Their only saving grace is the location, the building, the scenery and the atmosphere.
The food is overpriced for what it is, and inconsistent at best - which is some understandable considering how long the kitchen line is and the amount of turn over they are doing.
The service staff is always top notch, and the drinks are actually quite good but the bar is slow to deliver.
The patio is probably the biggest disapointment, I think they could have done much better architecturally.
Prices are too high to support this market. If I want to pay this much i will go to boat house for the atmosphere or go downtown.
Service is NOT on par for the price, nice girl but she had no clue what she was doing.
When Sultri died I thought this would be different, its merely a renaming of the same thing - as a result, they will probably last as long.
Sometimes I have to wonder if its Portuguesse Pigeon and not chicken. Those are pretty small chickens.
The price you pay it a lot for fast food style service.
If I was the management I would be embarrassed, the place is usually dirty and the booth seats are very worn.
Also, would it kill them to put out more than 1 bottle of garlic / hot sauce? There is NOTHING WORSE than having to go up to another customer while they are eating and ask if you can borrow it.
This just wasn't my cup of tea, though I assume it will appeal to a certain crowd (seniors, people who don't eat out much)
Lets face it, the building it inhabits is a black hole. The decor hasn't changed since it was uncle willy's. Several restaurants have gone in and failed. Quite frankly the place is way too big and way too ugly.
The food is above average for chinese. The restaurant is clearly higher-end, with a clean and formal environment.
I find the staff to be very overbearing. If the restaurant is slow they circle your table like vultures. Good service is one thing, being closely watched at all times is not enjoyable.
My biggest bone of contention is when it comes to the bill. They seem to have no shame in this regard. They watch you like a hawk after putting it down, and the minute you finish signing your name and put down the pen they swoop in like a hawk and snatch it up - greedily and blatantly opening it up to see what their tip is on the way back to the bar.
For a place that is supposedly a higher class establishment, it is a very tacky way to end the experience.
Not worth it.
Recently check it our after being dissapointed years ago and not coming back since.
The service seems worse.
I agree with several of the comments below in regards to poor service. Must be the same bimbo?
I specifically saved half my lasagna and half the sauce it was sitting in so I could have a nice ready to eat lunch for tomorrow. To my extreme dismay, when I opened to the take out container the next day all that was there was the dry half block of Lasagna. The woman had simply plucked it out of the bowl and discarded all the sauce and cheese that accompanied it. Lazy, stupid? Quite possibly both.
We happened upon this small Bistro when were were visiting the new Thrifty's on Austin. We decided to check it out.
The food was fantastic, even more amazing were the prices. $11-12 dollars for a dinner Entre that you would expect to be DOUBLE anywhere else.
All the deserts are home made, but the 3 we have tried were a little too sweet side I find.
CHECK IT OUT!
We frequent this restaurant atleast 3-4 times per month, because there are certain menu items that they do better than any of the japanese restaurants around. That being said, the quality seems to have gone down hill since they launched. There are good days and bad days, especially when it comes to how they prepare chicken.
Also, they have some of the worst service around. "Clueless" would probably be the best description.
Oh, and don't try to send anything back. They don't seem to know how to handle that. One time my partner didn't like the soup so he sent it back and asked for something else. The woman just stared at him not knowing what to do (it was as if we had just done something obscene). 3 minutes later 2 other people came back to the table, they were carrying the same soup and they were looking at us and muttering incoherent questions and comments. They didn't go away until my partner told them they could charge us for it (which they did)
The food is quite good, and the prices are very fair.
Charlies is fun loving and laid back, and this is how he handles the front of house running of the restaurant - Service as a result can be weak.
If you are uptight and demanding, I suggest you visit on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.
There isn't much in terms of good traditional european food in the lowermainland. Of all the places we have tried, this is the only one we will regularly drive 40 minutes to frequent. The Ukrainian Dinner combination is good value and quality, and it is nice to a have a vegetarian option as well.
Good food, very warm and friendly staff.
I enjoy the sidewalk grill, tender juicy chicken, fresh ingredients and fantastic papaya salad.
Their deep friend Banana with ice cream is the best around.
Give it a try, support a local small business.