Brix and Mortar — Restaurant in Vancouver

We booked our "post-covid" small wedding ceremony of ~34 people with Brix and Mortar and could not be happier.

Our package was the whole A to Z which was: Ceremony in the courtyard, cocktail hour in the courtyard (and for a short time period indoors so that the courtyard transitions to dinner), and then dinner/reception in the courtyard.

Early booking communication and early planning process: Booked our date really early since we were coming "out of covid" and was worried about the backlog of weddings since 2022 was already being filled up. We booked a date in 2023. All the wedding coordination at this stage was over email and pretty speedy even considering the fact that they were probably very busy! With the date booked and general template finished (rough budget, what package and the maximum amount of people attending), communications for planning wouldn't begin until ~6-8 months before.

Planning process: Had a few more email exchanges to get the menu options, auxiliary day-of questions, and planning an in-person meeting. A video meeting option was also provided which was nice! Once again, the wedding coordination team was wonderful and helped us tremendously and was patient with our questions. Since they've done so many weddings, they were able to give us a rough estimate on how much the overall cost would be based on the menu and drinks we were planning on selecting (which ended up being SPOT on in end end). What we really appreciated was that there were lots of non-alcoholic drink options since our group was not too into drinking. The options ended up being a great hit, and extremely tasty, on the day! Had a few more emails, one last in-person rehearsal. Decoration and set up was also all handled by the team at Brix and Mortar. There were options to bring more but it was most definitely not needed. At this point I was feeling 1000% comfortable and supported; which if anyone is reading this and planning a wedding...that's a LOT of confidence! :P

Day of (service): Brix and Mortar brought their A++ game, wow! We didn't have to do a thing. From the ceremony, to cocktail hour, to the end of the night, I felt super supported. As soon as the ceremony was over, chairs were promptly put away, and a selection of drinks were pre-prepared and circulated along with the cocktail food. They made sure to come over to us with the food (as we were busy mingling) and checked in on us for hydration. :') They'd come by occasionally throughout dinner and let us know about how we're doing relative to the budget; and if we want to cut down the drink offering list. The real testament to the service was at one point at cocktail hour, someone took my bouquet so that I could properly eat/drink. After that, I saw it at random places in the venue throughout the night! It was at the canape table indoors, then moved to our sweetheart table...it was just the cherry on top of amazing service and the attention to detail.

Day of (food + drinks): Every dish was absolutely fantastic! We got great feedback from our guests as well. As mentioned a bit earlier, we had a lot of great non-alcoholic drinks which were all super tasty. The presentation was also gorgeous and we can't find a single thing to complain about!

Final verdict: My partner and I feel like we got more than our money's worth by going with Brix and Mortar for our full day! The venue was visually spectacular, the food and drinks were phenomenal, but the service both in the pre-planning stage and on the day of the event is what really took our day to the next level! Thank you again! :)

Photo credit: Aileen...

What a wonderful treat my wife gave me for my birthday at Brix and Mortar last week. It was truly a fantastic evening. And so, my tale begins... When we arrived for our reservations, the front room on Hamilton St was filled with music from a guitarist playing music and guests conversations filled the air. We were escorted upstairs to the Dining Room area and to the rear at an elevated seating area of only 2 tables at the window at the Homer St. side of the restaurant. It seemed to be our own space. Our ‘server’ Corbin M greeted us cordially, asked if we wanted water, presented us with menus and asked if we would like to start with cocktails or such. He was very polite, friendly without being over bearing. My wife said we were in no rush and would like to pace our dinner slowly as we were celebrating. Corbin wished me a Happy Birthday. We really liked him. Very professional, polite, friendly and knowledgeable. My wife asked if the bartender could make a French Martini, I went with my traditional Bombay Safire martini. Corbin assured us that the bartender was more than up to the task of preparing a ‘French Martini’. When it arrived, my wife was in heaven, saying it was the best she ever had. My martini was as expected. When Corbin returned, we conveyed our pleasure of the mixologist’s abilities and proceeded to order wine for dinner. Asked if we could share their B&M House Ceasar (no problem), my wife ordered the steak tartare for starters then the Pork T-Bone. I decided to go seafood and started with the Scallop Crudo (which I never had before) and the Lingcod for my main. Corbin asked if I had the scallop crudo before, when I said I hadn’t, he proceeded to explain it all to me as tho he was preparing it himself. Made it sound so appealing. So, all was set. The Caesar salad was wonderful, fresh, crisp gem lettuce and plenty for 2 to share. My wife’s steak tartare was delicious served a little different than usual, this time on grilled sourdough, but she said it was very very good. My Crudo was quite good as well with slivers of scallops on cucumber in a vinaigrette. Quite tasty. Once starters were finished, Corbin brought in our mains. My wife’s port T-bone was fabulous she said, so I had to taste it too..and it was. My Lingcod was excellent. Smooth, tender in cornmeal crusted with smashed olives & confit tomato on aged cheddar grits. It was excellent. Wow..!! We also had their grilled sourdough to accompany of dinner and that was really tasty. Well there was no room for any dessert that was pretty evident, so we each had a cappuccino, decaf for my Mrs and to finish things off...sort of a treat for us when desired was to see if the mixologist could make us a pair of ‘Grasshopper’cocktails. Corbin asked..and they were delivered. Excellently prepared..and really topped the whole experience off. This evening was probably one of the best dinners out we’ve had in a Long time. It was one were we just wanted to be by ourselves..and Corbin made it special for us. He was great...and a true asset to Brix & Mortar. I hope I didn’t ramble on too much, but I had to share our wonderful evening. When in Yaletown, you have to visit Brix and Mortar. You won’t be disappointed. Thank you Corbin and...

Overpriced, low quality service, far from amazing food. Not worth it.

1/ My menu was missing a page. Instead of giving me a new one, I was asked to share one with my wife.

2/ Ordered a glass of wine but only got it once I was almost done with my food. Not sure why it took so long to serve me knowing that the restaurant/bar was not busy.

3/ Our food arrived suspiciously fast. Our first thought was that they just reheated things but it could also be that their kitchen is very efficient. I’m not judging them on that point but wanted to mention it.

4/ It would be unfair to say that the food was bad, but it was honestly nothing special, and definitely not worth the price. Paid $20+ for the rigatoni that would have cost me less than a dollar to make at home and would have tested the same if not better.

5/ The food portion was quite small, not only the main but also the dessert. I’m not a big eater but I stopped by a pizza place to get one or two slices after leaving because of how hungry I still was.

Overall, I would not recommend this place based on my experience. Prices are outrageous for this food and service quality.

In response to the owner’s comment: I prefer to share my feedback publicly to assist potential customers in making informed decisions. While I understand that you would prefer to have a conversation behind the curtain, I do not want to receive unsolicited voicemails from your management team.

It is unclear what you mean by “make things right.” While my experience at your establishment was disappointing, I’ve moved on and there is nothing you can do about it to change that. I recommend that you take my feedback into consideration (since you sent me an email asking for it), and review other customer comments to identify any recurring issues. Discuss with your team to brainstorm ways to improve your restaurant and enhance your service.

While I appreciate that the food is sourced from Alberta, I found it lacked distinctive flavor and insufficient in quantity. My previous comment was not intended to undermine the quality but rather to set realistic expectations for future patrons. Given the price point, I believe a higher standard is reasonable to expect.

It seems that a considerable amount of effort is being directed toward discrediting dissatisfied customers rather than acknowledging that not all guests may have enjoyed their experience.

Ultimately, I stand by my review. It is now up to you to decide how to respond to this feedback. If you solicit input from your customers, it would be constructive to consider it...