I don’t revisit restaurants for review purposes unless something changes after the first critique that warrants another look. When I first popped into Quincy’s around this time last year, it did not fare well. In Quincy’s case, a spruced-up decor, a new head chef and a new menu make a compelling case for another round.
The interior has taken on a bit of personality with just a few subtle changes. There are various quotes and lists painted in script on the walls and dropped ceilings that make for interesting reading.
The menu has undergone a major overhaul, although it’s still quite extensive with everything from burgers to pastas to seafood. There’s also a fall feature menu highlighting appropriate seasonal flavours (plenty of root vegetables).
We pick an appetizer from this selection and two from the regular menu: BC crab cake ($8.95), hush puppies ($5.95) and oxtail risotto ($6.95). I don’t have anything against West Coast crab, but I don’t get why this non-specific “British Columbia crab” is used when we have so many suitable Eastern crabs—snow crab, for example. Still, this crab cake is very good. Delightful hush puppies are crunchy little balls of deep-fried cornmeal batter served with a garlic dipping sauce. The risotto is superb with shreds of beef and autumn vegetables stirred into the creamy rice. It’s filling for an appetizer: I wish I’d ordered this as a main and something a little lighter to start.
After the excellent starters, we eagerly anticipate our entrees. We’ve all chosen steak: “Sea to Shore” ($17.95), a pan-roasted rib-eye ($15.95) and steak frites ($13.95).
“Sea to Shore” is from the seasonal menu and is a chunk of beef atop a mix of tiny shrimp and root vegetables. The root vegetables overwhelm the delicate shrimp and the food is very heavily salted—it’s a clumsy rendition of a surf-and-turf that just doesn’t work.
It’s not a good night for steak. Although the meat is tender, both of the other dishes are very salty. Steak frites is a classic French bistro dish but here it’s interpreted as a striploin piled high with bits of lightly battered onion instead of fries (the classic way). There’s nothing else on the plate and the steak is not prepared well enough to carry this dish on its own. The pan-roasted rib-eye comes with large quarters of onion and potato and again, too much salt.
And, unfortunately, all of our main courses are cold. Our server has told us there’s a large table on the other side of the restaurant, so I guess they’re getting all the attention. Also, some plates are cleared before everyone is finished. However, it’s certainly not all negative—our server is personable, quick to quality-check and eager to answer all our questions.
Quincy’s new chef makes incredible spelt bread that begs to be taken home—and you can buy a loaf to do just that ($3.95). After two baskets of bread we still make room for dessert: carrot cake, molten chocolate cake and the seasonal pumpkin-spiced latte creme brulee (each $5.95). The carrot cake has more than a hint of ginger and it is very good with a moist texture. Sadly, the chocolate cake is dry, the “molten” centre is empty and there isn’t a strong enough chocolate flavour. Creme brulee is the best of this lot, with a delicate spiced custard.
Quincy’s has addressed issues of food quality, service and atmosphere. Some things could still be improved, but the restaurant is definitely headed in the right direction.
Quincy’s on Quinpool6273 Quinpool Road422-4414Daily 11am-10pm
Head to the web for more of Liz Feltham’s reviews: www.foodcritic.ca
This article appears in Nov 23-29, 2006.
Quincy’s is not Hogie’s and I wish Liz would stop living in the past. This restaurant is Amazing and I find it a little disturbing that all she ordered for mains was steak! Hogie’s is gone get over it, try their Brick Chicken (my favorite) or something different. By the way I have had the Steak Frites and it comes with vegetable and the crispy onion frites. I do agree that the bread and the carrot cake are awsome.
