Othello's

As brevity is the soul of wit, I shal be brief. I ordered the samosas my daughter the grilled sourdough with roasted garlic. The samosas were heavy and rather bland- I have had frozen ones that were better. The toast and roasted garlic took nearly ten minutes after my appetizer was served to arrive and the garlic was only half cooked and devoid of seasoning.
My main course of butter chicken was acceptable, but hardly stellar. My daughter's Pad Thai was dreadful. It was actually a concoction based on teiyake sauce with cilantro and raw red and yellow peppers piled on top. Obvoiusly the chef is unaware that Japan and Thailand are two different countries. The real shocker was when we sent the dish back, the manager tried to justify that their complete departure from the real Pad Thai was accepteble because some customers liked it. We ended up having to pay for both the Pad Thai and the hamburger that my daughter ordered to replace it (yes the burger was disappointing as well). There are so many great restaurants in Stratford that there is no need waste your time and money on Othello's.

Seating: We asked to sit on the patio and were seated at a tiny table pushed up against a small garden. When I tried to move my chair out so that my arm and leg were not getting scratched by plants, I then became too close to the table beside us and people could not get between us. Our chairs were also backless so I had to put my purse on the ground.

The wait: We ended up waiting about an hour for our food. Many groups came and went while we were there. We were offered another dish by another waitress but declined as it was not what we had ordered. When we mentioned that we’d been waiting for a long time and had a show at 2pm, we were given an uninterested ‘sorry’ and no indication of how much longer we’d have to wait.

The meal: I ordered a glass of white wine ($5.50) and my father a red ($6.00). They arrived in two completely different sized glasses, and each only 2/3rds full. My glass also had a lot of debris floating around in it. Looked like dust.

For food I ordered a Veggie wrap which turned out to be composed almost entirely of carrot and Zucchini. The bottom was drenched in oil and more oil leaked out as I ate. I had added chicken for $3.00 and the few pieces that were included were undercooked.

My father ordered a steak sandwich, well done. The steak was bright pink inside and they had neglected to remove a thick layer of fat from around the outside. The fries were overcooked and a dark rust color. We would have mentioned these things to the staff but no one came by to ask how our meal was.

The new table: Just before our food arrived we had managed to move to a larger table (the lunch crowd had all but disappeared), but after delivering our food the waitress left so quickly that we didn’t have time to ask for napkins and utensils. Shortly afterwards we got the attention of a second waitress and asked if she could clear the remains of the last groups meal and get us some utensils and napkins. She seemed appalled that these things hadn’t already been done and said that she’d be right back. 10 or so minutes later there was still no sign of her so I went inside to ask someone else for them.

The exception: There was one waitress who was very polite and attentive. A tall young girl with blonde hair. Unfortunately her contact with us was restricted to refilling our water.

The Bill: The first waitress came by to give us our bill (no one asked us if we’d like dessert or coffee) and told us that there would be a discount for the tardiness of the meal. The discount, $3.59. No one came to collect payment so finally, 10 minutes before our show, we went inside and asked the bartender if he could process our payment.

Over the Christmas season we met friends at Othello's for dinner, and then planned on going elsewhere for drinks. Dinner was awesome and our server Casandra made us laugh the whole dinner through, she approached our large group with the kind of familiar nature we would expect from a long lost friend making us feel like we were the only table in the restaurant (it was very busy but she gave us her personal attention) She helped us with everything from drink suggestions to group appetizers. 4 servers delivered our food piping hot allowing us all to begin eating at the same time (sometimes not easy with larger groups)

We had such a good time, we ended up staying and found out there was a dance club upstairs! What an awesome experience we had over the holidays in Stratford.

We will definitely be back. Thanks to everyone, but expecially Cassandra - you rocked our world girl

This rather large place is located on Market Square behind the City Hall.

We have been here three times in the past 8 months and this reflects each of those visits.

There has been some form of restaurant in this location for as long as I can recall. The "Drama" was there when I was young and suffered a fire in the late 70's. The redo and subsequent additions into spaces next door leaves us with what we have today. The place opened about a year or so ago, taking over from the failed and bankrupt Falstaff's. Minor changes were made to the decor.

The entry brings you to the bar area, a large U shaped affair that opens onto the dining room beyond as well as the entry. The bar and most of the place is done in wood, wood on the walls, on the floors on the bar...cozy to an extent but a little dated. The bar though looked like a good place to down a pint or two. It also opens through a windowed Garage door on to a large wood deck. Othello's label it as the best patio in the city and I suppose that is arguable as there are really no "great" patio bars in the city. None really have any sort of view and virtually all have become the domain of the smoking crowd. Their's over looks the LCBO parking lot. The rest of the space is divided into several dining rooms. One along the front has the accordian windows that open during nice weather, one to the rear where we sat has tables and booths. We sat at a table in this area back in the winter and a Booth the other night. Upstairs is a night club that was busy the night we went in for a late snack last weekend. There was a lower level bar (basement) but I didn't notice if it was being used or not.

I wrote in another section here that the sidewalk in front of this place and stretching down the street to to Pizza Pizza was a mess of thousands of cigarette butts and old Pizza boxes. This appears to have improved but still the Restaurant could place a butt sand can out front for the hordes that congrigate to get their nicotine fix.

