Banjo's Grill - Hastings, Ontario

I must say, we have finally found a restaurant in Trent Hills that we absolutely love, Banjo's Grill in Hastings Ontario at Lock 18. I have been there three times already, and have not been disappointed once. The food is fantastic and the service is outstanding. I have always said, you can't have one without the other.

Banjo's Grill located at 3 Bridge Street in Hastings, Ontario.

My first visit was back in July when we launched our boat at the neighboring Hastings Village Marina. My brother was visiting from Pennsylvania and we had lunch there. I was thrilled that we have a great restaurant located within walking distance to our boat. When I'm at the boat I'm there to relax and let someone else do the cooking. Plus they offer take-out, which is another bonus. They do have an outside patio overlooking the Trent River, but we chose to eat inside. Even with the doors opening and closing, on hot days it was always a nice relaxing temperature inside.

The second visit was this past Friday for the kick-off of the Hastings Festival. My husband and I had to arrive early Friday morning to move our boat to another pier to make room for the antique boats that were being showcased. We visited Banjo's for lunch. My husband had the poutine, which he enjoyed very much. The fries are fresh cut and they used real Canadian cheese curd. Since I had such an awesome burger on my first visit, I had to have one once again. The first time I had the Bacon Mushroom Swiss Burger and fries and this time I opted for the Mushroom Jack Burger. Both were excellent.

Bacon Mushroom Swiss Burger with gravy on the side.

I love burgers, and I must say this is the best burger I have had in the 14 years I have been in Canada. Its made with real fresh beef, not a frozen hockey puck as my Canadian husband calls some we have tried at other places and chains. When asked what I wanted on the mushroom jack burger, I only wanted raw onion and pickle. Next time I will ask for more than once slice of pickle, it was so good.

My brother had The Canadian Grill which he was amazed that it was real roasted turkey breast and not some fake processed turkey roll. He opted for gravy on the side also.

The Canadian Grill - Canadian Turkey, Back Bacon & Canadian Cheddar on
grilled bakery sourdough bread, served with honey mustard dipping sauce. 

They also have a decent beverage menu with beer, wine and bar shots. I had a rum and diet pepsi, that was made with just the right amount of rum, ice and pepsi. Perfect! And a clean glass to boot!

On the Sunday of the festival, we had friends who did a transient stay at the marina, and we went for breakfast. They served breakfast until noon. It was very busy, but it did take a bit of a wait for a table as it was a busy weekend but was worth the wait.

Every time I visited the service has been stellar, even on the Sunday when it was extremely busy.

The menu at Banjo's is quite extensive for the small place that it is. I'm looking forward to trying the steak, and the ribs, and quite possibly everything. I won't be taking any food from home to the boat, now that Banjo's is next door:-) And we were happy to find out they are open all year round, since its only about a 20 minute drive from home.

Banjo's Grill
3 Bridge Street
Hastings, Ontario
705-696-9898
www.banjosgrill.com

Old Stockdale Mill Restaurant - Frankford, Ontario

The Old Stockdale Mill Restaurant is located north of Trenton in the town of Frankford, Ontario, just 25 minutes from Belleville in Quinte West. 08-11-13

THIS RESTAURANT IS NOW CLOSED AND UP FOR SALE as of  April 2014

Formerly known as the The Old Mill Gastro Pub this past winter it was renamed the Old Stockdale Mill Restaurant.

From the outside, it looks charming, but almost uninhabited. The mill was built in 1867 along Cold Creek in the village of Stockdale, just outside of Frankford.

 There are two dining rooms on the main level, once which overlooks the Cold Creek.

Upstairs in the loft, there is also some more tables, a bar area and a restroom. Good location for a dinner party or special occasion.

Since it was my Birthday I did my research to find someplace that I thought I would enjoy and chose The Old Stockdale Mill, since it was only about a 15 minute drive from our home and had some nice seafood selections that I knew I would enjoy such as the Walleye or the petite surf & turf, which consisted of a filet mignon and jumbo garlic tiger shrimp.

We arrived at 2:30 pm on a Sunday, and were disappointed that we could not order from the dinner menu. The menu on their website stated: dinner menu and lighter fare, but failed to mention that dinner is only served after 4pm. We had assumed that the lighter fare meant a bar menu, as most restaurants have, and didn't think they would turn down two people who wanted to blow over $100. on a good Sunday Dinner. They also had many dinner options that my husband would have enjoyed, such as the ribs or smoke bacon wrapped filet mignon.

I opted for two appetizers, since I was looking for some good seafood so I choose the jumbo garlic tiger shrimp and an order of fries. (above photo) The shrimp were cooked to perfection, although I don't know why on the lunch menu you only get four and for the same price on the dinner menu their website advertises that you get 5. I could have used one more shrimp as they were very good. The fries seemed a bit pricey for $6.00 but you got a big plate of them. I was very happy when I asked for tarter sauce and the waitress and chef kindly accommodated with whipping some up for me in a few minutes.

Call me finicky, but I can't eat seafood without tarter sauce, and I love to dip my fries in it also.

My husband choose his usual grilled chicken caesar salad (above) with homemade garlic lovers dressing. The salad was huge. He said it could have used more dressing and we are used to our caesar salads having homemade croutons and shaved parmesan, not what looked like shaker parmesan. And also to his disappointment, there was only microbrews on the beer menu. I'm not a big fan of microbrews either, but at least they did have the only one I do like on the menu, which was Mill Street Organic.

We figured we would give the food a try, since its not far from home, and the restaurant choices in the Campbellford/Stirling/Belleville area are far and few between. We will definitely return, only not for lunch.  We will just make sure its after 4pm:-)

For additional photos: Click Here

The Old Stockdale Mill Restaurant
1914 Stockdale Road, Quinte West, Ontario
Reservations: 613-398-1700 or 416-699-2001
Website: http://www.stockdalemill.com/