I agree with almost everything said- WAY too much salt. I enjoy savory, however my fiance must stay away. Service has remarkably improved for us, and the steak are usually really good!
i want to submit a letter re: having a bad experience at “Epicurian Morsels” on young st/ Hydrostone. I ordered a meal which i just plain did not like. The salad was sickeningly sweet and the salmon cakes were horrible. this was a lunch menu. i asked the waitress if i could have another dish, since i wasn’t happy. she took my plate away, took my new order and returned from the kitchen to report that the chef/owner/(egomaniac), said that i would have to pay for both meals because he had had no other complaints about the dish, that it was purely subjective (duh) and besides i had once returned or complained about something before!! ( i can’t remeber when, but its true and irrelevant). i was upset. $30.00 for sunday brunch was way more than the food and the whole horrible experience were worth. to me and everyone else at the table, this was way out of line. normally, the chef is only too happy to replace and or to make up for my dissatisfaction with their food. my friends suggested that i just pay and leave. i am sorry that i listened to them now an did pay. i went home hungry and mad. not one of the four of us will ever return to Epicurean Morsels, and we will pass on the experience to our friends. please do not print my name. i wanted this to go to the food editor. thanks
I don’t see any mention of Hogie’s in this article?I like the bread too.
Unfortunately, I can’t say many positive things about my only visit to Quincy’s a month ago. Granted, I have just moved back to Halifax after a few years living in France which has perhaps raised my restaurant satisfaction bar too high for Halifax, but it would be nice to see a place try to meet higher standards of professionalism. Our food that night was okay although not really memorable or served with any great speed, especially considering the price we paid (and steak for both of us as well). More of a turnoff was the incredibly intrusive service, with way too much inane chatter and interruptions, to the point that we were irritated enough to consider telling the manager. I would love to see more professional and polished service in Halifax and not just at the very high end places. I admit this is a result of having gotten used to the efficiency, smooth demeanour and formality of French service and presentation (not to mention the quality of food!) but it would be really nice to see this adopted at even just a few spots in our town and some toning down on the “hokey buddy buddy” stuff. I for one think that it would really add to my eating-out experience, but until such time I’ll continue inviting friends over for dinner at my place.
wow someone sure needs to go back to france and eat some more grey poupon. I’ve been to Quincy’s countless times and have never experience this inane chatter.. perhaps it was coming from your friends u were dining with. I must suggest new friends to dine with. You would have whined about ANY restaurant u went to in hfx. so why pick on Quincy’s, a great place to go with some friends to a casual semi-formal atomosphere.
Dear ‘will keep on looking’, I can’t help but be saddened by your recent Quincy’s experience, for it truly demonstrates the inability of people like yourself to recognize both social and cultural differences between two places. In this case, it’s France and Halifax. Your definition of ‘professionalism’ is synonymous with that of minimal interaction; it is obvious that I am in disagreement. I will go so far as to make the following generalization, forgive me. I have never been to France, but I have lived in Nova Scotia my entire life. The East Coast is known for its down-to-earth, big smile, happy feeling, beer-drinking, I know your aunt Sue and her neighbour Jim, good times kinda place. The majority of my dining experiences have included servers that are friendly, make small talk if you appear willing to reciprocate, smile and above all, make you feel taken care of. If someone serves maritimers 95% of the time, receiving warm responses, why would they consider the need to act stiff, cold and quiet – what you’re apparently looking for. Just because someone personalizes your dining experience, doesn’t mean they aren’t acting in a professional manner. I’m not saying the server didn’t go overboard; what I am saying is that many professionals who work in the food service industry work hard at establishing a positive rapport with customers in a short time. Perhaps a small, but polite request to be left with your fork, knife and company would have been suffice. Perhaps if you had have compared Quincy’s to other restaurants in town, your comment would have been justified. But to compare apples and oranges…all you’re left with is a rotten opinion that breeds false ideas into the readers of this publication. Sure, Quincy’s and its staff mannerisms are different to those in France. I don’t think that statement is deserving of a ‘Eureka!’
My husband and I visit Quincys all the time. The food is good, especiallt the spinage and artichoke dip and the brick chicken, but what keeps us comming back to the wonderful, welcoming service. The manager is almost always present, checking to make sure things are ok, but the servers are so pleasent and make us feel welcome as soon as we step in the door. We feel at home there. Quincys has made large amount of progress, and it can only improve.