Sabà Bistro — Restaurant in Township of Langley

The atmosphere is good but the service is lacking. Understaffed and the servers forget small requests often after overpromising due to how overloaded they are.

Went here twice and not too impressed with their meat dishes. If I come back, I will order the classic Benny or brunch items.

First time back last October, the lamb dish was overcooked and bland. Tasted like left-overs but it was a date and I just pretended it was OK to maintain the mood.

Second time (this past weekend), the beef rib dish was overcooked and not fresh / falling apart but not in a good way (think Chunky Soup consistency). Also tasted like 2-3 day old left-over but I found it easier to just pay the bill than make a scene as I am not that picky. Learned my lesson not to order meat dish here going forward. Egg and potatoes were OK.

The kitchen might be overloaded also and the quality shows. I do not recommend any long-cooked items here for the price. They might be better at doing fresh, made-to-go orders such as eggs (good) and bread / salads.

A man sitting next to us had his soup explode from the heat (likely microwaved and vacuum lock?) and violently splashed across within 4' radius hitting his partner across her chest and the back bench, then nearly hit my companion in her eyes and ruined her clothing. No comment what-so-ever from mgmt. / service team regarding this incident and my friend spent 30 minutes cleaning out the meat juice stain from her clothing and bag.

Servers saw this incident and did not know how to react / correct this situation. I had to ask twice for a new napkin and there was no sincere apology. Had this been an incident where the hot item went into her eyes, it would have been a trip to the ER.

As someone with professional cooking experience, this wouldn't have happened unless the meat stew/soup item (another slow-cooked meat dish...) was re-heated then plated without relieving the air pocket. The metal skillet the soup was in was likely too hot for the soup and caused air-pockets as the dish exploded upon the first fork touch by the guest next to us. They left in a hurry and in embarrassment. Basically ruined 4 people's dining experience with one dish.

Next time I will consider a different brunch location if I am back in Fort Langley. Not too impressed as of late.

The business is just expanding for more revenue but losing critical quality control / service training with their new staff. The server spent more time advertising their new location instead of focusing on making our experience great. Perhaps training initiative / focus is on revenue growth in the future rather than maintaining the high quality Saba was once known for.

I am being generous with my rating because their eggs are OK, but for the price point and the hype, my experience tells me to look elsewhere next time until they figure it...

After discovering Fort Langley a couple of weeks ago, we noticed the space and menu at Saba Bistro, so we came back for early dinner. It was on a Wednesday and they have live music. We anticipated that with the live music, the patrons would be talking loudly and the din indoors would be more than we can handle, so we asked for an outside table even though we would get the sun. The restaurant windows is a series of accordion sliding patio doors which opens, making the patio part of the dining room, and allowed us to be part of the the happenings and also to enjoy some of the air conditioning from inside. We had a relaxing time there. For starter, we ordered the Charcuterie & Cheese Board. We like that the board was packed with goodies. The fig jam and dried figs blended in wonderfully with the meats. We finished everything except the large slab of blue cheese. The main course was a bit harder to choose. There were many attractive items like Crab Cakes, Saba Salad, Lamb Popsicle. We chose Halibut and Vongole Spaghetti with a side of seasonal vegetables. The coconut jasmine rice that came with the halibut was not recognizable but very delicious. The fresh clams were OK but a but 'sandy'. I asked for the vongole dish to be garlic free, but didn't expect it to be salt free as well. As it turned out, it gave me the freedom to apply sea salt where I want. For drinks, I had my heart set on Pear and Ginger Kombucha. It was a very enjoyable meal. We can't think of a single place in Yaletown or Vancouver that has a similarly spacious building, and even if there is an equivalent space, the enjoyment would be wrecked by the constant sound of car horns and chatting. We came back for Sunday brunch. There were many items I could have ordered. We ended up with Farm House Breakfast, and Braised Short Rib Hash. Our medium poached eggs were over cooked. We liked what's on our plates, and I really appreciate the fact that most breakfast items come with fresh greens. My partner enjoyed the pork sausage, I would have preferred sausage patties that are spiced like Nürnbergers. But still, brunch was pleasant. We decided to check out the baked goods at Saba Cafe so we did not have coffee at the bistro. We came back for lunch on a Friday, not quite the weekend, but I was hoping to be able to get eggs. Nope. They are strict with the lunch menu. Trying to be healthy, I ordered grilled salmon salad. Understandably, the wild salmon was on the dry side. I asked for no goat cheese, but got the cheese any ways. One of our party ordered the lamb burger, and apparently it was very good and was consumed too quickly for photos. The chicken burger was good as well. Again, wanting a stretch before coffee, we lined up at Saba Cafe for baked goods and...

Service was generally good from beginning to end of meal. Main issue was with one of the main courses ordered at our table, which was the strip loin. The steak was ordered medium rare and was brought to the table blue rare. After several minutes of trying to get the servers attention she was apologetic and said she could leave the the fries and salad at the table while they threw the steak on for longer. There was no option for a new steak, new sides, or refund on the meal. The more cooked steak was returned to the table and was still near blue rare/definitely rare. When the server came over to the check it was apparent that she was uncomfortable and felt like it was still undercooked. However, there was nothing done to remedy the issue (i.e. discount, refund, speak with a manager) and we were billed full price for the meal. As a family that has experience in the service industry, the issue felt like it was not addressed appropriately and effected the enjoyment of a meal out for a special occasion as most of the night we were shocked and laughing about how horrible the dinner was.

Two other small issues…

-The menu online is not the menu at the restaurant. We were excited for the beet salad, kale salad, mushroom gnocchi, rigatoni, brussel sprouts but none of these were on their menu. In fact it was about 10 items that are on their website not offered. I’ve seen this before at other restaurants but normally they will say “sample menu” or “seasonal and changing menu”. It is very strange to advertise items that you do not have.

-I asked if it was possible to have the spaghetti without olives and she said she’d go and ask. We watched the server go and ask the chef and she seemed very bothered by this. When she returned her exact words were “I asked her, and she said you can order it that way but it won’t be good anymore”. I thought that was just a strange comment. The pasta still had numerous other ingredients and I could make the decision if I needed the olives in it… my question wasn’t if it would be good, just if it was possible to have no olives?

As former Vancouverites, now living in fort langley, we were hopeful that a restaurant could create a downtown experience. Unfortunately, Saba Bistro did not deliver and the experience was a massive letdown. Would...