We were in Othello's back in the dead of winter. There were four of us and we were looking for a casual dinner. The place was very quiet. I think this was shortly after they had opened and after the location being shut for months after Falstaff's closure I am sure they were just getting up and running. The fare was basic Southern Ontario middle of the road restaurant fare. Sandwiches, Burgers, the usual suspects as appetiziers and so on. One had a burger special and said it was quite good, I had a club sandwich and it was good, the other two had pasta and again no complaints. Service was efficent and friendly.

I was in Othello's about 2 weeks ago on a Saturday and it was during the day. GF was shopping somewhere downtown and I suggested we meet at the deck in Othellos for a glass of wine. I arrived and was seated on the deck at a high table/stool combination along the wall. The waitress said she could move me to the rail shortly as some tables were about to leave. I said that would be fine and that there would be ultimately two of us. She asked if I wanted a drink..and I ordered the only house Chardonay they had....Chilean if I recall. I say recall....because as you'll see i never got it. The wine list had a couple Niagara wines on it but none by the glass. Why do places do this? We have an excellent domestic wine industry about 1.5 hours down the road and you offer people one choice by the glass and it had to come from South America???....come on.

I sat at my stool for what seemed like an eternity. The waitress cleared several tables wiped them down, seated several parties, took orders, seated people at the rail, delivered a pitcher of beer to one table....and there I sat...no wine...no move to the rail. After about 20 minutes of this and GF walked in. She asked where my wine was...I said Chile. We got up and left. I sort of expected to see the glass of wine sitting on the bar...nope.

As mentioned before we went in this past weekend for a late snack. GF, her daughter and myself. We were seated in a booth. I swear the seating material is made of velcro....very difficult to slide in and out. The waitress was prompt. I ordered a Kilkenny, GF a Corona and daughter a Shirley Temple. Delivered right on que. A small acoustic group started playing across the way in the bar area. They were quite pleasant to listen to.

Our food arrived. I ordered 10 medium and GF 10 mild chicken wings and we shared an order of fries. Fries where good and they obviously tried to pick up on the trend for Steak Frites that are usually served in paper cone. This was a paper lined bowl...fries were hot and good though even if the presentation was a bit off. Daughter ordered Brushetta...she said she had had it before here and liked it. That was before, this is now. It had to be the weirdest Brushetta i have ever seen. A small italian sandwich bun sliced in half lengthwise and then quartered. Some stuff that looked like pesto on the bread, a slice of tomato and grilled onions on top. The whole thing appeared to have been placed under the broiler. Daughter didn't finish it and admitted it wasn't very good. Waitress to her credit did ask if she wanted something else and admitted they had changed the dish since the winter. We all...including the waitress... voted to return to the winter recipe.

GF's wings were good. Mine extremely vinegary. When will places learn that hot wing sauce does not equal a gallon more vinegar? The wing size was HUGE. These must have been chickens on steriods or something. Neither of us could finish all 10. Sevice was fine.

So what do we have here. Inconsistant service. It'll kill your business. So will odd takes on classic dishes like Brushetta. Will this place survive? Probably. The bar crowd on the weekends, the patio and the bar itself probably more than make up for the inconsistant service and run-of-the-mill food. That is....until someone else opens up and gets all those things right.

Ive eaten at Othellos a few times, and its always been very good..

I personaly recomend sitting at the bar.. the Bartenders are always cheerful, knowledgeble, kind, and very funny/talkative

The food quality has always been very good.. Chef Love is an amazing chef. his specials are always amazing.

for apps we orderd the antijitos and the nachos..
the nachos were... well they are nachos.. nothing wrong with them,, the antijitos on the other hand were soo good... best ive ever eaten. Not too spicy and the Pesto was very very good and i believe house made.
The steak sandwhich was good,, the meat was cooked just as i asked it ( a rare occurance at times), the mushrooms and onions were soft and delicous, the peppers were quite good aswell, only one complaint on that.. needs better bread.. the bread they used was a bit tough and needed flavour. The salmon (my cousin ate it) was the most "beautiful thing ive ever had in my mouth" as he said.

overall very good... good music played too

Othello's is awesome. Great atmosphere with the live music.

Okay... I used to be a regualr customer on Sunday nights here at Othellos, as its Stratfords Latest Last call... Which is nice.

I've had food here before that wasnt too bad, just a tad cold from sitting before delievery to my table.

My main complaint with this place is that they pad bills! Check EVERYTHING carefully... They add things that you don't order, and make up prices at times.

Service was great, the drinks were delicious.
Food took about 20 minutes, which is what you expect when you're not at a fast food restaurant!! It was nice sitting by the open windows and relaxing. Food was excellent for the portions and the pricing.

Can't wait to go again!

Good dining in a casual environment - food was well priced in the 13$ to 20$ range and presented interestingly. Service was okay, but I would have like it to be a little faster. Waitress did not know the specials...rather unusual, but no matter, what we ordered showed up, except I did not get my salad. I'd go back however...we sat in the window and loved it. Food was quite tasty and portioned correctly.

Nachos? ok
caesar salad? ok
chickeng wings?ok

the place? no impress
why not put louder music on the patio?