15 Park Bistro — Restaurant in Osoyoos

We recently visited 15 Park Bistro on Father’s Day – June 19th and our experience was terrible from start to finish as we had high hopes of enjoying a pleasant dining experience.

Upon entering the restaurant, we requested to be seated outside but told there was no space and we were seating in the bar area. There was space outside but we didn’t think twice to ask again and sat where we were assigned – tucked away in a corner beside the bar.

I ordered coffee and asked for a refill and didn’t get a refill until 45min after asking for one – I ended up asking the bar for a refill since our server did not come back to check in on us. We were not brought any water refills nor were we asked how our food was once it finally arrived - which we waited over an hour for.

Once our food finally arrived, the kids food had a hair in it and we were missing one meal. There was no apology issued for the hair or for the missed meal. The missing meal arrived once we were getting ready to leave and the server did not remove the meal from the bill – we did not order takeout food as it was supposed to be dine in service.

Once the bill finally arrived, not only did it have the food with the hair on the bill, but it also had the meal that we did not receive. I was discussing this with the server and she snatched the bill out of my had and walked away – while I was still talking to her. I dine in a lot of restaurants and I have never had this happen to me nor have I experienced this sort of behaviour from a server. In fact, this is the first review I have ever provided for a restaurant.

During the entire time we were there, staff overheard us talking from the bar but not once did any of them come over to speak with us. They could clearly see and hear us complaining and getting agitated. As we were leaving, one of the servers would not even look at us and lifted his head higher with his nose in the air as he spoke to us– almost trying to indicate that he was better than us…

This whole experience has left a bitter taste in my mouth and I feel this was a case of racism and it should be shared with others. Racism has no place in our society, let alone in a dining establishment that should strive to create an inclusive and welcoming environment for all patrons. It is profoundly disappointing that the staff of Park Bistro have failed to address such behaviour as it is their responsibility to train their staff to treat all customers equally, regardless of their race of ethnicity. It would be interesting to see what Park Bistro’s policies are around this.

I believe it is important for the public to be aware of incidents like this. By sharing my experience, I hope to encourage the management team to take proactive steps towards a more inclusive environment and promote diversity, inclusion and respect for all customers.

*Edited to include a response to David

Yes, we were compensated for the delay and issues we had with the food but that does not compensate for the experience that we had in your establishment. The fact that you are implying monetary compensation would somehow make up for the experience that we had at your restaurant shows your lack of understanding of the magnitude of this issue.

I think it is great that you employee a diverse workforce however they all must have been off that day since we did not see one person of colour working on the floor in your establishment.

Also, we did make reservations prior to coming to...

Came in for lunch with my mom today. First time here lovely location excellent service. Our waitress, Marlene was well informed on the menu, quick to get some ice water to us and very friendly. Mom and I both ordered the spicy Thai green papaya salad, and I had added grilled prawns on the side. Everything came quickly and looked nice. Unfortunately, for us, it was not anything that we expected although we've had the salad on a number of other occasions at other restaurants. We were trying to eat it because we were so hungry and I finally gave up and Marlene came over quickly to see what was going on. It was just too salty. And we didn't want to cause a problem, but we just couldn't eat it anymore and we were still hungry. Marlene assured that there was something to be done for us, and she went and checked with the manager.

We were pleased to see that the manager, Victoria came right out to us and understood that we had a problem. She listened to us and was very quick to reassure us that our meals would be replaced with something more palatable.

We both ordered the chicken tikka wrap mum's with fries mine with the salad. Our new lunch order came out very quickly and was quite delicious. Presentation was lovely and the wrap was really tasty. I was quite impressed and double checked to see if the chutney was housemaid, and indeed it was. A delicious lunch perfectly seasoned.

Our server, Marlene came back to make sure we were happy with everything a couple of times and reassured us that there was no problem and apologized for the earlier meal.

We were also impressed that Victoria came back out to make sure that everything was OK and reassure that the bill would be adjusted accordingly.

If it was for the staff and the ambiance alone, I would give a five star review. Only because of our first choice, which for whatever reason was not palatable at all. But I'm giving a solid 4 star rating because the replacement was thorough enjoyable.

And because of how this experience panned out, we will be coming back - thanks especially to Marlene...

So why did I give this restaurant a single star, when the food and table service were ok? I am completing my big motorcycle trip tomorrow, returning from Montana to my home in Victoria, and I wanted a nice meal of higher quality to celebrate, above all else on a patio with a nice view of the water.

I phoned the restaurant for a reso, they said no problems with a patio seating for 1. When I got there in good time, an overly curt and unsympathetic manager told me they would not server me on the patio, they have a policy of no guaranteed seating (which they had not mentioned when I phoned), and they only had tables on the patio for 2 or 4 people. She apologized for the "misinformation", and otherwise was what I would consider to be harsh about the situation, which could have been handled with a little empathy and not a my way or the highway attitude.

This was really bad because they had me. It's a big bother to suit up and move the bike to another location, I was starved after a long drive, and I did not know if anyone else would have room at 6pm given I'd missed the opportunity for some lead time with another patio.

There was seating inside, which I reluctantly took, and I asked if they could at least open the doors outside so I could see the empty tables there on the patio with some fresh air. The manager said she would have to ask the other patrons if that was ok, after which she did nothing of the sort.

Now I have a nasty taste in my mouth, despite ordering an expensive meal with drinks. Since they messed up, I feel they should have tried at some accommodation and at least been empathetic. Instead here I am writing this thinking about how important good service is in the service industry. A poor show, all told. Still gave the server a nice tip, as she was delightful. No need to punish the hard workers - given what I experienced I guess they have enough on their hands with a...