Hardware Grill

Time sure flies! Last time, I posted about our anniversary coming up and reminisced about our wedding preps and our big day. Now I am about to make our anniversary celeb post! We’re both still having a post-vacation syndrome but we have to go back and work our butts off again for our next trip since we’re planning in going back to Edmonton  in the summer! hahaha! :)

Anyway, Aweng and I were supposed to have a vancouver trip to celebrate our first year wedding anniversary but decided to have it in Edmonton instead because it’s cheaper and that way, we can save for our trip back to the Philippines. So three weeks ago, we’ve searched the internet for things to do, places to go to and nice hotels to stay in Edmonton. And let’s not forget a fine dining resto to have our “romantic” anniversary dinner. And yes, it has to be a fine dine since Aweng wanted to dress up! We’ve checked trip advisor and Edmonton website to see the best places, hotel and restaurant and at the same time we’ve looked into Open Table for more restaurant reviews. This is going to be a super long post if I put everything in just one post so I'm splitting it into two parts. First post will be a review and our experience with the hotel and the restaurant while the second one will be about our itinerary.

For our hotel, We chose Hampton Inn & Suites in West Edmonton since it has the second highest rating in trip advisor and the best that could fit our budget. I was kind of wanting to have a jacuzzi suite but Aweng talked me out of it since it’s double the rate of the king sized guest room. We had an early booking which gave us a discount plus they also offered a free buffet breakfast.

Our three days stay in Hampton was really pleasant. The staffs are nice and our room smells really clean. We like the interiors and décor and our bathroom is huge as compared to other hotels that we’ve been to. I especially liked their duvet cover. I wish I know where they got that..lol! We’ve also got to try their pools and we liked that too :) The breakfast was really good and there were a lot to choose from. All in all, it was a really good stay. We’ll be having Hampton in our list of hotels to go to. :)

For our restaurant, Aweng made his top three: Hardware Grill, Continental Treat Fine Bistro and Harvest Room at Hotel MacDonald. Harvest Room was easily crossed out since it was too formal for me. We chose Hardware Grill over Continental since it has a higher rating and more good reviews. Making reservations with them was a breeze since it was just online through OpenTable. We got there a little after 7pm and the place was pretty packed. After they hanged my coat, Aweng and I were ushered to our table and moments later, our server came and handed the menu. He let us have a few minutes to decide and later came over again for our orders. He seemed to be working for quite a while at HG since he is knowledgeable with the menus. He was very patient with me as I asked him questions like serving size and best wine to partner with our dinner. He was also nice enough to make some recommendations. He was quite funny too, he said he’ll ask me first since I look “more decisive” :P

While waiting for the first course, they served us a loaf of bread with olive oil and sea salt. It was the first time that we’ve had something like that since it has always been bread and butter. That olive oil and sea salt leaves a nice taste on the buds. Different and good :) After having two pieces of bread, our first course was served. Aweng had the Black Bean Soup while I had Bacon Wrapped Scallops. Aweng let me try his and it was okay. I am not a big fan of spicy food though. Mine, on the other hand, was really good. The bacon wrapped scallops came with a cauliflower purée on the left and pomegranate relish on the right end. The creaminess of the puree, the salty taste of bacon and the sweet and sour with a crunch taste of the relish - the mix of everything with the scallop feels really good inside your mouth.

After a few minutes, our main course was served. We had the Porcini Crusted Sea Bass with Lobster Truffled Potato Crepes. Sounds good? Oh I tell you, it’s more than good! It’s their second most expensive dish and also one of the favorite dish in their menu, the reason why we tried it as well. And now we know why everybody is raving about it. Anyway, our server advised to share if we’re not big eaters since the dish has a big serving - Alberta serving, that’s one of the reviews said. Good thing we did because I am totally not going to be able to finish it when I saw the plate. I would most probably miss the dessert too! And that’s a no-no! Back to the dish, the sea bass was really good. It was so juicy and the crust was so tasty. The lobster truffled potato crepe was so creamy and altogether, the dish is so rich in taste. Heaven!! I just did not liked the arugula so I gave that to Aweng.

Dessert time! We were supposed to have their 12- yr old Glenlivet Butterscotch Pudding but I was informed by our server that the scotch taste in it is very prominent. And since I'm not really into liquors, we’ve decided to go with their sorbet and chose mango and espresso with chocolate flakes. Both are good in their own way but it was the espresso flavor that left an impression. Oh, wait a sec, now that I think about it, it was not the sorbet but the chocolate greeting that left an impression! hahaha! It was really thoughtful of them. But seriously, good stuff!

We really had a good time at Hardware Grill. The ambience is perfect, service is great and most of all, the food is two thumbs up! The only thing that I did not like is the noise. I guess it cannot be avoided since a lot of people go over there in spite of their steep price. But for me and Aweng, it was worth it. We won’t be going there all the time though or else we’ll end up with holes in our pockets. Let’s just limit that to special occasions :)