Social Restaurant & Lounge

My first experience at social was early 2008, and it was great. I remember the food being very good, and I was very happy with the atmosphere and service. My second visit was late summer 2008 and I left feeling under whelmed and confused. The food was bland, somewhat cold, and the service was so-so, but the atmosphere was the same. I couldn’t understand why I thought it was so great on my first visit to have my second visit be fairly boring.

My girlfriend and I gave Social another try recently to treat her brother for his birthday. Here’s the deal:
My girlfriend had the Mariposa Chicken (she’s had it each time we’ve been). Her brother had the Salmon, and I had the Steak (strip loin). The verdict on the chicken was that after a great start on our first visit (in 2008), the rating declines each time my girlfriend has it. The salmon was deemed to be “good”, and my steak was “ok”. I don’t think the steak had been seasoned, and although it was cooked exactly as I like it, the first few bites made me think, “this is definitely steak, but something just doesn’t seem right about it”. Don’t get me wrong, it hadn’t spoiled or anything, it just wasn’t good. The frites (aka, fries, nothing fancy about them) were fine, but seriously, they’re fried potatoes…why the fancy name? :P The Sherry-Brown butter didn’t really hit the mark either. I must say though, all that negativity aside, we shared the Tasting Platter, and it was really good.

The service was ok, but to keep a tally I’ll rate the service in a plus/minus system (starting at 0):
-I chose the steak based on the glowing review from our wait staff, but considering it wasn’t that great…that’s a minus (-1)
-The bussing was generally very good…plus (0)
-The correct orders came out, but were given to the wrong people (ie: I ended up with the chicken, etc...)…minus (-1)
-We were served food…but we had no cutlery with which to eat it…minus(-2)

So, by my count, service ended with a -2. I expected better. Petty things maybe, but I like cutlery.

Overall, Social is an ok restaurant, nothing spectacular, but not a total slouch either. Some like it, some don’t…I’m now the latter. One drawback that I feel they have is their pricing on some items (on the higher priced side of things). When you price yourself against other restaurants with similar items, you have to be able to compete. Unfortunately, we’ve had a declining trend at Social, while our impressions of several other restaurants have improved. That being said, I gave Social a fair kick at the can, but unfortunately, it’s off the list.

This place was great! The food was absolutely delicious, the service was very good. Our waiter was courteous and friendly. We were mostly French-speaking and our waiter made an effort to take some of the guests' orders in French. Overall we were there from 6 to 10 and throughout the evening, we were very well taken care of.

i ordered the tenderloin m/r . service was very nice, he answered any of the questions we had.
the wait was a little long but we were in no rush, plus the restaurant was really busy (and quite big) so i guess that is to be expected. all and all the food and service were great.

If I can describe this in any easier way I'd say it's horrible service and horrible food. I thought this restaurant was one of the nicer in Ottawa, but was shocked to find a little piece of food stuck in my fork. I told the waitress, she neither apologized or seemed surprised, instead just offered a very fake smile walked away and came back with a new set of cutlery a little while after our food was served.
Now on to the food, pasta was definitely overcooked. The waitress never bothered to come by our table and ask us how everything was.

When I go to restaurants I like to change it up and try new places. I want to have a good bite, receive appropriate service and be comfortable knowing the place is clean (the little piece on a fork made me think of what the kitchen must be like or the staff). Sad to say I got neither of those.

I think that our market area restaurants in Ottawa need to be inspected closely, not only for cleanliness but service too. I would not doubt that half would be closed no questions asked. I was very disappointed with Social, and would pick any other restaurant over it in a second.

It appears to be a high class restaurant, but having cheap paper menus already says otherwise. The steak there was pretty good, but it's definately not the best - if you're looking for meat, I'd try a steakhouse. Here, they must save alot on bread, because even with your choice of two different kinds, they only let you have a piece or two. The service was just something else; the waiter was not at all polite. The final bill was expensive and they do not take debit card.

I have a feeling, that this place was meant only for rich couples who go out for expensive wine and a private atmosphere with minimal contact with waiters.

For people who go to restaurants to eat, I suggest you to avoid this place.

We went there for a birthday. It was a disaster. First our party was ignored for a long time. Then there were flies buzzing around the table (and this was inside the restaurant). The waiter did not bring water or bread or anything or even ask us to that effect. The food took about forty minutes and others who came in ahead of us got served first. The food when it did come, which was very expensive by the way, left a lot to be desired. First of all, there was hardly any food on the plate--we ordered filet mignons. The filet mignon also had some weird butter/cheese topping which was very bitter and ruined the taste of the filet mignon.
We also told the waiter the meal was for a birthday celebration and he said Social doesn't do anything for birthdays, not even a slice of cake with a candle on it or anything.
We complained to the manager, who wouldn't do anything about the experience. He just really dismissed our complaints.
This restaurant was a disaster and especially for a birthday experience it was absolutely horrible.
This, coupled with a $120.00 bill for just two dinners and no appetizers or anything else was a slap in the face.
We will NEVER go back to Social ever again.

Food easy. Travel each nine forty seven

My friends and I went here for a birthday. This is the worst service I have received in quite some time. When we got to the restaurant we were told that they were at capacity. Moments later another party walked in and were seated. We went to another hostess and she did not seem to know why we were told they were at capacity. Four of us were finally seated and waited for another four to meet us there. We ordered drinks not knowing how long they would be. We were given our drinks but by this time the rest of our party had arrived and wanted to move to a bigger table. When we told our server that we would like to move she simply huffed and stormed away with no explanation.

When we spoke to the manager he simply dismissed our complaints.

We didn't end up eating here but the service alone was enough to deter me. The place was very pretentious and expensive. With a city so full of amazing restaurants I can't find any reason to support this establishment.

This is possibly the most over-priced dinner we have ever experienced. If there is a line between classy and pretentious, Social definately lies on the side of pretentious. The food was served cold, chicken was far too overcooked (could barely chew it), and to top it off, the server automatically included gratuities on our bill without prior warning. The food was extremely overpriced. We will never go back!!!!

i am confused about the last gentlemens review because pealla and escargot are not on the menu so i don't know where he thinks he was but it was not social next make sure you're at the right restaurant before slamming it. I had a great experince there the service was wonderful and the bussers are hard-working and are the best support team in the city.