Chelsea Pub — Restaurant in Chelsea

Where to start... well, let's get the good points up front.

Nice atmosphere. Clean place, friendly staff, not overly loud like other pubs. Service was fast and efficient.

Now, those things are very important for a great dining experience, but I still gave this place 1 star because the food was that disappointing.

I had the beef tacos. These are very basic, a skimpy spinkle of pulled brisket. If it was smoked, they forgot the smoke... you see them in the photo, thin pathetic greassy folder tortilla. They could have done something special. Adds some house coleslaw, a dressing or BBQ sauce, anything to elevate this to something remotely close to the near $30 price tag. Yeah, $30 for that! The fries were not seasoned, and had they been any shorter, it would have been a plate of hash browns. Ketchup could not save those tiny flavorless spuds.

Oh, it gets better. My daughter ordered spaghetti. Pasta is her life. She eats the stuff daily. But this pasta... she pushed it aside and asked for McDouble on the way home. Another $24 flushed. The spaghetti was absolutely drowned in olive oil. Of course, olive oil is a tasty treat in and of itself, but not this time. They dumped so much garlic in this pasta that it was like eating Lebanese garlic sauce by the spoon full. There was no other distinguishable flavor. The Prosciutto was wasted. You couldn't even taste it.

I must admit, my wife had the pulled Pork sandwich and she very much enjoyed it.

So, if you go and are lucky enough yo order a good menu item, you will probably have a great dining experience. But for me, 2 of 3 dishes failed. I won't go back.

Oh, FYI, They are a brew pub with their own beer on tap. The first one I ordered was out. The second one I ordered was out. The third was in... it was nothing special, just...

The business has changed a lot over the years. It used to feature good food and service. They have developed a new space above the pub that I was looking to book for a party. After some emails back and forth, having met with them to see the venue, and even having been sent a contract to rent the space for a night, they pulled the rug out from under us and decided that our booking needed pay $4000 more for the services we'd already agreed upon, in addition to them forcing us to take on their wedding consultant, book other spaces besides, and more services besides the ones we were actually interested in. This was after we'd already met in person and agreed upon what services we wanted and them having sent us a contract stipulating the prices and services to the letter.

This was all prompted by their organizers having seen us at a wedding show and us saying a friendly hello. We'd already told them we were booking the venue on the night of our wedding, but not for a reception, just a dance party. They had agreed in writing and in person that this was fine and they'd allow us to book as a regular event, without the additional wedding charges (which are exorbitant).

We only wanted the Chelsea as a venue, because the new space is nice looking. Their mediocre and overpriced food and slow service were not big deals, as we were having our meal elsewhere first.

Long story short, the Chelsea pub has a reputation in my mind for terrible customer service and is only looking to screw it's customers. Their word means nothing, and so if you are looking to host an event this is absolutely not a venue I'd entertain. The Manchester Bistro (just down the street) has infinitely better food and service for a times you are looking for meals...

I thought I would email the pub first to raise my concerns rather than make a public review but after 4 days and no reply and now reading other reviews it’s best to let others know that this establishment has gone way down hill and would appear not to care to even reply to customer concerns. Here is my email to them. Save your money and go elsewhere.

Hello,

Today my fiancé and I stopped in for appetizers and some wine as we have done frequently for many years. We enjoy the atmosphere, people and food at the Chelsea Pub. This visit was our first visit since patios and indoor dining has resumed in Quebec.

We ordered a half litre of wine 38$ calamari 17$ and vegetarian nachos 20$. In past visits we have always had great service and enjoyed quality food but I can honestly say we were extremely disappointed with the food today. Service was good as usual. The Calamari basically looked like deep fried onion rings purchased at Costco and the vegetarian Nachos consisted of spring onions, refried beans and cheese ,which was sparse at best. Many nachos didn’t even have any coverage.

We understand the hospitality industry has suffered as a result of Covid and needs to cut corners to be profitable but as of now we feel very disappointed with our latest visit.

For 100$ including tax and tip, for two appetizers and 1/2 litre of 13$ a bottle SAQ wine , it’s unlikely we will return.

I have no issue paying higher prices for quality food and service but when food quality is this poor we will make alternate arrangements in future.

Just...