Bon Voyage Restaurant — Restaurant in Prince George

My girlfriend won’t read this because she loves Bon Voyage and doesn’t want to read my criticism of it. That’ll mark the high point to start this review. It all goes downhill from here. There were four us meeting here for a supper, a broad range of ordered dishes to order, promising comprehensive coverage. Bon Voyage had been renovated since I had last been here, and following the commandments put forth in the family restaurant bible, the new décor had more shades of brown than the Clairol wall at Sears. In defense, it’s a step up from my previous visit. The Bon Voyage—or is it Westgate Grill & Banquet, because I seriously don’t know—is still a family restaurant no matter how much spackle you throw upon the foundations. It’s still open at 6:00 am. The tables are still crowded by salt and pepper shakers and a wad of crinkled ketchup packets. It still has the same confused and vague stain-proof menu (it might have changed since renovation, but good luck trying to find how). Over two pages, I can choose between stir-fry, Greek or pasta. There is a section titled sandwiches, another hamburgers, yet another for steaks and one more…for beef. Despite all the other sections, there was still enough to add more beef. My entrée came with soup, garlic bread, potatoes, beef, and onions; of course my soup came flanked with plastic-wrapped Premium Plus wafers, that’s just a given, like coming back from Africa with a virus. My entrée looked like someone dropped two fistfuls of ingredients into a hot pan and a mixed it a few minutes. Gigantic chunks of vegetables saddled beside lazily cut onion (a couple pieces were still connected to their roots) and topped with half a cow. My girlfriend’s steak still had a pulse and was flanked with enough mashed potatoes to feed an extended family of Irish immigrants (too soon?). Let’s call it what it is, a mess, something rushed. And let’s be honest, who can blame them? Go back 163 words and read that part on menu selection. How can anyone expect a chef to be prepared to make forty dishes from four different cuisines and have them flawlessly plated in less than thirty minutes? I could turn around and call this praise, a lesser chef would have seasoned the steak with his own frontal lobe. Let me stress again about how big and varied this menu was. I still haven’t mentioned all the sections, there was also seafood, appetizers, house specialties, childrens, and seniors. Hell, it took us ten minutes to even decide what to eat. After all was said and done, I still took half my plate home. A recent conversation about the history of restaurants in Prince George brought up memories of these unchanging artifacts of the city’s past, the Carmel, Camelot Court, Connaught, a time where choice was limited between either these stalwarts or the many Chinese buffets scattered about town like brothels in Ancient Rome. I fondly reminisced of the days of Binos and McCloud 9. But these are memories best left in the past. No matter how well Bon Voyage dresses itself, the menu proves that underneath its new skin, it’s still a dinosaur. I have lamented family restaurants often, and why? Why do I have to? Why do they all have to disappoint? I know they all don’t; I’ve read about better ones…but they’re not here. Here, our family restaurants are depressing relics from a time where this town was defined by a singular industry, and if you didn’t cater to people walking around with a bottle of Jake’s hot sauce in their pocket, you were doomed to fail. A friend offered a metaphor that family restaurants are like Ikea furniture, a nice façade covering cheap wood pulp. I think that comparison is an insult. I’d buy Ikea. Food: 2/5 Service: 3/5 Presentation: 3/5 Value: 3.5/5 Recommendation: 2.8/5

PS: By the way, I’m not a cocktail connoisseur, so I got a kick out of a drink called Holy Water—giving me temporary hope that Bon Voyage was a possible nearby refuge when...

After going from restaurant to restaurant in Quesnel & Prince George and getting served measly little servings for soup of the day, my mouth fell open when I saw the humungous bowl of Cabbage Roll Soup I was served at Bon Voyage Restaurant. And an excellent soup it was, very tasty. Our server Bonnie was friendly, peppy, bouncy and a real hoot. I asked her if she wanted to be in the picture for the review and she said only if we were in the picture too, so that’s why Hector is in the one picture. Hector and I both got the Lasagna, Hector had the extra baked cheese on the garlic bread, and he really enjoyed it. I asked for the Greek potatoes instead of the bread, and they were very nicely done with good lemon flavour. Hector demolished his lasagna and hugely enjoyed it, but for some reason it didn’t quite do it for me even though technically there was nothing wrong with it. Bonnie cheerfully took it back and let me order something else instead. I got the Beef Souvlaki from the Seniors menu with extra Greek salad instead of the bread. The souvlaki arrived promptly, the Greek salad was nice and fresh, and the beef souvlaki was nicely charred on the outside and medium rare on the inside, perfectly seasoned. I split a serving of their house made cheesecake with Hector, it is smooth and creamy, just perfect. Altogether a great meal, and it’s so nice to have a restaurant that’s fine with you modifying orders for your preference and not having a problem if something just isn’t working for you. This is the second meal we’ve had here and they were both great. Decor was nice and open with your classic Greek look of sky blue and white, music wasn’t too loud so it was nice to be able to have a conversation. Altogether a very enjoyable restaurant...

Here are my comments about this experience:

Chicken Souvlaki: The biggest risk with chicken dishes is that the chickencan dry out. However, this restaurant acoided this mistake and cooked the chicken quite deliciously. It had a juicy texture and a tasty flavor. I really liked it.

Greek Donair: As someone who comes from Türkiye and has been eating “donair” his whole life, and eho has also tried Greek “donair” multiple times on trips to Greece, I unfortunately did not like the donair at this restaurant at all. The taste, smell, and texture of the meat were far from ideal for a donair.

Both dishes were served with a rich accompaniment: rice, Greek salad, and potatoes. I have a small criticism about thr plating tho,serving the salad in a separate bowl instead of with the other foods. As the salad releases its water, causing all the other foods on the plate, including the rice, to become wet, It would be better to serve the salad separately.

I found the cleanliness and service quality of the place to be successful. It was important that the waiter came to us several times to ask if we needed anything and quickly accommodated our special...