The Grocery Cocktail & Social — Restaurant in Vancouver

I had a very pleasant experience at the Grocery. With upstairs seating in addition to a bar and seating near the bar downstairs, it was smaller than I expected without feeling cramped. The interior had a slightly industrial feel, lots of unfinished wood, metal, and brick, and a smattering of house made ingredients placed all along the bar top, in full view as the bartenders artfully crafted each drink. Each of the bartenders have their own vinyl collections on display and it was from these collections that the music was being played. (I got some new music in addition to the food and drink, which was unexpected and welcomed.) Everything is made in house and all of the spirits come from Washington state.

Service: 5/5 Darby and Joey ran the show while I was there, and they were both very kind and remembered my name, which made the already intimate setting of the smaller bar area feel quite friendly. They made excellent recommendations that guided my night and they were obviously well-loved by the stream of regulars who flowed in throughout my stay. I was even approached by a member in the back of the house who kindly offered me a second oyster in my end-of-night shooter because “they were looking a little small”. Twist my arm!

Food and drink: 5/5 I had the oyster shooters and the Figur it out cocktail to drink and to eat I had the house burger and chicken parmesan arancini. The burger came with a bacon jam (recommended by Darby) and it didn’t disappoint. It was flavorful and filling and came with hand cut fries and a delicious house ranch. The chicken parm arancini was delicious and saucy, crispy and cheesy and wonderful. The figur it out was absolutely a spirit forward cocktail and is made with their house-made vanilla bean rye. It’s not the type of cocktail I typically go for, but it was a great sipping drink while I enjoyed my meal and it looked beautiful. The oyster shooters were some of the best I’ve had and I liked them so much I ordered a second one after I’d finished everything else, perfectly spiced and proportioned.

Price-to-quality ratio: 5/5 I left spending less money than I felt I should have for what spectacular quality I enjoyed. I only spent about $65 before tip for all the items mentioned above, and considering not only the taste, but the fact that everything is made in house (except the ketchup), I was wickedly impressed.

Overall, I can’t wait to come back to Vancouver specifically to return here. If I had one place I could go while in town, this...

Yes my fellow adventurers! The burger was magnificent! It looked like a prop from a gritty noir art film. Beautifully constructed with color filters on the lens to deepen the somber tones and stabbed in the heart with a wooden spear as if it had been a vampire from the old country. Not cheap, but if that is not your first concern, it was an excellent production.

However, all is not well in the heart of Vancouver, it appeared to be infected by a kind of self satisfied complacence. The bartender/counter person moved as if up to his waist in warm maple syrup. With people in line he did not acknowledge them nor seem interested in them until he had done everything else but come up to the register.

Pleasant enough, except that he seemed to have Absolutely no urgency to complete one and then to move on. to a new task. I did not feel welcome. I suspect he may be quite good in his bartending skills, but it almost seemed that the customers were distracting him from his little meticulous process. There is zero hustle here.

The place feels stuck on itself, supremely self-aware of its own hip-geoisie. This is a place for men in their midlife crisis to bring other men and show off. It is not a place for what I would call good service. The burger was good, but not that good.

And now I should mention the fries. Fries can make or break a place as far as I’m concerned. It’s one of those things that places either do really well or they drag the establishment into mediocrity. These fries were beautiful. I mean physically beautiful. They looked like perfection, like an ode to french fries, but did not quite live up to that lofty appearance. There was little or no crunch which in my mind is a cardinal sin. The taste was not bad, but the texture was not great.

It is a quandary why they would pair such a superb hamburger with fries that felt so short.

If you wear Brooks Brothers shirts and drive a red sports car and like to go to lunch and talk about your summer home and your investment strategies for the future, you might not notice these shortcomings and you might think that this is the perfect neighborhood bar.

But if you are a Weary traveler seeking kindness and comfort, a welcome place to stop and ponder the universe… This is not it. There are so many wonderful places in this town where you walk in and feel so welcome that places like the grocery confound me. Too self satisfied to remember...

November 11, 2017 was the worst service experience of our lives at The Grocery and Cocktail. Having left our Company dinner, my parents and I, after having talked about how good the cornbread at the Grocery and Cocktail was decided to head down there. We sat down and a gentleman, whose name we would later find out was Jarrod, greeted us and asked ‘what can I get you guys’? We immediately let him know that we wanted the cornbread as we continued to pursue the menu. He asked immediately if there was anything else he could get us and my mother said that she would like some water for the time being and he abruptly let her know that water was available at the bar—self serve. More than fine, but it was clear Jarrod was annoyed. We received our cornbread and Jarrod returned and he asked if there was anything else we could have. My mother spoke up for me, letting him know that I was going to order a whiskey. And out of the blue he said that he wouldn’t be serving us. We were shocked—that has never happened to any of us in our lives. ‘Why,’ my mother asked? ‘That’s my call.’ He didn’t once explain why. Just simply said that he was not going to be serving us. Astounded as he walked away, I immediately got up and when he returned from serving other people upstairs I asked for his name. We immediately left, having not eaten even the cornbread that we ordered. As we left (still having no idea why he would chose to not serve us, other than that it was ‘his call’) he had the audacity to follow us outside and demand that my parents pay for the cornbread. They reasonably refused.

If this is the kind of service that we can expect from The Grocery and Cocktail, I will not only never return, but the family and friends that I have who have loved this place in the past will certainly not either. It is presently 11:31pm and I live in downtown Vancouver. I was just dropped off, and we left the establishment less than 20 minutes ago. I ask you: does the person writing this seem in any sense incapable of handling drink?

I am utterly floored that we would be treated this way. That is unfortunate, and it is unfortunate that Jarrod’s treatment of my family will lead to this review being posted on the internet repeatedly.

It is clear that Jarrod is not made for the...