Best High Eateries in Hamilton.

[Fruitloops]

per discussion from another thread what are the high end food options in the Hammer. Not Burlington, Oakville or elsewhere, strictly hometown.

Someone mentioned Conversate , sorry if spelling is wrong

Shakespears- personally enjoy a couple times a year but found the quality has been hit and miss lately.

have at er.....

[King&James]

Aberdeen Tavern has always been quite good . Never dined in their outdoor space, hopefully when it warms up a bit.

[ScreamingViking]

I've been to the Edgewater Manor several times over the past few years. Excellent!

Aberdeen Tavern was a local go-to for me when I was living in the area. Fantastic menu, and not that pricey. The patio is really nice.

The French is another favourite (same owner as Aberdeen)

Visited Lo Presti's at Maxwell's before it closed. It will be missed.

Took my parents to the Purple Pear a while ago. Loved it.

Ancaster Mill is still fantastic.

I've never been to Quatrefoil but have wanted to try it.

Haven't been to Shakespeare's in about 15 years, but I find it hard to believe someone could spend $700 there for two unless there were multiple bottles of wine as part of the meal. It's not a cheap place, but their curbside menu has prices: http://www.shakespeares.ca/curbside-dining

A bit further beyond, but Napoleon's in Burlington is an old-school steak house that was fantastic as of 7 or 8 years ago. And the wineries to the east have some really great restaurants: Peninsula Ridge and Redstone are two I've been to for dining. Oh, and Spencer's is another one not too far out of town. Inside or out on their "deck"


While I appreciate well prepared foods, price notwithstanding, most of these places have also featured FANTASTIC staff and that goes a long way for me.

[Fruitloops]

Have heard good things about Aberdeen Tavern, will have to check out.

CIMA on Locke St last night, 2 thumbs up.

[thistleclub]

High-end, unless you're looking for topographical advantage or psychoactive mains.

It's been a while since they earned the distinction, but the year it opened, Quatrefoil was named the seventh best restaurant in Canada by enRoute magazine. YMMV.

[king10]

When I saw the thread title I thought we’d be discussing edible cannabis restaurants lol. Think title should is missing the word “end”.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by Fruitloops

CIMA on Locke St last night, 2 thumbs up.

I used to live around the corner and we visited CIMA often; it's always been good!

There's a more exclusive Italian restaurant called Rugantino a block north that I've not yet tried, but hope to soon.

La Cantina is still around too, and I've never had a bad meal there.

[spaghettisam]

*didnt see above post mentioned ancaster mill

[The Gore]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

I used to live around the corner and we visited CIMA often; it's always been good!

There's a more exclusive Italian restaurant called Rugantino a block north that I've not yet tried, but hope to soon.

La Cantina is still around too, and I've never had a bad meal there.

For Italian, CIMA never disappoints. Castelli Cucina on James North is very good. Visited Rugantino once; was just ok

[ScreamingViking]

Rapscallion on James bears mention too. Indoors and out.

Caro is not "high" but worthy of a visit. I've never been to their James St. restaurant, but the one at Ottawa and Main has been good.

This is delving into the average downtown restaurant now. And of those we have many!

[jonny24]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

Took my parents to the Purple Pear a while ago. Loved it.

That place is open!? It's always looked absolutely abandoned / entirely uninviting to me, and I drive by it several times a week.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by jonny24

That place is open!? It's always looked absolutely abandoned / entirely uninviting to me, and I drive by it several times a week.

Their opening hours are very limited, and they close all summer. I remember reading a Spec story about the place years ago, and I believe the owner said something like he didn't want it to be a full-time job and likes to travel in the summer months.
http://thepurplepear.ca/location/

Definitely not the part of town where you'd expect a restaurant like this.

[Chronamut]

LOL my griping spawned a new thread - yay lol.

the bistro parisienne place on james st higher up used to be one of my fave places when it still existed - and that italian place where you eat on the second floor.. le piazza

[mattgrande]

Originally Posted by Chronamut

LOL my griping spawned a new thread - yay lol.

the bistro parisienne place on james st higher up used to be one of my fave places when it still existed - and that italian place where you eat on the second floor.. le piazza

I LOVED Bistro Parisienne back in the day.

[Chronamut]

Originally Posted by mattgrande

I LOVED Bistro Parisienne back in the day.

I used to go there whenever I needed a pick me up - their food was amazing.. then it got replaced by some mexican restaurant.. was such a letdown, and it was beautiful inside too, I felt fancy eating there hehe..

[interr0bangr]

Some really loose definitions of "high end" eateries here. If Burgers and Pizza are the big sellers on your menu, you're automatically disqualified.

I would Hamilton doesn't really have any, but that's not meant as a slight to anyone. You can have a good restaurant that's not high end.

Closest thing would be Quatrefoil I guess but I think it's pretty safe and boring and more casual feeling than it's prices would indicate.

Conversate feels like someone with too much money and no sense of style or class tried to make a fancy restaurant. Basically the vibe of Bean Bar with $100+ steaks. Doesn't help that it's almost always empty and even after renos, smells exactly like you'd expect an ex-club in the Right House to smell like.

Victoria's is basically the more classy version of Conversate but there's only so much you can do innovation wise with a menu made up of steak and seafood. It's a modern Shakespeare's that plays it too safe.

Rapscallion is almost there, just hope you don't get seated in the back room because it'll feel like you've been transported to the kids table at a wedding. Why they spent so much on the front and nothing renovating the back blows my mind.

[mattgrande]

If you're willing to drive a bit, Restaurant Pearl Morissette in Jordon is one of the best dining experiences I've ever had.

[Innsertnamehere]

there are a ton of great restaurants scattered around Niagara wine Country in general.