LOCAL Public Eatery Kitsilano — Restaurant in Vancouver

During my last visit to Vancouver, I had come to Local on August 2nd as it was close to where I was staying with a friend to have lunch before I was meant to meet with family later that day. When I arrived, the service was nice and both the hostess and server who greeted me were cordial. I had ordered a chicken sandwich and fries, ate about half of it, and then went home to get ready for my evening plans. However, about two hours later on my way to my event for the evening, I had to have my uber driver pull over as I was overcome with a wave of intense, uncontrollable nausea. Thankfully I was close enough by to simply head back to where I was staying in Kitsilano, but what ensued after was multiple days of sickness, vomiting, and expelling of other substances that left me bedridden for the rest of my trip, so severely that I almost missed my flight to go back home. I have had food poisoning before and recognized these as marked symptoms of having eaten something that induced said illness. I then went to observe my leftovers when I was back home and saw that the chicken was certainly not cooked all the way through in some portions.

When I called to phone this location back to inform them of what happened, my sole intention was to inform the staff of what had occurred so that they might check over their kitchen or in general keep it in mind for the rest of the evening service. I was initially put through to a hostess, who then put me on hold to inform her manager, and then was put through to a manager. Before I could even get a word in edge wise, the manager I spoke to informed me that she had done "research" and concluded that because of how soon after I was feeling sick, it couldn't have been food I ate here that caused these symptoms. That day, Local was the only place I had eaten anything at all. I don't need to be a doctor to trust the subjective and objective symptoms and feelings associated with a food-induced illness I have had before. And I don't write this as an appeal to authority, but I work as a gastrointestinal nurse, and before that, most all of my work experience has been in the service industry. Even with rudimentary knowledge, I would know that the onset of symptoms of food poisoning is variable from person to person. With a cursory google search, which is what I assumed was performed to tell me that I couldn't have gotten food poisoning here, it shows that the onset of symptoms can occur in as short as thirty minutes.

I understand at the end of the day this is a chain restaurant in a prime location in Kits, and the concerns of a single individual patron are likely not in any way important to the overall managerial staff, but I'm leaving this review because of the sheer lack of professionalism and empathy afforded me in this instance. I did not call to complain, nor to demand a refund, I simply wanted to inform the staff of what had occurred so they could keep an eye out. The almost immediate, instantaneous deferral of blame or any semblance of wanting to take accountability for what occurred here struck me as extremely tacky and distasteful. The manager I spoke to did tell me that if I were to come in they would treat me to a meal, which would have been a nice gesture if not for that being a follow-up to her telling me they wouldn't comp my bill when I didn't even mention wanting a refund or any monetary reimbursement in the first place. I would not want to give my money to a venue that regards their customers this way and would not recommend people...

5 Stars – This Place Deserves a Medal

If you’re in Kitsilano and don’t stop in here, are you even living?

From the second I walked in, the vibe was immaculate—laid-back but polished, like a beach bum who went to finishing school. But let’s talk about what really makes this place shine: the staff. They’re not just friendly; they’re a high-functioning hospitality SWAT team.

First up, Riley, the General Manager. This man is an icon. A legend. A walking “how can I help you?” He once saved my entire night with the precision of a Navy SEAL and the enthusiasm of a golden retriever. Long story short, I somehow managed to lock myself in the restroom during a power flicker (don’t ask how), and instead of calling the fire department, Riley shimmied through a ceiling panel Mission: Impossible style, dropped into the stall, handed me a spicy tuna roll he had in his jacket pocket (because, of course, Riley always has sushi on him), and calmly said, “Let’s get you out of here, champ.”

I’ve never felt so safe… or so seen.

Then there’s Sam, the bartender. Sam doesn’t just pour drinks—he performs them. Watching him mix cocktails is like watching Mozart compose a symphony, except he adds a cheeky joke and a wink every time he hits the shaker. He remembered my drink after just one visit (a very specific, totally unnecessary twist on a mezcal old fashioned), and somehow improved it the next round. Sorcery.

And Sarah, our server? A literal ray of sunshine. She knew the menu inside out, gave recommendations like a seasoned food critic, and somehow managed to time everything perfectly—drinks refilled before we even realized they were low, food arriving hot and fresh just as our stomachs started growling. I asked for extra napkins once, and I swear she delivered them before I even finished my sentence. Psychic? Possibly.

All in all, this place is a gem—whether you’re here for a quick drink or to make new memories (and maybe get rescued by a sushi-carrying GM). Kitsalano’s got no shortage of great spots, but this one? This one feels like home.

Disclaimer: Some parts of this review may have been exaggerated for comedic effect (looking at you, ceiling rescue). But the praise is real—this place is amazing, and the team is...

After hearing so many great things about Local I decided to go for some drinks and a bite to eat on a Friday afternoon. The location is great being right beside the beaches. When me and my party had arrived we had to wait for the patio as it was full being gorgeous sunny afternoon. We didn't have to wait to long of a time until we were seated on the patio. Once we were seated and greeted by our server she took our drink orders. As she came back around she had completely forgotten what I had ordered which was the first of the annoyances from the server. She apologized and brings me the beer I had ordered. Then we all placed our food order, three of which were the full order of fish tacos with fries. My one friend had ordered a single taco plus and order of chips and guacamole. All three orders of fish tacos had arrived plus the chips and guacamole but again something was forgotten. The single taco was not brought out by the food runner and we had asked how much longer till it was coming. The food runner said that it wasn't rung it with the rest of the food, he apologized and got the kitchen to quickly make one and informed us it would be on the house. For the rest of the time there our server didn't seem to come around as much and failed to check up on us in a timely manner. It would have been better for us to order multiple drinks at once instead of waiting for her to come around. The rest of my party insured me that the service is normally a lot better and maybe we had a new server and she was just trying to find her rhythm. We had looked around to see how busy the restaurant was and noticed it wasn't overly busy which didn't help that our server was on the slower side. Once we were satisfied with the delicious tacos and refreshing beers we had asked for our bills. When she came around with the bill we all checked over to ensure everyone's food was on the correct bill. She had to reprint the bill three times before it was correctly done. I would definitely come back to Local as the food was great and they have an excellent beer menu with a great patio. Hopefully though next time we will have a server that is on...