Charcoal & Woodz Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Surrey

My wife and I just had a very off-putting experience at Charcoal and Woodz on Canada Day at 830pm. We stopped by on the way to the Surrey celebrations at Cloverdale Millennium Amphitheatre. The restaurant was moderately busy due to the foot traffic from the event next door but it was not slammed.

We were greeted by the owner/manager, a welcoming east Indian lady, who offered us a seat at a high table. We sat down and browsed through the menu.

We were browsing the menu when a rude waitress (a tall East Indian or perhaps Persian lady wearing a green/aqua/teal tshirt, sorry if I've mistaken your ethnicity) sharply advised us that McDonald's cups are not allowed in the restaurant. "You are not allowed to have McDonald's cups here".

We had no problem with this and respect the restaurant's rules. We told her it was just water in the McDonald's cup and without saying anything else to us she just snagged the cup from our table, walked away and threw the cup out behind the bar.

What choked me about this was the following:

1. from the time the manager sat us down at the table we received NO service. No one bothered to come by to say hello or offer us drinks/food

2. this rude waitress approached us in a manner that spoke down to us. She didn't even say hello before addressing us about the cup. She gave me the impression that we were some cheap customers trying to get away with a free drink or that we were trying to sneak a drink in. I would have expected if she took the cup to AT LEAST ask us if we'd like anything to drink or eat. She just turned her back and ignored our table as she walked by several times. Why come to our table to take a cup away that wasn't a problem for us but not bother serving us in any other way?

3. the owner/manager who greeted us should have pointed out to us that the cup was not allowed. Since she did not, we had this unpleasant and untactful experience with one of her staff

4. 10 minutes goes by and we STILL have not been approached by any staff. We looked at each while sitting at our empty table and decided that this establishment does not deserve or care about our business. We calmly walked out.

I share this feedback with this restaurant in a manner that identifies the rude waitress because if they cared, I think it's important that the manager/owner knows that this staff member did not bother to serve us with the same welcome that you greeted us. This server is not matching the manager/owner's sincerity or interest in serving. Frankly, this is a shame that your team members do not follow after your lead.

Unfortunately, although we live very close to this restaurant we will not be returning to this hotel restaurant. The lack of service that we received with numerous waitresses walking back and forth infront of the bar and the rude waitress above does not warrant a second chance. I do not recommend Charcoal and Woodz as there are many other establishments that consistently deliver solid service from the start to the end...

Went for Mother's Day brunch and was one of the worst, if not THE worst dining experience I've ever had.

Atmosphere - 1/5

The way the Mother's Day brunch was planned and executed was one of the most egregiously short-sighted moves I had ever seen, showing an absolutely disgusting level of disrespect for their customers.

Place was packed to the brim, in the worst, possibly most unsafe way possible. The lineup for the buffet extended outdoors, and around the corner of the building- which warranted up to a 20 minute wait just to get your plate.

While I can wait, I cannot tolerate people in wheelchairs and mobility issues having an incredibly hard time navigating the restaurant, given that additional tables were clearly packed into the restaurant, and seats were right up against the person behind you. People had to move their chairs and tables just to allow for these patrons to move. This was a clear safety violation, and should have been noted beforehand. What if there was a fire?

We were seated right behind the buffet, which meant that our party had to scoot in our chairs or stand up to allow people behind me to move around in the middle of our meal.

Service - 1/5

I will not blame the workers doing their job, however inexperienced they may be. What I will blame is management understaffing the service and overcrowding the restaurant. We did not receive any service beyond a simple "any drinks?" at the beginning of our meal- which isn't a surprise, given I saw one server manage in the ballpark of 70-80 people.

They also ran out of dishes of all sorts. We had to use a dessert fork for our meal, and coffee cups for water since they had run out of their standard glasses.

Food - 1/5

Now, I understand you can't expect the best from a hotel restaurant. However, for a "brunch"- the lunch options were lacking. By lacking, I mean absent, other than one roast beef carving station which dished out overcooked slices of roast.

Additionally, food was clearly not replenished at a fast enough level, with many near-empty trays/bowls and food that had been soaking in it's own juices. The dessert station was in disrepair, with the chocolate fondue fountain grasping onto dear life, and trays of cake being served on a shelf 5-6ft off the ground. Not the easiest setup for most.

Food quality was incredibly mediocre. It was clear that things were being rushed out- things were not fresh. The worst culprit was a salmon eggs benedict I got having a huge lack of salmon and a completely solidified yolk (how long had it been poached for???)

Overall - 1/5

I'm not one to openly look for negativity in experiences, especially on Mother's Day. I tend to lean on the positive side. However, if this review either allows the restaurant to acknowledge its mistakes and ensure this never happens again, or warns YOU about booking Mother's Day brunch at this restaurant, then I'm happy to write a...

I am a chef and trained in hotels for many years.... Food taste was 5/10 Ambiance 8/10 for a family sports bar Attached to a hotel. Quality 3/10 Service 3/10 Value 2/10 Buffett Attendance 1/10

I wanted it to be more but it just wasn't. We went for mothers day and website said Buffett open 5 to 10. our reservation was for 7,30. We arrived an were seated quickly. Drinks took 15 minuted to arrive at our Table from our waitress who was non attentive looked and tired? In her defence she may have worked the whole of mothers day? Ok so we got up to checkout the buffet. It looked picked over with the only thing looking fresh was the chef carved roast beef and ham. So we went back to our seats to wait a few minutes and hoped we were in between seatings and they'd restock it soon. Well 25 mintues after our arrival we decided to give it a go. The fruit., meat and cheese trays were at 25% and looked un kept and picked over. The home made salmon gravlox was stocked and one of the best items on the buffett. As we worked our way down the salads were quality but nothing special.....The 3 salad dressing were made in house and very good quality. Now the hot items, The rice was at 50 % and barley warmed, the fried potatoes were tastey but way overcooked and blown apart The mashed spudes were again 50 % full and the salmon at least it was a full tray, basic seasoned well but way over cooked and dry. The mushroom ravioli with truffle oil cream sauce was very good with 2 exceptions. Again barley warm, it was not stocked until our second trip up then it was hot. The spoons had all fallen into their dishes and were covered in sauces and never wiped or replaced. I ended up serving my guest with one spoon from the rice. the Butter chicken was very tasty but again luke warm. The mango chutney salmon was completely un edible looking as it was scraped into a pile all mashed up, I did not try it. The full tray of Chicken thighs in some kind of a nice flavoured voulute would have been spectacular if it was both hot and not over cooked. In our 45 minutes and 2 trips they only restocked the salad and the pasta the rest was like eating someone's leftovers. Oh the beef and demiglace was really good. The desert bar was restocked right as we needed it The pastries were home style and tastey but not exicuted professionally. At 50 minutes after our arrival we were told that the buffett was closing. So much for 10 pm. We were already in the midst of a lack luster event and this was the cherry on top. Charcoal and Woodz has the ability the offer great food and amazing flavors but fell short in far too many areas to risk spending $39 per person for a $19.99 experience again. I so wanted it to meet its web sites claims of local fresh ingredient professionally prepared , with all fresh in house sauces. But it was just not...