700 Old Lillooet Road, North Vancouver, BC
604-985-4477
I love bacon and eggs and my sweet wife loves French toast. After reading Colleen & Marv's post on 604 Munchies, I thought this would be a good place for both of us to try...well, I was wrong. How different experiences can be.
We arrived shortly after 11am. The tray for eggs benny was empty and I got the last of the scrambled eggs. Buddha Girl, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. Other than the limited scramble eggs and the absent eggs benny, the hot station also had bacon, sausages, fruit crepes, pancakes, French toast, cheese lasagna and hash browns. We enjoyed the French toasts, nicely coated and crisped. The sausages were pretty basic, some were quite dry from being overcooked. The bacon was dry, not crisp.
The cold station had a variety of salads and cold smoked fish. Three types of smoked fish, all were good. The potato salad was also quite nice. There was also a cheese and deli platter.
Luckily, both Buddha Girl and I got bacon on our first round, or else we wouldn't get any. You see, we were there for 1.5 hours and the eggs benny tray was empty for the whole time (and to add more insult to injury, the tray was refilled as we were leaving). The tray for scrambled eggs was empty for the better part of an hour. Now, the bacon, yes, bacon, was empty for approximately forty-five minutes. Hence our bad experience.
Did we complain? Not quite. One server came by to apologize for an earlier glitch with their hosts, we briefly mentioned about empty warmer trays but he just shrugged it off and told us that their kitchen was busy. Gee...thanks, that really helps me, doesn't it?
Yup, even tables were left pretty dirty for a while before the servers had time to clean it up. After this horrible experience, we strongly recommend NOT to come here for their brunch, especially at $17.95 per person.
As a follow up, I did write to The Pantry and inform them about our experience. The manager at the North Vancouver location did get in touch with me, recognizing they were extremely busy that day and they were very sorry for our bad experience. In the end, we declined to return as his guests. Buddha Girl and I are not fans of getting a free meal just because we complained...what about all the other poor souls that had the buffet the same time? I think the restaurant should have recognized the problem at the time, more could have been done.
Yup, usually it's my dear wife who's the mean B*TCH, but start me off with a bad breakfast then I won't be easily pleased.
Yup, usually it's my dear wife who's the mean B*TCH, but start me off with a bad breakfast then I won't be easily pleased.
Out of curiosity, had they had bacon, would you have complained less? :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't been to buffets in a long time and that's part of the reason: it is unpredictable depending on several factors and, if the restaurant can't keep up, well, experience can be a crappy one as you experienced. Last buffet or AYCE was actually last week (out of all places, Top Gun in Crystal Mall for hot pot!) but, prior to that, truth is, I can't really remember! (Probably an Indian one but, again, it has been a LONG time).
I am curious about one thing: Would you go to Uncle Willy's in Burnaby (on the far side of Metrotown)? :) Most of their salad (salad? Did I just write that?), sides or hot dishes are OK at best; however, you don't go there for that. You go there for their rotisserie chicken or the meat carving station.
@Kim,
ReplyDeleteno Kim, I would not have complained any less had they had bacon. this was the first time I've ever been to a buffet where they could not keep up. experienced buffets usually have food in a warmer ready to be refilled.
being born and raised in Vancouver, I've never been to Uncle Willy's, i've been to lots of other buffets, but never did go. just because you mentioned it, I think i'll make a trip there, you want to meet me there? :)
do they have a sunday brunch? i'm still waiting for some bacon.
Sorry, fat boy, can't meet for lunch/dinner with you guys anytime soon... :-/
ReplyDeleteNot sure if Uncle Willy's have brunch but, if you go, just go for dinner. Yes, it might be more expensive than lunch but, likewise, for lunch, there aren't that many decent items.
I think I've been to Uncle Willy's a long, long time ago...that's way before I met Buddha Boy. Selections were actually not bad, as I recall...but then again, it's so long ago...
ReplyDeleteJust heard about this new brunch at EBO. The dinners there are highly recommended so maybe their brunch could be good too. Its a bit more expensive at $31.00 but I guess its 100 times better than the Pantry's brunch. And its cheaper than brunches at downtown hotels.
ReplyDeleteHere's the link:
http://www.eborestaurant.com/sunday-brunch-at-ebo/
Thanks Crispy!!! Buddha Boy and I will check it out! Maybe go there for his birthday next month! Hehehehe!
ReplyDelete