We made reservations for a Sunday evening and got there right at 6pm. They gave us our table and away we went. I pretty much tried everything they had to offer, trying everything from prime ribs, to a couple of their salads, all their meats at their meat station, sushi, desserts and of course their seafood.
Their seafood station was manned by a girl who kept close tabs as to the number of seafood items one could take. On that evening, each patron was only allowed to take 4 oysters and 2 scallops per trip so I took my fair share. Then I scooped a pile of crab legs, some escargot, some shrimp and mussels at the other seafood station. Looking at the oysters, I could tell they were rather large and looked like the creamy type. I'm not too sure which type of oyster I had first (it was actually the non Cherrystone one) but one bite into the first oyster and it was like yikes! The oyster was bad, really bad, so bad that I actually had to spit it out. The oyster had a rotten taste to it. Having woken up to my senses now, I was reluctant but went on and tried the second oyster. That oyster, albeit better than the first one, was rather bland and tasteless. I proceeded to the Cherrystone oysters and the scallops and they too were rather bland. The problem I think was that when the waiters went to put ice on top of the raw seafood, the ice melted and it diluted or watered down the oyster to the point where the raw oyster with no condiments added to it had no flavor to it. I was rather disappointed as it was my first meal there and that was my first impression of it all.
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| Crab Legs, Shrimp, Mussels, Escargot (Left) Raw Oysters and Scallops (Right) |
The rest of the food provided was average at best. One could get a partial good taste of it but never the fulsome of it all. For example, the roasted pork was freshly brought out however the crunchy skin part was very chewy and not crunchy at all. The meats at the meat section had plenty of flavor in them as they were well seasoned however the prime rib was a little disappointing in that the server had a hard time find a medium rare piece for yours truly. Most of the prime rib was medium or pretty close to being well done. The sushi was a little cold and had either too much rice in them or not enough ingredients. The sushi that had sprinkles of sesame in them actually tasted the best. Even the leaves of the romaine salad lacked taste and the creamy Caesar sauce unfortunately was contaminated with French dressing which made the taste of the salad extra funky. Many of the desserts tasted okay but lacked the true richness of it all. This included the creme brulee, the honey sticks and the egg custard pie.
Besides the crab legs, the only other decent meal of the night was the lobster and crab bisque. There was some crab meat and some lobster meat in the soup and one could definitely taste the seafood in it. The soup was rather creamy and tasted pretty good.
Outside of the crab legs, the seafood was certainly disappointing. Although the hosts were worried that people would be helping themselves to seconds and thirds, unfortunately one trip to the oysters and scallops station was plenty enough for me. I think throwing ice on top of the oysters and scallops was a big mistake. It diluted the seafood and made it super bland. The night was made somewhat worse when an individual behind us was coughing profusely for about an hour. Needless to say, many people moved to another table or to another part of the restaurant. That weekend evening it was $28.99 per person with seniors and kids getting a slight discount to it. I have to admit I was disappointed at the quality of the seafood which was why we drove all the way out there in the first place. Overall it was a 2 out of 5.
Imperial Buffet
163 Harwood Avenue North
Ajax, Otario
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