Arbutus Ridge Golf Club and Satellite Bar & Grille — Attraction in Area C (Cobble Hill)

Our wedding day at Arbutus Ridge was absolutely beautiful, and we had a fantastic time, blissfully unaware of any minor issues that may have occurred. The venue itself is stunning, with gorgeous views, a beautiful ceremony space, and amazing scenery. It was everything we wanted and more.

However, the journey to our wedding day had its challenges. We initially booked a time to view the venue, but upon arrival, we discovered that the person we were supposed to meet was no longer employed there, and we had not been informed. There was no one available to meet with us, which was quite unexpected. We reached out via email to reschedule and eventually met with the financial manager, who stepped in to help until a new food and beverage manager was hired. She was phenomenal and helped arrange everything.

When a new manager was finally hired, we faced some difficulties, but we managed to make it work. However, that manager wasn’t around long either.

A few months later, when we checked in again, we found out that both of our contacts had left, and once again, we were not informed. They had not hired a new person yet, so we were left without a point of contact. When they did hire a new person, many of the details for our wedding were incorrect. After numerous confusing email exchanges, we decided to meet in person to sort it out. During this meeting, the new manager initially suggested that we couldn’t have the space we wanted, despite it being in our contract and paid for. Fortunately, we stood our ground and got what we wanted, but this was just a few months before our wedding, which was very stressful.

The issues didn’t end there. The venue kept changing the time we could decorate. Initially, we were told we could decorate the night before, then they wanted us to come in at 11 am, and finally at 2 pm, even though we had paid for the venue from 8 am to 1 am. Fortunately, after negotiating, they did give us what we paid for and what was in the contract.

When I went to confirm the details a week or two before the wedding, many of the details were incorrect again, which was quite confusing and stressful. When we called to ask why, the manager mentioned that we had emailed him too much, making it difficult for him to keep track, basically blaming us for his disorganization. The numerous emails were necessary because he kept suggesting changes, and we had to correct them. I had to write everything out again for him to ensure accuracy.

On the day of the wedding, the venue setup was slightly incorrect, but our decorator friends were able to fix it. The manager also left early, despite informing us that he would be there until the end of the wedding to ensure it was all handled. Other staff members mentioned that he left early and did not provide instructions regarding the cake or our decor for the end of the night. We had to instruct the staff on what to do and explain the plan to them, which they handled exceptionally well but that should have been on their manager instead of us. This manager also left without saying goodbye to us.

We called the owner to leave feedback, but due to a language barrier, we only spoke to the assistant. We are unsure what was done with the feedback, and we received a brief email reply confirming our phone call, with our names misspelled. As far as we are aware, nothing was done regarding our feedback.

This venue was the most stressful part of the wedding. Although we booked the venue nearly two years in advance and solidified details early, it felt like everything was handled so poorly.

I would like to note that every other staff member, especially the bartenders and serving staff, were fantastic. They were the best, and we are very grateful.

Although the venue is beautiful and well-priced, I cannot...

Our Mothers Day company was amazing. The food was mediocre. We went and had their Mothers Day breakfast buffet. The Eggs Benny were cold and the eggs rock hard, the bacon was cold and raw, the breakfast sausage were cold and tough, the waffles were rock hard and the whip cream had sat so long that it was reducing to milk.

I sent this email on May 14 to every email I could find at Arbutus Ridge. Still no response. Clearly they don’t care.

Wow, not sure I expected that.

When you say you are going to Arbutus Ridge Golf Course, you think of the beautiful grounds and golf course. With that, you expect the restaurant to be of the same calibre. That was not the case.

That had to be the worst meal I’ve eaten in a while. From everything being cold and either under or over cooked to Costco deserts, it was unexpected for sure.

Here is a list for you. The plates were cold. The Eggs Benedict sauce was bland and the eggs rock hard. The bacon was very under cooked and cold. The sausage was tough and cold The hash-browns were over cooked. How do you screw up hash-browns? The waffles were cold and tough and the whip cream had been sitting so long that it was returning to milk. The deserts were the best part and you bought them from Costco.

If I wasn’t with my Mom, I would have been asking for you so I could do this in person. You are clearly over charging for a meal I would have never stayed for or paid for on any other day.

Well played Brad, well played.

I have included a bunch of email address today because well, a business is only as good as its most poorly run part. Based on what we experience today, that is your restaurant. At your next staff meeting, if Brad is sitting there with you, you should be asking why was this anyone experience? I wasn’t alone, so many people around me were complaining. If you don’t ask, your...

This place has been severely lacking lately, with regular total changes of staff and an obvious state of total disarray with the kitchen. But I've been eating there for at least a decade and have had some great meals there, so I decided to give it one last chance. But never again. Vodka Cesear had watered down clamato. I ordered "poutine" that was advertised as cheese curds, fries and gravy, of course. But alas, it was bad, cheap mozzerella instead. The whole point of poutine is cheese curds! The burger I then had was pretty sad - it was an obvious poor quality frozen burger, with lame, thin tomato slice, no onion, shredded low quality lettuce with brown on it, almost no sauce and cheese. The only good thing on the burger was a pickle spear. I also had a cup of seafood chowder which was also very disappointing. The "seafood" consisted of canned, tiny, barely identifiable clams and some tiny bits of white fish that where hard to even find; and a whole bunch of canned corn and carrots. There were several woody sprigs of some herb that had to be removed while eating. The actual broth was ok, but no scallops, no shrimp, no real clams or mussels, no real chunks of fish. My friend had a cesear salad with the same lame lettuce, cheap store bought croutons, mediocre dressing and kraft parmasan! She also had a lasagna that was a mess of saucy soupy mix with a few noodles and some baked cheese on top. I heard from the server that they are even cheaping out on their once-popular schnitzel, which was my go to - store bought frozen schnitzel now! This place has absolutely plummeted in recent times. Do not waste your time or money unless you just want to have a drink with a truly awesome view. It is a shame, because places around here depend on loyal local patronage, but they just lost...