The Powerhouse - Hamilton

The service was good. Food was relatively good. Atmosphere was nice, old timy and rustic.

Really enjoyed brunch here, prices were reasonable and our server, Dennis was excellent. Fast and friendly.

My mom and I went to The Powerhouse for lunch on July 16. We sat out on the patio since it was such a nice day. Umbrellas in the table are situated right in the middle of the table (which is normal) but makes for awkward sight line to your dining partner so I had to sit off centre so we could see each other. Staff there are very friendly and attentive. We ordered the calamari to share. I ordered the beet and goat cheese salad and my mom ordered the mushroom flatbread. The calamari looked fabulous and came with a good portion of sauce for dipping. When we bit into the calamari it was so tough it was actually difficult to bite through. We each tried one piece then sent it back. The server was most accommodating and brought out another serving of it. This one was a bit better but not much. We had to send it back and it was taken off the bill. I was so disappointed as it looked delicious. My salad was ok. I think it costs around $17. Presentation is nice on a rectangular plate. Unfortunately the taste was rather uninspired. It looked to be just one kind of greens, some sliced beets, a SPARSE sprinkling of goat cheese and some sunflower seeds. Very skimpy with the balsamic dressing as well. Disappointing to say the least. My moms flatbread looked really good although it had way too much cheese on it, for flatbread. She said it was good but needed seasoning. She let me take her leftovers home and they were good but I added seasoning before I heated them up in my toaster oven. I used to love going to the Powerhouse and saw it as a special treat. I won't be going back though.

Ordered this: Ground chuck smash burger topped with a Coors Original tomato bacon chutney, Provolone cheese, baby arugula, and roasted garlic aioli $20.95 45 minutes after we sat down, what finally arrived was a burnt-to-a-crisp tiny, not-juicy burger on the worst gluten-free bun I 've ever experienced. Burnt embers on sawdust. Waitress explained that, in Canada, burgers must be cooked for a half hour by law. What? As a Canadian, I 'm surprised as the burger I had in Lakefield, ON with a GF bun was thick, juicy, amazing, and memorable and sure didn 't take a half hour to cook. The very opposite of this one. Daughter had a sandwich that was just OK. Ambiance is great. Service slow.

I had invited my friend from Niagara-On-The-Lake to a lunch in Stoney Creek and thought that The Powerhouse would be a nice place to eat because it had a variety of menu items available. Plus judging from the exterior old brick it appeared to be a good, nice place to eat. Once we entered, we were asked where we would like to eat so we decided a booth would be nice. We were led to the booth that had major tears in the seats and my friend who was wearing shorts found it very uncomfortable. The waitress moved us to another booth and before we sat we saw a ball of fluff, and dirt directly on the seat. We asked the waitress what it was and she said it probably are from the ceiling. We decided to move but as I looked up I noticed the ceiling was completely covered in dust and dirt on top of a popcorn ceiling. It was filthy. We sat on the lower level on a table and the legs were so uneven that had I had a drink on it, I would have worn it. Fearing that the ceiling dust and dirt would fall into our food along with a shaky table it was decided to leave. If this is the condition of the inside of the restaurant, I can only imagine what the kitchen would look like. I spoke to the Manager who treated me like I was making it all up and tried to justify the condition of the ceiling. What an insult. We left and I told them I was going to The Village where the interior and exterior are in top notch shape. I was so disgusted in the Powerhouse I plan on calling the Ministry to make a formal complaint about the filthy conditions there. Trust me. Don't eat there unless you don't care what falls in your food or if your food and drinks fall over in your table. Pictures to follow. I have since contacted Public Health to come and make an inspection. Maybe the ceilings are asbestos?