The Charlatan — Restaurant in Vancouver

Mostly bad. Where to start... My husband never complains about bad food or service, but this time he was so disappointed in the meal, he complained. His words "terrible, not edible, burned, potatoes and parsnips were like rocks, beef was terrible" he was hungry so he ate the yam and a bit of the beef. .... My husband and I went to the charlatan on Saturday evening. We were pleasantly greeted and were given a table behind the hostess. We ordered drinks and food. The drinks were served. The food, including the appetizer, came all at once. My salad was good. I asked to add grilled halloumi to the power bowl (an additional cost of 7.00 to the bill which I thought was a bit high for the amount given). The bacon wrapped dates were very good, which was a relief because the brisket my husband ordered was disgusting. For any cook to let that plate out of the kitchen is shocking. The potatoes looked old and dried up, the parsnips were hard and burned. My husband described them "like rib bones".

I said, we should tell them that your meal is terrible... No one came around to ask us how everything was..... We waited.... And waited.... And waited.... Both our drinks were done, both waters were done... We sat talking with the disgusting brisket sitting there (I can't believe we didn't think to get a photo until after we left the restaurant). Finally I said to the hostess (who was 2 feet behind us the whole time) "Do you know where our server is? All gasses are empty and we have finished eating for a while now, could you please send someone over"?

Turns out there was a shift change and we had been overlooked. The new server was apologetic and she said she would send the manager over about the terrible beef brisket that my husband was served. We ordered another round of drinks. The manager came over and my husband explained how the food was burned. He said "I'll have to tell the chef to use fresh vegetables", how about I buy you a drink". We assumed it was a round of drinks. Ended up he comped a 7.00 beer .... The brisket was 29.00. The brisket should have been taken off of the bill. Comping one drink for an inedible meal was a poor offer... I should have suggested that the brisket be taken off of the bill, but we aren't used to having such horrible food that we feel like we shouldn't pay for it.

Using the washroom was gross. The first door (the only washroom available) looked like someone had punched it. The bathroom itself seemed dark and grimey and the toilet was full 🤢. I decided to wait. I talked to a woman waiting and she said she was in the second washroom earlier and it wasn't flushing properly. We didn't hear anyone in the 3rd washroom and knocked a couple of times... She went to try the handle and one of the staff members came out ... She pointed out that she didn't hear running water or the hand dryer.

We finished our drinks and left. We will...

This was the first time going to this restaurant and it will also be my last. The atmosphere had a good vibe until they stuck my group at one of their outside tables that should really be meant for two people. We asked to move to a table with more space and the server stated, “I would have to ask the server to pay me to do that, or you would have to pay me” she did not elaborate on that and I truly do not know what that means. They stuck us at a table that was too small, as a consumer, I do not care how you resolve this but it should be resolved. They did move us but then ignored us the rest of the time.

Now onto the food. All the food is very salty. My burger was also made incorrectly and I voiced this and they gave me a cold ingredient to put on the burger instead of remaking it. After I tried it with the sauce they forgot, I told them it was not good considering the sauce was meant to be cooked onto the burger not put on cold. They did nothing to rectify this. Terrible service. Also, these homemade sauces (I.e. ketchup and BBQ sauce) are terrible, this restaurant should just invest in name brand sauces. Their homemade sauces are clumpy and lack taste.

Lastly, as my group and I started to walk home my friend got very sick from the food. She ended up vomiting when we got home.

I do not recommend this place and I would advise...

Find this place one time on a trip to see an art show nearby. After getting a predicted 2 hour wait at the "famed" Stormcrow down the block (the same scenario every time, even when it looks half empty...) we convinced the artists we were with that this was unreasonable and far too pretentious for a noisy festival-seating we're lucky enough to stumble on this place.

We we seated immediately, the service was stellar, and food variety/unique flavour combinations demonstrated top-notch culinary training. Their menu items were a lot closer to gourmet level work, but the atmosphere was really neat and still on the comfy pub-fare spectrum. It was busy & bustling, but not so noisy you couldn't carry on a reasonable conversation. My friends were impressed by the beer selection. Prices were excellent, especially considering the very high quality of the food. Lots of good veggies worked into yummy sides and garnishes, meaning it felt more fresh and real than the typical greasy-fried leaning of most similar establishments. An impressive variety of meats available as well (if that's your thing): rabbit & bison/buffalo dishes were in season at the time. An air of almost sushi-style care to presentation of each plate. Very visually appealing food & interior design. Highly recommend it over all the other places I've tried on The...