Boom + Batten Restaurant & Cafe — Restaurant in Victoria

I always saw Boom + Batten while jogging around and always wanted to dine in there. I went with family and the lady at the entrance gave us Bar seats even though there were empty tables. We didn’t want to spoil our mood so we ignored and sat on the bar. All bartenders were friendly and nice. Servers were gentle and cheerful, but it was funny that they cleared plates without even asking. I still had my greens left in my plate, chips in my friends plate, pizza crust in my wife’s plate and they without asking cleared them which was annoying as we intend to eat those. We were busy talking and they swiftly cleared them all. Roarrrr!! Nice Bartender went to ask if tables to could be given, but the lady at the entrance said we can be given table in 20 mins. but we will have to do fresh order meaning more waiting for the food to arrive. So in 20 mins we could have got the table, but then why did she say when we entered the restaurant at 1pm that we will have to wait till 3pm to get the table? Didn’t she lie? No smile, no emotions just mechanical grumpy conversation. She should be moved to dishwashing. No care for little kids and making them sit on the bar seat when in 20 mins we could’ve been given the table. Very idiotic host. Food was very good but very small portions. Alcoholic Coffee drinks were yummmm but again way too small cups despite the price being too high. Hey! Why not make it a little generous so that customers will return more and more and you will get loyal fan following? Everything was good but making 5 people sit on the linear bar table even though tables were empty was ridiculous. Shame actually. Reflects a lot on the money minded commercial practice rather than care and building relationships… happy with food but not happy with the host.

Edit: just checked my receipt. We ordered three Hot Chocolate and we were very happy with the taste and whipped cream on top. It wasn’t mentioned in the menu that whipped cream was 50 cents. Servers didn’t say whipped cream will be charged extra, we did NOT ask for whipped cream, but they added it by themselves and charged us 1.50$. It’s a meager amount but it is expected that either it is mentioned in the menu or told by the server. But when we never even asked for whipped cream, how come it was added to our order and charged too? There’s a lot of discrepancies happening… good food but somehow why aren’t we happy?? Make any excuse,...

The elk carpaccio ($17) is a lighter choice with paper thin slices of lean meat (don’t worry, it’s not gamey) that’s topped with black garlic aioli, puffed rice, and what seems like a lot of mustard seed but works. Eat the carpaccio on its own or on top of the lavash crackers, both create a great snack.

The meatballs ($16) and spicy clams ($16) both incorporated a lovely sauce that had us reaching for the grilled sourdough to sop up. While the pork and beef meatballs were large, they broke apart easily and were wonderfully tender and delicate. I thoroughly enjoyed the smoked tomato butter and romesco sauce that covered the spicy clams but found that they could up the chili peppers as its heat just began to tickle the tongue.

It wouldn’t be a B.C. resto bar without pizza; Boom & Batten showcases their pizza oven prominently at the front of the restaurant where we watched the chef prepare pie after pie as we waited for our reserved table. The show enticed me to try the prosciutto pizza ($23), which oddly uses a cream sauce as its base yet, when combined with roasted pear and truffle honey creates a sweet and sticky element against the cured ham and peppery arugula. This pizza is made for sharing as it’s also fairly heavy.

Of course, trendy restaurants also need to feature local ingredients and the wild sockeye salmon ($36) was a good dish. While the fish appeared to be overdone upon arrival, it was nonetheless moist and flaky. The dish could have done without the rye crisps as it already included blocks of crispy potatoes that could rival McDonald’s hash browns any day. Instead, it would have been nice if the main had another vegetable, other than just roasted beets, to balance out the meal better.

This is a long review, visit Gastroworld...

Went to this restaurant earlier today and had horrible experience. I called on Monday to make reservations, the person I spoke to on the phone was super nice told me there were no reservations available inside however, if we came at 5 they'd be happy to accommodate us outside on the patio should tables be available (they noted reservations for tables outside couldn't be made as it is first come first serve). Well, we showed up at 5 and coincidentally three tables side by side were available, two of which had been pushed together. We asked the host at the patio of a table for 7 (three of which are between the ages of 13 and 6) and they told us to wait while they spoke to the manager. They went inside, the people at the two tables pushed together were leaving and we watched the staff pull the tables apart and clean up. The host came back and told us they couldn't accommodate a table that size. We were a bit taken a back and asked why and not given a clear explanation outside of the tables can't be pushed together (Stange because they were together for the group who'd just left). I spoke to the manager who told us the kitchen couldn't accommodate a table of 7, I said well can we do 3 and 4 and they responded by repeating no, the kitchen can't accommodate. Their responses weren't making any sense. This is our third horrible experience at this place. As we getting our kids together to leave, the group of 6 (I kid you not) who were waiting behind us asked for a table and was told sure it'll be a few minutes and were asked if they were ok with the round tables behind pushed together. Horrible, horrible experience.

Based on this experience and our last, it almost seems like the staff has been directed not to serve people who...