Harbour Grill — Restaurant in Campbell River

As a party of 4 we enjoyed dinner last night at the Harbour Grill in Campbell River. It was our second time there. We commented that the menu is excellent and there is many options that will make the discerning palate pleased. The food was excellent, well prepared and plated pleasing to the eye. Cost may be an issue for some as our dinner for 4 with 4 cocktails, 4 appetizers, 4 main course, and a bottle of wine, with 18% tip cost us $466.00! I have never paid that much for a meal. It’s the new post-Covid apocalypse I guess. I am regretting giving the 18% tip as I now feel it’s the service over a bottle of wine that really displeases me after the fact and it is for this reason I am rating the Harbour Grill a 2. We had selected the Tempranillo Elias Mora Toro Spain bottle ($45.00 (actual BC liquor store ~$25.00)), the server attempted to open it but the cork broke, she said it was very brittle and that the bottle was stored upright, for how long, no one knows. She took it back for someone else to attempt to salvage it. It was their last bottle in stock. Another server brought it back out to our table, not in the original bottle, but in a decanter. He said the cork had disintegrated and he had to pour the wine through a decanter/filter to remove the cork. Why do this? If the cork pieces fall into the wine, you don’t serve it to customers paying $400 for their meals! Well they did, I tasted it, the wine was off, plus there were bits of small cork in the wine. I politely asked our server to take the wine back and she did. We ended up having Campofiorin Masi at $49.00. No further incident with the meal. I was not pleased with their attempt to “save” their profit margin with passing off a damaged bottle of wine to us, nor did they offer any apology or comp the other bottle of wine, in fact, the wine steward/server actually implied to us that the Tempranillo was just starting to turn. Not even accepting his error in the hundreds of cork particles in the wine. If we return, I will be more proactive on the customer is right policy and not be duped over this kind of practice! I guess it’s buyer beware! Too...

We had reservations for 5:45pm for my husband and I and our 3 year old. We ordered our drinks, appetizer, and mains all at once. We were served our drinks and waited 30-40 mins for the appetizer.

My toddler was getting restless as the food was taking so long and she was hungry. We were in and out of the public washroom as she is potty training and had to use the potty multiple times during COVID as the wait for the food was getting longer and longer. Tables who arrived after us were served their food before us, large and small tables.

Finally at the 1hour and 20 minute mark we decided to make a complaint about the wait and noticed people getting served before us, where was our food? At 1hr and 40 mins we finally paid the bill for our drinks and appetizer which was $87.00, no compensation was mentioned for having to leave the restaurant without eating! It was 7:45pm by the time we left....I asked to speak to the manager and was ignored as no one knew who was in charge. Finally when he did arrive his exact words were "your dam right you pay for your drinks!" He had no care or empathy for the amount of time we spent waiting, no empathy for having a 3 year old who had to use the public potty during Covid and not eat her food, and he was extremely rude and unkind. This was a horrible experience and it is clear that they will tag you with a bill for your drinks but have no concern about the wait for your food. Also the larger tables were being served first because that would mean a bigger tip for them. Extremely unprofessional and a horrible experience. After reading previous reviews it is clear that this is a common occurrence for this place. Save your time...

BUYER BEWARE!! GO ELSEWHERE!!

I could go on and on about this place, but that would take me all day. Here are the main points:

FOOD Horrendously under-seasoned and bland. It seems as though the chefs are more concerned about plating than actually making the food taste good. The size of the portion is laughable; $30 for a salad that has minimal greens, 5 cubes of feta (I counted - about the size of your nail), 9 blueberries (which were going bad), and salted cashews from Costco. SERVICE Possibly the worst I've had in a while. Waitress was combative and outright annoyed when we asked for more bread after 45 minutes of waiting. In the 2 hours we were there, she came to the table 4 times. We came at 8:15. We got our food at 9:30. We left at 10:15. When we asked her why it took so long she said she hadn't anticipated the kitchen to take so long. Okay, I understand - but after 30 minutes of waiting, it would've been nice to be checked in on and told what was going on. Upon hearing our complaints, she told us we should've told "Scott" about our experience. Who is Scott?? ATMOSPHERE Mediocre food masquerading as fine-dining. This place is in a strip mall where unhoused people camp.

I am ashamed to have hyped this place up to friends and family. Three years ago, during a pandemic, the food and service was deserving of high praise. Now, it is laughable. I am embarrassed to have brought my family here.

Take your time and money elsewhere unless you like subpar food, sketchy service, and a bill that will make your eyes fall out your...