Shaughnessy At Vandusen Botanical Garden

The service was quick, and while the food was decent, it didn't stand out. The menu was limited, but we enjoyed what we ordered. Our square table had four fold-out extensions to make it round, but it was uneven, causing my plate to wobble during the meal. The chowder contained more potatoes than seafood, and the stroganoff had more noodles than sauce. However, the lamb and calamari were good, and the desserts were tasty, though again, not particularly memorable. The waitstaff were attentive and polite. It feels like you're paying more for the location than for the food itself.

We reserved a table for Christmas dinner and were advised to book a few extra spots just in case. We were told we wouldn’t be charged for those additional seats if people didn’t show up. We had a party of sixteen, but ended up being charged for twenty-eight. When we spoke to the manager, we were informed that this was their policy. Since we couldn’t provide the name of the person who made the reservation, the manager refused to issue a refund. We only had sixteen dinners served but were charged for twenty-eight. If you enjoy being taken advantage of, this restaurant might be for you; otherwise, Vancouver has plenty of better dining options.

However, the service left much to be desired. We had to ask for refills on coffee and water, and the waiter unceremoniously took away two plates while one of my friends was still eating. He later returned to remove her plate as well, only for her to have to remind him that she was still working on her sandwich. This level of service is surprising for a restaurant of this caliber; I expected better than a diner experience. As for the food, it was just average. Both of my friends enjoyed their meals, but I ordered the quinoa salad, which was poorly presented. It consisted of a few mixed greens haphazardly tossed on the plate with scattered quinoa, which was quite disappointing given the price. The location is lovely and has an enjoyable old-school vibe, but the service definitely needs improvement.

My family wanted to take me out for a Birthday Brunch and thought Shaughnessy Restaurant would be a treat for me. Unfortunately I felt so bad at their discomfort as our service was poor, the waiter who took our order was either hung over or clearly did not wish to be there. We repeatedly requested various needs example: a soup spoon for the soup and our second tea ordered but missed just to name a couple, which is fine it happens but the last straw was when we wanted to pack remaining food home which included hashbrowns (which were delicious) but when we got back our packages most of the food that was on our plates was not included (less hashbrowns/part of a sandwhich usually when someone asks to pack something home it includes all that is on the plate or at least it should be clarified) I am disappointed this happened for this occasion.

Very very slow service and was sitting for two hours when my niece had homework to do so we had to rush eat and leave and the food was cold to our table so not happy that night