The Vault Gastropub — Restaurant in Whitby

We have been disappointed once at The Vault Gastropub and thought we'd try it again... now we've been disappointed twice.

To start our server explained the specials and gave my wife, son and I time to select.

When ready we order as follows - two apps - one was mac and cheese balls for my son and my wife and I split the samosas. My wife ordered the fish tacos, my son ordered the special - French onion burger and I ordered the brisket melt. The waitress reviewed the order and I mentioned again only one Samosa that my wife and I would split - she repeated back just one samosa and for some reason thought I said just the samosa for my wife and not the fish tacos... it is a little loud in there at times but not sure why she would assume my wife didn't want a main which we didn't know until our food came.

When our food was brought out it all came at once the apps and our mains... except my wife's fish tacos which I assumed were on their way. The apps were boiling hot inside and burned our mouths... I don't understand why they would serve anything that hot to a customer - it is irresponsible and why did we get our apps with our mains - it seems they don't understand the concept of appetizers. we waited for the samosa's and mac and cheese balls to cool to an edible temperature and being curious why my wife's fish taco was so delayed I went up to the server, who was filling condiment cups at the kitchen window, and asked about the fish tacos and she said I thought you cancelled that... not sure how me stating we just wanted to share and app went to cancelling an order. She said she would place the order right away and came and advised it would be about ten minutes. The apps were good - no better than good, my son said the burger was good, my brisket melt was a poor construction of beef, cheese, sauce and a completely soggy bun (basically mush) that couldn't be held... I had to eat it with a knife and fork... so not a handheld... not even close. Another issue was that my son's and my mains were cold by the time we got through the apps. Finally my wife's fish tacos came, by then my son and I were finished our meals. My wife said they were good but not the best she's had.

I would expect some adjustment to the bill but it wasn't the case so I adjusted the tip accordingly.

I don't understand the ratings at the Vault Gastropub - which as far as I'm concerned should just be called the Vault Pub... not a lot of Gastro here.

It was a disappointing meal on most counts and really after two bad experiences we...

We went here for the first time. We are not trying to offend anyone, we are just giving a simple review on our first time.

The Waitress/Bartender was incredible, her friendliness and Banter would probably be the reason we would return.

As for the Food & Drinks- Drinks - We ordered both non-alcoholic beverages (it’s non-refillable - Which is fine & alcoholic beverages they tasted great and were offered in proper glasses. The alcohol ratio was great!

We ordered appetizers - Stuffed Phyllo Cups - They were delicious- never had and loved the experience from those. The price was good for them.

Devil eggs - These were a bit of a letdown, it was nice to see them on a menu, nonetheless for the price of 2 eggs & no wow factor in flavour it wasn’t worth the hype.

Pork Tenders - These looked delicious when they came out, the outside flavour of the orange crush bbq sauce was exquisitely delicious, and the tenderness of fall apart meat was perfect. However the taste of the inside meat was a bit disappointing, was looking forward to the taste of the Pear and Apple compote it was a bit bland. They were worth the price for the bbq sauce.

Main Dish - Fish & Chips - French Fries were perfect and soft. There was not enough Tarter sauce on the plate, we had to get more - the flavour was creamy and succulent not at all tart. The piece of Fish was large in size, batter was fluffy not crunchy which was very pleasant. The flavour was delicate and moist all the way through. The Coleslaw was the OMG factor in this whole dish , it was sweet but not overpowering. The acidic was very light. Overall the Coleslaw was the most delicious and flavourful part, really wish their was more of it.

The Place was clean, The overhead was clean so no dust falling into food dishes.

The only real issue we had was that being in there with very few other patrons was the time it took to get...

Too much sauce...sauce on everything from garlic bread, to steak to the Mac and cheese balls.. That's a pet peeve of mine. Good food should speak for itself. But I digress. Wings (ordered with sauce on the side) were good, meaty and crispy. Mac and cheese balls, good without the jalapeño ketchup..but the aged cheddar sauce tasted more like a standard roux...very bland. My daughter wanted her "poutine style" which was just gravy...I didn't try it. Garlic bread with cheese, covered with balsamic reduction. While it worked with the goat cheese, it rendered it inedible for my kids (and they're not picky eaters). My wife enjoyed her roasted beet salad with salmon. My son enjoyed his steak (once we wiped all the Demi Glacé off! Although the arugula salad was nothing more than a garnish, he wouldn't have eaten it anyway. The penne...the sauce was thick, almost stodgy, but had a nice flavour. I would have liked to have seen the cherry tomatoes halved, rather than whole, but I am a picky eater! The chicken fingers for my other daughter were good. The Frites, best part of the meal. Crispy outside, creamy inside, well seasoned. Nothing on the dessert menu the kids liked, so we skipped that, but I'd like to try their creme brûlée.

The food was decent, and the prices reasonable. The wait staff were attentive and friendly.

We might try again, and just be sure to order everything with no sauce...most of the underlying flavours were pretty good. I'd have given 3.5 stars if that...