Cuchillo — Restaurant in Vancouver

I have been going to Cuchillo for many years and thought highly of it. However, recently a friend and I decided to host a party in their event space in the basement. Initially things were going smoothly as we were able to go and set up prior to and were told by the owner that we could leave our things there until the next morning where we could help clean up and gather our stuff.

Upon returning to the restaurant the next morning, we realize our neon signage was missing. I was the last person to leave the room, had turned off the signs and unplugged them from the wall before closing the door. I knew I didn’t steal my own sign, so it had to be one of the only people that had access to the room after we left at midnight.

After several back and forth messages, questioning whether one of our guests would have taken it, the owner finally agreed to ask his staff. He replied that they didn’t take it. We asked him to check the cameras and he stated “it’s out of view.” Implying that the cameras don’t point to the middle of the room, which we thought could not be true, nor could someone walk away with a large sign without ever being in camera view. After many more messages we were told that a staff member came forward and admitted to stealing it. It just so happened to be the same staff member that accepted payments all night that included auto-gratuity without telling people, thus allowing them to tip an additional 20+% on their bills. It wasn’t until my last drink of the night when one of the guests called him out on it that he then admitted to it. This was also the same person who proceeded to guilt trip my friend into an additional $100 cash by saying “just so you know, all those tips are distributed to everyone in the restaurant.”

Needless to say, this really soiled our experience. We never received an apology, but rather a message that simply wrote “your sign is at the front desk for you to pick up.” While picking up the sign, my friend was asked if she wanted a shot or a beer or wine. She thought that was a nice gesture and took them up on their offer as she had just spent thousands of dollars hosting a party with them. I guess, not surprisingly, the server promptly brought her glass of wine with the bill and proceeded to talk about what a great guy the person who stole from us was.

After giving this restaurant frequent business over many years, this experience will make me never return or recommend this place to anyone.

As a side note, prior to our party we went to the restaurant for dinner and drinks to meet the owner, talk logistics and see the room. While sitting at our table next to the wall, a large rat ran down the wall directly behind my back, running into the kitchen. Maybe we should have taken...

Came in with fair expectations. The place has a solid rep, slick interior, and the kind of menu that sounds exciting. What we got was a disjointed, poorly managed evening that left us wondering how this place holds a 4.6-star rating.

The food wasn’t a total miss — a couple of good bites, especially the scotch egg, which was one of the few dishes that felt thought-out and well executed. But beyond that? It fell apart fast.

The arctic char taco was, no exaggeration, burnt. And not “nicely blackened” — I mean unpleasantly dry and aggressively charred to the point where it was tough to eat. It felt like the kind of mistake that happens when the kitchen is scrambling to recover a delayed or forgotten order — which wouldn’t surprise me given the state of service. Then there were the skirt steak tacos, which sounded great but were mostly filled with potatoes, topped with cold strips of steak. Barely any meat, and the whole thing felt like an afterthought.

They told us food would come out “tapas-style,” but it was basically one dish at a time with awkward gaps — not shared dining, just oddly staggered and inconsistent pacing.

But the real problem — far and away — was the service.

Our server kicked things off with the classic “I don’t write things down” routine, which I honestly don’t mind if you can actually remember the order. He couldn’t. He checked in before leaving the table, came back again to double-confirm, and still things seemed to go missing. At least two separate staff came over later asking what we were still waiting on. It felt like no one in the room was tracking anything, and yet no one seemed especially concerned either.

When the delays and dish confusion were mentioned, we got the standard vague “kitchen mix-up” explanation — which at this price point ($110+ for four tacos, some pork belly, a scotch egg, and sprouts) just doesn’t cut it. There was no apology, no effort to smooth things over, just a sort of detached, passive service approach like we were interrupting someone’s low-effort DJ set.

The room looks cool, sure. It feels like a place that wants to impress — but the vibe is all it really delivers. No sense of urgency, no accountability, no sense that anyone’s actually steering the ship.

There’s likely talent in the kitchen, but it’s being let down hard by a front-of-house that’s operating purely on vibes. Nothing about the experience made me want to come back, and the few good bites weren’t enough to justify the cost, the chaos, or the attitude.

A disappointing night all around. You can get better food, warmer service, and a more coherent meal at half the price in a dozen other spots across the city. Not a disaster, but a hard pass...

it's quite good! my holdup on a top rating is really the price and the accessibility. I understand they're top quality ingredients and top quality staff, but it definitely felt a little like taking fast Latin street food and making it a little TOO bougie. And it's absolutely impossible to see anything in the room. (I also don't drink, so this review circulates only around the food. the cocktails might be great and make up for a few pitfalls, at least for those who can enjoy them.)

in terms of food, the ingredients are obviously a cut above, the fish is great, the pork belly is pretty fantastic, the cornbread is a treat. the mocktail I tried was fun and tasty. as much as we spent on it? I don't know. I was on someone else's ticket, but I wouldn't recommend a table of four dine here for under $175-$200, tip included, for the full meal experience with drinks. mostly I was glad that the in-laws were covering the tab.

the serving staff were kind and accommodating, the restructuring to ensure covid health seemed decent, but that doesn't make up for the fact that the restaurant was incredibly poorly lit. having a paper menu would've been a nightmare. I don't recommend this restaurant if you're visually impaired in low light.

I'm not a fan of the trend of restaurants (in general, bit especially $$ to $$$ places) using "mood lighting" (i.e. very dark) to make their location seem edgier or more private. I think it's a cheap cop out, and creates an effect that can be achieved in other ways.

For example, if you want to be REALLY countercultural, advertise that you pay your employees excellent wages up front by stating on the menu that "a base thriving wage of $xx.xx/hr+benefits is rolled into the price of your meal, thus tips are not accepted to ensure equitable pay between our diverse staff." Make it clear that you value disabled customers with brightly lit tables and passageways that show off the lovely food and and tasteful decor. use bigger partitions if you want the tables to feel more private. or even just partitions that aren't made of clear solid glass.

so, takeaways- an underground theme doesn't have to include all the lovely lighting mother nature gifted a sealed cave, nor does it have to include bottom-of-the-wallet prices without assurance that your money is going towards equitable (plus less racist and antiquated systems of) pay of the generous staff. the coconut corn WAS really...