The Tartan Toque — Restaurant in Victoria

The short review – food quality: standard pub food – they likely order from the same supply company as every other dive pub. Drink quality: great, I almost always order Phillips as it is great beer. Service: 3 interactions to note 1) apathetic 2) friendly 3) maybe the worst I have ever experience. The longer review: To provide context, I worked many years in the industry and honestly would rate myself as pretty average in terms of my consistency for providing quality customer service. I was an efficient and courteous server/bartender. I am not overly hard on people working in service when I go out; I am not fussy and can be very forgiving. While I no longer work in the industry, I can recognize the challenges associated with customer service. I empathize with what can make for an annoying customer and I curb my own behavior accordingly. I am a respectful communicator but I am also a pretty straight shooter. When I came to this place, I sat down to join my friend and after about 30 seconds he told me that I need to go get myself a beer. He noted that was ‘one of the things wrong about this place’. I quickly noted that it did not bother me as I don’t mind walking 12 meters on occasion. So, it is worth noting if this type of service is important or off-putting to some. I personally have no problem with it. The girl from whom I ordered my first beer was actually sitting at a table beside the bar and waited a good 30 seconds of my standing at the bar to get up and take my order. A bit odd, but nothing worth fussing about. My second and third were served by a guy behind the bar (turns out he was the manager) and this guy was a real piece of work. He could not be more dismissive. My politeness seemed to annoy him. With every please and thank-you he was visibly more and more annoyed by having to deal with me. I chalked this up to my appearance. I have noticed that on occasion I get pre-judged because I have very short hair and am fit, so many people assume I am military. While I have military family and respect those who serve, I also recognize that sometime this leads people to make assumptions about me. This may or may not have been the case, but this guy REALLY didn’t like me and seemed absolutely upset to have to take my money for anything. We ended up having a couple more (I believe 5 total and some food over 5 hours) When my friend was leaving, the rude manager yelled after him “I hope you’re not driving!!” - I was getting in a cab. This is not only rude, it is not safe. My friend was not driving – he was walking as he lives 2 blocks from there. This jerk made no effort in ascertaining if my friend was going to drive and made no effort to stop him if he was. All he did was try to shame him in front of the entire population of customers and staff. One of the other people that worked there came out and apologized for his manager. But for me – behavior like that is a deal breaker. This guy is not just rude, but irresponsible and exhibits the worst kind of shaming behavior. As long as this guy is a “leader” in this establishment, this business...

Tonight was our last time frequenting Tartan Tuque. A year ago we discovered this great, gluten free, wings/fries/shakes restaurant close to my parents apartment. When we discover that they did buy-one-get-one on Wednesdays, we switched our weekly dinner meet ups to Wednesdays, and have ordered nearly once a month since. Their fries were amazingly fantastic, crispy even when cold, tasted like they were cooked in chicken fat. Last month we discovered that they were under new ownership, and the wings were a cheaper, smaller, less sauce, and only did bogo wings for dine-in, but the fries were the same. Tonight we walked up (to take advanced of BOGO), only to discover that they aren’t offering that anymore, started with a milkshake that tasted like nesquick milk (watery), fries are now Cisco, and the wings are still not as filling.

The staff are as amazing as ever, and I second an above commenter stating concern for the staff when tartan tuque does eventually close, due to the owners desire to cut corners.

If you go back to your previous ingredients, please let us know, otherwise I will always miss those fries, and the freshness of your...

Not good quality food anymore with new owner. I wanted to show my gf this place because she is celiac, I was thrown off by the new limited menu. We decided to get a drink and fries, the fries used to be so good. We were 1 of 2 tables in there. The fries were so salty we couldn't eat them. The owner apologized and blamed it on the salt build up in the bottom of the bowl. I have worked in restaurants for years (including here), your staff are not wiping the bowl in between each use, especially during slow times of business. This shows the lack of training and experience.

I understand things change, but It's sad seeing new owners (these from the East Coast) come in to buy businesses and completely change them without knowing the history of the place. Also, it doesn't do good for business and regulars like me. The owner also mentioned people ask for fish & chips all the time, maybe make what the people want?

My time with Tartan toque is done unfortunately, thanks to Barry and Brad starting this business, it was great while it lasted with...