Ristorante Meridiana

Let me preface by saying that we were invited by friends who swear by this place and it was packed on Saturday night… so maybe it’s just me…
The good: SERVICE — smiley, friendly, helpful wait staff. Minimal wait time to receive/​clear dishes.
The maybe-​its-​me: AMBIANCE — It seriously felt like we were crashing a Confirmation in someone’s basement; complete with cheesy wedding singer and dated décor. Big groups and plenty of parties with kids running around and people literally waltzing by your table while you eat. Loud. Not the place for an intimate dinner. Not my thing.
The bad: FOOD — The fried calamari were very likely some generic frozen kind, slick with oil and not seasoned. The vegetables in the soup were also likely of the frozen variety and the minced meat in it was sparse; not much taste. The Portuguese chicken plate was a very generous helping and the meat was ok (it’s a chicken!) but definitely under-​seasoned. Not much Portuguese spice to flavour it at all.

I visited this restaurant on a busy and crowded Friday night. We had reserved a table for 6 earlier on in the week but were seated in an incredibly congested area. The place was loud but lively however the biggest disappointment was the food. I ordered the lamb chops which were burnt and others ordered the chicken which was dry and the pizza which wasn’t anything special. It is a BYOW place though.

Went there for a work dinner and I wasn’t impress.
The service was ok and the waiter friendly so that was nice
The place was nice but the décor was a bit outdated and the whole concept of a guy singing while another one plays on keyboard my kinda of place. At one point we even had people dancing at the end of our table.
Moving on to the food. It was very bad and tasteless. I had deep fried zucchini and they were so blend. They included some kind of marinara sauce and that was awful too. A coworker ordered the fried calamari and it was the same very blend. So my friend and I had 2 different kind of pasta and her pasta were undercooked. My plate was full of sauce and it was a very slimy sauce and I didnt enjoy it. I had a taste of the sausage included in the meat plate and that was ok. I just know for sure it was not my kind of place and will not be going back… even if it is a bring your own wine place

I love this place. I’ve been there for many occasions. It never disappoints. Staff is very friendly. It may not be the freshest for vegetables (they use the frozen ones) but for the price and size of plate it is worth it. They also have live entertainment on Fridays and Saturdays which is fun. As well as a dance floor. Great Portuguese chicken and Italian pizzas. You have to have reservation because it is always full. Also a Byob