Wayne Gretzky’s Restaurant in Toronto

I’ll preface what I’m about to say by saying that The Great One is my idol and has been since I was five. And Wayne Gretzky’s is probably my favorite restaurant in downtown Toronto and this experience won’t change that.

I went there Sunday with the family before going to see the Blue Jays. We were in a bit of a rush but not so much so that we didn’t have time for a meal there. We got there and there didn’t seem to be any air conditioning. It was as though the restaurant wanted to re-create the environment in Brazil…hot and humid…since the World Cup was on! The table was sticky, the food didn’t come after 40 minutes (so we had to go) and they didn’t include drinks with the kids meal. So here are some comments.

1. Sticky table – that happens. No biggee. You wiped it, my wife still wasn’t happy, but still – no biggee.
2. Late meal – that happens too. You were short-staffed and your manager was great in explaining and apologizing. He covered the drinks and did right by us. As far as I’m concerned, you’re still the place I want to go to before a game.
3. No air conditioning? Come one! What, was the person in charge of pressing the A/C “on” button at home sick? Patrons don’t want to sweat while they eat. If the A/C was broken and you were getting fixed, then great. But if it was for some financial reason, I’m extremely disappointed. It just made me want to get out of there.
4. Kids meals don’t include a drink? Really? You can’t fill a mini-glass with half ice and half fountain pop at a cost of three cents to you and include that in your kids meal? It comes off as cheap and petty.

Anyway, fix the latter two, I forgive you for the former two. And I hope we can still be friends.