Browns Socialhouse Schoolhouse — Restaurant in Coquitlam

The service started off alright. We got our orders taken in a fair amount of time. The appetizer was dropped off, but the server hadn’t given us plates, so the server’s assistant/food runner had to offer us some (she was awesome for noticing and caring, she was the blond girl that day). We didn’t think anything badly about the service at that point, but now after the whole experience, it did show lack of care on the server’s part.

After our main courses arrived, he did not return in about an hour. Not even a quality check for the mains. We had planned to order more food and some cocktails, and at first we gave him the benefit of the doubt that maybe he was busy or dealing with something else. However, we watched him go to all his other tables, while seemingly going out of his way to avoid ours, multiple times. He never once made eye contact with us, even from afar, or walk by. We also intended on ordering some dessert, but after not even being able to order more food or drinks, we decided it wasn’t worth the effort or time anymore. We just finished our meals and then after waiting for the server a bit longer, we just got up and asked the manager/host (man in a white dress shirt) for our bill, only then was the server sent our way.

The server made small talk but seemed disinterested. He asked if we had plans for the rest of the day, and my girlfriend said “None at all.” The server responded with “That’s great.” Clearly not actually paying attention to the answer, and just running on autopilot. There was no warmth in his voice. Why make small talk if you can’t even care to listen to the answer to your own question? The silence would have been better.

My girlfriend works in the industry so we still tipped a decent 18% (still less than normal, but average) even though we were unhappy with the service. In all honesty though, I don’t think it was earned that night. We do wonder if the fact we were Asian and received almost no service, while the rest were white and were visited multiple times meant anything. We know the stereotypes that Asians don’t tip, and we’ve been treated differently before because of this. We don’t want to assume and jump to conclusions that this was the case here. It was just an observation, and really made us feel unwelcome there.

At least the food was good. Wish we could have ordered the fries, sangria, coffee buzz martini, and key lime pie like we planned to. We won’t say we’ll never return as we know this isn’t a reflection on all staff or the average experience there. The server’s assistant and the manager (we’re assuming their positions here, not truly certain) were good examples of hospitality. So I hope in the future this is improved and everyone gets the same service observed...

Beyond unimpressed. We went to Brown's for my hubby's birthday dinner specifically because we called ahead and asked to see if the leafs game was on their TV's to which they replied, no, but we can put whatever you want on! GREAT!! Except when we got there and asked our too cool for school server about putting the game on, he was too engulfed in our drink orders into his phone/tablet (1 bud, 2 ice tea & 1 water) to even acknowledge me. When he finally realized I was in fact speaking to him, he hastily said he'd ask his manager. We never heard another word from him about it. I had the ramen bowl, and it was OK, but definitely not as good as I have had it before. My son seemed to enjoy his Hollywood burger. Although my daughter liked her fettuccini, the portion was super small - clearly not a kids restaurant, but again, we chose this place because they had indicated they could put the game on and we didn't want to fuss around with other places. Hubby ordered a burger and as he took a few bites he realized it was raw inside. He opened it up and you could clearly see it was VERY pink. He opened it up and displayed it across his plate -- when the waiter came by again, he asked if my hubs would like it packed up, to which he replied, No, it's a little too pink for my liking. Normally in that situation a replacement is offered, or at very least ask if there is anything that can be done to remedy the situation. The waiter just said okay, and took the plate away. Again, it was hubby's birthday and frankly, he was already so disappointed, he didn't want to argue about it so we asked for the bill (nearly $100 for 1 ramen bowl, 2 burgers, a kids plate, 2 bud & 2 ice tea) and got out of there. Will definitely not be returning after that experience. Such a bummer since my daughter actually commented when we were driving home that it was such a pretty place and she wanted to go back. Happy she enjoyed the teeny tiny meal she...

This place was a great surprise as I have not been to a Browns in years and I had previously been very disappointed with their prices and menu. However, after stopping at Cactus Club and seeing their selections and prices ($42 for a bottle of house wine!!!! that was not really very good at all), my bestie and I grabbed our coats and drove 4 min farther to Browns Social House. We were looking for a hostess to see if we were to seat ourselves when this pleasant young man with a huge friendly smile came up and asked if we needed help. (I assumed he was a server.) He said we could sit where we wanted and we chose a nice corner table and sat down. We laughed and told the waitress about our day. (Another whole story). Needless to say, the wine was very good and reasonably priced, the food was tasty and served quickly and the young man who had seated us came over and was actually the manager! Our server had told him of our ridiculous day and he actually came and talked to us and thoroughly added positivity to our evening of a very long and crazy day. Carter is excellent at his job and our server said they all think he's just the best. So I stand corrected on my previous thoughts of Browns. Carter and his staff changed my mind completely and instead of going to Cactus Club I will most definitely stop here instead. And currently, their Happy hour menu has changed and is now half price wine from 3-5 every day! We will try that next...