I usually go to the Scores at dix30, but I had coupon for a free salad bar at the Taschereau…read morelocation; so I decided to stop for a late dinner on my way home from work. It was about 8pm on Friday night; the dinner rush had passed. The hostess was sitting the few people still coming in at the nice booths along the wall. For some reason, after some discussion with my server (who appeared to be a team leader), I was seated at a booth towards the middle of the restaurant. There were no other people anywhere near me. I didn't think anything of it at the time.
The server came by fast and took my order: a "Seoul-mate" rib and chicken combo with fries, and a free salad bar thanks to the coupon. It took over half an hour to get my food at a relatively quiet hour. Am I exaggerating? I had time to make FOUR trips to the salad bar! After bringing me my soft drink, the server never came back to check on me or to explain or apologize for the delay.
So at least I can comment positively on the best part of the visit: the salad bar. Everything was fresh and plentiful. I stuck more to the prepared salads than the crudités. I enjoyed the haricots verts salad, the lentil salad, the red quinoa salad, the cole slaw, the broccoli salad with a blue cheese dressing, and various pasta salads. Because it was a Friday, they were serving a fairly decent Quebecois pea soup. And they had a nice guacamole with nacho chips. (I could have gotten chili or nacho cheese sauce on the side, but both looked a little watery.) The salad was very substantial and if I had to go back to this restaurant, I think I would get the salad as a meal or else get the simplest main course (like a burger) and add the salad bar for a surcharge.
When my main course finally arrived, I was a little shocked. When I saw a Seoul-mate combo on the menu, I assumed that both the ribs and chicken would be prepared Korean-style, like kalbi or bulgogi, in a sweet-spicy sauce. Nope. The skin on the chicken breast was dusted with that flavoured salt you get in the shaker at any Korean fried chicken place; the salt was welded on, possibly stuck to a thin glaze. The skin was nice and crispy; so the skin on its own was a nice flavourful bite. Not Korean in the slightest, not spicy-hot, just salty. And once you got past the skin, the chicken meat itself was dry and bland. If I had to guess, the chicken was pre-cooked and then re-heated and glazed/salted. Meanwhile the ribs must have come from the most emaciated pig ever. I have never seen such a thin rack, maybe 1/2 the thickness of what you would get at St-Hubert or La Cage aux Sports, for example. And it was the usual BBQ sauce preparation. Apparently "Seoul-mate" meant only the chicken. So it was an extra $2 (compared to a "regular" combo) for a sprinkling of a flavoured salt that should be on the table as a free condiment. I wonder if they charge $2+ if you ask for ketchup for your fries. Speaking of fries, they were ok and served with the usual non-Korean, St-Hubert style BBQ sauce.
While I ate the combo, my server did not approach me once. He did not offer to refill my soft drink or water glasses, which were empty for over 30 minutes. He did not ask me if everything was to my liking or if I needed anything like extra napkins, which I DID need. Am I being picky? I don't think so, because he did those things for every other customer - the ones in the NICE booths by the wall - just not for me. When I was done with the combo and pushed away my plate, the server did not show his face for another 10 minutes. I started putting on my coat slowly to signal I was ready to go. He clearly saw me, but did nothing. I literally had to stop him in the aisle as he was approaching other customers and say quite bluntly, "Get me my bill NOW so I can get out of here." I paid him at the hostess station, not at my table.
This was without a doubt the WORST service I have ever gotten at a Scores restaurant. For that reason, I won't visit this location again and if this particular server gets a shift at dix30, I'll walk out and go to one of the many competitors in that sector. This is what I get for believing in the concept of a Seoul-mate.