Sidedoor

The food was AMAZING! Except for the Pork Dumplings mine came out cold and dry. Definitely a great place to try out different types of food and drinks. Although, the service was not great. The food did not come out all around the same time so there were some people eating and some not. Very poor execution on the kitchen area. The server Olivia was barely at our table, didn’t check in on us or gave us any recommendations on drinks. Didn’t even bring water until we asked repeatedly. My friends and I requested the dessert tower to be presented, but she bought it out when half of us weren’t there. So it made things awkward. Maybe they were having an off night, but other than that, everything was great. Great patio feel.

I’ve visited a few years ago and remembered it being fantastic and flavourful. However, I visited for lunch recently and had a very mediocre experience. I ordered the pork tacos and beef baos. The beef baos were underwhelming - there was not nearly enough filling in the baos and the meat was relatively dry as opposed to the saucy, juicy baos I expected. The flavours were decent, but not mind blowing. The pork tacos are abysmally small - a circle the size of my palm. The pork was dry as well even though it was supposed to be pork carnitas. They were stingy with the pineapples too - maybe one or two tiny pieces in each taco. The flavours were ok, but I would bet it wouldn’t be that much better than getting the same from chipotle down the street. The service was disappointing as well. The server’s attitude was slightly rude or condescending? I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it wasn’t very pleasant. He often forgot to bring something every time he returned to our table. Lastly, two of my friends ordered ice cream, specifying that they would like it at the end of the meal, in case they felt that they needed to add more items in between. And yet, the ice cream was brought out with the appetizers! We were eating on the patio too, so our only choices were to start with the ice cream or drink the melted remains afterwards. You would think it’s just common sense to keep the ice cream until the end… In total, my lunch cost me around $40 after tip… for two tiny tacos, two understuffed baos, and mediocre disappointing service. Definitely not worth it. The only thing positive I can say is that the decor is nice.

Meat dishes were good and drinks were great. Unique Asian fusion dishes. Tried to call to ask a question but phone never gets answered after a few times.

I threw my sister a surprise baby sprinkle at Sidedoor and it was a great experience. Kimberly was awesome to work with and very helpful in getting things organized. The private room was spacious and made us feel like we were the only ones there. Everything I tasted that day was delicious, the beef was so tender and the donuts were little bites of heaven! Would definitely recommend holding an event here!

It had been nearly 10 years since we'd been here, and this was the first time with the two kids. We had a great time. Food was delicious; we mainly went with small plates to share and everything was excellent. Wings are deservedly popular, the eggplant bao was also a nice veg option. Coconut ice cream + chocolate donuts was excellent as a dessert. Still one of the best options in the market.

Interesting modern, asian fusion menu. Food came out quickly after ordering but follow-up could have been better. Entrance is hidden from the main street. Never knew it existed even though I'm in the market all the time.

Thank you very much for excellent service and delicious food. We ordered an assortment of food for appetizers, mains and deserts. Everything was excellent presentation, very detailed and delicious. Steph was a very positive, engaged and detailed server. She was very personable, kind and accommodating for my many allergies. Thank you for asking for a gluten-free/dairy free dessert from the eighteen kitchen. Overall amazing experience and we love bringing our to Sidedoor!

A good location for casual fine dining. The menu items felt like they were supposed to be shared amongst the table, especially with the "Sides" menu (which we didn't partake in). The appetizers that we had were amazing and the drinks we had paired well with the items we ordered. The black cod entrée was disappointing but the coconut curry was good. The wait staff needs significant improvements at this price point (more staff would likely resolve this). The donuts were okay but could use a few tweaks. For the expensive and lackluster cod entrée, poor service, and mediocre donuts, I score this a 3/5. Order: Eggplant Bao Bun ($15.00 for 2 pieces) x1 - Soft and squishy bao bun - Tasty filling with a slight spice/heat to it - More filling in the bao bun would be nice Soft Shell Crab ($21.00 each) x1 - Amazingly succulent pork belly - Delicious and tender soft shell crab - The cashew puree mixed well with the fatty porky belly and refreshing mango/apple salad Coconut Fritter ($26.00 each) x1 - Above average Thai curry base - This felt like it needed a side of rice - At this price point, I would have expected the rice to come with the dish - The fritters could have used more salt Black Cod ($39.00 each) x1 - Disappointing entrée, especially at this price point - Extremely mild and under seasoned dashi - The cod was cooked perfectly and fell apart - The glaze on the cod did not come through, leaving the white fish to be quite bland - A lot of bok choy in the dashi which was slightly bitter - The mushrooms in the dashi were nice but didn't give enough umami to the dish White Chocolate & Cranberry (2) and Dark Chocolate (1) Donuts ($9.00 for the 3 donuts) x1 - The cranberry was only on one side of the donut, leading to half the donut being extremely tart and the other half being just white chocolate - The dark chocolate donut was overpowered by the dark chocolate sauce (which felt like a 80-90% dark chocolate), leading to only bitterness - The dark chocolate donut should be tweaked to add something to cut the bitterness, such as a citrus or caramel Respect Your Elders ($14.00 each) x1 - Strawberry flavor came through - A great summer drink Junmai Gingo ($18.00 each) x1 - A nice semi-sweet sake - Came as an unopened bottle of sake with a sake glass Atmosphere and Site: - The site is in an amazing location off of Byward Market tucked away from the busy street - The site offered indoor seating in both a sunroom and main ground floor as well as outdoor seating - The indoor seating in the sunroom had a 'greenhouse' sort of effect which made the sunroom seating a bit humid - The overall décor and art in the restaurant were very nice - Beautiful exposed stone walls - The finishings (such as the salt lamp lights) could be improved so they are less tacky - Some dish wear should be replaced (we had a significantly scratched up bowl) Service: - The appetizers and drinks came out within 10~ after ordering them, the entrees came out 15~ mins after the appetizers (good pacing), strangely the donuts (dessert) took around 15~ mins (quite long) to come after placing the dessert order - The wait staff seemed extremely busy and/or understaffed and getting service at our table was slow - The dirty dishes remained on our table for a fairly long time after finishing the appetizer course and the entrée course