Hello Toast — Restaurant in Kamloops

I had high expectations given the reviews, but unfortunately they fell short.

Food: the Mac Daddy (pulled pork) sandwich was good, especially with the apple slaw, but the chicken bacon potato chowder was too salty. The burger from the kids menu was dry and overcooked, as were the smashed spuds, but at least the price for the kids entree is fair.

Service: my server seemed clueless, as I asked about the specials on the board they placed outside, but he didn't know about them. Turns out the board wasn't rewritten to update the specials on the inside chalkboard wall, but even then he didn't seem familiar enough with the menu to tell me much about it. He also didn't come refill my water until I flagged him down after a few tries. The saving grace for service was when I overheard the manager (?) tell a customer they've had some machine issues where a declined payment ended up going through so customers would get double charged, but that if it happened to that customer she was talking to, they could let the restaurant know and the manager will e-transfer back the double charge. Machine issues aren't their fault, but at least they're willing to take on responsibility to fix the problem, whereas some restaurants might try to pass the blame.

Atmosphere: it was way too hot in the restaurant. I know they're trying their best as the ventilation control panel had a note stating they can't push the temperature setting below 72°F (22.2°C) due to overloading the A/C, and they even had two other A/C units going, but the temperature reading was still 81°F (27.2°C). It made eating much less enjoyable. They should get some fans to at least get the air moving inside better so it isn't so stuffy, and maybe fully separate the kitchen space from the rest of the restaurant so you can suction out the heat from the kitchen side better without losing the air conditioned air on the dining side.

There was also a lot of flies around. I'm not from the area, so I'm not sure if this is the norm for Kamloops, but it would be nice if there was some effort to keep the flies away/down, as some definitely landed on our food while we were eating, so we kept having to shoo the flies while trying to eat. They need to get some fly trap paper or a zapper swatter or...

I would like to share my experience at Hello Toast today, July 31st, 2022 at 10 am.

Once I arrived I asked the last group in line if they had written their name on the list, when they mentioned they had, I proceeded to go towards the door but not inside, to speak to a server. The older blonde women serving mentioned to me that the younger server in the black dress will take my name. I even spoke to this younger server and she asked and directed me to wait just outside.

After waiting for 15 minutes, I also saw someone new, an older women, go inside the restaurant to write their name on the list, 2 additional groups walked past me to ask the same and were told to wait.

When the younger server came outside I gave my name, and the older women who walked past me earlier told the server that they got there first. I explained to her and the server that I was asked to wait outside as if the server was just about to take my name, if I knew she was going to be a while I would have gotten in line, which should explain why I was standing to the side.

The server then proceeded to take other peoples names in line. To my knowledge my name was first on the list and we were next. For the next 10-15 minutes my husband and I watched 3 parties, all of whom were Caucasian proceed to be seated.

I then went to the younger server to ask how 3 groups were seated before us and she proceeded to tell me that she spoke with other servers about how to handle this “situation” and when I asked what she meant she said that “multiple people had said that you came after them”. So I asked if she bumped us down the list without letting us know and she said “yes”. And the server made me feel like I was lying, and I told her this as well.

This all made sense now that when the 3 Caucasian groups walked past us, why they were staring at my husband and I, who both belong to a visible minority.

We chose to come to hello toast for the first time because many friends recommended it and unfortunately we did not get to have a pleasant experience and will not be returning. We are not from Kamloops but our friends are and have been coming to hello toast for many years and they are also shocked to hear about...

Waited for 20 min in -12 temperature outside. Just as we were going to leave we were let in thankfully. It would be nice if they had an outdoor heater out front for guests waiting or an option to text when ready so guests can wait in their vehicles.

This business has been here for enough time that I’m surprised they have not expanded into a bigger location to accomodate more people. Like Eatology in Vernon. Hello Toast is notoriously busy. I’m thinking maybe a new location hasn’t presented itself yet? Yolk in Vancouver sets dining time limits so people aren’t sitting there after they finish eating to reduce people waiting outside.

All the people behind us that waited 5-10 min or less had their orders taken first and got their food first. We waited an hour total for food. My stuffed french toast was soggy from the honey. I feel it should be on the side like the whipped cream to help avoid this. I barely ate any of my meal.

I could see how busy the staff were. I think they needed another worker who just rings people in at the till and helps make drinks. That seemed to take our servers time as we weren’t asked anything about the food. I am aware almost every business is experiencing a shortage on staff right now, so, I do feel for the workers.

Server felt the need to yell out “have a nice day!” in an overly loud tone rather than ask how everything was? I let it be known we weren’t really happy. I was pretty quiet about it and non-confrontational. I still paid even though I barely touched my food and left a tip because I recognize how hard those 2 ladies were working. Don’t think I’ll be returning when I compare Hello Toast to Eatology in Vernon and Yolk in Vancouver.

I know my lack of patronage won’t affect this business but it just isn’t the right fit for me 2x in a row. Thought I would try again even though I think my last negative experience was...