Food: First off the menu is very very limited. I didn't really see anything I thought would be appealing but we felt it would be rude to leave (ie:// make a mad dash for Incendio down the street).

We shared the daily pizza of the day and a featured duck entree. The pizza was so bad I would have considered the pizza a "BOMB" in my own kitchen and probably wouldn't have eaten more than 1 slice out of sheer hunger and guilt over the price. The duck was so undercooked I thought I was eating duck sashimi. We saw a poorly presented bowl of mussels go by and mused about how much we missed Twisted Fork, where we customarily get Duck and Mussels. Surprised that anyone can present a classic dish like mussels in an unappealing manner.

Service: Timing was good. Service was adequate without being cloying. No complaints.

Value: Expensive. $22 for an unappetizing SMALL entree. I've had servings at tapas restaurants like Guu that were more substantial.

Ambiance: Well we came because it was listed as one of the best patios in the city and I'll give it that. Gastown is lovely in the summer. The patio was lovely, however it was also very large, and crowded. The cocktails looked yummy but I think if I wanted cocktails of that calibre I'd just go to Refinery where they make their own bitters with local handpicked ingredients and their food is more appetizing.

Over all... would not go back again... and wished I paid better heed to these reviews... It is really terrible at Chill Winston. I can't even remember a place thats worse.

Even though Chill Winston has mixed reviews I thought I would try it out for a few drinks and shared appies last night. The hostess was very nice and while there were no outside tables available she offered to move us to one as soon as they did open up. We decided just to stay inside but it was nice to be offered. She was the only good service throughout the entire night!

We sat down at our table and got greeted fairly prompty. We ordered a few beers and one appy to share but asked to be given a few minutes before we ordered another one... Well after about 10 minutes our drinks and prawns got dropped off at the same time. The prawns were tasty but nothing special.

Our plate took another 10 minutes (after we had finished eating) to be cleared. When it was cleared it was just picked up from the table. Without a word.. we hadn't even had a chance to order our next course. After about 5 minutes of staring at the multiple servers who had served us at this point someone finally came and took our order for the scallops. They were delivered fairly prompty and tasted good, not great, but good.

We had finished our drinks about half way through the scallops and yet no one even looked in our direction. We were planning on having a desert and a few more drinks however after about 15 minutes of no one clearing our plate or offering us more drinks we decided against giving Chill Winston too much more of our money.

Eventually the plate was cleared and we ordered some wine. It came out after about 5 minutes (considering it wasn't busy I felt this was too long) and there were things floating in one of the glasses! Considering we had just paid $10 for a glass of wine it would be nice if it was put into a clean glass.

After another 5 minutes trying to get a servers attention the glass got taken away to be replaced... but the replacement glass took another 5 minutes to come out... how slow is the bartender if the server can't get a class of wine filled with in five minutes.

After all this we were less than enchanted with Chill Winston. Another 5 minutes of looking around to get someones attention and we finally had the bill.. $70 for 2 beers, a glass of wine and 2 appys... with horrible service!

The atmosphere was nice however there were about 5 blow fly's and bees flying around in side that i think some bug screens would fix.

The only other thing to mention without getting into specifics would be the servers attire. I am all for being trendy and having a casual feel.. however it should be done tastefully. Trying to eat my dinner while my servers chest is in my face isn't exactly appetizing.

Will not be going back...Ever!

I went to the Chill Winston about a year ago for a friends birthday and found the experience not as nice has I had hoped. I thought I would try it out again a year later and I was disappointed once again.

While the ambience is relaxing and the location is supreme, you are still a restaurant focussing on customer service. The servers/hostesses can be very judgemental and condescending at times, not with the words they use but more the body language and face expressions.

I work in the hotel industry and work closely with the restaurant industry here in Vancouver. I used to recommend Chill Winston to guests looking for a nice local lounge/restaurant in a neat area of town. However, I realise now I no longer want to send our guest's to a restaurant that is un-vancouer like.

Try out the Irish Heather just a block away if you want to stay in the neat gastown area it has a modern Irish feel while still serving traditional Irish and Scottish lagers and ales.

May I just start off by saying that a pet peeve of mine (and I don't have many) is when a hostess stares blankly at me when I enter a restaurant. Greet me. Inquire. That is your only duty. I will stare back at you until you fulfill this one simple task.
Our server seemed mildly annoyed by our presence, and generally absent. It wasn't the worst service, but definitely lacking.
The food however, was appalling. 10 months ago, on our first visit, the menu was really inventive, interesting. This time around, absolutely nothing stood out to me. I ended up just ordering one of their main salads - the grape, tarragon and goat cheese salad. It was the saddest salad I have ever seen. A pile of butter lettuce leaves, uncut, with four grapes on top (literally, there were four cut in half) and slathered with oil. I couldn't taste the vinegar at all, and it was screaming for just a dash of salt. I had to pay for bread. It was good bread (probably from Terra bakery) but was served swimming in oil, with butter on the side. It was really unappetizing to have oil-drenched bread.
My husband ordered the pizza of the day. It was mushroom, basil and ham. The ham was nearly invisible. It seemed like it was just whatever was leftover in the kitchen. No thought involved. And it was really lacking seasoning.
Now, we thought that maybe we had really missed out because some of the mains really did seem interesting. But as we were whispering about the poor quality of the meal, a couple at the table next to us said "the food is really bad here, isn't it?" They had, from what we heard, the mussels, the ravioli and something else. All of it was apparently terrible.
I am giving this place a 1 for value because we felt robbed.
The ambiance, on the other hand, is really great. So if you want some mediocre drinks (maybe just have a beer) and MAYBE some truffle popcorn, go for it.
But we won't be back.

