Shamrock Storehouse — Restaurant in Vancouver

BELLS & WHISTLES DUNBAR, Vancouver. After helping my friend Anne do some pre Christmas season organizing/cleaning at her home for part of Sunday morning a week ago, and working up an appetite for something yummy to eat, she recommended trying out this establishment for lunch. As per usual, her intuition proved impeccable…Bells & Whistles was the perfect solution for quenching our feelings of being famished. Finding a parking spot was not the least bit difficult at this location. It has a very simple, rustic charm and ambiance to it, and I chose to sit out on the patio, which was quite pleasant as the heaters there are more than capable of keeping one toasty and comfortable, perhaps too toasty…I started with a Jameson whisky while my friend tried one of the many specialty beers available. To eat, I had a hearty bowl of chili, with these to die for sesame buns, while my friend had an artfully prepared vegetarian burger and some of the most perfectly cooked fries known to man. I found my meal to be bursting with interesting textures, colours, and of course, flavours. The sesame buns, to reiterate, were amazing, as were the tasty condiments that accompanied our meals. We were doted on over the course of our time spent there by three very friendly, personable and talkative servers that catered to our every need…I unfortunately had not one ounce of room left for dessert, but oh well, that provides us with a perfect excuse to come back for more some other time. Our two meals were not expensive, in my opinion, and I think we would very much look forward to being back soon to try other dishes on your menu prepared with the same care and attention to detail…What else could one ask for- fabulous food and someone special to share the moment with…Thanks so much for the lovely experience! John K Welsh,...

The food here is terrible to put it nicely. It states on the menu their food is not fried 'to be healthier' for their customers. It is clearly a code or operating limitation they have which fine it is what it is but find an actual work around. Canned/bagged soup which is mind blowing as a decent basic veggie soup is just that basic, cheap and very easy. The toasted sandwich could be a superb cheap and easy staple here except it is literal wonder bread with packaged ham (5% protein type). The pies are frozen pies, the wedges are also costco's finest, the pretend McDonnells curry sauce was humorous and so on.

Simple food can be great and lucrative when great ingredients are used, local suppliers are all around decent cold cuts, decent bread etc. Please don't pass on my comments to your kitchen team (the poor young guy on his own) Pass the message to yourself if you're going to serve cheap food to keep costs low then charge cheap prices. It seems like food for this company and their subsidiaries has always been a point of failure, the chipper, GPO, using kitchen subcontractors to deliver food services etc. I understand operating costs are high in this city but don't take your customers for fools. It seems being greedy is the vibe here, low quality ingredients, little to no staff.

The one star is for the lovely girl who served us, She was serving, bussing and running the bar all at once but yet was quite lovely in the chaos. The Guinness was mediocre at best, better bars in the city serving better pints and far...

Over the years we've seen our local drinking hole change hands from the much beloved Dunbar, to the mediocre Bells and Whistles to now the Shamrock Storehouse. A fabulous location with a great enclosed covered patio, the newly renovated space has a much better layout and does exude the cozy charm of an Irish Pub. The drinks are great and the servers personable. I just wish the food lived up to the experience.

When I think of pub food, I think of hearty warm generous proportions. Sadly this is not the case. My $23 Roast Beef sandwich was meager with the thinnest proportions of roast beef. My friend's Beef Pot Pie seemed an appetizer size. My other friend's Beef Stew was in the shallowest bowl and hardly a stew, more like a gravy soup with some beef and potatoes. And cold at that. And everything is served on the most generic cold tin cafeteria style trays with the saddest soggiest potato wedges.

It really does take a lot for me to write a negative review about food, so I hope this establishment works out the menu and considers the level of quality of food they are serving because the price doesn't match what...