The Flapper Lounge — Restaurant in British Columbia

I took three friends here tonight, and 245.00 (with tip) is a lot of money to me. For a great experience, I'm happy to save up and splurge.

Our party should be the target demographic for the Flapper Lounge. We root for fun ideas and local businesses, and are immersive experience enthusiasts.

Decor-wise, the place doesn't live up to the opulent price tag; track lighting mingles with a cheap light curtain backdrop, our server wore a fringed-flapper-dress-from-a-bag, no twenties hairstyle or makeup. Still, I thought she looked cute, but thought it was too bad that the staff hadn't been given more to work with, aesthetically. I had been excited to see something thoughtful and special.

The jazz duo was cute and talented, but the space is too small to support live music and conversation.

The food prices, which are not on the website's menu, are very high.

Our reservation for for 6pm. Ordered first drinks around 6:15. When they arrived after quite a wait, we ordered food: two Caprese salads, one pizza, one nachos, and one pico de gallo and chips. We ordered a second round of cocktails and mocktails, and then waited. We couldn't talk well with the live music, but also couldn't eat and listen because the food took an hour and a half to begin to arrive. By the time the restaurant closed at 8, we still hadn't received all of it.

There are very few tables, and most people had left by the time our food came, so while I understand being busy, a lot of what we ordered didn't even require heating up. We were not given an apology or explanation.

While we waited, there was a kitchen fire (I assume) that filled the space with smoke and triggered my friend's asthma. Opening all the doors was as fine a solution as any, but it would have been nice to have the server say something or apologize or acknowledge it at all.

Around 7:30, the first Caprese salad arrived over an hour after I ordered it.

At 7:45, we received the pizza, which was a little larger than a compact disc (and 18.00), the other Caprese salad, and the nachos. All were too small and basic for what we were charged.

At 7:45, the server (who didn't introduce herself) told us the restaurant was closing in 15 minutes. At this time I asked her not to bother with the pico and chips. She told me it would be out soon and declined to remove it from my order.

At 8:05, when the pico and chips still hadn't appeared, I insisted it be removed from my order. Everyone else was finished eating. I'm confused about what took pico and chips two hours to never materialize, but moreso I'm confused that no one apologized to us for the amount of time everything took. We didn't get out until 8:20.

After all this, the server stood over me watching as I tipped, which feels uncomfortable. I tipped 15% because servers have a rough time in this city, but leaving a tip of over 30 dollars for the service provided left me feeling pretty upset.

The tables are too small for four people to have a meal, as well. The pizza was served on a big piece of wood that fully did not fit all the way on the table, with everyone else's food and drinks there.

The whole thing was frankly Kafkaesque. It would be funny if I didn't make so little money and save up to treat my friends. I'm so sad that this special night turned into a sitcom episode.

EDIT: The owner called me and offered a partial refund and explanation for how sideways things went at the restaurant that night and brought to light some miscommunications. I really appreciate when a business works so hard to make things better, and I'll definitely give the Flapper Lounge...

I saw this on social media awhile ago and decided to go for a friend’s birthday.

I was surprised! It’s a stone’s throw away from New Westminster Station - giving plenty of options to have someone else drive you home after (Skytrain, bus, taxi). I did make reservations a week in advance and that process was quite smooth.

Our server, Stefan was awesome! He welcomed us quickly when we stepped in and checked in on us often. We were 1 of 2 tables occupied on a Thursday evening before a long weekend - service was really great and only slipped a little once the small room filled up with a number of larger groups.

Our table was small so with the combo of drinks and snacks we dropped cutlery a couple of times but Stefan was quick to zip in and provide a replacement right away without asking. He was also creating drinks at the bar constantly while providing really great customer service.

My friend who “likes to drink in dark places” loved this place, the drinks were strong and the snack food is decent.

The Boulevardier Cocktail - the best one I’ve found since discovering it on a cruise ship several years ago and decently priced. This sweeter cousin of the Old Fashioned was strong and I like the additional effort with their prep of the maraschino cherry. Cucumber Collins (non-alcoholic) - a “rest” drink in between drinks, it offered that fizzy light relief I was looking for. It’s nice that a prohibition style bar still had a handful of non-alcoholic beverages. The price was a little on the higher side, but OK. Long Island Teapot - we split it for 4 and it was perfect. It was strong and the teapot/tea cups were a nice touch. We ended up staying so long we got this at their Happy Hour price which made it worth it - regular price I’m not so sure other than the fancier presentation.

Food: overall the prices were decent for what we did try - we did mostly snacks and I’ll be back to try more.

Crab stuffed mushroom caps - solid offering - even a crazier price at happy hour - would highly recommend Nacho basket - they tasted good - size was like a half nacho order. If you like nachos but don’t want to commit to a large basket this is it. Toasted Walnuts - so great - even better than the ones you get on a plane - really enjoyable when fresh & warm - price was on a little bit of a higher side but no stale walnuts here… worth it in my opinion Arancini balls - could’ve been better - not sure what happened but based on what I experienced not sure it was worth the $3.33/ball - more worth it at Happy Hour at close to half price.

I’m really happy with this place and have already started recommending it to my foodie/drinking buddies. It’s pretty unique and it’s close to transit which is a big selling point. Drinks are strong and well-priced, food is decently priced for the area. Small tweaks are needed but overall solid for a fun night out with your friends.

Also the customer service was awesome - thanks Stefan and the Flapper...

The cracker lounge is the most awful bar in all of New Westminster. We (2 people) had tickets to a burlesque show here, got in early and were told that we had to SHARE a table of 4 with 2 other people that we did not know. Small 4 seater table. Awful as this was NOT communicated on the ticket AND it was not a sold out show! There were empty tables available and we were put in a bad situation of having to make small talk with the other two strangers and they felt the same way too. Horrible.

Now to the drinks. It took them a good 45 minutes to bring our cocktails to the table. No joking, and mine was just a whiskey sour!! Awful experience, awful drinks, could not taste any alcohol in it! Lousy service.

The place itself looks like a dungeon, the decor is cheap and random. Looks like they went to dollarama and bought a bunch of stuff to decorate the place. Scary looking mannequin, random low quality decorations and bad air circulation. Even though they advertise air conditioning, it’s weak and we felt warm the entire time there. They’re trying too hard to be a speakeasy but they’re failing big time. Bright lights in the bar/kitchen area takes away from the ambiance. Furniture is dated and looks to be falling apart.

This is by far one of the worst bars I’ve been to in my life, please save your time, save your money, go to the liquor store and buy some liquor and make your own drinks at home. DO NOT waste your hard earned money in this place.

We will never go back to this awful place. The flopper lounge is a big flop!

Shame on them for their lousy service and for making us sit with random strangers when there were free tables available. Ruined our date night and I hope this place shuts down or wins an award for the most awful bar in the city.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

Edit: Yes, we did attempt to dine and dahs because we were ignored for payment (while the server proceeded to provide payment for all of the other tables) and the server began cleaning and bussing duties. We also gave ample opportunity for the server while we chatted with a performer but still failed at providing service. Had you actually tended to us instead of waiting for us, the guests of your establishment, to follow up on a bill, we would have paid promptly. Here’s my feedback: improve your service for your patrons and hire at least another server so another person doesn’t have to go through...