131 replies to this topic

[VicHockeyFan]

It has consistently been busy there and we've not been able to 'walk-up' so we've had to take it off the list as our favourite.
I don't blame the owners as I understand how frustrating it must be to deal with reservations not being honoured.
I'm sure we will try to go again in the future but we'll consider it a lucky day if we can actually get seated.

Can't technology help them? Call display and a computer system where they take the reservation that will flag "no-shows" if they try to book again at a later date? There must be a work-around short of taking a credit card number from every booking.

[Mike K.]

I suppose a good tactic could be to wait by the door at opening time. It's not ideal but I'm sure you'll get your choice of seats.

I've never been to Brasserie because I've never had the opportunity to get a table without waiting. And back when they took reservations I never bothered because the wait was several days (at the time, anyways).

[G-Man]

I guess I would ask what the incentive is for the owner to take reservations. If you have a full restaurant with a line up at the door each night why bother? Success is so difficult sometimes...

[spanky123]

I guess I would ask what the incentive is for the owner to take reservations. If you have a full restaurant with a line up at the door each night why bother? Success is so difficult sometimes...

The incentive is that regulars stop going because they don't want to wait in line. If they can maintain a lineup all year round then it makes more sense for them to do it this way. If a large part of their business is seasonal then it may work against them later in the year.

[LJ]

Then maybe they will take reservations in the "off" season.

[jklymak]

There is no off season at Brasserie L'Ecole. Its not exactly a tourist destination, and they've had the no-reservations policy in place since September, so I guess it works for them.

[Matt R.]

When asked why they close during Christmas and New Years, typically the busiest time of the year for a restaurant I was basically told that 'we are full all year, it doesn't matter what two weeks we close and this way the staff get the holidays off'.

Clearly, they are thriving without reservations, they are in a league of their own and people will wait for a seat. When we arrived last, I knew it would be busy but I figured we'd "just take a seat at the bar" but no dice - no seats, even at the bar, for at least one hour. We didn't wait, but clearly others did as we stopped by for a night cap after our movie around 10:30 and they were still pretty much full.

They won't suffer from the John's Place Curse anytime soon, as they put out a consistent product.

They, and we, are fortunate they got that En Route review all those years ago.

Matt.

[Holden West]

^When a restaurant is doing that well (one in 100?) it must be tempting to think about potentially doubling your income and expanding--either opening a second location or relocating to a larger space like Zambri's. The risk is losing that magic secret mojo that makes for a successful restaurant.

[Matt R.]

I would suggest that doubling your space does not equate to doubling your income. It could certainly double your costs however.

The reason the Brass is successful is not because of secret magic mojo - it's a combination of great space, reasonably priced good food, and service to match. They are fortunate to have in their ownership a fantastic chef and kitchen manager as well as the other guy who every one sees. There's no secret to what they do, just do it right and do it right all the time. That's something you can lose really fast when you double your seats. Many times I'd like to cut my dining room (and kitchen!) in half. You just get that much tighter control on things.

People see a busy, well-priced restaurant and assume the owners are making huge money. Everyone should know by now that restaurant margins are razor thin, especially at this level.

Matt.

[jklymak]

^ Yes, but given that demand is so high, I always wonder why they don't notch their prices up. I think I know the answer - because what makes it a hip place is that the clientele are young and have more time than money. Upping the price could hurt more than making people wait. However, I am still surprised.

[Gary H]

Four Years Later...

 

Okay, It's been over four years so it's time for an update.  This was our first time there, December 5th, a Friday.  Their "no reservations" policy is still in place and there is still a line to get in at opening - pretty much every night.  The shot I took below was 10 minutes before opening (which is 5:30PM).  By the time the doors opened the line was long enough to pretty much fill the restaurant - so it turns out everyone is seated and served at the same time.  The food is excellent and priced similarly to other high-end restaurants in town. 

 

A highlight - they have an awesome Belgian beer selection.  I told our waiter I like malty seasonal beers like Lions Winter Ale and he suggested we let the bartender select a Belgian beer based on that criteria.  He came back with a bottle of Rochefort 10 - wow!  In case anyone is curious, the Rochefort brewery is a 420 year old Belgian Trappist brewery located inside the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy.  This beer is highly regarded and has a 100/100 rating from the Beeradvocate: http://www.beeradvoc...rofile/207/645/.  I didn't ask the price but when the bill came this little slice of heaven set us back $12.  We'd go again. 

 

 

 

 

 

Speck, Tomme de Vallee, pear and raisin chutney, grilled bread  $14

 

 

10oz Certified Angus New York Striploin with frites, a red wine and shallot sauce, and Rougefort butter  $34

 

 

Duck confit with grilled brussel sprouts (those are the steak's frites in the background)  $26

 

 

And for dessert, crepe suzette with orange sauce  $7.50

[dasmo]

^ My favourite restaurant in Vic :-). It's the full package. Good food, good service, good drinks! I loved the transition to no reservations! now you can actually get in without planning 3 weeks in advance!

[Matt R.]

Oh **** me, crepes Suzette?

Matt.

[Mike K.]

Bear with me here. This is a long one.

 

I'm going to take the time to write this out with as much detail as I can given my status on this forum as an admin and given my position in the community. I want to ensure all details are clarified.

 

I very rarely feel the need to criticize or note a negative dining experience in this city. I know running a restaurant is a tough business, I grew up in that environment, but I also know that a responsibility of a restaurateur is to ensure that all patrons are satisfied, all patrons are respected and should there be a problem, it ought to be addressed to the satisfaction of the patrons.

