The Chook Eatery — Restaurant in Kamloops

Disappointing and would not recommend. Arrived around 9:30 on a Saturday morning. Place was half empty. They sat us at the very back by the bar/espresso machine which was loud. We asked for a different table and were told no because we "have to work around the servers".... ok as a former server I'd understand this if the place was slammed but it was dead with 4-5 servers milling about. The servers work for the customers not the other way around. This wasn't a major issue but set the tone. Sadly we really wanted to like this place but the food was bad. Anything you ask for is an additional charge. My son had the smash burger - to have it served on a bun instead of a tortilla was $2 extra. The world's saddest, limp side salad (just lettuce and some seeds) was an additional $5. No other veg. No cheese. Nothing to it just lettuce. I do expect to pay for an additional side, but if the side is literally just lettuce it should be $2-3 not $5. I asked to swap bacon for pulled pork and was told "it's not a fair swap because the bacon is house made". So the pork is... not house made? The duck fat potatoes, which we were excited about, were Luke warm and soggy. Not crispy and hot. No salt. No flavour. How can duck fat potatoes be so bland? Bacon was extremely salty. Eggs were undercooked (whites were almost entirely translucent) and had to be sent back. Coffee is just a nespresso machine, not actual espresso. Chai latte was flavorless and cost $6.25!!! Breakfast tacos were flavorless too. Smash burger was ok but it's just beef on a bun. This place COULD be good and has potential but it needs some serious tweaks to the food and a shift of attitude to accommodate customers. We'd love to support a local, one off business and not a chain but likely...

I wanted to like this place so bad.

I’m not a “negative review” person, but there were so many things that they got right to pull me in (generous, bright vibrant brunches with fresh ingredients, seasoned meats, more than the typical brunch fare) and unfortunately not right enough to make me want to go again.

I ordered the lamb bennies, and frankly it felt that the lamb was not seasoned with anything more than perhaps some salt. Such a waste of an excellent tool for flavor. Lamb is such a beautiful aromatic meat that benefits from a little bit of love - Moroccan seasonings taste great with lamb, I love adding a dash of cinnamon in my lamb stew, and mint goes great with lamb as well. My lamb was dry, and while it had that lamb flavor, it didn’t seem like it paired with the other ingredients - it just felt tossed in there. This just feels like such a missed opportunity to use a potentially star-ingredient.

Comparatively my husband tried the pulled pork and it was seasoned and I liked it a lot more. I regretted not trying the meat lovers benny instead.

My daughter got the kids waffle with “seasonal fruit” and the seasonal fruit was … sliced banana? Again missed opportunity as I’m sure we are in a pocket of wealth when it comes to summer fruit selections. Would have loved some peaches or nectarines or cherries or …. Frankly anything local.

We aren’t from BC and were desperately searching for something that could match the brunch scene on the coast, but unfortunately while the ideas and presentation are great, the flavor and execution just wasn’t there. I feel like with some tweaks it could be an incredible and much-needed establishment in...

The Chook is located at the sleepy end of Victoria Street, and at the last minute we remembered it was there. We dined in for a late brunch. We were seated immediately, the room was semi full, and the food people were eating looked great. There was great music playing, bright beautiful renovated heritage building. We were served quickly and by a very friendly server (name missing! Sorry!). We ordered the breakfast croissant with house duck fried hashbrowns, and the breakfast egg rolls. I ordered an americano, My coffee came, it was hot and freshly made (nespresso). Absolutely hit the mark. Then the food…beautifully presented, and upon tasting…totally delicious! It’s fresh, house made, and flavoured properly. The eggrolls are crispy and served with a dish of the best house made hollandaise (I dare say bearnaise because we detected some beautiful tarragon reduction). My croissant was delicious, house aioli, perfect medium cooked egg…and the hashbrowns were “money”. NOT deep fried…thankyou! Fresh scallions garnished duck fat sautéed…delicious. Kamloops, we have a treasure here! This is just the tip of the iceberg for us with the Chook…but we can’t wait to return…and we both said we actually might try Peter’s Pasta again with this showing from the new owners. Thankyou for a wonderful, impromptu visit to your restaurant…thankyou for bringing the modern in the now food experience...