Smitty's Restaurant & Lounge - Winnipeg 2835 Pembina — Restaurant in Winnipeg

I had a really unpleasant experience today at this restaurant. The service was terrible, and they even discriminated against us because we're Chinese. Here's what happened:

When we first arrived, a server gave us menus and we ordered drinks and mentioned that we wanted food. However, we waited for nearly 20 minutes, and our drinks weren't served, and no server came to take our food order. When I glanced over, I saw the servers chatting at the bar, not appearing busy at all.

As I passed by one of the servers, I asked when we could get our drinks and place our food order. She replied that they were busy and that she wasn't responsible for our table – another server was. However, they continued chatting at the bar, not looking busy at all.

After another couple of minutes, a different server came over, and we asked why our drinks hadn't been served after waiting for 20 minutes. She didn't respond, didn't apologize, and didn't offer any explanation.

We couldn't take it anymore and decided to cancel the order for food and drinks and asked to speak to the manager. The manager came over, and we explained the situation and mentioned that the table next to us, who arrived later, had already finished a drink.

The manager confirmed our request was for the servers to apologize, as they had clearly ignored us. However, he went to talk to the servers and returned, saying that they refused to apologize because we supposedly yelled at them, making them upset. We were in disbelief, as we had remained calm and polite throughout the interaction.

The situation escalated when the manager accused us of yelling at the servers, which was simply not true. We offered to check the surveillance cameras to verify the interaction. Then he claimed that we didn't wait for 20 minutes, to which we pointed out that we saw him at the bar when he first approached us, and he couldn't argue with that.

The manager then tried to justify the delay at the neighboring table, saying they were playing pool. Shortly after, a new couple, who were white, arrived at the restaurant. Server #2 immediately attended to them, and we pointed out how quickly they were served. The manager said that it was the servers' job to serve them promptly. We couldn't believe it, as if serving us promptly wasn't their job.

In the end, the manager's attempt to smooth things over was unsuccessful. He expressed a desire for us to have a pleasant evening, but we never received an apology. We told him that we wouldn't be returning to this establishment. This entire experience left us feeling discriminated against and disappointed with the terrible service and management at this restaurant.

If you wanna go thru my terrible experience in more brief manner, here’s the summary -

Here's a breakdown of what happened:

Bad Service: Despite ordering drinks and food upon arrival, we waited for almost 20 minutes, and our drinks were never served. The servers seemed more interested in chatting at the bar.

Bad Management: The manager's response was inadequate. Instead of addressing our concerns, he accused us of yelling at the servers, which was entirely untrue. He failed to take appropriate action.

Potential Prejudice to Chinese: Our treatment raised concerns of potential bias against us due to our Chinese background. This suspicion stems from the way we were ignored and poorly served.

Servers Laughing: It was disheartening to witness the servers openly laughing during our interaction with the manager. This further highlights the unprofessionalism and insensitivity of the staff.

In sum, this restaurant provided terrible service, demonstrated poor management, showed signs of potential prejudice against Chinese customers, and exhibited a lack of professionalism with servers openly laughing during a...

Normally don’t mind the service here. However I was at this Smitty’s tonight and had a server named Gillian. I arrived at 7 with my bf ordered a beer and was waiting for some friends to show up. Received our beers about 5 minutes later. Which is not out of the normal. Finished and she cared to offer my bf another but not me even though I had finished my drink as well. After our friends arrived the same thing happened. Only thing different this time was that we had waiting for quite some time.... upwards of about 10-15 minutes before she was seen around again. We were sitting at the table with empty drink once again for half an hour before finally calling her over to get our bills. She still did not get our bills to us within 15 minutes. None of us will be returning to this location if the waitresses can’t even bother to check up on their tables. I have worked in restaurant service industry and understand that it can be difficult to keep up with your tables however it is a Tuesday evening and not extremely busy. I understand everyone has a bad day but to dismiss the only female at the table and ignore her presence along in addition to pour service at the table in general (ie. only showing up every half hour) is beyond having a bad day. This girl is being paid to do a service even though it may just be serving a table. She is paid a wage plus expects tips as almost waitress’s do. I don’t care what service you are providing there is zero excuse for any of this. We all have a choice in what we do. If this girl doesn’t want to wait on tables and provide I friendly helpful service to her tables then I don’t feel like there should be someone with this mentality out representing a restaurant/lounge...

What a disappointment and so misleading. The menu picture of the steak sandwich looks good, looks like a normal sandwich bread with a steak covering it.... as you would expect for $17.00 plus bucks. After 20 minuit wait, the waitress bring this mini toast, might as well have been a Melba toast on a plate with an equaly small bowl that's half full of French fries. Myself, I had the 1 lb of wings. No way that was a full pound. And cold.... oh yes, the 20 minute wait, remember. The restaurant is cold inside. I spent a lot of time outdoors this year, at 25 below and all. I'm rarely ever cold but after 10 minutes into our wait, I had to put a sweater on. Recap: cold restaurant, misleading menu that shorts you and like our waitress who couldn't get away fast enough do something else more interesting than waitressing said, "Oh, it's realy just a half sandwich". Had to call her back... another 5 minutes... to get condiments. Like she couldn't have offered when she finally brought the plates. That is one place that has completely lost any further patronage. Try Johnnie's on Marion for a full plate, a warm room and a friendly waitress that actually looks after you and actually get $17.00...