Melrose Place in Moose Jaw

A new restaurant opened up here. I'm not quite sure when exactly they opened, because they had an "Opening Soon" sign up for like two years. Last night, my in-laws wanted to take M and I out for a late birthday dinner for M and his step-dad (their birthdays were in August), and for a pre-anniversary dinner (mine and M's anniversary is Monday). They suggested Melrose Place, and I thought, "What the heck. Let's walk into another restaurant totally blind. I didn't get sick from the first one." I want to try new things, I don't want to be stuck going to the same two restaurants forever.

There used to be two Melrose Places in Regina, but one closed down, and now one opened here. My in-laws had been to the currently-open one there, but none of us had been to the one here.

The atmosphere is great. The restaurant is huge, and very nice. It's very modern, without being ultra-modern. It has an expensive feel, without making me want to backpeddle out the second I walk in.

The menu looked good, with a very Greek influence, offering things like spanakopita and souvlaki. I really had no idea where to even start, and I instantly had a bunch of questions. So when the waitress came with drinks, I told her I had a gluten allergy. She had a vague deer-in-the-headlights look that let me know they don't have GF-friendly menu. She offered to bring the chef out, so that was good, I guess.

The head chef came out, and, well... I was a little shocked. He managed to swear three times while he was standing there, and he didn't seem to have a high knowledge base of gluten. He told me that no BBQ sauce has gluten in it, and then corrected to say that his [stuff] doesn't. He basically did one of those "You could eat just about anything on the menu, then. Except bread." I hate those. Now I'm stuck staring at the menu, breaking things down, and sending the waitress back with a million questions.

Which is exactly what I did. The first one was about the potato skins, an appetizer that is baked with bacon, cheese and such. She came back to say, "You definitely couldn't have the potato skins. Potatoes are a starch." Oh boy. This chef really had no clue, huh? Was he going to say no rice, too? She also informed they are deep-fried, so that was still a no.

I ended up getting some lamb souvlaki, served on a bed of rice, with a side of veggies and a baked potato. Because I wanted my potato; take that, chef. It was delicious. Well cooked, the right temperature, flavourful, and presented well.

No one had any complaints, and nothing had to be sent back (not to say M and his parents are picky, they're just... selective. And, well, you know me).

On the way home, my mother-in-law asked everyone for a rating out of ten, and we all agreed on six. It was good food, good menu, good atmosphere. We had to actually ask to get a water refill, and although the waitress pretty much ignored us, we could see four or five waitresses just standing around. Oh, and the head chef had no clue what etiquette meant, or what gluten was.

I would recommend it to a friend, but I would recommend they don't get their hopes all up.