- Abbotsford
- Brampton
- Burlington
- Calgary
- Cambridge
- Chilliwack
- Duncan
- Edmonton
- Halifax
- Hamilton
- Kamloops
- Kelowna
- Kitchener
- Ladysmith
- London
Do a search below using the city or postal code search box if your city is not listed above.
Get dining news including restaurant closures and qualify for giveaways.
Spent the day cruising the river on a friends boat when the knock of hunger echoed across bow. The only place east of the Port Mann Bridge to tie up and grab a bite was The Gillnetter Pub, where I had been for an enjoyable Sunday Brunch a couple of years ago.
We tied up to their private dock, how cool is that, and 4 of us de-boated.....if you de plane do you de boat?
After a short wait we were seated on the patio. The place was hopping for a sunny late Thursday afternoon.
We decided we would devour the appy menu.
1 order of salt and pepper wings with a ranch dip on the side.
They arrived with no salt, no pepper and no ranch dressing.
At best they were average
1 order of dry ribs.
They were coated in some vile lemon powder. Not sure if they fell into a bowl of jello mix but these were at very best disgusting.
1 order of garlic prawns
Tiny prawns curled up in a bath of garlic butter that had the texture of a pencil eraser.
1 order onion rings.
Right out of the bag from the freezer, into the deep fryer, and to the table.
By far and away the best item we had.
1 order veggie spring rolls
Oil soaked tubes of mushy veggies. Again. from the freezer to the deep fryer. Disgusting sponges of oil.
1 order calamari
Lifeless flavourless ho hum nothing to write home about
1 order chicken flatbread.
The first thing that came to everyone's mind was... store bought frozen pizza.
1 order of souvlaki skewers.
2 skewers of burnt chewy eraser type substance. When they arrived I commented that they were burnt and the server giggled "yup they are kinda". Seriously.......you saw they were burnt when you picked them up. You saw they were burnt when you put them down on our table. We commented they were burnt. You commented they were burnt and you just left the there for us to enjoy.
$100 later we jumped back on the boat and sped away........If only the boat could have gone away from this place faster.
On the bright side the beer store has an excellent selection and the pubs washrooms were very clean.
This place seemed really quite a catch..until we walked in.....We were made to wait in line..(really)??? at a pub ?? there were no crowds..at all...all the tables on the patios were for 4/somes only..and most people there were in 2's..so tables outside were completely out of sequence. We sat inside by a window. and had cold air blown on us the entire time, we moved, and still felt like we were being blown away !!! The food was bland at best..very obviuos, it was deep fried, fried, fried..had beet soup..it was barely even warm. The atmophere was old and seemed unkept..then I visited the ladies room......so disgusting.. I was afraid to even think about the kitchen... wont go back for sure.....not a good experience..felt overall dirty..
In this economy you think places would be lowering their prices not raising them! Nachos, Plain nachos with fake cheez are 13.95 NO MEAT!
Curry prawns conists of 8 small prawn, q 1/2 cup of crunchy premade basmati rice and 1/3 c or cold cauliflower and broccoli. IT also came with pita bread and a plastic container (with thelid still on) of tzatzitki - is that somehting that goes with curryY???? Weird. That was $11.
The other entree was chicken souvlaki that had the same plastic tzatzik and pita, 1 chicken skewer, 1/2 rice and aonther 1/3 cup cold veggie for $14.
This place used to have great food and good value. No more.
I used to come here a lot a few years ago. Food was great, service was outstanding and there was always a line on Fridays after 5 pm. Not any more.
Went on Friday before a Canucks game just before 6. I was worried there would be a huge line up. We just walked in and sat down. We were going for a quick drink and a meal. We got out just under 3 hours later.
Now I will say, their drink specials are usually good price and the caesars are great and come with a prawn(used to be 2). But, the specials are over at 6 and then they charge you regular price. Ditsy waitress forgot our appetizer and then an hour later when we asked, she said we never ordered it. She also argued with me over my drink. Whatever.
