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.
This place is awesome i really recommend it. The falafels are fresh and crispy, and they're made from scratch. I love how there is a large selection of food for vegeterians as well, and the prices are fairly good. I'm very lucky to work near this place, so I stop by at least twice a week. :D D:
On May 18th, 2012 at 7PM we had reservations for 3 and were immediately seated.
"NEIL" was our OUTSTANDING waiter for the night and we ordered pre-meal drinks and an appetizer, which were served with very little waiting. He took our meal orders shortly thereafter and the timing was perfect when the main course arrived. Meals were hot, nicely prepared and excellent value. "NEIL" kept in touch with us throughout the evening and looked after us very well. We all had the $25.00 inclusive, I ordered the roast Lamb.
I had read the negative reviews on-line prior to making our reservations however thought we would try the restaurant because we had good experiences on our prior visits - we had been there approximately 1 year previous. I can say that we were not disappointed and would recommend this place to anyone.
Andy
I thought that the staff was great, the food was delicious, the wait was not long at all, and the atmosphere was really fun! They had a great menu (much of their ingredients were either local or home-made) and their patio seats have one of the best views of the beach I've ever seen. The place itself was very clean and cozy. I would definitely give it 5 stars out of 5 and I will definitely be returning to try out other menu options. Really easy to find as it is just across from the pier. One of the highlights of my trip to the beach and a must try for anybody looking for an awesome place to eat in White Rock. :)
I really like Cosmos but the thing is, whenever I go there my appetite doesn't quite match up the extremely generous portion sizes. The one time I got a three course meal (soup, an entree, dessert, and coffee) I went out to the parking lot afterwards and nearly puked because I was so full. That said, the food -is- really good, the prices are very reasonable, and the staff are friendly and good at what they do. So... what am I saying exactly? -- should I fault them for serving so much food? That's silly. They are a great operation and I'll be back again and again, but I definitely need to bring a fierce appetite next time to match their portion sizes. I definitely recommend their dolmades, avgolemono soup, and baklava.
We went to Cosmos to celebrate Mother's Day and a family birthday. We had a reservation for 4pm and when we were seated at the table the waitress told us that we had to be done by 6:15pm because the table was triple booked. We didn't know that our reservation was for a set amount of time and that definitely wasn't explained to us when we booked or we would never have gone there. This was the first time that any of us had experienced a waitress telling us that we had to "eat and go". The whole concept of going out for a relaxing meal was gone. It was so rushed that we weren't even offered tea or coffee and the staff were lined up with their buckets waiting for us to get up so they could clear our table. There was no option to stay and chat over a few drinks. We were basically kicked out. The crazy part is that there were several side-by-side tables that were empty the whole time, yet the staff were rushing us. It's ironic that they were by no means fast at getting us our drinks or food and they didn't even greet us for several minutes when we arrived. We complained to the manager who was absolutely rude. She just left my husband and I standing there while she disappeared into the back. It was honestly the worst service we have ever experienced!
Mixed experience last weekend. 6:00 reservation and we got our mains at 8:00.
Appetizer mussels were unevenly cooked - some perfect, some over - how do you do that? Curry sauce thin and tasted of curry powder. Empanadas special got rave reviews - weirdly they were described by the server as like perogies - they are pastry - but my partner tried them anyway and loved them.
Halibut special had a olive tapande topping which did nothing for the perfectly cooked fish, vegetables dull with a scoop of plain white rice. Creme brulee was perfect, one guests banana bread was burnt and tough and we had to ask to have it removed from the bill.
Nice wine list - well price with some different offerings. We weren't in a rush, had a great evening ... not sure if I would go back when there are so many less expensive options on the Strip.
We made reservations for 2012 Mothers Day. We began ordering and were told they ran out of rice - so was there anything else we wanted. Are you kidding me - no rice? What do you order fro sushi if you have no rice. We then left. We complained at the front and told them we were long time customers (over 10 years) and we would never return. The owner (lady) shrugged her shoulders and said oh well.. They did not care - We will never return as there are many many other sushi resturants to choose from. If they did not have enough rice they should not have taken our reservation
Our dining experiance here was absolutly horrific! The slow service was a joke, 20 minutes waiting for our drinks to arrive, heaven forbide we would want to order another! Then another 50 minutes for our dinners to arrive, (we ordered an appetizer to only recieve it with our dinners). When the dinners did make it to our table, we couldn't believe the portion sizes! My puny salad for $12 was drowning in the dressing! My husband's cod & fries had only 12 fries, (yes we counted)... I shudder to think of the cleaniness of the staff as the washrooms were so dirty and even after I informed the management, no paper towels when I returned after my meal. To finish our experience, my husband suffered Food Poisoning from his meal, all night long! I called to warn the restaurant of the tainted meal, only to have the management focus on the slow service. I think their priorities are in disarray. Needless to say: WE WILL NEVER RETURN!!!
