Village Squire, 1976-11, Page 47The Harbour Park Inn, newest addition to Goderich dining scene.
SQUIRE'S TABLE
Harbour Park Inn a good addition to dining scene
The people of Goderich area have been
pretty well served for dining spots in recent
years. from the ritzy Mill in Benmiller and
the first-rate Bedford hotel down through
more average and family restaurants and
fast-food outlets. But just in case there
wasn't enough variety to suit everyone,
there seems to be another winner on the
horizon.
Recently Mr. Fraser Aylesworth took
over the old Park House in Goderich,
saving it from demolition. He went to work
to renovate the building and in October
reopened it as the Harbour Park Inn.
Our visit to the dining room of the Inn
showed that once the staff gets it all
together and things run smoothly, it will
indeed be a treat to dine there.
Already the Harbour Park Inn seems to
be very popular. With little promotion
the dining room was still full when we
arrived. Having made a last minute
decision to try the Inn, not really knowing if
it was yet open, we found there was no
room at six on a Sunday evening but the
hostess graciously made an appointment
for us at seven. (Once again proving that
reservations are important at any really
good restaurant.)
By our return at seven, three of the six
dishes on the limited but varied menu were
sold. Our first choice of Iamb for the lady
and chicken for the gentleman were among
the three. So we reordered: Lake Huron
perch for the lady and roast beef au juice
for the gent.
The soup was macaroni and tomato and
with a hearty beef stock was tastey indeed.
A basket of home-made bread was served
and appreciated. An excellent tossed
salad came next.
The beef was tender and tastey. The
potatoes perhaps overbrowned. The
vegetables were string beans. frozen and
leaving something to be desired. The lady
enjoyed her perch which was just lightly
breaded.
One of the features of the Inn is a
tempting dessert tray filled with cakes and
pastries. The problem. however, was that
the contents by this time had been sitting
out in the open air a little too long and
tended to be a little dry. Hopefully. this is
one of the bugs that will be worked out as
things go along.
Another problem for us was rather
inexperienced service on the part of our
1•
waitress who seemed defitfitely new to the
job and very hesitant. The. other waitress,
however, seemed extreme fast, confident
and capable. Again, in th ' coming weeks
this will no doubt be imp ved.
Something that might be harder to
improve, however, involve,s the set-up of
the diningroom in the old 1,137 years old)
building. The door from Of kitchen opens
directly into the diningroom meaning a
good deal of comotion for pleople sitting at
tables near the door and. since the
diningroom is small (only i8 `tables) that
means a large proportion gf the diners.
Still, despite minor incon eniences, The
Harbour Inn looks like a winner. The old
building has a charm both inside and out
that modern restaurants just can't match.
The interior of the diningroom is pioneer
plain but has more of a feeling of class than
many ornate, expensive imitations. The
room is small and intimate. There's a
feeling that people care which they must
when one considers that his building
might have been torn dowriand a lot of
work has gone into putting it , ack into use.
In the years to come the peop of Goderich
will likely be very than ul to Mr.
Aylesv: Orth.
Village Squire/ No,eniber 1976, 45