Zum's Eatery & Mercantile — Restaurant in Alberta

A meal worth $20 can be considered acceptable. However, if the chicken is oozing with blood. Whether it's veins that are supposedly unavoidable, it's a concern that could be addressed with proper cooking at the right temperature.

According to the male manager in charge, it's unavoidable. But the server, named Chau, responded dismissively by saying, "The veins just pop!” This is highly inappropriate to say to a customer, especially to someone who is pregnant and sharing the meal with a three-year-old child. The attitude and service were terrible.

If I were to report this incident to Alberta Health Services, wouldn't it be related to salmonella? And the server couldn't even say "SORRY." We didn't hear any apologies at all. It's understandable if they're busy, but their behavior was unacceptable. As customers, we were the ones asked if we wanted a replacement. There should have been an initiative to offer a replacement for better service, rather than making the customer decide.

It was insulting, rude, and racist behavior, all while we continued eating due to the server's slow reaction. The server grabbed my chicken off from the plate with her long-nailed hand, using a tissue/napkin, which was neither appropriate nor acceptable.

Before we pay, the server came up and asked if there were any other issues to address with, which made the experience even worse due to her argumentative attitude. We raised the issue with the manager, but the manager should have taken over until the end to avoid a negative customer experience and turn it into a positive one. It seems like there's a lack of training or orientation for handling such situations. For our three meal orders of their self-claimed/so-called THE WORLD’S FAMOUS CHICKEN, we only got a discount of one meal.

We told her, that we aren’t to make any demands, we just want them to do what they think could be done to satisfy their customer. We're here to eat and pay for the service and the value of the food. We raised the concern to correct any mistakes for the future as a concerned customer. However, while I was speaking, the server cut me off and sarcastically asked what else I wanted to happen. Is it hard to understand my initial...

Their fried chicken that they are supposedly famous for (per the sign in front) USED to be good. I’m not sure if management has changed since we were there last or what, but it’s not that great anymore. The coleslaw my husband got was fine but mine and the kids’ didn’t have a lick of dressing in it, it was completely dry and gross. The ginger ale I ordered tasted like tonic water with a little ginger ale mixed in. I used to work at 7-eleven and know that taste, it most likely means their syrup is out out or they recently changed it and didn’t run it long enough to get full syrup flow again (or - less likely - their syrup to carbonated water ratio may have needed recalibrating by a professional), but rather than try to fix that problem they offered me a different soda. So I chose 7-up, which tasted even worse, 100% like tonic water. When I brought the drink to the counter to let them know they suggested I take regular water than try to fix the problem. At this point I had so little confidence in their ability to operate their equipment I simply accepted the water. At least that tasted like it should! The price of the food is ridiculous of course, but taking advantage of customers like that in a national park is expected I suppose. We certainly wouldn’t have paid what we did if there had been a less price-gouging option available. Also, I realize the waitress was busy but when my husband asked for another coffee when we received our food (despite it not tasting very good), she could have brought it before we finished our food rather than remembering as an afterthought and offering to bring it after we received and paid our bill. We were ready to go by then so he simply declined the coffee he had asked for 20 min earlier. The place was quite busy for mid afternoon and it was a real struggle to get in and out the one narrow entrance...

I recently dined at Zum’s Eatery & Mercantile in Waterton, Alberta, and it was an absolute disaster from start to finish. Despite their claim of serving the “world’s best fried chicken,” my experience was anything but just world's worst restaurant”.

We ordered three servings of fried chicken, and to our dismay, the chicken was undercooked, chewy, and overly salted. When we brought this to the attention of our server, he admitted that the batch of chicken batter was overly salted but did nothing to rectify the situation. No fresh batch was offered, and we were left to endure the poor quality of the meal.

To make matters worse, we found feathers in one of our chicken pieces. When we pointed this out to the server, instead of being apologetic, he went defensive and assured us that eating feathers is safe and poses no health risk. As a gesture, he offered us a mere 20% off our bill, which was hardly satisfactory given the circumstances.

The ordeal didn’t end there. When we asked to speak to the manager while paying the bill, we were met with an unfriendly attitude. The manager, aware of our feedback, showed no sign of apology or concern. Instead, she dismissively told us we didn’t have to pay for our food as if we were looking for a free meal.

The entire experience was marred by poor service, unprofessionalism, and subpar food. I would not recommend Zum’s Eatery & Mercantile to anyone looking for a decent meal or a pleasant dining experience. Save yourself the disappointment and choose a different restaurant in Waterton. It’s overpriced and overhyped has...