Earls Kitchen + Bar — Restaurant in Victoria

A quick story about my love of Earls Cajun spice...

Many years ago, my husband (boyfriend at the time) and I used to have date nights at the Earls in our neighbourhood. We both fell in love with the blackened Cajun chicken and it quickly became a regular choice.

Time marched on and we soon got married, had twins and moved away from the city to a small town. A quaint small town that had NO Earls to have our fave dish.

Anytime I was in a city where an Earls was I would shamelessly ask the server or hostess to kindly ask the kitchen staff if they would spare some Cajun spice and I'd happily pay whatever they deemed fair. Many Vancouver locations as well as the Whistler one were so sweet to package up some spice for me with a smile.

On a recent family visit to Victoria, my husband and I decided on Earls for our date night. Knowing me, my husband asked "when are you going to ask for the Cajun spice!" I replied I'd wait until we settle up so it wouldn't be too weird.

I asked our server Shelby our request and she said she'd ask the kitchen.

Next thing we see a woman in a pink blazer carrying a laptop and a large white bag. She came over to our table and said "would this be a good amount of Cajun?" She happily chatted with us and said she could accommodate our request and would just look up how much we would be charge based on the product cost.

I was over the moon, we agreed to add the cost to our bill and I asked her name. She was Christina, the manager of the Earls in Downtown Victoria. She mentioned she has worked with Earls for over 26 years and she hears all the time how much people love the Cajun spice, so she was happy to meet our request.

We tipped our lovely server for her help with the hook up and I had to write in to say another thank you to Christina for the generous amount of spice.

You defiantly made our night and we have a great story to tell! We also have a special place in our hearts for Earls for another reason now!

(Photo added does not do justice to the amount I now possess - I'm...

OFF THE CHART EXPERIENCE!

Well Hello Earls Management. Disturbing. You have epic competition now, so consistent excellence is needed. room temp cleanliness #1 washrooms in Victoria complaint handing attentive service fast service vibe music interior design doggy box hostess most phony greeting ever ( do we smell bad )? seen too many guests to be genuine FOOD very poor tonight ( no real chef in the kitchen )? a. burger was dry & burnt ( it was replaced ) b. tomato on burger, green ( do you actually know what a real tomato tastes like at this price point ) c. fries were room temp & over fried ( try using something other than shoestrings to retain heat better ) d. bun seems cheap store bought e. forgot the double mayo as ordered but the side of aioli sauce made good f. seafood chowder is the worst in Canada. Sandy grit. Chewy chewy rubbery pieces. Mega corn starch. g. no fresh bread with the soup, must order separately h. The steak was gristly muscle, replaced with a much better one. Both served medium/well instead of rare/rare/medium . i. The first lobster tail was perfectly tender with weird Cajun yuk powder. Hold the spice next time. When the steak was replaced, the lobster tail was rock hard. j. broccoli was over steamed 1st time and was excellent 2nd time k. The frozen Margaritas, as explained by the Bar Manager are fake from a mix. Super ridiculously sweet, Never been to MEXICO? See the original recipe please! $18.00/drink ( including tax + tip ) We were asked by the waiter & manager & general manager 15 times if everything is OK. No privacy on a romantic date eh!

We still tipped the Bar Manager/Waiter $22 for his concentrated effect to make things right on a rocky experience. Horrible restaurant in total. We came for food not abuse.

Must get a simpler MENU and better training for the sous chef.

We will not return. We like food. We will pay for good food.

All the best is your implementing immediate corrections in staff procedures in...

This was a truly disgusting and off putting experience. I went with a friend around 10pm and as we tried to enjoy our first course we spotted a MOUSE! Not running around and hiding, but just sitting by the tables in a restaurant that was by no means empty. As it sauntered from table to table collecting crumbs, we let our server know what happened and she said "oh, I'll get a manager". No surprise or alarm in her voice. After about 5-10 minutes, the manager finally showed up (this was obviously not a priority somehow) and asked us "how's everything going over here?" to which I incredulously asked if she's the manager and did the server not inform her of the situation. She told us that she is the manager but she's not going to do anything about the mouse, she just passes on the information to their pest control team. I suggested at least putting a box over it or sweeping it away (it was still there!!) so guests don't have to look at it while we're trying to eat! She refused. We asked for the bill. When she returned with a ridiculous 10% discount on our bill, we pointed out the SECOND BABY MOUSE that was near the first! Still she did nothing. The manager said they "don't have a mouse problem", but this is clearly an infestation given that she was not at all surprised when we mentioned it. We got up to leave and went a different route as to not get too close to the mice, (they stayed near the same tables for the entirety of our stay) and saw a THIRD MOUSE on the opposite side of the restaurant!!! All three were babies, meaning There's at least one family infesting the whole restaurant. There's no doubt they crawl all over the dishes, chairs, tables, etc. every night and who knows where else! Needless to say, no one I know will be...