Earls Kitchen + Bar — Restaurant in West Jasper Place

Second time going into Earls tonight with my business team again. It was so nice for the manager to reach out to me after reviewing the first time on my google reviews. You can tell this restaurant really cares about the customer experience and it shows ten fold with the team they have over there! My team and I had a blast tonight with our time spent in this establishment. However even though the dinner night was super enjoyable my rating of 4 stars will have to be firm once again. Completely not anyone’s fault on the Earls team here at the West Edmonton Mall, just strongly believe it was because of the nature of the night. We went in around 7:30pm on Saturday and the restaurant was filled to the brim with customers. We were greeted with a huge welcome and the Manager came up to my group and introduced herself making sure we were in the best hands possible.

As my team and I began going through the menu. I had mentioned before to one of my business partners, that Earls is known for the best Clam Chowder I ever had! He never tried it the last visit and heard me talking so highly of it for the past week even up until we went back in last night! However to our unpleasant surprise one of the other mangers at this location came and broke the news to us about it not being available 15 minutes in of already ordering it and after all of us getting excited for its arrival to our table, due to the last batch being completely burnt at this juncture. We were a little upset but understood the situation at hand.

My business partner and I decided to order both different dishes again but this time try the lobster tail as a side since it was recommended by our waitress. Unfortunately again after ten minutes of waiting and our mouths watering for some time waiting patiently for our second choice dishes to arrive to our table. We were greeted by another manager of the staff at this Earls location. Who informed us that once again our order could not be completed, this time due to it being out of stock since they were so busy and it was a popular item. Again understandable because of the consequences of being so packed and busy since it was a very popular Saturday. But at this point all the three managers of this Earls location who came over to our table to explain, were all very apologetic and embarrassed about the very unlucky timing and how everything unfolded in terms of our orders etc. Which is not their fault at all really. Just very bad circumstances which is not a reflection at all about the actually experience and customer service we had there last night.

To conclude it was a amazing night out regardless and honestly the dessert that was given to us kind of made up for the unforeseen unlucky circumstances because it was all so delicious even our third choice entree’s! The quality of the food was very enjoyable even though the wait for us was long due to the reordering three times process before we actually ate, but I am still a decently happy customer and left with a smile on my face with regards to how the staff handled and treated my...

I’d like to share some feedback regarding my recent visit to your restaurant, where I dined with my young daughter.

While we were looking forward to a nice meal together, there were a few concerns during our experience that I hope you’ll take into consideration:

Seating Arrangement Upon arrival, the host informed us that there was no available table where my daughter and I could sit side by side, even though there were clearly several unoccupied tables nearby. As a toddler, she naturally preferred to sit beside me rather than across. The host told us to “wait five minutes and come to the front” if we were unhappy with the seating, which wasn’t practical since we were already seated on the second level. We stayed and made the arrangement work, but it wasn’t an ideal start to the meal.

Water Service Our server acknowledged us and took our order right away, which we appreciated. However, she did not offer anything to drink when we were seated. I had to wait and catch her attention later just to ask for water. This felt like a basic oversight—especially considering I was dining with a young child.

Food Timing We ordered a small clam chowder and steak tacos—just something light. As I looked around, I noticed that other tables, which had ordered more complex dishes like burgers, steaks, and sushi, were being served much faster. Our soup and tacos took over 30 minutes to arrive. The soup, which should have been served first as an appetizer, arrived at the same time as the tacos—and without a spoon. I had to ask for one separately.

Drink with Kids’ Meal While my daughter’s pasta was served in under 10 minutes (which was appreciated), no drink was offered with her meal. For a child, it’s essential to have something to drink readily available, not only for comfort but for safety as well.

No Follow-Up from the Server At no point during our meal did the server check in to ask how our food or experience was. Because of this, I didn’t have the opportunity to voice any of these concerns during the meal itself.

I want to emphasize that I personally love dining at Earl’s West Edmonton. It’s been a favorite spot of mine, and I’ve always appreciated the atmosphere and service. However, this particular experience felt very off and disappointing. This isn’t the level of service I would expect from a premium casual dining restaurant, especially one that prides itself on hospitality and consistency.

Despite all of this, my daughter still called it her “best day ever,” which put a smile on my face. I do hope this feedback is taken in the spirit it’s intended—to help uphold the standard of experience Earl’s...

This was a missed opportunity by WEM Earl’s. We were staying overnight at the Fantasyland Hotel. We figured Earl’s would be a safe choice within the mall, since the Earl’s franchise prides itself on being 'upscale casual' and is very consistent in service and quality, at least that has been my experience at variety of Earl’s locations over many years.

We arrived at the restaurant upbeat and were prepared to have a couple of rounds of drinks and a full course meal. We left hungry and full of disappointment.

We were sitting at the table with empty glasses, dirty dishes and our coats on ready to go, just waiting for somebody, anybody, to ask for our bill.

The shift supervisor comes by to ask how everything was tonite … finally! I asked her if she was ready for my honesty of how our dinner experience was:

Table for 2. We waited 10 minutes outside watching an empty restaurant with very low activity. We sat with empty highball glasses for nearly 20 minutes without being asked by the server for another round. 45+ minutes from being seated for (2) salads and a warm appetizer. Not sure what the kitchen was doing.. growing the lettuce from seed? The server did not followup if we wanted to order more food or a main course. In fact, she avoided our table after the food finally arrived likely sensing our unhappiness. I said I just wanted the bill and we wanted to go. We were leaving hungry and not prepared to waste anymore of our evening waiting for more food.

The shift supervisor admittedly was embarrassed by the restaurant’s performance and unacceptable wait times. She acknowledged this was not the first time she’s heard this. She said she was going to comp our drinks but came back and had comp’d our entire bill.

Earl’s should be embarrassed of the performance of this WEM location. Where was the manager during the dinner hour? It seemed like nobody really cared except for the shift supervisor. I don’t believe this is the fault of the young server staff. Perhaps the kitchen was not prepared or understaffed. Again, where was the manager? Then what happens is the young server staff get to take the sh*t from the unhappy customers, get stiffed on tips, and get scapegoated because of the poor management of the restaurant operation.

I do hope the management can step it up and better support the restaurant operation and staff. Do better and provide leadership - the young people working there...