BREWHALL — Restaurant in Vancouver

I am writing this review based on an experience I had hosting a group of fifteen at Brewhall. I was in from out of town planning a get together for friends I do not see very often. I stopped into Brewhall eight days before the event to ask about booking a reservation. I spoke with the manager and was told they already had two bookings, but they thought it was likely one would cancel and that I should call during the week. He assured me that my event day (Sunday) there should be ample room to grab a table if the reservation did not pan out and no need to arrive early. He gave me his card. I called later in the week to ask about the reservation and was told the same thing that they were not sure if the other group was coming and that I should just show up on the day.

Day of, I arrived at Brewhall to find it packed with only a small alleyway section near the door available (at least there was that). To their credit, the manager/staff said they were looking for a spot for us and eventually offered a place on the patio, but there were not enough seats for all of us and the patio closed at 10pm so we stayed put.

The area we were sitting in is quite narrow and is a walkway. We had to move ourselves a few times to accommodate baby strollers exiting through the area, staff accessing private areas, and a single washroom door. A glass was knocked out of someone’s hand and broke (Opa!), although the staff was very good to clean it up quickly.

Maybe it is because I am not from Vancouver, but I felt Brewhall took my reservation request too casually and should have put me on a wait list for reservations, or at least suggested I arrive early to snag a spot. If I was bringing a group in the future, I would be sure to have a reservation or choose another location.

I was happy with the food and fresh beer selection including some interesting collaborations. The atmosphere was lively and it was easy for my friends to get up as they pleased to order with the cafeteria style set up. 2-6 people would be easy to seat on a normal day and I will return with...

This place is full of potential but it’s currently dropping the ball in a few areas.

Beer: Good but you can go to Darby’s and get a 20oz for the same price. Good selection however. Unique brews you won’t find elsewhere so no deal breakers here. I will likely return for a post work beverage

Food: Pretty disappointed here. The sticky beer chicken was really tasty but it’s a tiny portion that does not warrant the almost $10 price. If I were you I would turn this into a sandwich. The pizza, pep in your step, was super boring. It was by no means a bad pizza but the pizzas you can get at tap and barrel are far superior especially the mushroom one. This one tasted like a good quality frozen one from a supermarket. It was also super small.

Concept: I like ordering at the bar as it means you don’t have to wait for your bill when you want to leave but I think you should figure out your tipping system a bit better. I don’t like tipping for service I have not yet received, and I don’t like being asked to tip by your POS system every time I order a drink, I would rather add a tip to my total spend when I am ready to leave. Could I not leave my card at the bar and start a tab?

Overall I left feeling pretty disappointed. 3 stars as I feel like this place has a ton of potential to be really great.

Update:

Went back again as it was the set venue for a friends party. Honestly, this place is fine only if you have no idea about how many better places there are to go in town.

The food was poorly described and portions were small. Beer is good but expensive for the amount you get. Seriously everything needs to be changed here. Take a team and go to visit some actual brew halls in Germany and Austria and you will see how this should be done. Steel Toad was much better. This place could be so good. Just have table service like every other place with an option of ordering at the bar if preferred. Stop asking for tips before receiving service, I think it’s pretty rude to do so. Redo the...

During covid we probably uber eats or did take out two times a month from this place. Staff that hand you the food at the pickup window are super friendly. Always make sure you always check you order the kitchen staff always mess something up! My most recent experience was fair from great, from having the kitchen staff mess up the order again by adding ketchup to the kids burger, my son is allergic and sending me a raw beef burger. To add to the experience the manger and general manger we no help. The manger Cole could not even take responsibility for the under cooked beef burger. When I asked for atlest some responsibility and compensation towards my bill as I threw my food out, he said NO. I had then had to escalate the situation to the GM Nick, atleast he took some responsibility, apologized for the situation and took steps to speak to kitchen staff, we'll I hope he did. Unlike Cole who just gave me attitude and didn't really care. I had an upset stomach after eating the raw burger and had to give my son a benadryl as he had taken a bite out of the kids meal burger. But hey after a few emails back and forth and 6 weeks later Nick M sent me a $25 gift card lol, which doesn't even cover a quarter of our bill or even the cost of my son's or my meal. I am glad both my son and I didn't get really sick after eating here, but someone could have gotten really ill by consuming a really under...