Steamship Grill & Bar — Restaurant in Victoria

Kind of a tale of two visits. My wife and I ate at Steamship for the first time in January, 2020 (just pre-covid) for my birthday during Dine Around Victoria; it was a really good experience: food was good, service was excellent, and the atmosphere cozy.

She opted to take me for my birthday dinner again this year (2022), in one of the first times we've been out to a restaurant for dining since COVID start. This time around, it was a very poor experience.

Here's the positives (a short list):

room has potential to be a cozy dining experience (but not taken advantage of) my starter salad was overall good, though the apple slices far too thick for a salad chairs are comfortable.

Here's the negatives:

Room was brightly lit; seemed more like a cafeteria environment than a cozy, warmly lit restaurant (like our 2020 visit) At 6:30, they were already sold out of one of the four main entrees for the Dine Around Vancouver offerings (lamb); seemed very early, as the restaurant was only about 35-40% full at that point. Server wasn't particularly friendly, and didn't know the menu or wines at all - I expect a lot more at a restaurant that wants to be known for "fine dining". It took over 35 minutes to get our main course after our starter course was cleared away. Again, given how the restaurant was only about 35% full, that was a very long time. I asked, when ordering what the side veg was; was told carrots and asparagus. When food arrived side was carrots and brussel sprouts (I don't like brussel sprouts at all, and would have asked for a change if I was told of them). We ordered our steaks medium rare. They were blue-rare when they arrived. My wife ended up not eating hers at all; I don't mind blue rare, so I ate mine. No check on that by server at all. When asking about the wines, I made it clear I didn't want heavy-oak red; server didn't know the wines at all, and the one I ended up getting was massively oaked. I only drank about 1/3 of the glass; was not asked about it or anything. Basically on my plate was a blue-rare steak, some carrots and brussel sprouts, and big dollop of very bland (salt seasoning, nothing else) mashed potatoes. I left 2/3 of the potatoes because they were very bland. The server did do a 2 minute check on the meal, but it was like a drive by shooting - she asked "how's everything" as she literally walked by with no eye contact. She didn't listen for an answer.

We ended up spending over $100 for :a wine that was the opposite of what I indicated was my preference; bland mashed potatoes that made up the majority of the main plate; undercooked steak; sold out entrees at 6:30 in a less than half full restaurant; and really bad service. My wife did not eat her steak, and only had the carrots and brussel sprouts and a spoonful or two of the potatoes.

It'll be the last time we go to Steamship. Such a shame, as our first experience there was...

I have rarely, if ever, recieved such poor service, judgement and clear disregard in my experiences in any restaurant before.

When we first arrived, my two companions and I were immediately glanced over as if we were unwelcome in the restaurant. Reluctantly, we were seated, and our server, Charles didn't bother to introduce himself, simply dropped off our waters and took our drink order. We overheard the way he addressed the table beside us, where he was polite and engaged. It was a noticable difference in the treatment between the other guests and ourselves.

We asked to share the seafood tower for four, and were told they were missing ingredients and were under orders not to make it with any substitutions. Our server proceeded to tell the next table that the "kitchen is very flexible" and would be happy to accomodate their requests.

We were swarmed by wasps, which of course we don't blame anyone for, but two of us have heightened sensitivities to wasps and bees and simply didn't feel like being stung. My friend asked her partner to go check about moving inside, and he was brushed off by the same rude host who mumbled "I guess we can look into trying to move you" - even though the inside dining area was nearly empty.

We proceeded to be ignored for nearly 40 minutes and I waved down a waitress to ask for our bills and was again, rudely dismissed. I finally got up to ask the bartender and was treated like a massive inconvenience to her day. Each and every staff member (aside from the girl who actually seated us) treated us as if we were unwelcome, inconvenient and a burden.

After paying our bills, I left with a bitter taste in my mouth, feeling disrespected and frustrated. I returned into the establishment looking to speak with a manager on duty, and was told they would be with me shortly - with much attitude from the same host.

The young girl who came to address our needs first ignored us and chose to chat with some acquaintences in the lineup before finally muttering "sooo who asked to speak to the manager". She did not introduce herself, and told me there actually was no manager on site but that she was "the current supervisor, essentially the person in charge for the evening". Her condescending voice and attitude made it clear she did not give an iota of thought to my complaint. She smiled at me and spoke to me as if placating a small, incompotent child. When I openly addressed her ignoring us to speak to her companions, she made a poor excuse about our description from the host. The judgemental looks given to us throughout the interactions with the host made it clear he knew who we were, and her attitude was flippant and ignorant. We will be reaching out to the ACTUAL manager as well.

The food was good, but with such an absolute gongshow of a staff, this restaurant is not worth the time, money...

Immediately upon entering this establishment, the host gave a clear division in treatment between the people ahead of us and our party. He gave us a judgemental once over before reluctantly seating us on the patio.

Our waiter was lackadaisical. No interpersonal skills. Was cold and rude introducing himself, then 2 minutes later was giving his name and a jovial greeting to the table sat after us. Everyone in our group observed the division in treatment.

We initially ordered the seafood platter for 4, only to be told there were items unavailable to prepare it and that the kitchen was under stringent rules not to send out certain dishes if items weren't available. We were further told that substitutions were not an option.Fine. But a minute later, our server was telling another table that the kitchen was very flexible about providing alternatives and adjustments to any dishes they wanted.

When our food arrived, 4 wasps appeared and were incessantly flying around our table. Not the staff's fault, but the subsequent experience sure was. My partner went to ask the host if we could move inside as my friend and he both have a heightened sensitivity to wasp stings and, frankly, none of us wanted to risk being stung. The restaurant was not busy, but the host responded with "I GUESS we can look into seeing what we can do and maybe move you"

After waiting for a prolonged time, we were finally allowed to move inside. Our server then disappeared completely for 40 minutes. No check-ins whatsoever. My friend attempted to wave down a waitress and was disregarded entirely. She finally resorted to asking the bartender to send a server to us so we could pay our bill and was treated like a massive inconvenience. We waited another 20 minutes for our original server to attend to us. He was mostly silent and avoided any interaction. By this point we were so disgusted with the blatant division in treatment and rudeness from the staff that we reciprocated the lack of engagement.

Upon leaving the establishment, we asked to speak with a manager and were informed that no manager was on the floor. Instead we were sent a woman who gave us no name, no official title and who proceeded to socialize with her friends at the door while blatantly ignoring us. When she finally did acknowledge us, my friend listed our collective concerns and was met with condescension and patronizing conduct. "I'm sorry you feel that way" "There's nothing we can do, but you can contact our General Manager." Allegedly, she was the "person in charge" in the manager's absence. Find a better stand-in.

My friend is from out of town, and bringing her to this establishment for a night out was embarrassing. The staff were rude, ill-trained, and judgmental....