Firstly the food quality rating deserves a four.
The service was acceptable, though initially I was beginning to feel neglected, seated and ignored - for which the waiter, without a prompt from me, apologized. The service rated a three; with the owner's customer interaction a four.
What brought the overall rating down was two-fold. Most of the menu items I ordered, were just not available. Sorry sir your selected appetizer is off, we are out of the wine you want, and we can't make you an espresso - our machine is broken. Was this just a busy Tuesday night anomaly, or a Fawlty Tower's - "Duck's off" moment? The food items I was served were of very good quality.
The second problem is that the main dining room is intrinsically so sonically reflective - all hard sound-reflecting surfaces, with little sound absorption. If there is anyone with an annoyingly loud or grating voice close to you, they also become your unwanted dinner companions, you can't help but hear them. Well, two tables away I had two obnoxious loud unwanted companions. They would not have not been so intrusive, if the room's construction materials had naturally absorbed some of their conversation. I suspect that magnitude of this sound amplifying effect varies from table position to table position. There are ways to fix the room's sound problems without throwing buckets of money at it, so atmosphere gets a two.
Without these two problems the overall dining experience would have rated a four. I'll probably return and see if the dining experience improves.
Was driving up and down Marine Drive in White Rock today looking for a place to eat. Saw a bunch of people sitting on a patio around noon time, and a small, un-assuming place called Jans On The Beach. Since it was the busiest place within site, we went in and got seated right away by a friendly server. Noticed that the kitchen was open to the dining room. New concept for White Rock. We noticed it was VERY clean as well. Waitress said they've been open for about 2 months. My wife ordered the fish bites, I had the chicken club with homemade root chips, and my daughter had a strawberry salad with chicken. All meals were under $11, and came out within 15 minutes. We were checked up on by two different waitresses and never had to ask for anything, ie. condiments, refills, etc. With the prices, cleanliness, and quality of the food which we were told was all made from scratch, we definately found our new favourite spot on the beach. I was going to suggest to the owner who is also the chef, that she may want to spruce up the outside to make it more appealing to passers by, but then decided not to. I'd think that the crowded patio and dining room is the best advertising they could have or need. Hope it sticks around.
My family has enjoyed going here for years. I compare all sushi joints to Kappa and NONE (other than The Eatery in Vancouver) even closely compare!
The menu states that the food does not come as quickly as other Japanese restaurants - so be prepared to wait longer than the 4 minutes it usually takes at other places. This is because its FRESH, hand made to order and DELICIOUS!
It is great for a date night or gathering with friends as you are in your own little room and have privacy from noise from other tables.
Love it and will enjoy it for years to come.
Have been here many times over the years. First time going where they say us at the very back table by the bar. No lighting (burnt out) and waiters just about bumping into us every few minutes gathering their drinks.
We had our toddler with us (who was very well behaved) and I'm not sure if we didn't get great service because of that? The waitress never asked how we were, welcomed us, smiled, or checked on our food quality. Nothing. Every time we needed something - we had to track her down.
We ended up asking to pack our food after 5 minutes or so as we'd have a better time eating it at home!
As for the food...sure needs an update! bland and they just add flavour with butter...nothing else. (I had a veal dish and my husband had gnocci).
We will never go back. Ever.
We miss the Italian Village that was on Johnson years ago (new Onyx Steakhouse).
The proprietor was really welcoming and helpful. The view is just gorgeous, the restaurant very clean and warm. The food was beyond amazing. I had the Oso Boco, cooked to perfection and complimented with a rich savory sauce. My friend had the Chicken Parmigiana, I stole a little bite and equally as decedent as my dinner. My new favorite place in White Rock.
This was the first and last time I will ever go to Charlie Don't Surf. !!!! What an absolute waste of our time and money. The waiter was just horrible, and the food was skimpy portions and cold when it FINALLY came.
