Charlie Don't Surf — Restaurant in White Rock

Charlie 123…

Always a nice little walk along Beach avenue and the pier in White Rock but in the last 2-3 years, it’s becoming another Surrey. Why not,”?!? perfect combo ; have pizza in Surrey and come to Whiterock for dessert and ice cream! (Might as well change it to BrownRock soon… not being racist so chill!)

Anyways, came here a few times over the decade but can’t remember how it was. Decided to try place again to refresh my memory.

This place is located right on Beach Ave, steps away from the Brownrock pier… I mean Whiterock pier. It has that late 90s kind of atmosphere, old but not old kind of vibe.

Anyways, here were the food I ordered;

Homemade clam chowder (New England style). Very nice!! Nice rich and flavourful! Remember how just my dad used to make it back in the days. Calamari. It was okay, pretty average, nothing to complain or cheer about. Chicken wings (salt&pepper). Small and drier than granny’s toe nails. It’s almost a $20 fail! Chicken strips with fries. Once again, more of chicken jerkies than tenders. Dry dry dry… West-coast bouillabaisse. Unfortunately, most of the seafoods were either rubbery or powdery. This is one dish takes skill and precision to master because of all the seafoods are served in a hot broth. Fish and chips (wild pacific cod). Very nice! Perfectly done! A nice thin light crispy batter wrapped around a thick filet of fresh tasty juicy cod. This dish lives up to its name.

This place is actually pretty big inside with an outside patio stretches from one end to the other end of the restaurant. It still has that early 90s layout and decor, very causal and right on Beach Ave and mins walk away from the pier and parking lot.

The service was okay, friendly server and staffs. Nothing to complain about besides could be slightly more attentive.

As for the food, some are pretty good and some were like I had better ones from PC brand in a microwaves. The chowder and fish & chips were pretty food. The rest of them would be more enjoyable for those who enjoys a nice cold beer with meat jerkies while watching Family Guy reruns.

Overall, I have other places to revisit before back here again unless Charlie surfs up its quality, otherwise it will be just a...

Just Charlie DON’T. At the time we arrived originally, there were lots of empty tables but they wanted the staff to have time to catch up so hostess took our cell phone. This is totally understandable. No call back happened so we went back. The hostess claimed our phone number didn’t work. They were letting walk up tables in at that time but it didn’t appear there was any difference in how busy it was.

Waited at least 15 minutes before server came over to acknowledge us and take our order. Our water took at least 10 minutes, our actual drinks were over 20 minutes. Nothing said to acknowledge that long time wait.

We ordered a poutine and we ate the very top layer with the cheese, approx a dozen fries max, which was pretty salty. Below that was inedible. You could see huge crystals of salt in the gravy throughout and left behind on the plate. Called the waiter over, he said he could have the kitchen remake and ask for no salt we said ok. Thought it was being remade. Our drinks were empty in the meantime, no ask if we wanted another.

All the remaining plates but our sharing plates and cutlery were cleared away. Eventually he came back and asked if we were all done. We replied that we were waiting for the poutine. He said he never ordered us one did we want one? At this point we said no we would just take the bill.

The bill came and he charged us 50% for the poutine. I told him that we wouldn’t be paying 50% for the poutine that was inedible. He argued that we ate 1/2 and said the top 1/2 was good. To be clear we said the top half was edible and masked the salt, but I told him I have had lots of poutine and that was over the top. We did not even eat close to 1/2 of the dish which he argued we did because we ate the cheesy layer. The cheese was only on the very top and it came an a cereal bowl vessel. The cheese layer was not large.

Atmosphere gets a 3 because it is right on Marine Dr so the...

I am beyond disappointed with the service I have received from this restaurant on multiple different occasions. This was my boyfriend and I’s favourite restaurant and we would come here weekly. On our one year anniversary we came in, we had to wait over 30 minutes for our drinks to even arrive. After ordering our food, we had been waiting an hour until we finally got the servers attention and her reply was “oh you haven’t gotten your food yet” she then brought food and claimed the bill had been “lost” by the kitchen. As someone who works in a kitchen, this is untrue and unacceptable. The food we received had obviously been sitting for that hour we had been waiting and my pizza was soggy and stuck to the plate while my boyfriends pasta and chicken was dry and looked unappealing. When telling the sever, she did not have one care and we ended up leaving after spending 1.5 hours there on our anniversary absolutely disappointed and hungry. I called right after this experience to speak to someone and the girl on the phone simply did not care and disregarded all my experiences. I then called the next day and asked to speak to a manager, I told her the entire situation which is quite a lot and she then after listening told me to email it to another person. After having to talk to two people on the phone and then being told to explain it all again over email was disappointing. I asked to have this person call me and she said she would have him call me the next day. I never ever received a call. I am thoroughly disappointed and upset with all of the service I received and with every interaction that I had with each individual I talked to who worked at Charlie’s. After it being our favourite, my boyfriend and I will not...