Spoons Diner — Restaurant in Victoria

Spoons has always been a wonderful breakfast joint to eat and normally my staple meal is the Tree Planter but there has been occasions when I will try their featured meal of the week. The staff are amazing and I've been a patron for years since my boyfriend recommended this place.

However their location has been on a decline. Ever since the Ingraham pub and hotel has closed down, the surrounding area has degraded significantly. They closed off the entrance, there is a sharp increase of very shady transients loitering the area and my best guess now the restaurant requires keys to the restrooms correlates to this eyesore situation. I don't know who owns the parking lot around the premises but they are very swift to ticket any patron who don't park in the designated Spoons only parking; which is not fair for those busy days when the establishment is brimming with business and there's lineups to get in. It is affecting business to the point where staff had colorful signs everywhere indicating this because even they cannot dispute the fines on their own patron's behalf. And now they have this smoke detector installed by the owners of the building that causes false alarms; the noise is by far the worst alarm I've heard (trust me, I've listened to fire alarms from all over Victoria) and only can be deactivated by Victoria Fire Department, who apparently take their time because it is considered non urgent. The alarm was in excess of 20 minutes, the staff apologized profusely and did not charge the coffee my boyfriend ordered as compensation of the situation. All the customers around us left in droves to pay their meal quickly and leave.

I don't know if all of this is because the owners of the building is trying to drive Spoons out, but I feel as of late these issues have ruined business. Spoons deserve much better and at this point the business should move to a different location. They have their strong client base and recognition; if they move to a better area, they will get better traffic and business like the golden days. I want the place to flourish, not suffer like...

Originally tried to reach out to restaurant manager directly - but never heard back so posting a 1 star review on google.

I was in for breakfast this morning and want to bring to your attention the behaviour of one of your servers. We were a party of 4, very low maintenance and received mediocre service. When it came time to pay our bill, the server brought the tabs and machine to the table. She loaded my amount owing onto the credit machine and gave it to me to finish payment. When I selected ‘10% tip’ she called me out on my decision in front of the table - stating “ohh opps let me fix that, I think you hit the wrong tip amount button” (as she attempted to take my card and the machine out of my hands). I assured her I did not make a mistake and I was capable of tapping my card without her help.

This behaviour is socially unacceptable and frankly- quite rude. The simple fact that tipping and gratuity is an option for guests to choose based on quality and level of service should not be questioned or challenged by staff. I feel confident and comfortable with my decision for the minimum tip amount, however it seems that your staff member felt the need to try and embarrass and bully me.

Our table of guest agreed once we left that we will not be a repeat customer and your staffs approach and behaviour was disappointing and unprofessional; and as a result reflecting poorly for...

Cute diner that is 60s reminiscent. It was clean and had plenty of space. I came on a Monday at around noon and it wasn't busy. I like that there were trivia cards on the table for you to entertain yourself while you wait for your food. The staff was very nice and attentive.

I got the What the Cluck fried chicken and stuffed fries pancakes. I did see the reviews saying the portions were huge but this could've definitely fed 2. For $23, I think this was a steal. I only was able to finish one layer of waffles, the piece of chicken, and some potatoes in my sitting and had to pack them for later. The pancakes had herbs (green onions I think?) stuffed in between which was interesting and I didn't expect it. My two complaints about the meal are that the outer coating of the fried chicken was overfried, resulting in a darker coat and the chicken to be slightly tougher, and that there was only one small piece of chicken. It definitely is a potato-centric portion, with loads of fries and side potatoes. I think if I was to come back, I wouldn't get this again but it settled my curiosity. My partner enjoyed her...