Arabella Park Beer Bar — Restaurant in Kitchener

Good food. Know that this is not a restaurant. You seat yourself, you go up to the bar to pay for your meal, you're expected to tip them before your meal which is uncomfortable.

The people there seem quite nice. They still had a guy bring out our food. They bring you the condiments of mustard and mayo and ketchup that you have to put on the burger yourself too my Dad learned. A guy checked up on us that everything was fine although it felt too cursory. I could've used more water but in their defense it was after he left and didn't come back again.

There were no pitchers which felt stingy and is a trend I've seen in 'restaurants' the last few years. When the guy behind us spilled a beer on his table, a guy was right out there to clean up the spot and everybody around from my party to the surrounding tables were in a jokey mood and having a good time. It was a beautiful day too and I didn't find being by the roadside too noisy. The seats were spacious between tables with plenty of elbow room.

I have to give such a low score for service because I don't see what I gain as a patron by having to go up to the bar and wait in line in a bar not designed for lines shoulder to shoulder with a bunch of other people to order my food instead of relaxing at my table. I guess they save on Servers and pitchers and call it a stylistic choice. But we as customers lose if this lack of service is allowed. I've been to deserted diners that can afford a server.

My generation is full of these business decisions that place a greater onus on the customer while prices continue to increase although I'll say the food itself is worth the money. I'm just not a fan of the rustic style falling out of the bun pieces of chicken.

Instead of men's and women's washrooms there are 3 seperate water closets with a toilet 🚽 and sink. The rest of the space is for the bar, but I didn't have to wait and this was around 6 o'clock on a Saturday night.

This is the air bnb of...

Let's start with the fries! Holy Hannah are they ever amazing!! You must get them; the sauces are great and the fries are plentiful and amazing. I love Belmont village so the location is super cute, lots of seating, and free parking. 2hr max at tables right now (if there is a line). Everyone at my table was very happy with their meals, one comment was a little too much salt and I'd agree overall. I had the sweet/sour chicken sandwich and it was very yummy; chicken was breaded and cooked to perfection, loved the pickled stuff on it too (it wasn't hot though - temp). No sides, so keep that in mind, but prices were pretty fair. Great beer selection, of course (but VERY small glasses). You go up to the bar to order, small signs to direct you where to go in terms of in and out and the staff kept walking through the "out" door to the patio with food, so that's a disaster waiting to happen. I actually took away one star because I found the staff to be kinda rude... One (taller) guy who wasn't initially behind the bar but took over after, was very funny and friendly but the rest of them definitely need to work on their customer service skills. They said something abrasive to me almost every time I went to the bar, and I tried to be super friendly to them because that's just how I roll. Mind you, I missed the in/out signs the first time because they are pretty small so my bad for that, but they didn't have to be snarky when giving direction. Overall, nice time with gfs on the patio and I...

I see lots of great reviews, but we had a terrible experience there!

First of all, not a big fan of the bleached white, polar plastic atmosphere. I also find it really inconvenient to have to get up and walk across the room to fetch my own food and drinks. Don't bother bringing a child either; the closest thing they have for a kids beverage is a high-potency ginger beer.

All that makes it kind of unappealing to us, but here's the kicker why we will never go back:

The plastic table we sat at had a very wobbly leg, so that when you put weight on the base, the table wobbles and sends things flying. We learned this the hard way, as my wife's full glass of wine went all over us and the table. I went to the bar, and explained to the friendly b.t., and he, with a smile.............. GAVE ME A RAG to clean it up!! LOL!

Ok, so I guess these people really don't like coming to the tables. So, I cleaned it up and went back to the bar to order and fetch my wife another wine (because after 5 mins. he didn't offer, or bring one, even though he was not busy), and I shoved all our coasters under the wobbly table leg.

But the real kick in the backside was this: When we got our bill, we noticed that he CHARGED US for the full wine that went down! And the new one! WOW!

Just...wow :(

Great food and craft beers, but zero choices for kids Friendly staff, but bad customer service practices Sterile, not cozy atmosphere

Somebody please open a proper pub in this...