Julia

Went for Sunday brunch and had the eggs bene - it was good but not spectacular or memorable. I have no complaints since they delivered on what I was expecting. However honestly the best thing about this restaurant is the location - I can stroll and shop before or after a satisfying meal. The menu is decent and offers a good variety. I would still recommend it.

I have eaten at Julia's about 10 times in the last 3 months and ate there again today with my daughter. It is a casual but elegant atmosphere in an excellent location on lakeshore in downtown oakville. I have tried about 9 of their dishes and in every case the food was fresh, well presented, and tasty. The menu tells you the health benefits of each meal which is really cool, and the service is excellent both when its busy and when its empty. The doesnt compare to a high end restaurant in New York or Las Vegas, and the service isnt the best ive ever had but there are about 30 restaurants within a 5 minute walk of Julia's and ive eaten at half of them and keep preferring this restaurant. great wine selection too - small but good selections

It took forever for the waiter to take our drink order and it wasn't even that busy for a Friday lunch. The person I was with had to switch chairs as his was wobbly - they really need to upgrade the interior of that place - still has the resemblance of the Cultures it used to be years ago.
When our white wine arrived we had to send it back as it wasn't even chilled. The chicken salad looked like the chicken was bought at the deli counter at Sobeys with a few pieces of avocado thrown on for colour. The salmon was dry and overcooked.
Don't get why this place gets all the allocolades?? the service was not good, it is very loud in there and the food is so so.

Julia's was an awesome night.

The food was great, the ambiance was inviting, the service was great (the staff were there when you needed them) you did not have to ask for anything or call them over. "on the ball"

I just loved my experience at Julia's I would go back in a heartbeat.

The calamari was not fresh. It was tough and rubbery and had an unpleasant briny aftertaste. The veal was fatty and the mushrooms in the sauce were very gritty, meaning they had not been properly cleaned. The prosciutto was a misfire; it did not belong in this dish. The effect of including it in the Marsala sauce caused this already smoked meat to be slightly cooked, resulting in an unpalatable rubbery and tasteless mass that was pushed to the side of the plate.

The custard in the creme brulee was stiff, dry and not fresh, and slightly curdled. The layer of caramelized sugar on top was very thin and already broken when it arrived at the table. Finally, the bread pudding, which according to the menu should have been served with vanilla ice cream, arrived without ice cream, but instead was garnished with blueberries, some of which were covered with mold. The espresso was very bitter, which is indicative of old beans.

Out of the six dishes we ordered, the Caprese salad was the only one that was problem-free and was actually enjoyed. The bread pudding was very tasty as well, but it went back as soon as we discovered the moldy berries.

The waiter was appropriately apologetic for the state of the dessert, and our drinks and desserts were comped. However, the resulting bill was still over $100, and we walked away feeling that we were robbed. We should not have been charged for this meal.

This restaurant tries very hard to put an original spin on classic dishes -- prosciutto in the veal Marsala, "flavoured" creme brulee -- but it fails at the most basic level, like making sure ingredients are fresh and actually *clean*.

Lastly, the washroom lacked paper towels, the table was wobbly, and the outdoor patio chairs we sat in were extremely uncomfortable. This overrated restaurant is all style over substance.

My wife and I have been to Julia's over 50 times and have never been disappointed with anything. The service is always excellent, the food is always full of flavor and served timely ( for those of you that don't know, this is a slow food restaurant not a fast food one ) and the ambiance and atmosphere is very welcoming., the rest will take care of itself.

Sit back and enjoy

My husband and I are visiting some friends and we went into Julia's on their recommendation for lunch the other day. We lucked out as the weather was decent for a change and had a seat out on the patio for a quick bite followed by some shopping that turned into a long lunch and a walk down to the lake. I had the seafood sampler plate for my appetizer (sorry, not sure about the name)and my husband had the soup, asparagus with pancetta. Both were excellent, the sample platter had salmon, scallop and a crab cake. Just enough and very tasty! I had a little bit of my husbands soup as he was kind of hording it! Also great! We had a pitcher of refreshing sangria and ate our entrees. My girlfriend had also recommended the salmon and I certainly wasn't disappointed! The pork salad was not only good, but what a novel idea! I'll be sure to try that one at home...The cheesecake was over the top and along with some coffee and some Grand Marnier we decided to walk it off a little down by the lake. What a beautiful town Oakville is, so peaceful and laid back. I can see why our friends moved here. Thanks for a great day!

My partner and I were very excited to try that restaurant since we had read the great reviews. However, we were disappointed with the experience. The service was slow and the restaurant was not even full. The waiter dropped a couple of glasses of water on patrons next to us and he seemed kind of overwhelmed.

No parmesan cheese was offered with my pasta. In addition, the seafood did not taste very fresh and the salmon was dry. The mussles had a slight foul smell and we were both sick when we got home.

The decor around our table was nothing special as the abstract paintings and modern light fixtures did not match the italian feel we were expecting.

The bathrooms were very small and in dire need of renovation.

The desserts were ok but we did enjoy the wine.

Way to pricey - we spent almost $200 and nobody bothered to thank us when we left.

I loved the decor. The bench in the booth we were seated in was uncomfortable, but I immersed myself in the ambiance and overlooked it.

The food was very fresh and plated nicely. My shrimp appetizer was just okay. I expected more taste, having read the mouth-watering menu description. The lemon was overpowering and totally cancelled out all the other flavours in the sauce.

My osso bucco didn't look anything like I'd expected. It resembled a lamb shank more than any kind of osso bucco I've ever eaten. Maybe that's the way they're being done now? Who knows. It was good, but not overwhelmingly good, as I had hoped.

My fiancé enjoyed his pasta and appetizer. He ordered the guacamole, and for once, I had food envy. It was very nice and fresh.

I would say that I was more impressed with the decor and the ambiance of the place than the food itself; hence, I'm not sure if I'd return again.

A friend whom I hadn't seen in awhile and I spent the afternoon the other day enjoying the weather with a bottle of wine and some fantastic appetizers at Julia, one of my favourite downtown spots all summer long.
We shared guacamole, beef carpaccio and a lobster dip. All the dishes were wonderful and the presentation was really nice. The service was attentive and informative. Will return again and again!