73 replies to this topic

[rjag]

Had dinner there tonight with my wife. Neither of us were impressed. Its early days so fingers crossed they will make some changes.

Definitely confused as to whether its a pub or a restaurant. We waited about 20 minutes for a table which wasnt bad, once at the table waited 10 minutes for the waitress to acknowledge we were there and take our drink order. Wife had Sangria I had coke (thanks to the new drink driving laws!!!) We placed our meal order and waited and waited and waited. 45 minutes before the food turned up, no contact with the waitress till then even though we had finished our drinks and were just sitting there. People around us were in the same boat and were commenting on it as well. We ordered the spring rolls, a cheeseburger with fries and ceasar salad. Noticed you could see right into the kitchen which wasnt reassuring as there was garbage all over the floor and the staff were walking through it and no-one was making an effort to sweep up. Kitchen staff were coming and going through the main door with bags of food and bread etc, not something you are used to seeing in any restaurant.

Got the meals and the wife asked for a glass of wine, waitress didnt even acknowledge that my glass was empty and went to get my wifes wine. They served it in a tumbler which was not very good. I guess the'yre trying to be trendy but dont mess with the wine like that. I had to ask for a 2nd pop and by the time it arrived we had finished dinner. No follow up on how the meal was which is a big no-no as you most definitely check up on the meal while the client is eating it. No offer of a dessert menu or would we like a coffee or drink. Heres the bill. Then we had to find someone to pay the bill to and get some change.

Total time spent 1 hour 45 minutes, final score ambience 4 out of 10, service 2 out of 10, food 6 out of 10. I will give them the benefit of the fact they are just opened and are teething. I'll go back in a month or so and see if they've improved. If they dont then I am sorry to say they will be in trouble.

My one and only suggestion from my wife who spent many years in the trade was they need to hire a proper front of house manager and make the staff dress appropriately.

Fingers crossed they can improve.

[Rob Randall]

Kitchen staff were coming and going through the main door with bags of food and bread etc, not something you are used to seeing in any restaurant.

I worked at a busy new restaurant once and there was no way the ordering schedule was able to keep up with the unpredictable amount of food that was going out at first. For the first few weeks we were constantly sending runners next door to Save-On-Foods for stuff.

Noticed you could see right into the kitchen which wasnt reassuring as there was garbage all over the floor and the staff were walking through it and no-one was making an effort to sweep up.

Here's where I agree. In those first insane days the restaurant manager demanded the kitchen floor be swept regularly. We thought at the time it was stupid to waste time sweeping when orders were backing up. I now realize keeping a clean kitchen is safer and keeps you focused in chaos.

We popped our heads in at McCrae's last week just to see what it looked like inside. We'll return when things shake down a bit.

The server sounded like she was in over her head. When things get out of control long waits are common. So is skipping essential steps like refills and checkbacks. When they both happen at the same time the server is close to losing it.

[G-Man]

Sounds like they were understaffed and understocked. Definitely a common problem in a busy restaurant when it opens. I have worked many places since working in a restaurant but when I am stressed out with life the only nightmares I get are serving nightmares.

[Holden West]

Mrs. West visited today with her mom. She liked the food enough but experienced the same drawbacks rjag did. Long wait (understandable), dirty kitchen staff tromping through the restaurant (wtf?), no visible management, no checkback on the meal, no refills, $1 dollar charge for an extra dollop of peanut sauce.

Opening month jitters won't deter me from visiting but I'm wondering if management is up to snuff.

[victorian fan]

Mrs. West visited today with her mom. She liked the food enough but experienced the same drawbacks rjag did. Long wait (understandable), dirty kitchen staff tromping through the restaurant (wtf?), no visible management, no checkback on the meal, no refills, $1 dollar charge for an extra dollop of peanut sauce.

Opening month jitters won't deter me from visiting but I'm wondering if management is up to snuff.

Oh dear. Now it no longer sounds promising.

[legendary]

That's what the exterior sign says. Last time I registered a business name, you need not use capital letters.

I think Mcrae is the street name, Mcrae and Shelbourne, no?

[victorian fan]

I think Mcrae is the street name, Mcrae and Shelbourne, no?

Yes

[Bernard]

I was there for lunch last week, there was nothing there to make me want to go back. Passable and irrelevant are two words I would use to describe the place.

[peanutflower]

Global Payments does not charge a security deposit. where'd you get that info from? It's no excuse not to have the POS hooked up. Global Payments is really accommodating and it could have been done right away. It takes like 10 minutes to get set up. I'm sure any vendor would be the same. But, there is a connection between McRaes and the Local Kitchen down on Wharf Street, and one of my biggest beefs about the Local is that it doesn't have debit. YOu have to use the ATM tucked away into the back corner of the restaurant -- and interesting little aside, the guy who owns Darcy's and UPstairs has a side business providing ATMS -- Darcy's doesn't have debit either -- so he sold these ATMs to his friends who own the Local, Podium, and other places and they make a killing from the fees those damn machines charge. Someone who works at Darcy's told me they make over $1k on a Friday just in ATM fees along. So maybe McRaes was waiting to see what the customer reaction would be before they caved and installed POS.

Went to McRaes on Sunday. Sucked. It's like someone with grade 10 woodwork put the place together. I had high hopes and waited for a while until they got some of the bugs worked out, but the bugs are still there unfortunately. It's really unfortunate because this is a gem of a location, or has the potential to be. Remember Ciccones down the street? It was always busy. Is that what it was called? I forget. Anyway, it was disappointing and I hope someone comes in and fixes it before all of the effort these young guys put in goes to waste. They need to hire a restaurant consultant or something.

[Savannah]

My husband works at Shelbourne/McKenzie, and I work in Oak Bay. This would be a perfect location for us to meet for dinner after work, then hit Thrifty's at Hillside on the way home.

But I don't think so now from what I've read.

The restaurant business is tough. You have to be good to make it. This does not sound like a restaurant bound for success.

[Bob Fugger]

My husband works at Shelbourne/McKenzie, and I work in Oak Bay. This would be a perfect location for us to meet for dinner after work, then hit Thrifty's at Hillside on the way home.

But I don't think so now from what I've read.

The restaurant business is tough. You have to be good to make it. This does not sound like a restaurant bound for success.

Might I suggest an alternate location? The restaurants of Fernwood Square fit your description of a location between Shelbourne/McKenzie and Oak Bay, and still close to the Hillside Thrifty's. There's wine and tapas at Stage and the gastro-pub style Fernwood Inn across the street. Each are award winning in their own respect.

[sebberry]

Global Payments does not charge a security deposit. where'd you get that info from?

It was 7 years ago now and with the latest credit crisis I can't see how it has gotten any better.

I struggled with both Moneris and Global Payments.

I'm pretty sure it was global that wanted a $20,000 security deposit and Moneris wouldn't deal with me because I hadn't been in business long enough to establish good business credit.

Could have been the other way around, but neither were new-business friendly at all.

[salonMonster]

It smells good when I drive by, hopefully they hire more staff and get things figured out

[North Shore]

Went with a friend and his child and Shore Jr last week for lunch. Got there before the lunch rush, so sat straight down. 2 highchairs and water straight away. Service was quick, although a slight error on my order (whatever - it all ends up at Clover Point anyway!) Portions weren't overly large, but then I'm not a huge eater, but do feel responsible to eat everything that is placed on my plate if I ordered it. Jr seemed pretty happy to pick fries off my plate, and wasn't too rowdy.
Decor is a little odd? A cross between Hunting Lodge and Martini Bar chic - not sure if it really works or not..

I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5. I'll take the Mrs. along next time, and see what she thinks..