Hediard Lunch Set

It was more than half a year since I last went to Hediard for a meal and I was surprised to see the differences. It was not packed with diners like usual and the clientele seemed to have changed.

They messed up my reservations. I had requested for the table by the window (only 1 window in the entire place) and they gave that table away. I was left thinking why bother making reservations or requests if they would not be adhering to that. The staff was apologetic and said she thought they would be done with their food when I got there. But...my reservations was for 12:15pm and their breakfast ended at 11:30pm, so how could you expect the people to finish their food by 12:15pm? Also when I got there, they seemed to just get started on their dishes.

That pretty much left a sour taste and it continued to get worse in there. The diner was oblivious to her surroundings and how her bag and the menu she placed next to the bag actually encroached onto my seat. So I had to kinda sit in the middle of the 2 tables I was given. I could not be bothered to ask the lady to move her things since I had no wish to sit so close to her anyway. But seriously, basic courtesy, anyone?

It got worse. At the table next to mine sat another lady who actually had her feet up. She was sitting cross-legged in a public restaurant! Hello?! You could get comfortable, but to sit cross-legged? With these kind of diners, it was not too much to wonder why it was no longer as popular. My gf who made her first visit to Hediard the weekend before for lunch commented that it was equally empty then and she was the first customer for lunch on a weekend at 1pm. That was totally unheard of when I went there for brunch last year.

I decided to have the same set lunch (available only on weekdays) as my last visit - French Onion Soup and Croque Ferdinand with a glass of rose.

The rose was horrible, not as good as previously. The french onion soup did not taste as good as I remembered. Then again, maybe my mood has destroyed my sense of taste too. The onions did not seemed a caramelized or soft. It was still nice, but just not as good as I remembered it to be.

The croque Ferdinand was still good. It was served warm and the crust of the bread was toasted to a crisp.

I loved the gruyere cheese and mornay sauce. Somehow the 2 dishes were able to sustain me for the entire day. This was my first meal of the day and I was still feeling full after 6 to 7 hours. Amazing. The hot chocolate which I ordered was still rich but again, not as great as memory.

I am not sure if I would want to go back to Hediard so soon with such service and clientele around. The standards seemed to have dropped totally.