The Alex is Burlington's First restaurant destination, specializing in small plate dining. At the Alex, you'll find interesting salads, unbelievable meats and seafoods as well as decadent desserts.
If you’ve ever wanted to go out to a restaurant and try a lot many different things on the menu, The Alex is the place for you. Nestled in the heart of downtown Burlington, this restaurant with a modern feel and warm, inviting atmosphere advertises according to its main principle: small plates, big flavour. In fact, that’s just what’s displayed at the front window.
“Small plates is our concept, so really big strong flavours, not shy with fat or salt or spice,” explains owner Matt Kershaw. “We have serious level entrées with the portions cut in half. We’ve cut the price in half. When a customer comes in they can share and explore all the different flavours.”
“Between the two of us, we can split five plates and even if you don’t like one of them it’s, okay,” Matt notes. “Meanwhile, if you go to other restaurants and you get an entrée and if it’s not exactly what you wanted, it’s kind of a bummer.”
The Alex was a part of the Taste of Burlington, this summer so we made reservations and headed downtown. It took over ten minutes to get our water glasses filled and over half an hour to get our order placed. Our reservation was for 8pm and the restaurant was less than half full, so there was no excuse for the deplorable service we received. Our entrees took an hour and a half to show up. The Taste of Burlington menu, which two of us had, only had one dessert as an option, and when we requested our bills at 10pm, it was still in the oven. Our water glasses were refilled at 9:45. Our bar order was never refilled, and no one checked to see how our meal was. It was the worst service I've ever received, anywhere, and the atmosphere is non-existent. I definitely would not waste my money or my time again. We actually went next door and ordered take-home burritos and got much better service.
Enjoyed the food immensely, and the service was excellent. Ambience left a little to be desired, but I don't need fancy! Was expecting to pay more than I did, so that's always a bonus!
Try this place out!
Something has to be said about ambiance and there is nothing to say here. It's like eating in an old Country Time Coffee shop. Great staff, who were very knowledgable of the menu. We went there due to word of mouth and would order take out anytime. The food was good, nothing to complain about there. The wine list is pricey for the type of restaurant that it is. The staff wore jeans and after paying $140.00 including a good tip, I felt a little ripped off. Again, ambiance is a must when your paying over $100, plus. Fix that and you'll have a big hit. Good luck
We went with another couple at 6:30 pm on a Saturday evening in January. It was already becoming busy, even though this time of year is generally thought of as being quieter for restaurants in Burlington.
It was easy to find - a short walking distance just south of the corner of Brant Street/Caroline. A gorgeous place inside - it reminded us of cool-looking restaurants in Vancouver: chic, intimate, relaxed, and contemporary. It soon filled up and there was a *very good vibe* all round.
All of the service was simply top-notch - low-key but warm, professional, and attentive.
Ahhh the food! We each had 2 main dishes and we all felt satisfied and happy. The portions, the tastes and the textures were *absolutely perfect*. Two of us then had an extra – a dessert plate and a cheese plate.
We especially enjoyed the truly sublime Mac and Cheese with its generous chunks of lobster, the mango slaw with the tenderest of shrimp and the Lamb Shepherd’s pie delicately flavoured with herbs.
Their menu isn’t massive and we think that’s always a good sign of an excellent restaurant.
Their Canadian cheeses were superb. And did I mention dessert? I like to bake and I’m very fussy about how a pie “should be”. Their Maple Sugar pie was out-of-this-world and oddly not over-sweet … the only drawback was that I couldn’t politely lick my plate. It was more than tempting!
For us 4 friends, it seemed to work out better sharing dishes between the partners of each couple rather than amongst us 4. We think that would depend on what sorts of dishes were ordered by a group (finger-type foods versus their small oval hot casserole dishes).
We found the wine/beer prices comparable to anywhere else in Burlington, including any of the “inexpensive” chain restaurants.
We did not find The Alex any pricier than any other “fine dining” restaurant. Less so, in fact. We’ve often gone to some “regular” places in town (e.g. pub chains) and have paid $60 for food and service that were mediocre-to-poor. And so, paying only about $30 more at The Alex for a wonderful dinner - in a great looking place - that included drinks and excellent service, seemed insignificant to us.
A big thanks to all the staff at The Alex. We had a great evening. We intend to come back again and again!
On a cold winter's day, this was a cozy treat. We met for lunch and the two of us thoroughly enjoyed our meals. The portions are small but so flavorful that they are completely satisfying. Regretting that I did not try the chocolate fondue with pound cake for dessert and will remedy that the next time I visit.
