The Trocadero Restaurant

525 Barton St E,

Hamilton, ON

Visited & Written by: Heather

Did you know The Trocadero Restaurant just celebrated their 70th birthday this month? (On June 6th to be exact!) I’m slightly ashamed to say I had never visited until a few weeks ago. With it’s predominantly driving-traffic-location on Barton, and slightly dated stone front without a working sign…it never dawned on me that I might be missing out on one of Hamilton’s best-kept secrets. Luckily, one Wagjag prixe-fixe deal later with Mom, I’m scratching it off the bucket list!

Read more about the history of the Trocadero in Paul Wilson’s article below.

http://www.thespec.com/living-story/4553740-paul-wilson-d-day-to-b-day-the-troc-turns-70/

Logo

The logo is antique design style with a Mediterranean flair…and not in a bad way! It’s exactly what you’d expect for a resto like the Trocadero. I just wish their sign worked.

Food and reviews

The food is the prime element of the Trocadero that will keep me coming back time and time again. (Plus I heard a cool tidbit from a gentleman that worked there, the chef is a 70 year old woman who has been a cuisinier all over the world and has even cooked in castles for the elite! Amazing!)

Now, onto the meal:

My Mom and I started off with Bruschetta and Garlic toast plus a salad with Mediterranean veggies (basically a fancy Greek salad) to share. Even these appetizers in themselves were enough to fill us up, but alas..there was more!

There were a few main dishes to choose from in the prix-fixe menu. The mains we chose were a Cheese Tortellini pasta in a rose sauce topped with chicken and a Pork Tenderloin Spiral filled with a hazelnut-cherry-proscuitto mixture over smashed potatoes with seasonal veggies.

They both had a delicious balance of sweet and savory that made for a perfect meal. We would have preferred to have the veggies on the side of the Pork cooked more (they were raw or close to raw), but other than that…the meal was a dream.

Though we’re not usually big dessert people, it came with the prix fixe deal so we tried a tiramisu and a berry cheesecake which were both served with suspiciously delicious strawberries. (Seriously, what was with them? Local goodness, perhaps.)

Tea to finish, of course!

Atmosphere

The Trocadero was started by one family, is still owned by the same family, and hasn’t changed since day one. The whole resto has that warm and cozy vintage feel, but with a fancy touch. There’s two sections to the resto. One near the bar includes classier elements like mirrored walls and dark wood tables, the second section had rounded booth tables with a retro feel, and lace privacy curtains made by the original founder of the Trocadero! (I also loved the fact that they were playing some Etta James and Frank Sinatra, my fave! It definitely added to the atmosphere and overall brand.)

Brand

Their logo isn’t very prevalent in the eatery, but I understand what they’re going for with their brand. The character of the restaurant is shown throughout the whole space and – even though I don’t love the concept – in their lack of social media as well! They’re an old-fashioned place with good food and they plan to stay that way.

Social Media Campaign

No online presence whatsoever. Word of mouth sure has gotten them a long way!

Suggestions

The Trocadero is only open every Friday and Saturday and closes during the Summer months, so if you’d like to visit you’ll have to visit on their schedule! My suggestions would be that they open up the hours a bit and maybe implement a small social media presence OR at the very least a website. People want to see that yummy menu!

Been to The Trocadero? Review it with us!