Fortitude Wine Bar — Restaurant in Chilliwack

Well, I try my best to be objective with all my reviews. The place was nice, the food was okay . The service was okay until it wasn’t. My wife and I went there for the first time, we were looking for something new and the place looked nice, the service was good at the beginning. We ordered a plate to share and my wife ordered an entree, I thought I was going to be good just with the shareable plate but half way I decided to order an entree for me, I told the waitress ONLY if what I requested was going to be ready at the same time than my wife’s dinner I would order it, to what she responded that it should be okay, and i thought it was very doable because it was just a pulled pork sandwich, so they brought my wife’s plate, 10 minutes went by and my wife was trying to wait for me eating slow, I called the waitress and asked her again that if they hadn’t started preparing my plate I would like to cancel it, to what she responded that it should be almost done, I told my wife not to wait anymore, ten more minutes later she brought my plate, I couldn’t tell her that i didn’t want it anymore because she left really fast , my wife was already done eating and I didn’t want to eat it anymore, a few minutes later she came and asked gow we were doing so I told her that I didn’t want it, she said “but you ordered it!” And I said yes but only if I could get it at the same time than my wife’s, she didn’t look to happy but she took it back. We weren’t upset, we left 20% tip. In my way out, I se her behind the bar at the entrance so I approached her, there was a guy next to her, with a smile I told her that my wife and I have been in the restaurant business for some time, (my wife is a sous chef that has worked in very high class restaurants) and if she allowed me a little advice, when I ordered my dinner even though it was late she could’ve very easily told the cook that it was a rush ordered and it would’ve taken 5 minutes to prepare, right there the other guy interrupted me and told me that he was the manager and he heard everything, that they canceled my order (with a tone like if it was a big deal) and that i didn’t have to say anything else, basically telling me to leave, I still tried to explain to him that it wouldn’t have affected anything if he would’ve put my order as a rush but he told me that it wasn’t fair for the other customers that had orders before mine and told me again that it was it, then my wife told him that he was being rude and we left. They were nice at the beginning, I won’t deny it, but they really have no idea how to make customers happy when there is a special circumstance, what I tried to tell them it was good advice, they would’ve made me happy and for 5 minutes that another order would’ve have to wait it wouldn’t bother the other customer. But the way this guy came out was very rude, unless he is the owner I guess he can do whatever he wants but if not, the owner should send him to take a course. That place looked like a high class place, at least that is how they pretend to present themselves, if they focus in wines and cheese’s you’ll think that at the very least they can handle a simple situation like having to rush n order, it won’t mess up anything, the really nice restaurants do it all the time. So bottom line, if you go there you might have a good time IF you don’t ask for anything special. Once again, the waitress was nice but since the beginning she should’ve told me that my plate wasn’t going to be ready at the same time than my wife’s and then clearly get upset when i rejected it. But that guy, “the manager”, he has no idea how a real restaurant should be managed, he might be good working for a fast food restaurant but not for a place like that. I leave this here so you can make your own opinion, you might have a different experience and that’s okay. Oh, if they deny that it happened that way, I can show...

Extremely disappointed. Came to celebrate a birthday, and right as our food was served, the power went out. I understand this wasn’t the restaurant’s fault, but since we had already been served, we couldn’t just leave. Sitting in the dark was definitely an unexpected experience. The waiter offered to move us closer to the windows, but what really bothered me was being told twice that they were planning to close. It made us feel rushed and unwelcome — not the kind of atmosphere you’d hope for during a celebration.

We also ordered wine flights — same selection for me and my friend — but one of my samples looked completely different. It was cloudy, had a much stronger smell, and looked nothing like hers. When we asked the waitress, she said it was “organic wine” and that the wine gets murky if it sits at the bottom of the bottle. She also mentioned my sample came from a bottle opened two days ago, while my friend got a pour from a freshly opened one. As a wine lover who’s traveled and tasted wines around the world, I’ve never seen white wine look like that.

Then came the rosé — the third sample — and I could actually see residue or dried bits floating at the bottom. At that point, I didn’t even bother to ask the waitress again what was in my glass.

On the positive side, I would give 5 stars to the kitchen. The food was beautifully presented and absolutely delicious. The chefs did a fantastic job — it’s just unfortunate the overall experience didn’t match the quality coming out of...

Personally, I would skip this place. At first, the service was okay and appetizers were good. However, I ordered their recommended rose sangria around 5:28pm by 6:21pm I'm barely halfway through the drink it tastes super watered down so I ask the waitress if that's normal.. to which she proceeds to say yes, because I waited for the ice to melt and they had also added soda water to the rose sangria in addition to a ton of ice... No wonder it tasted bad. I shouldn't have to drink through a glass in an hour. Any restaurant that cares about their service would have fixed it, they didn't bother to. You can get better sangria at a liquor store for $6, this was $14.

The mains were terrible; small portions, expensive and no flavour. Potatoes and asparagus were dry and bland, same with the flatbread.

At the end, they switch waitress oddly enough.. even though the other waitress was there... Very weird to say the least. Considering we didn't say any rude just said okay to her and moved on.

After we paid for the bill the waitress loudly says, wow they didn't even tip us. Yes, because tips is optional based off the service and customer satisfaction. Not because you're entitled to it. If you had fixed it, you would have gotten tipped. We spent over $100 before taxes.. Crazy to expect a tip for bad service and very messed up to say your unpleasant feelings in front of your customers. Grow up and learn to manage your emotions, especially if you work for a so-called...