Greenhorn Cafe — Restaurant in Vancouver

I went to Greenhorn with a friend and something happened that I still cannot believe.

We were waiting in line, and people who came after us were seated before us. We simply asked why, just to make sure our names were on the waiting list. There was no loud voice, no bad words, no attitude at all. It was only a calm and genuine question.

The waiter, however, reacted with anger. He handed us menus in an aggressive way and said the food would take 20–30 minutes. When my friend said we would just leave, he grabbed the menus back aggressively. I calmly asked why he was upset and mentioned that I had never had any issue before.

At that point, the manager stepped in. Instead of clarifying, he publicly said in front of everyone: “I remember your face, the first time you came years ago you stayed for hours and didn’t pay your bill.”

I was stunned. What bill is he talking about? If such a thing had ever happened, how could I have come back multiple times afterward, ordering food and coffee with different people and paying each time? To throw out such an accusation, in front of everyone, with no proof, was humiliating and insulting. And then he asked me to leave in front of the whole café.

If there really was a bill, prove it. Show it to me. I would pay it five times over. But instead, he chose to step on my peace, embarrass me publicly, and insult me when I had done absolutely nothing wrong.

Yes, their food is amazing, honestly one of the best brunch spots in Vancouver. But why would anyone insult a guest like this, just to “defend” an employee who was never attacked in the first place? In the end, they only insulted me, and insulted...

The only cons I'll mention are that the service is slow and the prices are high. Realistically though, the quality is really high, so it takes longer to make stuff, and it's really poppin' off in here, so of course it's gonna take longer than if it was dead. It's not the fault of the servers or anybody. And of course it's an arm and a leg, but look at the neighbourhood, poor people like me are fish out of water around here.

The pros, the pros. I had an oat latte and it was so good I wanted to just chug it. No joke. Maybe one day I'll come back and just pound two oat lattes. I ordered the steak and eggs thing, and it was awesome. Got the eggs medium and they were just right, the steak medium rare. It came with come cool sliced potatoes kind of conglomerated in this cool ball, kind of like rocks in a rock wall in Scotland. There were plum (?) tomatoes on the side, and they were so good. Tomatoes in Vancouver usually suck, but these ones were actually soft and had flavour. Everything was delicious. It's really busy here, with people desperately waiting outside, and people getting take out orders and milling about. They have a decent amount of seating, with different sections for the chairs. The chairs themselves are metal and a little uncomfortable. If you have long legs, they will probably suit you better. But I can understand having chairs like this, you wanna keep the customers circulating.

The bathroom is superb. It has a window, paper towels, and a hand dryer, and this kind of scary/trippy plush dog doll. Very nice.

My server was attentive and nice, seemed on the diligent side, which is good for a...

I know this is like a "gem" of the west end, but it's been consistently quite disappointing. The food is standard but the atmosphere is really depressing. While I can appreciate the flavours and intention but behind the menu, the food itself, the plating, and the experience of eating was greatly overlooked. Feeling unwanted by a restaurant/cafe by way of it's ambiance and inattention to customer experience is one of the worst feelings. It truly feels like a place that knows they'll make bank on their food regardless of how sloppy their execution.

Service was good and it was busy, so I have no qualms with the people at greenhorn. My issue really is in the feeling of being pushed through. Uncomfortable seating, stark and oddly hung lighting, an open door that couldn't/wouldn't be closed, small tables, and variably bland dishes makes this a place I would rather avoid.

The blandness is really what gets me. When I make food at home that's bland, I can forgive myself and add a few pinches of salt or pepper. But when I am paying for a $50 meal that is as colourless as it is tasteless (though not lacking in texture, oddly enough), then I am simply annoyed and left...