White Spot Lonsdale — Restaurant in North Vancouver

We've been to 4 different White Spots since our move to the North Shore. The Lonsdale location is relatively close to where we live so therefore, it was our first White Spot we experienced in North Vancouver. Our initial experience was just okay. The servers were not so welcoming and food was satisfactory. That was 5 years ago. We brushed it off with a, "Well, its White Spot. What did you expect?" logic.

After going to all locations and comparing to the other 3, I take that logic back as even though it is a 'family restaurant', White Spot can still be a good restaurant where you can expect quality service & food. Unfortunately, the Lonsdale location just does not live up to that standard and receives the lowest grade in my humble opinion.

After my third visit a few days ago, I'm sure to never come back here again despite this is the most convenient location closest to our home. I would rather drive 15 mins more to either Park Royal or the Park & Tilford location for a decent meal and friendly service.

The order was sent to the Lonsdale location via online for pick up and when I went, the hostess who greeted me was very unprofessional and rude. She casually tells me my order isn't ready yet and looks down at her hostess station ignoring me for the rest of the duration I was there.

Despite the restaurant not being busy (it was a weekday around 5:30pm) my order was at least 15mins late. And it was not a big order (only 3 pirate packs for the kids) Normally at the other stores, they will at least try to make it look like they will find out how much longer it would take to get my order. This hostess does not even move from her spot.

So I waited at front and during my wait, the hostess does absolutely nothing. She was killing time looking down at the floor plan sheet pretending to be scribbling (again, not busy) And if there were new customers coming in, she greeted everyone with no smiles. I was taken aback. Here is the hostess who is the 1st person you will greet and how she present herself will most likely give you a first impression on how the restaurant experience might be and she was giving monotonous and blunt one-word answers to customers' queries (did I say she did all this without a smile?)

The only reason why I did not give 1 star (or zero for the matter) was because the only person who was friendly was the server who brought the food out. She was the only one who apologized for the food being late. Every other server looked bored and I feel the atmosphere have not changed since 5 years ago when we first came. I believe the supervisor/manager is definitely the reason for the location showing no improvement whatsoever. Please train your staff or let go of them if they cannot improve.

I left with the food in a hurry to feed 3 starving kids after a 30min delay. Again, no thank-you's or see you again from anyone except the aforementioned server.

The final nail in the coffin to give a poor review was when we brought the food home , the kids did not even finish their meal. Granted this is a kid's meal but they order the exact same thing at the other White Spots and they always eat it. Needless to say that they were hungry but still opted not to finish what they were given.

Adding insult to injury, their milkshakes tasted very bland and soon we find out that they cheapened out by putting less milk and more water. Even the packaging of the food was miserable as everything fell out.

I read other reviews for this location and genuinely I believe some people do get consistently good food/service from specific servers/kitchen staff working on certain dates. Otherwise, I feel like we were unlucky? Or we always came at the wrong time/date.

I never feel good leaving poor reviews but this is my honest experience I felt for all the times we went to this White Spot. We genuinely hope the Management can rectify the situation and train the staff...

When I moved to Vancouver in 1994, I thought, ""Lets' see what all the talk is about," because people raved about White Spot. So I visited one, and was less than impressed with the fare. The food was soooo bland. But I figured maybe I would try again, because everyone has a less than great day. So I tried one in Surrey, one on Vancouver Island, and of course, the Ferries serve White Spot food, and another on in Vancouver, all with the same conclusion - I did not like any of them.

So, when a friend invited me to go to the White Spot in North Van, I thought, "Well, at least they have alcohol, and I will be among friends." And, off I went again, to another White Spot.

It was different from the moment I walked through the doors - a very warm and welcoming atmosphere - maybe because it was not long before Christmas and they had Christmas music playing softly - just loud enough to hear, but it didn't drown out conversation. The staff were very genuine - funny too. Our server, whose name I can't recall, didn't have to "try to be friendly", he just was.

Then came the moment when I decided to order food to accompany my absolutely delicious glass of BC VQA white wine (which had a rich, crisp taste, and gorgeous bouquet and surprised the heck out of me because it was Jackson Triggs which I had not really enjoyed before, but this Sauvignon Blanc was clearly the right choice for me). And I decided to have a bacon cheddar burger because at least the bacon would probably be okay.

Wow, was I ever surprised when I bit into it! It was absolutely delicious!! I could barely believe my taste buds!

Suffice to say that not only did I enjoy my meal, but I finally found a White Spot that I would consider...

I am a big fan of White Spot, so taking about the food will be biased in their favour. I like the burgers, I like the zucchini sticks, I like the fish and chips. The last time I went was with my girlfriend for adult Pirate Pack day and that was lots of fun. Honestly, I'm just going to say good things about the food and I do try to convince tourists to check it out.

But let's talk about this White Spot in particular, though. This one does not disappoint. I've been here many times over the years, with both long and short time spans between visits, and I've never been upset.

Sometimes there are waits to get in, but none of mine have been overly long. The tables can be used to seat parties both large and small and people of all ages. I've taken out food from this place a couple times and enjoyed the food at home as much as I have in the restaurant.

The food has come out the way I (and my friends) want it. It tastes great, it's the right amounts, and only when it is really really busy is there a slight noticable wait for it.

The staff is friendly, they talk with happy tones and pay attention to the customers. I don't know any personally, but they make visits fun so I think they're happy working there.

So yes, White Spot is a place I really like and this one lives up to standards I have for it. Most do, this one just has make me happy many times. My thanks to them for the...