We stopped by on Valentine's Day and enjoyed the Bistro's prix fixe menu. Started with what could have been a humdrum beet and goat cheese salad, but the chef took it to the next level and the result was lovely. Heirloom yellow beets, cold poached pears, candied nuts, goat cheese and dried cranberries atop the mixed greens. I followed with a main course of sliced duck breast with the leg cooked confit. (Delicious) The confit leg was particularly tasty. Portions were appropriately sized and everything was cooked to perfection. I asked for my duck breast cooked rare, assuming (like most places) it would come medium no matter what I asked for. But it came perfectly cooked to rare. A pleasant surprise.

My dining companion had the halibut and it was perfectly cooked as well.

Both of our main courses could have been warmer when they arrived, but it was not enough to put us off.

Dessert was a twist on red velvet cake with the cream cheese icing taking the form of cheesecake on top. Delicious and well plated.

Admittedly it's still early days, but replacing the paper napkins with real ones would be a good next step :) And changing the cutlery as part of the plate removal process between courses would up the 'bistro' level one notch higher.

We'll be back to try the regular menu. This is our new favourite fine dining spot in town.

A colleague and I were in town for business, and staying at the Clarion Hotel where this restaurant had recently just opened. As it was a snowy and cold night, the convenience drew us in and we decided to dine here. I believe the ARTS Bistro was just about a month new, and the place is very nice. Large comfy booths, modern chic decor and a large deck/patio (covered in snow, but I am interested in checking it out in the summer months!). They have a good mix of bar food/casual dining in the menu and a reasonably priced wine list. We took advantaged of the Monday specials and ordered a bottle of wine, a couple of appys and mains. The shrimp cocktail was a little lackluster but wings were very good. For my "main" I ordered a bowl of the seafood chowder (which was huge...it should be called a "platter" of soup rather than a bowl) and the spinach salad. The chowder was tasty but a little lukewarm when it arrived. Salad was nothing to call home about, but come on, it was a salad, so....

For dessert my travel companion ordered the Guinness stout cake, which was OK but unfortunately not as good as my homemade Guinness cake :) From my experience it usually takes a few months for a brand new restaurant to figure out things and get food to a very good quality, so I'll rate the food as good for now (as it really wasn't amazing but definitely not bad at all) and I'll make a final judgement when I come back here in a few months.

Where I think this new restaurant really excelled in was the service. It was a very slow night and only the bartender and a server was working (at least from what I could see). We were served by the bartender and he was attentive, fun, and even after we settled the bill he kept coming by to refill our water while we sat around for another 1/2 hour just chatting. Lots of restaurants completely ignore you after you've settled your bill--not this one, and I was thoroughly impressed.Food came in a timely manner, so no problems with that either.

I think given a bit of time this restaurant could really become something great. It's on its way there...so definitely give it a try if you're in town!

I went here for a solo dinner one evening. They are brand new and still working out some finishing touches but appear to be off to a great start. I tried to order a pizza off the menu but due to some challenges they were not available yet. I had another dish(spicy sausage) which I was thoroughly satisfied with. I did get a complimentary taste of pizza(don't tell anyone) later on as the chef was doing some testing. Based on that I think they will have great pizza in the near future. I am hoping this place does well as I would love to do a return visit next time I am in town. I think it will be great for business lunches, informal dinner meetings and after work drinks as well as for those who just want to go somewhere casual higher end.