Went by on a weekday for dinner and had a great time. Enjoyed a seat just inside but by the big windows so you can see the sites of gastown walk by. Had the pizza to share and it was quite good, also tried the poutine with pulled pork. Just average as the fries were not crispy enough. For th main, had the ravaoli with duck. Very good and different as it's in a light broth versus a heavy sauce. Service was very good and casual which fits in with the restaurant. Would return.

Tried Chill Winston on a rainy Wednesday. Great service, nice atmosphere and best of all we found the food to be a step above the average for the price. We tried a goat cheese and grape salad...tasty, with garden fresh lettuce leaves (not iceberg or spring mix). A friend had a thin crust pizza with asparagus and said it was very good. Another friend had the mussels with frites (they were excellent). We weren't too keen on the curry sauce though. I had the chicken stroganoff....very different...done as a deconstructed ravioli, with crunchy onion rings....very tasty. Very good selection of beer and wine. Great people viewing patio right in the heart of Gastown.....Jazz festival coming up. I'll be back.

nice place where you can unwine for a drink at the end of a long day. I tried it for lunch and the food was average considering the prices. I tried the southern fried chicken sandwich which was good but nothing too special.

Neat atmosphere with couches and a lounge like feel. I would go back for a drink after work but not for their food.

Here I stand waiting for a burger I called in over a half hour ago for pick up on the phone. As soon as I got here and told them of my order all 7 waiters (yes 7) ran around like chickens with their heads cut off, confused as to what I wanted. I immediately knew no one took down my order. When I called in over a half hour ago a waitress told me my order would be ready in 15 minutes. Low and behold I am without it over a half hour later. Every single time I have come in here there is always a staff of over 15 working but none of them seem to know what's going on. The food is never that great and everything is overpriced. Save your time and go to six acres across the street, unless you feel like being patronized by a bunch of pretentious 20 somethings who have no idea what they are doing.

My bf and I came here for some late night snacks last night. Our first experience here was a couple of months back and we remembered that the food was awesome but this time we came the food was just alright. The first thing that we noticed as we walked in was it's crowded in a weeknight with a different crowd, more drinking than hungry customers. The menu was also changed, they serve brunch and lunch now. So, from the dinner menu we ordered:
1. truffle oil poutine: when it came out, it was so fragrant, we could smell the truffle right away, which was awesome. Taste wise was ok, too little cheese and the poutine used pepper demi which is a little different, not too apparent difference though.
2. scallop cheviche: the scallop was chopped into very tiny bits (1/4 cm cube if not smaller) and the squid was rubbery and too chewy. It was served on toasted sandwhich bread. Taste was alright, just like another dish I can get anywhere and though it came in 3's but definitely didn't worth $13.
3. bison duo: I thought it would come as half carpaccio and half braised but instead it was like 90% braised and only 10% carpaccio so we weren't happy with it. Te braised bison was soft but not to the point of falling off bones and taste wise was just alright, just like any other restaurant, not amazing.
4. beef pizza off their regular menu: was alright, lots of beef slices and cheese on thin crust dough. I find this dish to be better than the cheviche and the bison duo but my bf didn't like it.
The cocktails like the devil's fruit was a touch too sweet compared to last time and the cocktail above it (in the menu) was also too sweet.
Service was great and very attentive. Ambiance was also great, brick walls and candles on the tables. It feels like a good dating place or hangout place.
I think I'll come back again, maybe not order the food that we ordered last night and try other stuff.

We came here for my birthday...and I was impressed. I was expecting a laid back place to have some drinks and grab a couple bites. But the food blew me away...

I expected a wait, but we got right in. We were sitting on stools at this coffee table but our waiter saw a proper table open up and asked us if we'd like to move...which we did.

I had the aforementioned ribs, which were incredible. Sadly, I was too vocal with my delight and was forced to share with the rest of the table. The ribs came with a Potato & Bacon salad...what more could you ask for in a salad.

The others in my party had, pizza, pizza, salad and artic char. Everyone seemed very happy with their meals...but the ribs were the hit.

The drinks were good. The drink menu quoted $12 for a drink (I'm new to Vancouver so that feels expensive) but the highballs were $5 and doubles were $7...so we enjoyed those. Our waiter was great very quick and accomodating.

My only complaint would be that the lighting made me feel the age I was turning. It was quite dark and seeing the menu by candlelight was tough. But since I know what I'll order...I don't need to see the menu and I'll keep the atmosphere.

I'll be back.