District Bar Restaurant Garrison — Restaurant in Chilliwack

The WORST new restaurant experience I & my family has ever had. Mediocre to horrible food and poor value. I'm listing prices for both menu item cost (and with 12% GST and 15% gratuity (+27% total) included in brackets) so you can see the final cost & judge the value for yourself. Not what I expected from the Owner of both Earls & Frankie's in Chilliwack which are both pretty good restaurants. I don't write this review lightly, I support good quality local family owned restaurants over drive thrus and franchises. However my Father's Day dinner was a disaster from the start. We chose District, as the previous owner of Garrison Bistro was actually pretty good. The new (current) owner bought it a while ago, & the menu started going downhill, with weird "new" recipes that weren't very palatable and high prices so we stopped going, even though my Mother lives very close locally, and there's no steak place south of Sardis. I hoped the new District was going to be a change for the better but it's awful. Patio was full & restaurant was empty, so we asked the maitre d' for a patio table & were seated in the restaurant. I thought the menu was a drink list it was so small, it's basically a bar menu but priced like a high end restaurant. Only steak available was a chuck "flatiron" burger so I ordered it. A half hour later I asked again for a patio table and she said she forgot and it would be another 30 min wait. Drinks came about 25 min from arrival and my Old Fashioned was basically a shot of Fireball cinnamon whisky. Steamed Bao appy $16 ($20) came and I thought they delivered to the wrong table: two 3" diameter tiny steamed pancakes with a teaspoon of bbq pork in each & some pickled cabbage. We laughed as I ate it in 5 seconds, not worth $20, maybe $5. Our meal came after an hour wait and my son's weird ground chicken burger $21 ($27) patty was dipped in panko crumbs and burnt to charcoal, absolutely disgusting. I sent it back and they offered a burger which was just a bun with a patty, mayo, ketchup & a smear of carmelized onions with a tiny cup of french fries $20 ($26). Note: they want another $2 for a piece of cheese. My "Butlers Steak Sandwich" $29 ($38) was a half hot dog bun with a sliced piece of chuck steak (I asked for rare, it came well done) with just a smear of carmelized onions & some pickled onion, a few capers, and covered in an inch thick layer of arugula. I took it apart & asked where the blue cheese was, and was brought a side of blue cheese dressing, not real blue cheese. The cup sized caesar salad had dried niblets of smoked salmon hiding in the bottom. My Mom's "Fun Guy" veggie burger $21 ($27) was mediocre too, and wife's Salmon salad $26 ($34) was nothing special.

Without the "free" burger for my son and with only a 3 drinks purchased this would have been a $220 meal for 4. What a joke.

For better pub food go to the Jolly Miller. For a Diamond Standard bar & grill experience go to Lou's Grill in Abbotsford, where the Owner, Manager, Head Chef, Bartender and Maitre d' all need to get in a car, go have lunch/dinner at Lou's, copy their menu, observe what quality and timely service, bartending, cooking AND VALUE is all about. Improve their food quality & portion sizes to justify the ridiculous prices they charge for their food.

And the Head Chef should be sent to Hell's Kitchen so he checks the quality of the food BEFORE it is sent out. He'd be the first one sent home! Get rid of the panko crumbs and arugula on everything please, rip the current menu in half, return to NORMAL recipes, and get the fundamentals of cooking right before venturing out into the gastro pub weirdness... I've worked at several steakhouses and never seen such poor quality food. YUCK.

NEVER GOING BACK.

JUST DON'T GO, YOU'VE...

I apologize for the long review, but i have so much to say about Garrison District Bar in Chilliwack, all good things, but I know it's long winded 🌬

First of all - run, dont walk.

After driving around chilliwack for what felt like forever trying to find a place we could agree on and that was open, still serving food at 10pm was a challenge - but neither of us ever having been to the District bar, we opted to try something new. I also apologize in advance for my photos for two reasons-

1. I'm blind as a bat and it was quite dark in there
2. I'm neuro spicy and when I was served my "nibbles" in a Mason jar flight style with 3 different dips, segregated into even smaller little bowls - my brain was over loaded with happy, excited tingles and I couldn't waste time with taking photos when I had such a master piece sitting infront of me 😅 (hence the blurry, quickly taken pictures)

Hands down - the star of the show for me was the "bacon nuggets". It's actually pork belly, presumably deep fried in panko and then tossed in hot honey. I can't quite put my finger on the sauced paired with the bacon nuggets, but it was almost a cilantro type aoli. In my nibbles trio I also opted for the "millionaire fries" which are pave style potatoes (very thinly sliced and layered potatoes, cut into fry shape chunks) fried in duck fat. Paired with garlic aoili! Lastly, for my third choice I opted for the chicharrons, which are pork rinds tossed in a Cajun seasoning and paired with a spicy (mildly spicy) dip. Everything I chose in my trio is available for individual purchase and all under $10 per choice, however i opted for the "choose any three nibbles for $19 plus tax." My boyfriend chose the Salmon + rice bowl which was $23 before tax. He had no gripes about the bowl whatsoever. I dont have any opinions because I do not like mixed greens, cucumbers or salmon, which were all in the bowl. It smelled delicious and looked beautiful. He did say that the level of spicy, was also mild. Keep in mind, we are both fans of spicy foods.

I also got a spicy virgin ceaser, which was by far the best ceaser I've had in chilliwack and was served with 2 olives and a chunk of pepperoni. Unsure of the price on the ceaser as I did not look, nor did I pay the bill.

I will without a doubt be back for the same trio of nibbles and to try some other options such as the roasted duck poutine, whipped brie dip, steamed bao bun, braised beef polenta, and the waffle fry nachos. (Blue cheese bechemel, mozzarella, roasted red peppers, scalion, and picked shashito peppers.) Which are all items NOT on the nibbles menu.

Again, I did not pay the bill, so I am unsure of the overall total however I know that it was under $80 after taxes, before tip. I believe it was right around $70 after tip.

Overall, my only gripe was how dark it was, but it added to the romantic ambience so really not a gripe. The booths were clean and comfortable and the staff was lovely. Definetly will go out of my way to reccomend this place as well as take friends, family and visitors. Any excuse to go back really.

If you read all of the review,...

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Let me tell you, I have been fed, nourished, and gastronomically enlightened in ways I didn't think were culinarily—or spiritually—possible. From the moment Hayley's magical, ethereal hands delivered my plate, I knew I wasn't just in the presence of a server... I was in the presence of a food whisperer, a hunger vanquisher, a dining experience orchestrator... nay, a restaurant sorceress.

Hayley doesn't just take orders. No. She channels ancient hospitality gods, summons the power of 1,000 perfectly timed refills, and somehow knows exactly what you need before your brain even sends the signal to your mouth. I walked in feeling like a ravenous gremlin with decision paralysis and walked out floating like a satisfied food critic riding a gravy boat into the sunset.

Did Hayley recommend the perfect dish I didn't even know I was craving? Yes.

Did Hayley politely rescue me from my indecisiveness with the precision of a menu ninja life coach? Absolutely.

Did I momentarily transcend this plane of existence during her perfectly choreographed butter-refill dance? ...I won't confirm or deny, but I now understand the meaning of life and also why people write food poetry.

So if you're looking for service that makes your taste buds throw a parade and your dining experience get a standing ovation from the universe, HAYLEY IS YOUR PERSON.

11/10 would pitch a tent in this restaurant and make Hayley my personal dining sherpa if health codes allowed.

ps. Also Love the...