I was searching for a good place to eat lunch when I remembered Quatrefoil’s sister restaurant recently opened on Locke Street. I looked over the menu online and was excited for the prix fixe menu. The branding and the interior design is beautiful, vintage décor with gorgeous place settings. I really admired the light fixtures and the bar set up. Stunning!

137 Locke Street South, Hamilton  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  | Website  |  Menu  |   Map

We were immediately greeted at the door by a friendly hostess and seated us on the 2^nd floor. The main floor only seats about 15 people, plus a few at the bar and the 2^nd floor seats around 30-35 people. The staff are helpful and friendly, so don’t be afraid to ask questions about their selection of craft beer or their interesting menu items.

Sally and I decided to go with one prix fixe lunch and one lunch item so we could share everything. Although our waitress asked if we were going to share these items, I answered no because I wanted to see how the dishes were going to be plated originally (for picture taking purposes!).

Our meal started with a white onion and weissbier soup topped with gruyere and green onion toastie and crumbled boar bacon. Doesn’t that sound amazing already? We’ll it tasted phenomenal. The texture was creamy but not too heavy and I really enjoyed the slight hint of bitterness from the weissbier. I don’t drink much alcohol but I love cooking with it.

Next was organic hen eggs benedict with pastrami smoked salmon, home fries and a small salad. My favourite part was the egg and the salmon. Thick pieces of fresh salmon accompanied with a perfectly poached soft egg. The home fries and the salad were a good crunch to the delicate eggs. I could eat this every day and not get bored of it. Our second lunch dish was the pork schnitzel with pretzel spaetzle, smashed turnip and mushroom gravy, topped with red cabbage marmalade. First of all, the pork schnitzel was on point, actually no, everything was on point. The crispy coating was great, the pork was tender and cooked to perfection, the cabbage marmalade added a beautiful sweetness to an overall savoury dish, the pretzel spaetzle (German noodles) and the mushroom gravy was heavenly and the smashed turnip was simple. So many components in one dish but they went fantastically well with everything. Oh yea, the dish was huge too – it’s worth your money.

By then, I was already stuffed and struggling to finish my half of the pork schnitzel. It was also time for my to put in more change into my parking metre, so I went out for a walk. When I got back, our Belgian waffle with brown butter ice cream, apples, beer fudge and a sprinkle of walnuts had just landed on the table. My little walk to the parking metre definitely made room in my stomach for dessert. The apples added a fresh crunch to the sweetness of the ice cream and the waffle. There was a funky texture happening with the beer fudge and my mouth didn’t enjoy it. Sally described it as Poly Filla (sorry if that’s a bit harsh), but it was dry and pasty, it contrasted weirdly with all the textures in the dish.

My dining experience here was phenomenal and I would definitely come back to try the other dishes. The atmosphere was casual with a hint of sophistication. The staff also created a friendly and relaxing mood, I just enjoyed everything from the moment I stepped into the restaurant.