GASTROPUB NEEDS ATTENTION TO DETAIL,
Note to readers: This review describes the better of two visits to this establishment.
Near the corner of King and Queen is B@themuseum. Owned by B Hospitality (B Elegant Catering and Event Planning, The Bruce Caboose, The Bruce Craft House, The Cambridge Hotel & Conference Centre), this wood-clad hipster-chic space mixes barrels, a wooden bar top and vintage-inspired lighting. Seating includes high-top and regular tables, club chairs, and sofas. Patrons can also sit at the bar or the patio.
Chalkboards and handbill-sized menus announce offerings. The compact menu features avocado toast, breadfruit, kale and local ingredients; several options can be made gluten-free or vegetarian-friendly. Prettily presented provisions arrive on unassuming white ceramic platters or perfectly imperfect stoneware.
Guests review decent lists of craft beers and ales, cocktails, and wines as they sip water from jam jars. B unsubtly suggests guests “beer it forward” (buy staff a round of beer) for $15.
Like many exploring a new place to eat, our experience began online. For a solid week before dinner, a 404 page greeted B’s website visitors. Doubtless there’s a reason, but I wondered why a temporary landing page or redirect wasn’t established.
I was told to seat myself when I arrived for a 7:30 p.m. reservation. Easily done — three tables were occupied in the small L-shaped room. A perky voice on the phone took the booking, but I was unsure if a table was held or what would have happened if it were busier.
My companion and I sipped 6 oz glasses of Château des Charmes Cabernet Merlot ($6.50) and McManis Petite Sirah ($10.50) as we mulled the recently launched menu.
B offers internationally inspired salads, sandwiches, and other foods. Diners would be hard-pressed to find a cohesive theme in the collection of Trump, cartoon, and other quirky or quizzical references.
The menu’s flavour combinations read well, but execution sometimes fell short.
My friend’s deconstructed ‘Hop the Wall’ Lettuce Wraps ($14) starter came with avocado, corn salsa, crema, green onions, mild goat cheese, pico de gallo, and smoky, spicy, crumbled chorizo. Unlike neighbouring diners, she wasn’t warned of the kitchen’s lettuce issue. This led to a finicky business of rolling ribbed and wilted romaine leaves, and withered expectations of soft fillings bundled in a crisp leaf.
Nicely translucent slices of seared black and white sesame seed-crusted mahi-mahi lay on a bed of avocado, coriander leaf, radish, shaved onion, and timidly wasabi’d slaw on fresh corn tortillas for my T is for Taco ($16) appetizer.
Our mistimed mains sat on our table to cool and dry while we ate our starters.
Well-seasoned fish fillets nestled on a bed of garlicky noodles for my friend’s Perch Fettuccine ($18). The wait dried out the pasta, and neither of us could taste its described fennel and lemon.
My Hulk Shrimp Burger ($18) was neither huge nor green nor angry. The allshrimp patty was tender, but sat on firm under-ripe avocado slices in the potato bun. It was too hot and humid to have the soup option, but I’m unconvinced about offering a leafy salad with goat cheese and berries as a side — it didn’t complement the shrimp.
Both of the day’s featured desserts were acceptable ends to our meal. The generous slice of lightly sweetened Turmeric-Mango Pound Cake ($7) came with a Chantilly cream rosette. The Shortcake with StrawberryRhubarb Compote ($7) was more like a damp lemon drizzle cake — after a quick word, the forgotten compote appeared.
Although our server’s attention ebbed and flowed, we liked her. She enthusiastically talked about new dishes, and offered suggestions to improve our experience.
The live band was the evening’s surprise. We weren’t told about them, and B’s Facebook and Twitter accounts didn’t promote them. The duo was OK, but their crashing volume forced my friend and me to text instead of talk.
If B@themuseum paid more attention to start-to-end guest experiences and placed a keener eye on its dishes, it may be worth ‘beering it forward’.