Fern + Cedar Brewing Company — Restaurant in Qualicum Beach

1st visit good. 2nd time subpar if not bad! On the first experience had a great server and table shared an order of the steak and fries - which is massive! Great flavor and everybody enjoyed.

Second visit was two of us sharing the large portion of the fish and chips. Service was spotty at best. The interior is incredibly loud when full. Beautiful space but very hard to even hear the person you are talking to at the table. Fish and chips were absolutely flavorless. Totally floored by that after the first dinner which was great. There was no seasoning at all. And fish being fish it was okay but it wasn't super fresh and the coating was like cardboard.

I'm gluten-free and the other person wasn't. They had stomach ache afterwards. I had a quite serious 2day reaction to whatever it was. But that's the risk you take when eating in a restaurant that's not fully gluten-free. I knee that going in but I was still really surprised because they do stand on the fact that they have a gluten-free fryer. So in this case - something cross-contaminated or the batter was just off. I don't know. Bad enough that I would never order that again and would consider probably not eating there again.

And this is just a curiosity. If they are very concerned about having gluten-free offerings, why are there no gluten-free beers available? There is one on the menu but it is not gluten-free it is gluten " removed ". With the only other alcoholic offerings being cider or champagne, it would be a great opportunity as a small Brewhouse to make their own but it's a very small market so I get why they wouldn't.

And on a last note - and I don't fault them too much because they were busy - and I think we ended up with three different servers within an hour and a half, but I was there for mom's 83rd birthday. That's not an average birthday. So I was surprised that there wasn't any recognition. I think one of the smilers kind of mumbled happy birthday and then ran off and we didn't see them again. The frustrating thing is we had asked for outdoor seating and we're told that they don't take reservations and it's first come first serve. we were waiting to get out and then we're watching all these other people getting seated instead. And again it was a matter of too many servers too busy and nobody was talking to each other.

Yet regardless of how busy, there is a basic standard in the industry to acknowledge special occasions. So the fact that there was no happy birthday no acknowledgment and no - well anything to even note the...

I was really really disappointed with my experience here! I'd been looking forward to trying it for months and it just didn't deliver.

Unfortunately the service wasn't great and it was so so so slow. Our server also forgot stuff we had ordered a lot but was nice so that made up for it. We were with our daughter (preschool age) who is usually pretty good at eating out (and we bring lots of activities to keep her occupied) and waited an hour for our food- hers came in 30 minutes which was still pretty slow for chicken strips and fries but ok. Unfortunately it's pretty hard to keep kids happy after they are done eating so after another half an hour of our food not arriving we had to ask for it to be packed up. For some reason the staff didn't understand that kids struggle to wait so long and assumed we had a ferry to catch. I honestly normally wouldn't complain about this (if you're a parent you know eating out with kids can be a challenge) but I've never had to wait SO LONG for my food when eating out with my kid- and when I see a kids menu, I assume they will be a little bit kid-friendly (I know it's a brewery but still!). It could have been a really different experience if staff were just a little more aware of timing with families (bring her food first okay but such a giant gap is impossible!). And when we paid and tipped just 10% (I'm a former server, it KILLS me to only tip 10% but I didn't even get to eat except a mushy salad out of a box after we drove 30 minutes home) the server gave us such a cold attitude and just made everything that much worse.

Anyway other members of my family have eaten here and really liked it but I wouldn't recommend it if you are eating with...

A review in a couple parts, to reflect my most recent experience.

The beers here are very well executed. I've been here a few times and the beer remains both consistent and tasty. Kudos to the brewers in nailing a hazy IPA style that doesn't taste too sweet, and the Belgian Wit was also perfectly balanced for the spring weather we've been having. The cider options were also fantastic for those who aren't consuming gluten.

The food here is also phenomenal: the Lamb Shoulder and the Beef Short Ribs are delectable (as they always have been), but the entire menu is worth considering, there isn't a bad choice to be found.

The service is also remarkable: we were met promptly at the entrance, and the staff knew their food and drink menu well. Notably, when my wife asked about drink options the server was able to come up with an offering immediately that was very well received.

Lastly, I want to comment on how professionally and respectfully they handled me leaving a personal item there. I had accidentally left a briefcase in the tasting room and didn't realize it until I was already on a ferry to the mainland. After calling the tasting room, they quickly confirmed they had it, and they even went so far as to box up the briefcase for me so I could dispatch a courier to ship it for me. I was expecting to be told I'd have to come back to get it if I wanted it, but they made my life significantly easier when they really had no obligation to. I received it today with everything that I had left inside the bag accounted for. A huge thank you to the staff who helped with this, you made a very stressful event for me incredibly easy to navigate and resolved in an...