Appetite for Steeltown: Nique Restaurant - 30 Vine Street, Hamilton, ON

A last minute change of plans brought us to Nique last night, where we took my uncle out to celebrate his birthday. We have had this restaurant on our list to try for a few weeks. James Street seemed busy and without a reservation anywhere we walked into Nique just to see if we could get a table.

First off, the restaurant is really nice inside with an open style kitchen and large bar area in the centre. When we walked in, we asked the hostess how long it would be for a table and were told 30 minutes and we could stand at the bar in the meantime. There was a small table next to the bar so we ordered our beers and waited there. The hostess came over about 20 minutes later and said that there was now openings at the bar for us but we told her again that we were waiting for a table. She then said that a table would be over an hour wait. We know that we did not misunderstand her when we arrived so were a bit disappointed in the service at the start.

We sat at the bar and were treated to great service after that. The bartender/server was one of the best we have encountered. This restaurant has a long list of craft beers on their menu, both bottled and on tap. It was hard to decide which one we wanted to try. The bartender was great at explaining the food choices as well. We started with a small plate of the Sushi Nachos made with won ton chips. They were really good!

When I read the menu online, I did think that the meal prices were a bit higher than some of the other restaurants in the area. Compared to a few of our other favorite places, Nique seems to have a bit higher prices but the food presentation and the taste was excellent. My uncle tried the Grilled Top Sirloin ($36), Dale had the Chicken Adobo ($36) and I tried the Mediterroccan Eggplant ($22). The eggplant entree was delicious with the couscous and yogurt sauce and although it may not have looked like a huge portion size, I was full. The guys enjoyed their chicken and steak dishes too.

Overall, this was one of the more expensive meals we have had on our ventures out lately and it was kind of disappointing about the mix up with the table versus bar seating. On the plus side, the food tasted great and we ended up enjoying the seating at the bar.....especially because of the great service. Also, if you like trying some of the beer from our local craft breweries, you have a long list to choose from at Nique.