The Executive Dining Room: York U’s hidden gem

Samantha Osaduke
Contributor
Tables adorned with white tablecloths; plush black leather chairs sitting on hardwood floors; servers dressed formally in white dress shirts – it may be a bit intimidating for students at first, but the Executive Dining Room, located  on the main floor of the Seymour Schulich Building at the Schulich School of Business, is great. The restaurant is relatively quiet, and the servers are very knowledgeable.
I decided to order the bruschetta and green tea, a total of $8. I was pleasantly surprised by the long ba- guette, served with high-quality olive oil and sliced grape tomatoes with pepper. The bread also came with basil sauce, which paired nicely with the pepper and olive oil grape tomatoes.
My friend ordered from the lunch daily specials for lunch, ordering a salad for his appetizer and then making a choice for his entrée between chicken, mashed Yukon gold potatoes and a vegetable medley; or salted salmon, jasmine rice and a vegetable medley, both of which cost $20. He opted for the salmon.
His salad looked fresh and vibrant with lettuce, carrot slivers and red pepper slivers, and we both agreed the salmon looked delicious.
I was surprised to see there weren’t many students at the restaurant, despite their good food and excellent price. The Executive Dining Hall was filled with professors and business executives.
Students likely aren’t aware of this restaurant on campus: I only found out about it through a Career Centre event.
This restaurant may seem more intimidating to students because it is so sophisticated and elegant that you expect a higher price, but York University has made this restaurant affordable for the average student.
Their daily specials rotate so you can always expect something new at a good price. The Dining Room is LLBO-licensed, and they do provide both red and white wine for $6; they also do catering.
Their sole downfall is that they don’t have a dessert menu, offering only a small number of pastries and fruit. Professional business executives would most likely order dessert, and it’s a nice finish to any meal. I was disappointed by the lack of desserts, especially since they’re such a classy restaurant; their food was phenomenal, though, and they could easily survive without it.
We agreed unanimously that the Executive Dining Room was well worth it, and there was a consensus that this was the best lunch we have ever had at school. We were pleased to see on our bills that our drinks were included in the bill as part of our meal. The Executive Dining Room is a great place on campus for a first date.