Silvestre Deli & Bistro — Restaurant in Vancouver

I will be very honest in this review and try my best to be objective. We were having such a great day but that got derailed after a meal.

Restaurant Environment/Cleanliness/Ambience 3/5: The store was cute. It was a bit tight but thats not uncommon for shops in this area. That’s just how it is. Decor was very colorful.

Food 4/5: I actually liked their food. I ordered the Chicharron sandwich and it was really good. It was savoury with a slight tang and crispy. Would definitely order it again. They had lots of options but not too much that you wouldn’t know what to order which is great. They had ice cream flavours of fruits native to Peru or the area. The presentation has room for improvement. A little bit on the higher side price wise considering the serving size.

Service/Experience 1/5: We ordered our food and waited. We didn’t wait too long for them to serve our food. Our food was served but some of the usual stuff weren’t provided (like napkins, utensils, condiments) so we had to ask or grab it ourselves. This was not an issue, really. Then when it came to asking for the bill, we asked that they separate them per person. The waitress sighed and was obviously not happy. She might have been tired so it’s understandable. However, it would seem that the orders just weren’t written down in a way that they knew who got which and how many. We settled all the bills but it seems there was still some confusion. Somehow, an extra dish was punched in and this caused the problem. A huge red flag for me is when a staff shows rude behaviour towards the customer. I will not go into detail but it is unacceptable. Especially when we did not even hear a single “sorry about that” or “thank you for waiting”. Some customer service training will probably make a huge difference. Making a mistake on your list or punching orders then taking it out on customers is big no-no.

This might have been an isolated incident (or not, i dont really know), but the fact is it happened to us.

Overall, I think the food was great and would definitely recommend trying it.However, you may want to come solo or in a very small group as it seems they don’t cater too well to...

I am shocked at how a restaurant have great food but shady business practices? Let me explain ...... I went to this restaurant a few weeks ago and ordered a wide variety of food and as always I requested a glass of hot water and some lemon slices. The hot water came with a slice of lime, not lemon, and then I asked why and they said they only have lime. I was like cool, well can I have some more like ..... I received one full lime and squeezed half in the water and left the rest. Nothing out of the normal here. When it was time to pay the bill I noticed an additional $4 for the hot water and lime. I asked curiously, you charge for hot water and lime? The owner was like yes. And $4 at that. No problem. No complaint. That is the 1st time I got that request from a restaurant and I eat out every single day in restaurants for years and I have never came across that policy. No sweat though. Money is not a concern to me, just principals and good business practices are.

Last night I go there and I order a soup. Then I request a cup of plain hot water. Just plain hot water. When the bill comes I see a charge of $2.50 added on to the bill for a cup of plain hot water that came from the tap. I was like "what?!!!! You charge for hot water?" And the owner was like yes we charge for hot water but cold water is free. I was beyond words and just shook my head as I paid the bill. I have never ever ever been to a restaurant in my entire life that charges for a cup of hot water from the tap. You kidding me? That is just pure greed and shameless shady business practices.

Mark you, I am very wealthy and money is not an issue. But no one rich or poor likes been ripped off. Charging for a cup of hot water from the tap is a crime. SHAME...

My friend and I used to love coming to this restaurant ever since it opened but now I don't think we will ever come back after our last experience. The food is over priced everytime I visit it the prices just keep going up, I get you probably need to since it is located in Gastown but along with price going up, the portions became smaller and smaller to the point that we are paying overpriced main course prices for appetizer "gourmet" sizes dishes. I had never encountered a problem at a restaurant before and I am not the type to usually complain but when customers are really unsatisfied with your dish because of taste or it not properly being cooked the restaurant usually apologizes and replaces it or let's you get something else and sometimes they will even take it off your bill but NOPE not this restaurant. When we spoke to the owner (male) regarding the dish (ceviche) still being raw and it had no salt, he said yeah it needed to be marinated longer so even after he admitted that they served us food that was not cooked properly we were not allowed to return the dish or even switch the dish to another item. It kind of came as a shock to both me and my friend that have been coming here for years to see how poor of customer service they have I can understand if we weren't frequent patrons but the owners knew we came there quiet often and sometimes we even brought group of friends with us. I will not be recommending this restaurant to my friends anymore and not likely...