The Cabin Pub + Party — Restaurant in Edmonton

This is my first time writing a review, therefore I apologize if anyone has a different experience or something else to say I will completely acknowledge that and recommend your own opinion. With that being said, this is mine:

I appreciated the cabin a few years ago for the atmosphere it created, simply giving you the “cabin” experience, and allowing you partake in the environment I perceive as quite the treat.

Furthermore, upon our arrival at roughly 12pm, myself, and one of my best friends an approach the part, with intentions of engaging in a round of orange crush slushes x3 for each one of us, which of course is a main attraction. For context just 5-10 minutes before I had gotten a round of drinks, and simply told the water after handing him exactly the bill in cash, “we’re going to be here for a while, I’m sitting right here, I don’t have change to make sense of this and will be right back to other another round of drinks and make things right with you.” After approaching the bartender, we each paid our tabs, one by card, and another via cash, after my friend paid with a card, the bartender looked at the two of us as we had been seated together and made the comment to us both that he “didn’t work for free around here” as my friend paid for drinks, without a tip the bartender perceived to look in my eyes after handing him a $50 for three drinks, and said once more “I don’t work for free” as he took my money, and proceeded to provide with no change for the $50 I had given to him. I asked him for my change, as I personally said that I was a university student and had full intention of asking him for $20 back, leaving him with a $9 tip on a $21 bill, something I perceive to be more than fair for the little time it took him to fill up our 1oz glasses with a shot of vodka and a little orange slush. We both approached him in a more than respectful manner, and simply the fact that we were treated this way was truly shocking. No matter who you’re sitting with, or who pays the tab, that’s between yourself and the bartender, of which should not be held liable to the other. I personally felt that this was apauling, I understand that the bar was very slow, but that shouldn’t influence the way that you treat people.

We ended up doing exactly what I had said to this bartender and stuck around for a while. My one friend, of which hadn’t yet ordered from this bartender, had went up to him several times asking for a water, to which she tipped him $1-3 of which I felt very fair. I get it, it takes time to put ice in the glass, some water and straw, but of which he pockets the proceeds, totally understandable. But the thing I don’t get, is that after she asked for waters, we would act as if nothing had transpired between the three of us.

I believe in tipping quality service, and appreciating the service provided to you. As a university student I continually proceed to tip 15-20% on nightly tab, whether than be a beer or slushy to support the person proving me that service.

The thing I don’t understand is in what world this treatment is deemed acceptable. I read a couple of the most recent reviews, including one from six days ago, and it simply sounds like we recieved the same bartender and service from him.

Upon the interaction with the bartender, I approach the man I was told was the “bar manger”, I shook his hand, introduced myself and engaged in respectful conversation, I had told him of the incident, exactly of the way in transpired and exactly of the way I am writing this review. To his credit, I really appreciate the professionalism and the way he approached this. He offered to make it right, and talk to the employee, of which, I had said that as he manages the bar, it is his personal discretion to approach employees as he deems fit and said that he should do what he believes is right. When he offered to “make it right” he offered hospitality and a free round of drinks to let us fully enjoy the atmosphere...

As a regular at The Cabin Pub + Party, I’ve had ample opportunities to observe the service, and I must say, my experiences with Monica as a server have been consistently disappointing. Despite being a frequent customer, I find that my visits are often overshadowed by her lack of professionalism and attentiveness. Monica seems more interested in flirting with the door guys than actually doing her job. It’s incredibly frustrating to have to wave her down just to get a drink refill, which should be a basic part of the service.

When I finally manage to get her attention, I’m met with attitude rather than the courteous service one would expect. It’s as if serving the customers is a burden to her. It’s not just about the drink refills; the overall service is lacking. Plates are left uncleared, and special requests are either ignored or forgotten. To make matters worse, getting the bill is a nightmare. It consistently takes over 30 minutes, which is just unacceptable.

As someone who comes in all the time, I expect a certain level of service, and Monica consistently fails to meet even the most basic expectations. The management really needs to address this issue because it’s driving away loyal customers like me. The Cabin Pub + Party has a lot of potential, but with servers like Monica, it’s hard to enjoy the experience. I hope to see improvements soon, or I might have to find a new spot to frequent.

It’s also worth mentioning that this isn’t a one-time occurrence. Each time I visit, the same issues arise, which suggests a pattern of poor service rather than an isolated incident. The atmosphere of the pub is great, and the food and drinks are usually on point, but the service provided by Monica severely undermines the overall experience. It’s disappointing to see such potential wasted because of one person’s lack of dedication to their job.

Moreover, I’ve noticed that other customers share similar sentiments about Monica’s service. I’ve overheard conversations and seen other patrons visibly frustrated with the same issues. It’s clear that this is a widespread problem that needs immediate attention. Investing in staff training or reevaluating the current team could make a significant difference in customer satisfaction.

Wednesday, April 16 was the last straw for me. The service was once again subpar, and Monica's lack of professionalism and attentiveness made the experience unbearable. After repeatedly facing the same issues, I'm not sure if I will be returning to The Cabin Pub + Party. It's disappointing to see such potential wasted, and unless there are significant improvements, I might have to find a new spot to frequent.

In conclusion, while I enjoy many aspects of The Cabin Pub + Party, Monica’s consistently poor service is a major drawback. I hope the management takes this feedback seriously and implements changes to improve the overall customer experience. Loyal customers like me deserve better, and I look forward to seeing positive changes...

Our group has been coming to The Cabin every Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. for the last four months, typically 6–8 of us, with the occasional Sunday brunch. We’ve enjoyed the vibe, and we’ve always wanted to support the space. But our recent experience on April 15th has given us serious pause.

Service was middling at best. Our server—who openly mentioned she’d only been on staff for two weeks and was the only one working—was clearly not equipped to handle the floor alone. While our first round of drinks came without issue, everything after that quickly deteriorated. A second round took far too long to order, and our food arrived cold. That alone was frustrating, but what happened next made it far worse.

We barely saw the server after that and waited endlessly just to ask for our bills. I eventually walked up to the bar to find out what was going on and to get some takeout boxes. That’s when we were told their Point of Sale system had gone down—understandable, as tech sometimes fails—but what surprised us most was the complete absence of leadership or problem-solving from the manager on duty.

We waited 40 minutes after finishing our meal just to pay. In that time, the server returned to our table three separate times with vague updates: • “It’s being worked on.” • “I think I figured it out.” • “Can you remind me what you ordered?”

At that point, I just did the math myself using the menu to calculate my bill.

Most of our group has worked in the service industry, and we were collectively stunned. Instead of any proactive customer service, we were met with meaningless deflections from a clearly overwhelmed new server—who shouldn’t have been left on her own to begin with. There was no attempt to reassure us, no gesture from management to apologize or recover the situation, and no comp offered to acknowledge the 40-minute delay in closing out our bills.

What’s worse is that service at The Cabin has actually declined over the past few months. It feels like the wheels are coming off—less attention to detail, less attentive staff, and no sense of standardized procedure when something goes wrong.

As someone who has managed in hospitality, I find it unbelievable that a place like The Cabin doesn’t have a protocol for dealing with customer-facing issues when systems go down. Your POS system failing is a back-of-house problem. Leaving customers hanging for nearly an hour without updates or solutions? That’s a front-of-house failure.

We’ve genuinely liked coming here—but after this experience, our group is no longer sure we’ll be...