Alibi Room — Restaurant in Vancouver

I used to come to the Alibi Room all the time. It was my go-to spot for at least ten years. Tonight was my first time back after the pandemic and also my birthday. I had 6-9 people joining, some people were leaving right away, some people were joining later. I was unable to make a reservation, so I showed up early to put my name down for one of the long tables. I was met with hostility right from the start. The hostess repeated that they do not split up groups, which wasn't what I wanted at all. We waited a bit and were told our name was on the list for one of the larger tables inside. We eventually sat at one of the patio tables outside, and had a great time. It was a little hard for us to get our orders in. Our server would take a few people's orders, then leave, and we'd have to wait for her to come back to finish our table's orders. It was like we were dismissed by the server. When we had our ninth friend come join us, the server told us we had to leave, with the hostess behind her almost yelling at us that we were told 'eight was the limit'. One person from our party had to chime in and say 'no you told us eight was the limit' in order to de-escalate the situation. As the party host, no one had mentioned that to me. We were told we could squeeze into a picnic table. All the while, they never made any effort to try to seat us at a large table inside (although we were told it was an hour wait we were there for over two hours...) We could not believe the hostility. Most of us have worked in the service industry, and normally we try to find a solution for the people we are taking care of. They never once tried to work with us, yet also never told us they couldn't serve us as a table of nine? It was a weird experience. We ended up going to Urban Winery down the street, who were able to take a last minute reservation, were able to accommodate nine, had a table set up for us when we arrived, and we had a great time. I will probably not be back...

Last night was the first time coming here since the new management and what a disappointment. Definitely off my list of go-to places in the city.

UPDATE: I'll add to my review, based on the owner saying my vagueness reflects my character as a reviewer.

Food: We came for beers, but as it was my friends birthday, I offered to buy him dessert. There was a featured dessert blackboard that advertised Lava Cake. But they didn't update it, it was tiramisu as listed near the kitchen. He was less enthusiastic but still enjoyed it. I had a bite, and thought it was fine!

Service: Since they were understaffed, our server was actually a bartender with little experience in beer. All he knew was he liked the salted lager. He got visibly nervous when we ordered flights but were more than willing to take our time as we felt bad for him. One of the beers in my flight wasn't available, so instead of asking me what I'd like instead, he just supplemented it with a lager, so I sent it back. Before, I'd get a receipt that told me the order of the 4 beers I asked for, but I didn't receive one. My friends helped me jog my memory, so I got by. Also the beers weren't cold. Lastly, they had problems splitting our bill so a friend paid for our whole tab so we could get out of there quicker.

Atmosphere: Should have gotten the hint when I called ahead for a table of 8 and they could accommodate it no problem. Was dead on a Friday night. The added red LED light strips were an eye strain. The servers were nervous. One left two glasses of water on a tray out of reach, so I went over to give them to my partner and our friend when the server left.

It's a huge undertaking keeping up the legacy of what Alibi Room used to be for craft beer lovers. I'm glad you're standing behind the direction you're taking, just maybe change up your branding so long time patrons don't get the wrong impression if they're not aware about the change in ownership.

Thanks, best of...

Big disappointment.

This place has been on my list for years. I finally went and it was a huge let down. I will not be back and would not recommend this place. The local legend of the Alibi room with a great beer list and medium rare burgers no longer exists, if it ever did.

Service was poor. Greeting at the door was fine. Seated shortly but downstairs in the basement. No table service in the basement. It took 15 mins to stand in line at the bar to place an order. Food and drink arrived in good time after ordering. Nobody cared if our food and drink were good or if we had a good experience. The bartender was quite awkward and unhelpful. The overall service experience was so poor we left without tipping at all, which is so rare I can't remember ever doing that before. Well earned in this case.

The basement is quite dark. Tables and bench seating were home made lumber and lacked both comfort and style. If I knew the basement was so bad I would have waited for a table in the dining room. Menu's were poorly printed and really difficult to read by one small table candle and a dim overhead lamp. I had to break out my phone for help.

The tap list was decent but not spectacular. The food menu was relatively small but options seemed okay. You could do as well or better at many places around town.

The real reason to come here is for the house made burger that can be cooked to order, medium rare. The burger is a lie! We asked and were told a burger comes how it comes, no input on how it is cooked. Sure enough, burgers arrived cooked brown all the way through and were quite dry. The burger was dressed well, bun was nice, but overall no better than an average pub. Fries were good but half of the serving was tiny little bits I would call crumbs not fries.

Overall, this place gave average to poor performance in every category. There are better food and drink options around. I don't believe Alibi cares enough about customers to deserve...