Philippine Canadian Inquirer (National)
Restaurant Review: Nightingale..
Averill Creek Vine〈〈 28
yards. It was clearcut and uplifting, yet rounded and enduring. The wine had a bright, citrus aroma enveloping tactile acidity and a mouthwatering tension. It was a perfect pair for such delicious food! Incidentally, Nightingale offers an award-winning wine list which has been carefully curated by their highly skilled Sommelier Team.
Desserts. We ended our dinner date on a sweet note. We shared two different appealing desserts: Salted caramel pot de crème, vanilla breton, butterscotch and Spiced chocolate ganache, banana caramel, pecans, rum passion fruit sorbet. These desserts tasted like heaven on earth! They weren’t sickly sweet, it was just the right dose of sweetness. We were blown away by their smooth consistency and creamy, fruity flavours. The kind of desserts I would definitely binge on!
Service par excellence. From the moment I booked and arranged our dinner date, to the moment we dined and wined and to the moment we bid adieu to Nightingale, the whole culinary experience was totally exceptional. Our reservation was taken care of by none other than
Nightingale’s General Manager, Taylor Mikasko. He was so accommodating and made sure that we got a table on a busy Saturday night. He also made sure that his service team took care of us from the moment we entered Nightingale.
The receptionists Claudia and Jose were prompt and efficient. They were both personable and seemed aware of the flow of service in the dining room at all times. They certainly welcomed us with warm smiles. They were an impressive first point of contact for the establishment. The Manager on Duty that night was Amber. She was simply amazing and definitely exudes a positive attitude and led her team with such professionalism. Our server for the night was Calla who served from her heart. You can tell that she is passionate about her work because she definitely gave exemplary service. Calla also shared wonderful recommendations on what to order for food and drinks. We noticed that when she explained her recommendations, she knelt down by the table so she was talking to us at an eye level instead of looking down at us — that was a nice touch only an absolute professional does!
We were also fortunate to meet the heart of the house team: the Culinary team for that night — Sous Chef Nick Sui, JR Sous Chef Vince Fajardo, Luke Kohima, and Madeline Ferguson certainly cooked a cuisine worthy of a Michelin star that evening! Obviously, they were trained by none other than Canada’s pride,
Chef David Hawksworth.
Do you want to know what makes a great restaurant experience? Apart from the food and ambiance, it’s the service and culinary staff that either makes or break a great dining experience. As restaurant guests, we want to feel human. We need to have that sincere, accommodating human touch. We don’t want to feel like a number that servers rush out the door to maximise profits. We want sincerity, positivity and excellence. We want to dine in a place where we are surrounded by a team who are passionate, friendly, and deliver personalised service. At Nightingale, the whole service and culinary team will provide you with such flawless customer service. At Nightingale, you’ll experience a guaranteed enjoyable and fine dining that is both relaxing and unpretentious. Again, Chef David Hawksworth and Taylor Mikasko definitely trained their culinary and service team well!
I will leave you with this fun trivia about Nightingale: its name is hugely inspired by Aesop’s Fable of the Hawk & the Nightingale, which tells the story of a hungry hawk who chooses to keep his tiny nightingale instead of waiting for a bigger bird to come along: it gives us the proverb ‘A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush’. Definitely a food for thought! What can one say? Nightingale restaurant sings a powerful note about delicious, diverse cuisine and fine service!