Our waiter was the fellow with the unkempt "surfer" kind of hair. He thought he was funny and charming, but he absolutely was NOT !!!!! I get angry just thinking about how he spoke to us last night. He spoke to us like we were idiots. His reasoning for our way tooooo late meals, was we had ordered 1 lousy appetizer and for that reason it puts the meal order way back. Are You Kidding Me Buddy????? How stupid do you think we are. I told him that right there, that that was the lamest excuse i have ever heard. He also said, yeah I can go back and yell at the chef, but its not gonna do any good. Whatever happened to apologizing to your patrons and letting them know you will do whatever you can to speed things up. We also had to ask for cutlery, and water and refills for EVERY cup of coffee. He NEVER came over once to see if the food was okay for us. I had the fish taco for 15.00, what a rip off. Without a word of exaggeration, i had 3 tiny cubes of fish on each of the 2 tacos. They were flatter than a quesadilla. Terrible, terrible, terrible value here.
I left mad and hungry, and we like to dine out frequently and we tip well for GREAT service and food, which we got neither of. I will be telling EVERYONE I know to NEVER bother wasting their time at this dump.
I have lived in White Rock/South Surrey my whole life and have dined at many restaurants in this area. Although the food was good, I must say that portions are just awful. Both experiences here I had picked up orders for 3 people and myself at work & everything from the pizza to pasta are overpriced for the amount you get. The service was also questionable, both times I was quoted 15 minutes for pickup, showed up in 20 & had to wait for my order. I found this odd because on both occasions I was also the only person in the restaurant aside from a few couples having coffee. Overall I would say their biggest problem is the portions of food they give,( I mean its pasta? Really? for 10 dollars fill up my plastic container...)
t was the first sunny weekend so we couldn't pass out trying out Charlie's favourite (cod & chips). The portion of cod was good ($12.95) but didn't care for the fries. Should have opted for a salad or substituted for yam fries. Definitely had better fish & chips at "Go Fish". The calamari appetizer ($9.95) was disappointing. It was essentially a bowl of crispy batter bits with tomatoes and green onions topping - really pitiful. Not knowing the area, it was nice evening on the patio under gorgeous sunshine but the food really short.
We came here on a Sunday and the place was packed. Also lots of people at the take-out counter too. We had the 2 piece cod fish & chips, the pieces of fish are still large and very fresh. They were busy so they forgot to give us some menus after we sat down but otherwise service is decent. I also like the heavier crunchier batter some other places serve but this batter was crisp, light and not too heavy so you could really taste the fish. The home cut fries look not as darkly fried as before but still tasted good, maybe a couple more minutes in the fryer and they would have been perfect.
I've been here numerous times with friends. It is our new fav sushi spot. The waitresses are very polite and the service is great. I usually order a chicken teriyaki roll, vegetable roll, and gyoza. I'm not a huge raw fish person so I cannot comment on what people have said about the spoiling fish; however, my friends do get raw fish and I have not heard them complain once. Yes it is a little expensive for sushi but the atmosphere, food and the service totally make up for it.
Where to begin....
After a bad Boathouse experience years ago I hadn't been there in some time. I decided to give them another try for their weekend brunch and it was a good eggs benny - so I decided to call up and make a reservation for my birthday during Lobsterfest. Well it all goes downhill from there. I called the in the afternoon to confirm that I had a reservation that evening, as when I made it (with the manager) she was very abrupt on the phone and hung up before I was finished talking. It turns out a reservation was never even made, and some things had to be shuffled around last minute to fit us in. Strike one!
Those of us who ordered lobster tails started to notice that they weren't cooked properly, I was one of them. So they were sent back. By the time we got our replacements everyone had finished eating so I asked them to just put them in a to-go box instead. Well when I got home, I realized that once again the tails were raw. I will add that the server did not offer anything to us (like a price reduction on the bill) for this issue, they did however give me a free drink, whether that was for my birthday or lobster shortcomings I don't know. Hardly made up for it though.
And the worst of the worst, was when we decided to try them out one last time, again at weekend brunch. This was so bad we actually considered walking out without paying the bill. I asked the server if the prime rib hash was thinly sliced as I don't usually eat prime rib, she said it was so I thought i would give it a try. When I got the dish, which was $16, it was a bowl of gravy with tons of mushrooms (which was not listed on the menu, I don't like mushrooms) and lots of cubed pieces of fatty, tough, prime rib meat that seemed like it was old. I mentioned to the waitress that mushrooms weren't listed on the menu, which was 75% of the dish. She said nothing and wandered off.
