Griffins - Dine Out
I only went to one Dine Out event this year: the $28 3-course dinner at Griffins in Hotel Vancouver. Py suggested this place because of the dessert buffet which proved to be rather disappointing, but more on that later. We were given a slice of focaccia each to start, along with a balsamic vinegar and olive oil dip. The bread was warm and soft with herbs sprinkled on top.
When we looked at the menu, we realized that the Dine Out menu wasn't such a great deal because most of the regular-priced entrees included the dessert buffet anyway. So as Ka pointed out, the only difference was in the appetizer. Most of us chose the shrimp cocktail. I took a picture of Py's shrimp cocktail because it looked prettier and mine only had 7 shrimps while everyone else had 8. How unfair :(
The ravioli I chose for my entree was served with tomatoes and several stalks of asparagus. The pasta was quite dry apart from the overly thick cream sauce carelessly splattered on top. The dish was average at best.
Instead of getting one dessert for the 3rd course, we could have unlimited servings from the dessert buffet out front. The display was quite messy with bits of cake here and there on the counter. The desserts were colourful enough, but were made rather crudely on closer inspection. Frankly I was very disappointed especially considering they offer a high tea service next door at 900 West Lounge which I thoroughly enjoyed, so I had expected a much higher quality in the dessert buffet. Most of the sweets were below average in taste. Dodo and Py both commented that the fruit tart tasted like it had been sitting in the fridge for quite some time, and had absorbed various odors from other foods. Most of the cakes and pastries I had didn't taste very fresh either.
I would hardly call this a fine dining restaurant. The decor was extremely outdated and the place looked like it was in need of renovation. Service was spotty and the food just tasted bad. Dine Out wasn't even a good deal because they kept trying to squeeze more money out of you. In order to get prime rib for the entree, there was a $10 additional charge. Then if you wanted the appetizer buffet instead of a regular appetizer, it was another $10 charge. At the end of the meal when I asked our server to split the bill, he told me there would be an extra charge in a very serious tone. Then when I looked concerned and asked if he meant we would have to pay extra if we split the bill, he told me he was just joking... I fail to see how that was funny. Anyway this was one of the worst fine dining experiences I've had.
When we looked at the menu, we realized that the Dine Out menu wasn't such a great deal because most of the regular-priced entrees included the dessert buffet anyway. So as Ka pointed out, the only difference was in the appetizer. Most of us chose the shrimp cocktail. I took a picture of Py's shrimp cocktail because it looked prettier and mine only had 7 shrimps while everyone else had 8. How unfair :(
The ravioli I chose for my entree was served with tomatoes and several stalks of asparagus. The pasta was quite dry apart from the overly thick cream sauce carelessly splattered on top. The dish was average at best.
Instead of getting one dessert for the 3rd course, we could have unlimited servings from the dessert buffet out front. The display was quite messy with bits of cake here and there on the counter. The desserts were colourful enough, but were made rather crudely on closer inspection. Frankly I was very disappointed especially considering they offer a high tea service next door at 900 West Lounge which I thoroughly enjoyed, so I had expected a much higher quality in the dessert buffet. Most of the sweets were below average in taste. Dodo and Py both commented that the fruit tart tasted like it had been sitting in the fridge for quite some time, and had absorbed various odors from other foods. Most of the cakes and pastries I had didn't taste very fresh either.
I would hardly call this a fine dining restaurant. The decor was extremely outdated and the place looked like it was in need of renovation. Service was spotty and the food just tasted bad. Dine Out wasn't even a good deal because they kept trying to squeeze more money out of you. In order to get prime rib for the entree, there was a $10 additional charge. Then if you wanted the appetizer buffet instead of a regular appetizer, it was another $10 charge. At the end of the meal when I asked our server to split the bill, he told me there would be an extra charge in a very serious tone. Then when I looked concerned and asked if he meant we would have to pay extra if we split the bill, he told me he was just joking... I fail to see how that was funny. Anyway this was one of the worst fine dining experiences I've had.
Agreed!
ReplyDeleteThe server sucked, too. He came by after you and Kish sat down, and when we said we weren't ready yet, disappeared for like 15min!