fusion'. Not exactly what I expected from the billboard advertisement or the website I checked on when we got home.
We went for the standbys - Ribs and burger. Ribs were not what was expected - rather than a slab of ribs they were boneless rib chunks (much like dry ribs) bathed in the chosen sauce which would be fine if that was what you were expecting. The burger was well cooked, good bun and dressed well but definitely not made in house - generic burger from the freezer, made with real meat, not too many fillers, but no love for the burger. Fries and Sweet Potato fries were also from freezer - although the aioli for the sweet potatoes was very tasty. Freezer was also the original home of the veggies that accompanied the ribs. Steaming fresh veggies would add a special touch and probably decrease food waste - because frozen - yuck.
As an aside - and directed at all restaurants - when I see a cook outside the back door having a smoke I question the food. Not because of health issues but because the cook has chosen to fry his taste and sense of smell. My expectations are immediately lowered for the food. If we had noticed this cook outside before we went in we may have made another choice - we did later see him go out for a break with his cigarettes which may have answered a few questions on the plate.
SOHO is a try-over type of place. Just getting their feet and trying to build their clientele from the nightclub reputation they have. I would recommend this place to folks looking for an after work nacho and beer break. If you want the basic food - it works - especially if you like the generic out of the box stuff that is being served at a lot of the chains...I don't so I'll probably try it again in the summer and see how they fair but it won't make it into my regular rotation of Regina eateries. I believe it is somehow associated with McNalley's (Irish pub down the street) whose food I don't go out of my way for either. Not sure if the owners are the same but the menu looks it.
Give SOHO a chance - it's a nice place for drinks but needs to work on full menu.
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