MapleMirch — Restaurant in Castlegar

Went here on a work trip because of the raving Google's reviews and I must say, although we were not thoroughly disappointed or anything, we weren't blown away or anything.

The restaurant was quiet when we went in, there was one table on the patio heading out and one other table seated. Our waitress promptly seated us and came back to take our order in a reasonable time frame.

I got a veggie pattie burger and soup and my work colleague got a meat dish on mashed potatoes with salad.

The food came out in a reasonable time frame, though I would have expected to wait a similar amount of time in a busy restaurant. They did send a couple takeout orders out the door during that time so it is what it is and we had no complaints about that.

The food was good but I wouldn't say exceptional and we were not really super impressed or inspired, though it was decent food and we were happy to eat it, it didn't have the exciting and super special thing everyone is talking about in these reviews so I am not sure if I am missing something here or maybe ...I don't know.

By the time we were done our food, we waited. The waitress made a few drinks, brought them to a table and despite us trying to catch eye contact and her attention, didn't even pan the room and therefore didn't notice us. She went back behind the bar and someone came in to pick up an order. Then more people came in and she seated them. Still trying to catch eye contact, while she seated a couple near us she finally made eye contact and said she would be right with us. At this point, she heads off again, gets something from the kitchen...not even sure what is happening at this point, gets someone who was having drinks their bill, and then finally starts to head to our table. On the way to us, the table beside us flags her down and she stops there to see what they need first. They need their bill of course 😅 she asks us what we need,we say our bill please. She heads off, prints up both bills, gives them theirs, let's them pay and then after what felt like a gruelling experience in trying to give them our money, let us pay.

The the waitresses credit, she was the only one there serving and she did genuinely pick up the pace when she realized she was starting to get behind so I am not bashing the experience by any means. It happens, we paid and said thank you and carried on our way. However there were a few points during the experience where it felt like a little bit of awareness of the floor would have had us paid and out of the restaurant before the flurry of activity that caused her to get backed up.

All in all, it wasn't a bad experience but it wasn't what we had hoped for given the descriptions we read on Google and I wanted to certainly not bash the restaurant per say but also not leave an unreasonable account so maybe someone else goes in there with more realistic expectations...

I went for dinner here for the first time and I was not sure what to expect, with the menu being Indian fusion I expected to walk in smelling garam masala but actually, this was not the case. I kind of got sick of cumin in general but I wanted to try something new and my boyfriend had chosen to take me out here for date night, so I scoured the menu and photos curious of what the flavours would be like. The food is STELLAR. The flavours are lightly influenced and not overpowering with curry spice, the meats were tender and the portions plentiful!

I read about the chefs experience on cruises and this definitely shines through with these dishes. I would absolutely say it's American cuisine with East Asian influence, not the other way around.

To start, I went for the naan flatbreads and as a fan of spice and paneer cheese I chose the jalapeño and paneer flatbread. With a mahkni sauce (what they use for butter chicken) I'd say the flavour was more roasted tomato cream and mild spice, I was salivating the entire night with those flavours dancing on my tongue. Wow. It was wildly creamy and so rich... and the way it was cooked reminded me of those mcains mini pizzas (whatever happened to those?) that was cooked to a crispy crust and the cheeses soften and the added cheese melted on top, the chillies were very subtle so I'd say it's not spicy (🌶️ I love heat but this was more for flavour) if you're used to spicy food this is mild.

My boyfriend went for the beef that I've seen plenty of photos of here, it was like a brisket style - slow cooked, falls into shreds on your fork, served with a unique tangy gravy over a pile of mashed potatoes and a side salad. He would have liked to see veggie on the plate vs a side salad - maybe in the future they could add accoutrements to the menu (like seasonal veggies and sides to add, or a choice of sides) I definitely recommend the dish if you're a fan of meat.

I went for the lamb wrap. The spice used in the shredded lamb was unique to me, and the wrap gave it the air of a lovely spring lunch... light, citrusy, garden spice that made me feel like I was sitting on a patio in the late spring enjoying sunshine and the scent of flowers in the air.

All in all, HUGE fan.

The only thing lacking was a non alcohol cocktail menu. I've seen plenty of great cocktails but when I asked about cocktails, it was "virgin ceaser" and that's it. Too bad, I would have liked to try some of their creativity without the alcohol.

All in all, I would definitely return to this place. The menu is varied and creative and the food was amazing.

I will dream about the butter chicken sauce for the rest of the weekend. My...

a friend recommended this place so we decided to check it out on a long weekend monday. the guy serving us looked like he was still in high school—clearly in training, super young. whatever, we thought we’d give it a shot.

first red flag: we weren’t even served water. cool. we ordered the fried chicken club, makhani paneer meal, date jam chicken burger, and a paneer flatbread. and let me tell you—this was hands down some of the most bland, disappointing food i’ve ever tasted. and yeah, i get that maybe they tone it down for the “local crowd,” but we specifically asked for it spicier and saucier. We were given dry, flavourless food that tasted like it came straight out of a store-bought jar. the makhani paneer? tasted like it was made with canned curry paste. the burgers? dry as hell. not a single dipping sauce with the frieshad to ask for ketchup and the service? not gonna go too hard on that because there was literally just one kid working, but come on. they seriously need to figure out flavours and customisation—bland is one thing, but this had zero taste. absolutely nothing stood out. and the worst part? 99 freaking dollars for this . are you kidding never again.

save your money and go to tamil kitchen instead—you’ll actually get flavour, portion, and value there. this was a...