The Narrows Smokehouse (Re-Open DEC.4) — Restaurant in Sicamous

The atmosphere and service were both nice... The food, not so much.

The 8oz Texas brisket... The server said to expect 2-3 slices. I got one. It was from near the point and barely 1/5 of an inch thick, not a full cross section of the cut and so DRY I could have filed my nails with the meat. Worse, the flavor was lacking except for an almost chemical aftertaste that messed up what smoke flavor there was.. The order came with just the one sad piece of meat swimming on a steel plate with nothing else on it.

The pulled pork sandwich had similar flavor issues. At least this came with the meat in a bun with coleslaw and pickles (although these appeared to be the ones that you can buy in the grocery store with the rippled surface... In other words, watery and poor crunch factor). The coleslaw was the best thing on the table and it was served in a deceiving 'bowl' that looks much deeper than it actually was and yielded less than three bites total of the slaw itself.

Both meats lacked salt and had few, if any, flavor characteristics of real BBQ.

The "in house-made sauces" offered on the table are incredibly watery (think diluted ketchup with 2:1 - water:ketchup and you have the right consistency) but they are absolutely necessary to make the meats edible. Otherwise, both the pork and brisket would be at home on an inpatient hospital menu.

Worst of the bunch... The Mac and cheese. There were three of us and we left half the portion on the plate because it was just awful. The only explanation for this disaster I could imagine was that the kitchen messed up the base sauce and didn't have the experience necessary to recognize it, pitch the whole batch, and start over... Which is what should have happened. There was decent flavor balance between the onions and the cheese which was promising but the poor base prep left the Mac and cheese with more of the chemical smoke flavor over top of the thin yet gritty sauce.

The three bun, pork belly, platter was an experience as well. Only one of the three 'buns' (these were the right dough for Asian BBQ buns but were just small 4inch diameter circles of lightly steamed bun dough folded into tacos with filling tosed in betweenthe fold) had any of the Asian flavor the dish advertised and that was present in only one bite. The rest of the buns required liberal sauce to choke down.

The only reason that the food wasn't sent back in it's entirety was due to traveling all day, being famished and being unable to find a different restaurant that was still open nearby. The bill for a pulled pork sandwich, two orders of Texas Brisket, (which were just meat, no sides!) Three bun platter, and Mac and cheese, with two non alcoholic drinks... Just under $110 without tip.

The front of house staff were lovely, but given the exorbitant pricing of such terrible food, we will not be returning. One of our party had been here before and recommended this restaurant. They were, understandably, seriously disappointed with this return trip. So, hopefully it is a training or new staff issue. I won't be returning to find out, however.

To sum it up, Crocodile Dundee once said "you can eat it, but it...

We had not been in Sicamous in years and decided to stay on our way to the coast. We were pleasantly surprised to find the Narrows Smokehouse. It was a chilly rainy day where we were greeted by Doug, the owner. There were three full tables, a couple out on the deck ( who moved inside when the rain picked up) and Doug says pick whatever table you want. The garage type door which might be a little chilly or the cozy table in the corner near the bar. We chose the later; best decision ever. Doug asked us what did we want to drink tea, coffee a nice cocktail? We chose the later. The tiny bubbly waitress, Marina, comes and asks do we want to eat! Yes, my husband orders the watermelon salad which he said it was better than the one I make. Hubby had a beer and I had the lavender spritzer, OMG it was presented with a small tiny clothespin holding lavender in the cocktail. I ordered the brisket and the cornmeal muffin with honey butter, oh my that muffin was perfect with excellent honey butter. Words can’t describe how Devine it all was. I tried to get my hubby to try brisket to which he finally did. It melted in our mouths with our choice of five homemade sauces I highly recommend the mustard with the brisket. During all this with the restaurant occupancy low at that moment Doug, Marina (yes I spelt that right) and us chatting. I want to take a pic of my exquisite drink when I realize my cell battery is dead! No worries they say we’ll charge it for you, bonus! I finish my drink kinda quickly but it was so good. Marina asks would you like another drink? To which I said I want to try the raspberry cocktail. Doug presents this drink with pride. OMG another hit with freeze dried raspberries floating in the white foam. That drink went down pretty easy. This restaurant deserves all stars I have given it you will not be disappointed. The lavender spritzer was so good I had another and took pics with my cell now charged. We will be back but watch they are not open on Mondays. Oh and I didn’t want to waste the lavender so crumbled it up and threw it in my purse. When Doug saw this he brought over to me a delicate skeleton leaf and explained he puts these in a drink too. I was afraid to touch it it looked so delicate. He said put that in your purse it has the properties that will make it scent your purse as well. Oh I almost forgot my hubby had a margarita (not the slushy but the kind over ice) which he said was the best ever and he makes...

I really hate leaving negative reviews for small business as I realize everyone has bad days and things just happen. However, this place left me so angry and I feel the reviews that I read before visiting catfished me. Was extremely excited to try all the smoked goodness as we were passing through. We ordered a ton - the mac and cheese, broccoli salad, bao buns, wings, smoked baked beans and of course brisket. Mac and cheese and beans were extremely under-seasoned. Bao buns were crumbly and dry, not sure if they were cooked few hours prior or microwaved but didn't even think it's possible to taste so bad. The smoked wings did not taste smokey at all but were overcooked to the point that tasted boiled. Brisket was dry. The broccoli salad was the best thing of everything ordered which is pretty sad for a smoke house. The waitress had to be waved for drinks and for the bill, brought wrong order and over all was just a mess. Was so disappointed in yet another place that is supposed to be specialized in something but were worse than anything I can make at home as a non-pro. Maybe they do not care since a lot of the business is seasonal from people that won't come until next year (or ever) but when the prices are as high as they are, more people should care...