I had the curried prawn bowl. What a mess! $10.95 and it was a very small portion of poorly cooked, reheated rice in a metal mixing bowl with a few prawns and bottled sauce on it. It came with pita which was pretty good and tzatziki in a prepacked platic tub. That was weird with an Indian dish. It just shows the low quality of the kithcen staff and menu planners.
The waitress was completely unattentive and we had to beg for every drink we got. When we finally got our bill, it was wrong and way less than it should have been. My friend and I looked at each other for a minute and then agreed that although she totally deserved to be ripped off, we could not do that. After waiting another 15 mintues we flagged down a bus person and told her we needed to see our waitress. When the waitress finally came, she realized that we were going to talk to her about the bill and she came over and said "oh so you thought you were going to get away with it didn't you?" As if we were going to pay the cheap bill and leave, which we could have easily done. I said "No, actually we called you over to point out you Screwed up". Then she laughed and was totally stupid about us saying "Oooo I Love guys.. ". Freak. Left a 4 dollar tip which was way too much.
I'd go again if I was only going to drink and get my drinks myself at the bar.
A lovely setting with a great water view and a good server. Probably the worst fish & chips of my life especially the fries. They were cold , hard and tasted like they were cooked last week. Also noticed the air condtioning was so cold that people kept moving from certain tables and it wasn't even that hot outside so didn't quite understand why they had it cranked so high. My companion enjoyed his beef dip so we will give it another try
For many years we have visited the Gillnetter and enjoyed the view of the river. The view is still there but the food has declined in quality. We went as a party of six and found the appy menu less than enticing. We finally ordered a full plate of Nachos and an order of Kalamari. The nachos were delivered hot, but the toppings were sparse. We asked for some jalapenos on the side and they were graciously supplied. The Kalamari were greasy and rather bland.
I had my heart set on the evening's special, a seafood lasagna but at seven I was told they were all out of it. I decided on the BBQ ribs. They were meaty and tender enough but had obviously been reheated and coated with sauce.
Our server was pleasant and helpful although may have been a little overworked. As we were celebrating two Birthdays she offered the celebrants a complimentary dessert. One chose the carrot cake, the other a chocolate cheese cake. Every one had a taste and all agreed they were excellent!
I am hoping we just caught them on a bad night and will probably give them another chance. They did have some wonderful seafood dishes in the past.
went to the gillnetter on Sat. aug. 22. you can sure tell when a chef is not into what hes preparing. the grilled chicken burger was charred to the point all i could taste was burnt chicken. it was totally dried out. the fries were swimming in oil.my caesar drink had a fresh shrimp hanging on the rim of the glass. i gave it to my girlfriend and she promptly spit it out saying it tasted funny. such a disappointment. this place has such potential what a shame. i really hope the owner reads these reviews.
Dollar for dollar - this is the best place for brunch in the Lower Mainland. I haven't yet tried everything that they offer - just an incredible selection of breakfast foods - and the eggs benny (yum!!). Be prepared to wait for food - the line-ups are long.
I've been a regular here for years.
The draw, IMHO, has always been the patio and river view.
This is a friendly pub; I've never witnessed a fight or a 'gang' element.
They offer some outstanding daily features; the Friday halibut & chips is outstanding.
Sunday brunch is very popular.
Great selection of beers on tap.
Friendly servers.
I agree with other reviewers as to a few problem spots on the menu (getting homogenized like so many other pubs). I used to love the nachos at the Gillnetter, and they were a great value. Not anymore! - crappy cheese and small quantity of toppings (skip the view and go to the John B for nachos).
I went to the Gillnetter pub on the recommendation of a friend for Sunday brunch. What a mistake. I have never experienced such rude service and disgusting food. I arrived close to noon to find empty food warmers and cold, mushy, overcooked “food.” It was very obvious that the “cook” making the omelets didn’t want to be there. What wasn’t mushy or stale was still frozen inside from the recent thaw it underwent for this brunch. There were maybe two-three items that we edible. After picking through my plate I decided to complain. It seemed the server was ready for a fight. She stood at my table and rudely argued with me for 5 minutes. She was not at all concerned with the scene she was making or what her customers thought. Finally after the server’s temper-tantrum was over she waived the bill in my face. At that point I left. I suppose you “get what you pay for” when it comes to food, but this place isn’t worth a dime. Other than that, yes it has a great view of the river and a nice patio so I'm giving it a 3 for ambiance.
