Halibut 'N' Malt Fish & Chips — Restaurant in Burlington

We went here for breakfast on Mothers Day and thought we were very lucky because there was no lines. The inside was beautiful and clean. It's too bad the rest of my review is so negative because with better service this location could be great!

We arrive at nearly 10:20am and sat down at a table beside the door. We weren't acknowledged for at least 15 minutes when they finally came and took our order at 10:37am. We ordered one tea, 4 coffees and a water.

About 25 minutes later we flagged down a waitress to ask for a refill of the tea (which only filled half the mug due to the tiny teapots). When they came with the refill they also refilled the coffees - without asking first - and when they came to the fourth cup they finished the coffee which didn't even refill up half of the mug and never came back to give an actual refill.

I watched a table get more and more angry before leaving so at least one other table was having this problem.

I watched as two separate tables each got one of their ordered dishes and the people they came with had to watch them eat for more than 5 minutes before the second plate came out.

I watched a server behind the counter blow his nose, throw out the tissue and then rub his nose with his bare finger.

I watched as four staff members stood behind the counter pointing at the computer, us and other customers while whispering frantically.

At 50 minutes or so we asked how long we could expect the food to take and were dismissed with "one more minute". When we asked again we were dismissed "one more minute".

Then we found out our food hadn't yet been started. A person my father-in-law was talking to walked away from him while he was speaking - it was very clear they didn't respect us as customers.

It was a full hour before we decided to leave and make breakfast ourselves at home. This was SO disappointing because it is a beautiful space but this will never make up for terrible service.

I have NEVER seen such disregard for customers when the wait is longer. One waitress apologized - the only waitress (blond with ponytail) who seemed to know what customer service is - but this could not make up for the disrespect showed by the other staff members.

I will never go back. Mothers day is the only holiday that breakfast/brunch is going to be extremely busy. I guess there was a reason we didn't wait in line.

It's too bad I never got to try the food because those reviews seem...

Rating is primarily scored on the one order I made: Halibut + Chips, swapping chips out for House salad for $1 extra.

Like many other reviews here, the batter is light and crispy unlike most F&C that have thick, chewy batter. My serving didn't completely cover the fish (not a complaint), but it looks like they do an egg wash on the fish prior to frying, not sure.

In term of fish options, they seem to only serve halibut, haddock, cod and pollock. They do offer the option of putting your fish on a bun if you prefer eating it that way as well. If you like having different fish options, look somewhere else.

Condiments for the fish are tartar sauce, slice of lemon and malt vinegar, all of which are available with your order without having to ask for it.

House salad was freshly sliced lettuce, tomatoes and (raw) red onions. There were 6 different dressing options available.

Coffee/Tea is what is offered upon sitting down, but that was a $2.49 cost without my knowledge. Keep that in mind on your next visit. Tea was just a teabag in a tiny metal teapot. You get your cup and a handful of dairy milkers.

The interior design is great. most F&C places are not kept refreshed, partly to maintain character of an older era, or because they don't want to invest in more lavish furniture. This place looked more upscale and I wasn't expecting this.

Service was great. My server was straight to the point, polite, and helpful with directing my attention on the menu. Not overly-chatty, but not just dropping down the plate and moving on.

So for $21, I was served a square piece of fish about 6x6" in size, and a handful of house salad. That's your benchmark on price vs its competitors. Add in the tea, tax and tip, paid about $30 for lunch. Tad pricey for fried fish and some basic raw vegetables, but at least I didn't leave the restaurant...

My family has gone here for years. The fish and chips are delicious. The portions are on the smaller side which may be preferable to some and not to others. Most of the wait staff are very nice but unfortunately one of the owners has repeatedly given us a poor experience. She is very rude and authoritarian in her interactions. Given this is a family restaurant I have brought both of my children here in the past. She has told me I had to put my child in a highchair while I was holding them in my arms at the table. She told my three year not to be so loud while they were sitting at the table simply laughing at something, it's not like they was running around screaming. She has also told my three year old they needed to finish their food. In my opinion these are all completely inappropriate and unnecessary. Around Christmas time my three year old simply looked at the Christmas tree and pointed at an ornament showing interest and the owner immediately said in a mean voice "don't touch the tree." The breakfast used to be 2 for 9.99 and now is 2 for 15.99. While I understand inflation and understand the need for increasing food prices the amount has gone up while the food portion has decreased. It's no longer a good breakfast deal as we leave hungry lol. You can go across the street to Stacked, pay just a few dollars more but get 3x the amount of food. We also used to be able to pay separately on individual cards however apparently that is no longer allowed as they don't want to pay the individual card fees. While the fish is good, customer service is important to us so we will no longer be visiting here and will choose to take our...