We were clearly done eating, and watched the waitress walk past and serve everyone else yet totally ignored us as we waited for the bill. Meanwhile, I was angry looking at the "fruit bowl" that came with breakfast. If only I had a picture! All the fruit was rotten. Blueberries shriveled up to basically nothing, the rasberries were mush, more like jam. I couldn't believe that a chef/cook would put that on a plate and serve it. We both had rotten fruit, not just one - and it was the entire bowl too. So I flagged over the dismal waitress and suggested she show that to the manager and said it was unacceptable to serve this. No apology, nothing. She just took the plates and walked away without saying a word.
At that point we both felt we should have left, and not looked back. They didn't deserve $50 for that disgrace of a lunch. And of course, nothing had been taken off the bill for these problems.
Crap service, crap food, with ridiculous prices sprinkled on top. The ONLY thing that place has going for it is the location and view, but I will never be going there again for that alone.
Beware!
My experience at this restaurant was so horrible that it prompted me to open an account on Dine Here and vent. I am a first time reviewer, the same as many of those who have also apparently dined at this restaurant and have given stellar reviews which I find very very suspicious. Looks like someone might be trying to bump the average rating of this restaurant north a bit... well here we go.
Food:
Terrible, we had the sockeye salmon bites and the potato brie boxty(?). The best thing about the salmon bites was the tartar sauce, cuz I'm a sucker for tartar sauce, but otherwise they were dry and overcooked. The potato brie boxty looked like a chocolate chip cookie with two small strips of onion baked on it and I could not identify a familiar flavor in the appetizer. Weird.
For the entree I had a one piece sockeye and my girlfriend had the harbor salad. The fries that came with the Sockeye were soft and moist. The sockeye itself was not battered but covered in a breading that I have only ever before seen on fish sticks as a 5 year old and frozen chicken schnitzel. It didn't stick to the fish and fell right off the rigid fillet as soon as it was touched. The harbor salad was topped with a boiled and crumbling piece of cod and was completely undressed although the menu advertised it as a vinaigrette. It did however have chunks of hot dog relish on top of and throughout the salad. Why would you put relish in any salad? much less a salad with seafood. Keep it at the carnival. Oh and the brown lettuce. There was brown lettuce, we told the server and she didn't seem to care. She said she would let the kitchen know and when she returned she simply said the salad was all fresh. I gave her the brown limp leaves on a plate to show her kitchen, she didn't really come back much after that. The food was overcooked, limp and generally terrible.
we were still hungry because the majority of our entrees had been sent back and we figured they couldn't mess up dessert so we flipped to the back of the menu and got cheesecake and apple crumble. The cheesecake had the consistency of Jell-O pudding like it had been sitting out all day and the apple crumble was clearly not fresh with rubbery apples. Most of the dessert went unfinished as well.
Service:
Terrible. Our waitress was generally inattentive and claimed to have recognized me but couldn't remember from where in an attempt to build some kind of rapport when she could see the meal wasn't going well. When we arrived there were 4 other tables with people in them in the whole restaurant including the patio and we were asked if we had a reservation, we said that we didn't and were told that we should consider having one for next time. When any concern was voiced it was immediately dismissed and made to be the owners fault and explained as that is the way he does business. During the beginning of our meal one of the waitresses went around and put reserved signs on a few of the tables up front of house and then they were removed about an hour or so later. Clearly an attempt to make the place look like it has bookings when it truly doesn't. She also had the nerve to suggest how much to tip after the meal but this wasnt a shocker considering everything else.
Value:
for the terrible food this place is serving anything is overpriced. if it was actually decent food then it wouldn't be so bad.
Ambiance:
The interior of this place actually isn't bad considering they're going for that Irish-pub feel. the place has the look of nice wood and the bar looked like it was a comfy place to sit at considering how many employees I saw standing and ordering drinks from the bar. oh and our server was also the bartender and kept hopping back and forth to mix drinks or pour beer. Also noticed the tacky pictures with price tags on the walls. looks like they're not selling enough food to make a profit they have to sell overpriced art as well. The tv with "Irish" pictures flashing was kind of lame and the music was too loud and not what I would call Irish. 2.
The meal was so bad all we could do after was get gelato, because we were still hungry, and laugh about it on the pier. Save yourself the time and headache, ANY other restaurant on the pier would give better quality, value and service.