I visited the Gillnetter awhile ago and just didn't like the food. Fortunately, I gave it a second chance and the food actually turned out to be not just good but actually pretty great.
The view is amazing and I would say that this place has one of the best patios in Vancouver. Unfortunately, the service was kind of poor - again, I think it was just a bad night.
I'd give it a second shot - try the seafood pasta it was really good! Also, the patio over looks the Fraser river - it is a great view on a summer evening.
I've been here once after I heard about it from friends:
Pros: View is great - fun on the inside - I bet this place would be great during Christmas or Halloween - good party feel.
Unfortunately, the food was a bit bland and they served spinach dip with stale chips. Maybe it was a bad day and I'd give it another try. I had the ribs which tasted like they were a bit old and just had a whole bunch of bbq sauce on them - It wasn't as bad as I make it sound, i'd try it again.
Staff was warm and friendly though. Great beer selection on tap.
10.95 and you have an omelette bar AND tonnes of fruit? And it all actually tastes good? AND LOTS OF BEER ON TAP AND DECENT SPECIALS?!
This used to be where I spent every sunday morning (dont worry, after I did the grouse grind or something just as rigorous), but unfortunately both me and the people from coquitlam I would go with started working sunday mornings. I highly recomend it, its even worth the drive if your a big breakfast lover!
Enjoyed Sunday brunch there a few weekends ago. Nothing fancy, but a decent selection of fruits, the typical breakfast stuff, and the "make to your order" table for omelettes, waffles, etc. Good stuff there!!
We faced a rather long line-up and wait to get in, and had rather cramped quarters once inside, but that aside, for the low price, it was great value, and an experience we all much-enjoyed.
Looking to go back sometime soon.
I love the Gillnetter. It's a consistant, easy-going place to hang out and enjoy a pint. There are very limited choices for places like this in my neighbourhood, so I gladly travel to PoCo for the Gillnetter. My favourite aspect of this bar is the boat dock, as it makes for a fantastic day to float up the river, grab lunch, and head home. Prices here are decent, as you can get a good pint for under 5$, and the half-priced appies on weekdays provide great value. Service can be slow, but it is always pleasant.
After reading the previous reviews, I was a little nevous about visiting this establishment. However, we were looking for a place that was showing the UFC and thought we'd give this place a try. We were pleasantly surprised. They were very busy so the service wasn't as attentive as it could have been, but we only went to watch the UFC and have a decent meal, which is what we got. I think we got the best seat in the house, had a great view of the many tvs and had a great meal.
I have had lunch six or seven times over the past year and find this pub to be great
The seafood dishes are very good, the portions large and the prices moderate.
In addition the parking is accessible, the waterfront setting is wonderful and the staff are pleasant. Agreat place to go for lunch.
All in all the best pub in the lower mainland!
Can't say much that other posters haven't already said. Good friendly service , Great food ,Excellent view and ambiance. The only complaint as others have mentioned is that the good outdoor seats go to the smokers! If you want to sit outside you will be eating smoke! All in all a great Pub!
On the river facing the mountains? Truly awesome view - much better than many of its competitors located beside industrial parking lots. Neat building that does fill up quickly.
Food is average... not memorable for right or wrong reasons. Beer selection is average. Mixed crowd.
It is not really a party place, but that is ok.... on a sunny afternoon, you can really make yourself comfortable here.
I eat lunch often at the Gillnetter Pub. I also watch sports afterwork. The food is higher end pub fare. Nobody is perfect but the food is consistantly good.
The service is a big thing at the Giilnetter. The entire staff is second to none. Professional service in a casual way which is fun to be around.
I find the food and drinks to be fairly price and the daily food specials are always well priced.
The ambiance is the best, possibly anywhere. Between the view of the river and the great service it's no reason we do not bother with other pubs in Port Coquitlam.
