Nero Belgian Waffle Bar — Restaurant in Vancouver

I made two visits to Nero, once in August and once this past week.

The good:

The food is quite good. Both times I chose a sweet option, in August the French Waffle and this past week the Lemon Ricotta with the Brussels waffle option. While the Lemon Ricotta wasn't for me it was still good and I did enjoy it. I would definitely recommend the French Waffle. All the savoury items sounded delicious as well and while I did not try one, my partner who I came with in August did enjoy the Brussels Benedict.

What didn't work:

Perhaps it was a design decision that I did not understand, but I found the drinks to be somewhat disappointing both times I stopped by. On the first visit, we got salted caramel lattes, one hot and one iced. The coffee itself is good (Nero uses Agro Roasters, a great coffee roaster local to Vancouver), however there seemed to be little effort to ensure the sauce/syrup was incorporated into the beverage. For the iced latte, the sauce was in clumps at the bottom of the drink, while for the hot latte it tasted as if little to none of the sauce was added to the drink at all. I initially thought this may have been a one off issue, but when I visited most recently I got a lavender london fog, which simply tasted like an unsweetened tea latte with lavender garnish. It was presented nicely, but both times the drinks were not what I was expecting based on the description. Perhaps they are not sweet intentionally, but if I wanted a latte that wasn't sweet I would have ordered it as such; it was as if no flavouring was added either time. Not sure what more to say here.

The bad:

As someone who has worked in the food service industry for several years of my working life, I completely understand what is like to be understaffed in such a role. However, I was still very disappointed in the service I received. I was seated at the same time as another couple, and stated that I was by myself when I was seated. After I was seated I was given water and the server went to tend to other tables; it seemed like he was the only person serving the entire restaurant. After around 10-15 minutes my order had still not been taken, but the couple who had been seated before me only just had their order taken. I waited a bit more and still did not have my order taken, and this continued until after another table was sat and was able to place their order right away. At this point, I got the attention of the server. He explained that he thought I had been waiting for someone else and apologized, which I appreciated and he was able to take my order right away and he also told me he would expedite it given the amount of time I had been waiting which I also appreciated. At this point I felt like service had improved, and I also noticed that another server arrived and seemed to begin her shift which was good as it was quite busy. Fairly quickly after I finished my food, the server came by and collected the dishes and I mentioned that I would just be looking for the bill at the point. He acknowledged and said he would be back with it. I waited about ten minutes from then until I was able to pay, and I was only able to pay after I asked the second server, as I could see that the first server was in the BOH area talking to who I could only assume was a manager or owner. Overall, I felt like my time was not respected. This all happened on what was my last day in the Vancouver area after a short visit for a small conference, and I was wrapping up my time by grabbing a snack before I visited a relative who happens to be in the hospital. I had to cut the hospital visit to a shorter length in order to make my flight home due to the time I spent waiting at Nero.

I don't think this most recent experience is fully indicative of Nero as a business given that my first visit was positive and service was good, albeit not amazing, then. I would recommend Nero if you have nowhere to be very quickly and if you are going earlier in the morning, rather than...

I ordered a Café Latte with 2 pumps of vanilla, but unfortunately, I didn’t get the vanilla in it, and to add to the confusion, my drink was made as a Cappuccino instead. On top of that, it was prepared extra hot, which I didn’t ask for.

I’ve visited over four dozen cafés, and this is the first time I’ve had this happen. As a Calgarian looking for a good cup of coffee, I was disappointed, especially given the promising signs about the quality of coffee at your café.

While the Lotus waffle was delicious, the vanilla custard I ordered lacked flavor. Additionally, the wait for my takeout order was quite long—about 15 minutes—even though there were 6-7 staff members working at the time.

I hope this feedback helps to improve future customer experiences. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Reply to Jan:

Thank you for your response. I appreciate that you took the time to address my feedback.

However, I noticed that the main issue I raised — the fact that I paid for a latte but received a cappuccino — wasn’t acknowledged in your reply. This mix-up was central to my dissatisfaction, as I didn’t get the product I paid for.

I understand that you make your own syrups, which is commendable, but this wasn’t communicated to me when I placed my order. If the in-house syrup has a subtler flavor than the more common vanilla syrups, that’s something I would have liked to know in advance. The additional cost for the pumps, without an explanation of the difference, feels unjustified when the taste didn’t meet my expectations.

I’d appreciate more transparency about ingredients and options next time. While I’m happy the biscoff waffle hit the mark, I would still like the value of what I paid for reflected in the drink I ordered. I hope future visits live up to the high standards you aim...

This place was really underwhelming for us and we've wanted to try it for a while. It was the food that let it down. The staff were super friendly, the place is clean and cozy and we lined up before it opened in the morning, so there wasn't much of a wait to get inside. But, once we tasted the food, we knew we wouldn't be back.

Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day and Egg Benny's are one of my most favourite dishes on a breakfast menu, so I decided to try the Brussels Benny. At first I thought....hmmm...smoked salmon on a waffle?...hmmm...I didn't think that went together, but I was intrigued. Maybe It's something new that I have to try and will like...after all, the chef must know it goes well together, right? No. Smoked salmon on a waffle is like putting sour cream in your coffee instead of cream. Also, the amount of hollandaise was so much that it covered both poached eggs entirely, and after a few bites, all I could taste was hollandaise....nothing else. It was just swimming in it.

The Triple C I think was also designed poorly. When you're going to a waffle house, you assume that waffles are their forte, so why not demonstrate that on the dish? Everything that was served undermined the actual waffle, which is what the guests are there for. My point is, even with the Triple C as with the Benny, there was so much other stuff stacked on top, that good old Mr. Waffle couldn't even make its way to your taste buds, and that was a real shame. All you could taste with the Triple C was the ice cream.

Accompanying those two disappointing dishes was the Americano that was very bitter and for some reason went cold only after a few minutes. Unfortunately,...