The Monkey Tree Pub — Restaurant in Saanich

Terrible experience marked by racism and xenophobia from the staff. First, I tried to enter the pub with my girlfriend, but the hostess refused to let us in, claiming we needed two forms of identification each. We showed her our IDs and a credit card each, but according to her, one of the cards wasn't acceptable as verification, even though the name and surname were clearly legible. She admitted it was readable but still raised her voice and didn’t allow us to respond, insisting the name had to be "perfect" and that a slightly worn card wasn’t enough.

What made this even more frustrating was that the hostess was not asking Canadian citizens for two forms of identification, only foreigners like us, who are Latinos. We also noticed that she refused entry to an Indian couple for the same reason, yet Canadians were not subjected to such scrutiny.

Aggressively, the bartender approached us after I explained the situation, and he sided with the hostess, telling us we had to leave.

We went back to our home to get an additional ID and returned. The hostess then told us we would have to wait 30 minutes for a table. When I asked if we could sit at the bar, she said yes, but she didn’t offer that option initially.

At the bar, her friend, the bartender, kept staring at us with hatred. He would come near us, slam the counter, or shout into the air as if trying to bother us. We stayed at the bar for about two hours. At one point, I went to the restroom, and when I returned, the bartender sarcastically handed us the bill with a cheerful "How’s it going, guys?" We thought it was standard, despite having just ordered another beer.

We paid (without leaving a tip), but then a woman claiming to be the manager approached us and told us we had to leave. When I asked why, she said I had pushed the hostess when I went to the restroom, which never happened. She claimed the bartender, who had just handed us the bill politely moments earlier (clearly angling for a tip), had seen it happen. I confronted him, saying that was impossible, and he went crazy, shouting while the "manager" just stood there watching. My girlfriend called him a racist, and he almost proudly replied, "And what about it?"

We left after another customer recommended we avoid trouble with those people. Now I understand why. If you're a foreigner or not racist, don’t come to this place. Canadians are known for being inclusive, but this establishment does not represent that...

From the moment we arrived, the staff was aggressive and openly discriminatory. They demanded double identification from us, something they didn’t require from other customers. I presented my credit card, which included my first name and last name, but they refused it because it didn’t show my second last name. Since we live nearby, we returned with my passport to meet their demands. However, when we came back, the hostess claimed there were no available tables and told us we would have to wait. We asked if we could sit at the bar, and while she agreed, she never offered any alternatives on her own.

We tried to move past this unpleasant treatment, but one of her colleagues, who appeared to be following her lead, kept glaring at us with clear hostility. After two hours, they brought us the check without any explanation. Then, they falsely accused my partner of pushing the hostess. This lie added to the blatant discrimination we experienced. When we pointed out their racist behavior, one of the staff members proudly admitted to it, and the manager supported him. The entire staff began shouting at us, making the situation extremely uncomfortable, especially as I felt at a disadvantage due to my limited English.

We didn’t call the police due to a lack of evidence, but this experience was utterly unacceptable. I strongly recommend that foreigners avoid this place, as they clearly discriminate and demand more documentation than usual. I also noticed other customers being mistreated and leaving. I believe what bothered them the most was that, because of their terrible service, we didn’t leave a tip. Frankly, none of them...

Won't book a group in here again.

We had booked the back room and were assured there was no minimum spend required. On the evening of our gathering there was a big downpour and we wound up with less people than expected. We offered to pay extra but that was refused and the room was opened up. Two tables were seated in there that could have set in the other area as there was space throughout the night. We now had all the noise from the rest of the venue plus two tables mixed in with us so our speakers couldn't make their presentations and the whole night was a bust. All for the sake of two tables. Previous to Covid we had overflowed that back room with a gathering and the pub was a favourite for many of us, but this time we spent a lot on food and got nothing accomplished. I doubt we'll return.

Update: The management obviously have a different recollection of the evening. There was only two tables in our section other than our group. At no time could they not have fit elsewhere. We should have cancelled our pre-ordered food and gone elsewhere I suppose but at least we held to our end of the agreement. Seems like when you go in with a big group we're golden, but one night where the weather hits us hard and they pull the rug out from under you at the last minute. Seems like a one way relationship and it's pretty short sighted for the gain of having those two tables in there, considering we'd offered to pay extra to help cover the lower than expected turnout.

As I said, be wary...