Steveston Seafood House — Restaurant in Richmond

We hadnt been to Steveston Seafood House for a very long time as our last experience was so so. We are not ones to usually complain publicly but this restaurant was highly rated and expensive and we feel something should be said. We came for Sunday Brunch as our friends had suggested the restaurant and we thought wed give it another try as we all love seafood. They were very accomodating and made room for my wheelchair. The waitress was very pleasant. Unfortunately our experience was disappointing. The waitress brought our tea and coffee but forgot our cups for tea and had to ask. When she brought the cups we hsd to call her back as mine was not clean inside and my friends had lipstick on the outside. Gross, right. We also had to ask for menues at this point. We decided to laugh it off and not fuss.The scallops and bacon appetizer our friend ordered was very nice but the Oysters Rockefeller (our favourite appy) were not worth the effort. The tiniest shells I've ever seen, and Im not convinced there were oysters under the bland cheese sauce. This is obviously their chefs own version - a 2 at best. Maybe others like it tasteless. The seafood hot pot was really enjoyed by two of our party. I had a small taste and it was lovely. Two of us had variations on Eggs Benedict. They were quite tasty but cold!! This was due to the chefs idea that the hollandaise should be served cold not hot. We only found out after sending the side sauce back twice and told this was his preference of serving it due to curdling. What??? It wasnt worh the effort to make a fuss by this time but in our collective experience none of us have ever had cold hollandaise sauce and Ive made my own for years - warm. The crab cakes were very nice as well as the salmon but would have been immensly improved by being hot or at least warm including the eggs. Also when a client asks for something to be warmed, the chef should be more accomodating (maybe learn how to make it warm at these prices). The waitress seemed at a loss about what to do so we let it pass. She did try and was very nice but seemed overwhelmed. After the meal we were enjoying tea and coffee but weren't asked if we wanted dessert or anything further. We collectively decided to just ask for the bill. I think she was a little flustered by events.This was a mediocre experience and dont thiink we would go back. This is also due to one last thing. We arrived separately and none of us were asked to show our proof of vaccinations. We didnt think about this until discussing our various rushed arrivals afterwards. They need to step up their game to keep people safe. Dirty dishes are so unacceptable, let alone in a pandemic. You have to wonder what else they arent paying attention to as this is pretty basic. To our waitress - thank...

This is a hit and miss experience. We were here for our 33rd anniversary. My wife was seated ahead while I parked the car on this very rainy day. We had a reservation for 530pm and we were a touch early. The host was warm, friendly and engaging. The host took our coats which was nice and seated us immediately. The restaurant must've been short staffed as this would be quite evident throughout the night. It took a bit to be acknowledged by our server who must've had to juggle his time between two areas of the restaurant. He was quite friendly and acknowledged that he was delayed. We did have to wait to order. I should mention that we were seated right next to the servers station and kitchen and for some reason I could smell a very strong fish smell that was not pleasant. We eventually ordered the house recommended mussels and calamari. They were quite delicious and full of flavour. I could drank that house sauce for the mussels which included bacon and onions. The calamari was lightly battered and crispy. Then we had the miso glazed sablefish and I ordered the filet mignon. My wife said the fish was good but towards the end of the fish it got very fishy smelling more so than usual. I have had my share of different cuts of beef in my life and this filet mignon tasted, felt like and cut like it was a baseball sirloin. I ordered it medium rare but it was closer to medium. It was not tender like a filet should be. The plate was average with the mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables. Nothing exciting here. I was disappointed. We did have to ask for water and we could hear our server scolding his young trainees about making sure no one had to ask for water. We then had to wait longer for the dessert menu and to order. This really was quite disappointing. We ordered the panacotta and the Affogato. Both good. Id say the best part of this experience was the appetizer and the dessert. And nothing else. For the price of the meal it was not worth it. I wish I could say that we would like to come back but I know that the quality of the ingredients of the mains was severely lacking. We won't be back. Note the restaurant was made aware quite awhile ago that we were celebrating our anniversary. Most restaurants would recognize the celebrants in some form. The...

THE GOOD: A landmark restaurant serving fresh seafood catch and a wide assortment of other dishes. Service is good and everyone had good intentions to provide a good meal, atmosphere was great for our family get-together. THE BAD: my fresh wild salmon was overcooked, my scallops were a disgrace, very overcooked and flavourless, my siblings also had to send their lobster tails and salmon back. THE UGLY: I don’t agree with an 18% mandatory gratuity. Especially when things like above happen, a gratuity should reflect the customer’s experience, It is not the customer’s responsibility to supplement ownership’s payment to staff. If you can’t survive with an 18% markup on your menu prices, you can’t stay in business, sorry, it’s economics. The restaurant was proud of themselves for providing 3 free desserts for the table as a remedy but I would have preferred to have my salmon removed from the bill, for two reasons, I am diabetic and cannot eat sugar, two, I was not consulted whether that was an adequate remedy. Even when I went to pay the bill, I gave stark criticism about my food experience and nothing more was done.

The next morning as I write this, I regret choosing Steveston Seafood House as the place to eat fresh seafood.

EDIT AFTER REPLY FROM OWNERS: It is truly unbelievable to me that you have defended the mandatory gratuity, as if were a law. A tip is for a customer to decide upon, it is based on the experience and choice of the customer. It also teaches staff where they need to improve their service. The fact that the kitchen fell flat on their faces with our meals yet they STILL got their tip from me is so ridiculous to me that I am truly at my wits end, they learned nothing. Basically, you said, despite the performance, we pay a tip. How that makes any sense is just sooo...well, stupid, as to defy belief. How British Columbians can put up with this nonsense, I don't know. If you can't afford to pay your staff without mandatory supplementation that is not related to performance, you need to close your doors. TIPS...