Deville DinerBar: Does it live up to the hype?

Lately all I have been hearing are people ranting and raving about Deville Dinerbar and how amazing their appetizers, doughnuts and drinks are. The mains, eh not so much praise, but supposedly the apps are the best in town. I actually never had a chance to stop by until the first week of January. On a Saturday night a bunch of friends and I headed to Deville Dinerbar to celebrate a friends birthday. We were a large bunch, I think we were twenty people, and were graciously seated at the back of the restaurant at four separate tables. The tables could have been closer together to make for a more intimate environment. We felt as though we were eating separately and not as group. The fact that we had different waitresses was also annoying, we were not all served at the same time, while some were on mains others were just getting their apps. The waitresses were excellent though.

At my table we ordered a few appetizers; fried dill pickles, Mac n cheese won-tons and the fried onion brick. The crispy salty fried pickles were very good, I must say they were the best dish of the night. Lightly battered, not oily and crispy with a hidden crunchy dill pickle, a must for any pickle lover. The Mac n cheese won-ton did not live up to its hype. It tasted of fried won-ton wrapper and mushy noodles, really no flavour except for fried oil. I found the idea to be a good, but something went wrong in the execution of the dish. I found the wrapper to be too thick and the Mac n cheese to be lacking in flavour, but the creativity was there. One person at my table had the Mac n cheese and agreed it was lacking. I was told by a friend who has eaten at Deviile quite often, that the mac n cheese is kind of a hit or miss depending on the night. Guess we had it on an off night.

I had the Prime Rib sandwich served with a rich gravy and shoestring cut fries. The prime rib was very flavourful, stacked very high, but slightly overcooked. The brioche roll the sandwich was served on was absolutely delicious, I just wish it was toasted slightly to help withstand the juices from the meat and the gooey melted cheese. I ate the sandwich with a fork and knife, dipping each bite in the thick yummy sauce. I enjoyed the sauce, I just thought it would have been less on the thick side. The shoestring cut fries were crispy, a little too crispy, and salty, we all agreed that the fries were a disappointment.

A friend at the table had to send his steak back as it was too well done and charred on the outside. The waitress eventually brought him another steak that was cooked to his liking. Everyone else seemed to enjoy their mains, one had the tuna tacos appetizer as her main, another enjoyed the shepherd's pot pie. The fish bowl drinks were enjoyed by some, I tried the Kool-Aid one, it was yummy.

Dessert came soon after our mains were cleared, the famous beignets I had been hearing so much about. We ordered the dessert the same time as our mains as not to wait too long for them to be freshly made. Served hot in a white Chinese food take out carton with a Nutella mousse and a butterscotch sauce, the little powdered beignets were soft and very gooey. I found them to be a bit undercooked and doughy, though the flavour was really good. The two sauce options were excellent and a perfect accompaniment to the little treats.

We all had a great time celebrating at Deville Dinerbar, the atmosphere and staff are great. The cozy chairs and booths make for great seating arrangements but with that said the oversized menu was a bit awkward to maneuver sitting at the booth. I love the idea of using your phone to choose the music at the restaurant, great play on the old school jukebox, just the food could be a bit better especially considering the price. With all the hype this restaurant has been getting I would have expected more in the flavour department, but I guess the atmosphere and drinks make up for it all.