 

Yesterday evening I took my girlfriend to Brasserie. We arrived at about 8PM, and were told a table would be ready for us by 8:45. We returned and were seated in the back corner, a very pleasant, warm and intimate table. The table next to us had four ladies, 30-40-somethings, who appeared to have been celebrating a ladies night out or something to that effect.

 

As the evening went on, we noticed that the volume of the patrons next to us kept increasing. Language was degrading. Alcohol kept flowing.

 

As for our food, to be perfectly blunt and honest it was not what I had expected at one of the city's most famed restaurants. I had asked for a medium rare steak and received a rare, which is nothing short of criminal () in the restaurant business, but being too hungry to want to wait I dug in.

 

Now on to our friends next to us. After we finished dining I realized I could no longer have a conversation with my girlfriend who was sitting two feet away from me. Looking around I noticed other patrons were also looking in the direction of the table with the four ladies. The entire restaurant was filled with their chatter and intoxicated cackling. I had had enough.

 

Not wanting to waste our bottle of wine we transplanted ourselves over to the bar. Not a word was said by staff, no question why. They did huddle at the end of the bar and looked as though they were discussing the loud table, but instead of cutting the party short another round of wine was served.

 

After a few moments we noticed bar was quite drafty and uncomfortable, and at that point I finally voiced my opinion to a woman behind the bar. An exchange more or less like so followed:

 

"May I ask you to remind the table that all patrons deserve a quiet and comfortable place to dine?"

"Oh, are they being too loud?"

"Yes. We moved from our table, to the bar, if you hadn't noticed."

"Oh, yeah, in the service industry this sometimes tends to happen. Here not so much, but it happens."

"So you're unwilling to ask them to be conscious of other diners?"

"Well, you know, this happens now and then."

 

There was no offer to speak to them, there were only excuses and references to the industry. A manager never came to speak to us, and our server did not care to either.

 

My girlfriend voiced her displeasure as well, and reminded the woman we were speaking with that it is not out of line to remind a loud and disruptive table that there are other patrons in the restaurant. Again, the response was just a smile and a rebuttal.

 

Eventually the lady who I had exchanged words with went to the back and returned to say something along these lines:

"Ok, we'll solve this now, they'll be given their bill soon."

"That's it? They'll be given their bill?"

"Yes. I noticed you've finished your wine. Can I pour you another glass?"

 

Unreal. I spent over $150 on that meal at a restaurant that I thought had class. There was no visit from the manager, no offer to decrease my bill, just a smile and a desire to keep the liquor flowing.

 

Look, we're not complainers, we're not out there to seek trouble. In fact we're a pretty tolerant bunch, the girlfriend and I, but this was over the top and a ridiculous show of disrespect for patrons of that restaurant who all paid very good money to dine there and the care-free attitude exhibited by the staff was unprofessional for the business they are in. Total lack of professionalism, total lack of respect for their diners.

 

Sorry Brasserie, but my first visit will be my last.

[VicHockeyFan]

I might have made a bigger deal of it.

[Mike K.]

That's not us though. We were perplexed, totally and utterly perplexed by their attitude towards the whole thing.

 

If my girlfriend had not been with me I would have gotten up to speak to the table myself but I didn't want to cause a scene in front of her. It was shameful how feeble the staff were, it was like they were scared to approach them and make the very reasonable request to tone down their volume and language.

 

Never, ever, anywhere in the world, had I experienced such a terrible customer service etiquette. Ever. It's comical how bad their reaction to this was. Being asked if I wanted another glass of wine was the cherry on top.

[VicHockeyFan]

That's not us though. We were perplexed, totally and utterly perplexed by their attitude towards the whole thing.

 

If my girlfriend had not been with me I would have gotten up to speak to the table myself but I didn't want to cause a scene in front of her. It was shameful how feeble the staff were, it was like they were scared to approach them and make the very reasonable request to tone down their volume and language.

 

It's not always the staff's fault.  Sometimes they are not empowered.  If they decided to say something, then the table complained (now, or later in a letter) to management, some managers might take the situation as "the customer, especially those buying lots of booze" were not in the wrong.

 

Sometimes that's why server staff are squirrely.  They've been made that way by management.

[Mike K.]

For sure, but there is management on-site. The girl went to speak to someone, presumably management, when she disappeared and later returned to tell us that their bill will be arriving soon. She had said something along the line of "I'll go talk to someone who can help."

 

I guess it should be noted that we left before that table did.

[Jason-L]

Meanwhile, in a different timeline, somewhere someone is probably posting about the unbelievably ridiculous way the restaurant behaved in telling them to be quiet when they were having a good time and how they'll never go back.  After spending nearly $600 on the bill, they were treated so shabbily and they're going to give the place a bad yelp review.

 

“L’enfer, c’est les autres" as they say.

[JamesBayRay]

Nobody ever said that restaurant was a quiet place. As should be fairly evident by the long lineups and a small venue. Some places are noisy. Pag's is a good example. Loud rooms with tables quite close to eachother. Sounds to me like the ladies next to you were having a good time. Why be 'nimby' Victoria about this? Next time just pick a quieter restaurant. Small trendy places where people drop way too much money are often loud. Try a similar place in Montreal, I have and everyone in the place sounded like the ladies next to you! And guess what? Everyone was happy and having a good time. The food was great the wine was flowing and the energy was boisterous and exciting. Go with the flow!

Edited by JamesBayRay, 25 September 2015 - 09:42 AM.