The Pantry Restaurant

On our recent trip to the Vancouver area we went in search for a good family restaurant to enjoy our finally dinner in Canada, and since it was our Thanksgiving night dinner, variety was important.
We found the Pantry just up the road from our hotel, and decided that we would give it a shot.
We walked in and the place was virtually empty, at first we thought that it was just because we are early eaters, but soon realized it was a much more deeply rooted issue. We were greeted almost immediately and seated. Our server appeared and offered us menus and a smile, sadly this is where the positives stopped. She, our server, is the only reason that I’m offering 2 stars versus just one.
We ordered … we waited… we waited … we waited, mind you that I ordered the ruben sandwich, my wife had the quesadilla, mom had the turkey dinner, dad the hamburger (of course) and my 5 yr old twins the grilled cheese and mac n cheese, so needless to say the orders weren’t difficult. Once the meals finally arrived they were just OK, really no way to f’up the request, so they managed only to give us one bad dish … MINE. This was the WORST Ruben I have ever had in my life, and yes this includes my Arby’s ruben experience. I rarely don’t finish many meals, but sadly this one was almost inedible. The corn beef was fatty and tough, I literally had more uneaten meat on my plate than in my stomach. The only good on that plate was the sauerkraut, and I’m pretty damned sure that came out of a can or jar.
Too bad, I LOVE a good Ruben.
Oh, and they forgot my mother’s cranberry sauce … really???
My wife liked the fact that it was quiet and convenient, but that was about all she had to say.

When I was younger, my family and I would come for Sunday brunch buffet at the Pantry. I remember it being pretty full and having enjoyed the meal. Things have changed now.
My husband and I visited the location for the Sunday brunch buffet recently because I remember having good memories there. When we walked in there was a large board with the buffet prices. For adults it’s $ 14.95 but you have to buy a drink (which is additional to the price) in order to qualify for the buffet. That turns the cost into $ 17 or more which really gets you thinking if it’s worth it.
The hostess took us to our table but it was rather odd that she picked the booth farthest from the buffet and closest to the door. We asked to sit closer to the buffet and she guided us to the next booth. She seemed nice. At the booth, she asked us what drinks we wanted and I requested an orange juice and my husband requested a tea. It was surprising how long it took for us to get our drinks considering how simple they were to prepare, especially the orange juice! Later, I noticed that the girl was working alone on the floor. Even when there were more people at the restaurant she was jumping from host to server. Poor girl.
The place was empty except for one family that had also chosen the buffet option. During the second half of our meal, more people started coming in. It wasn’t as packed as it used to be but there were definitely more people to share the food with. I did notice that a lot of people opted out of the buffet and just ordered from the menu.
The buffet itself was okay. They served the usual things such as scrambled eggs, sausages, hash browns, pancakes, waffles and such. They also had spaghetti, meatballs, mushrooms and eggs benny. Everything was fine except the eggs benny. They must have been sitting there for a while, definitely not fresh. They were there long enough for the bread (English muffin) to be soaked and it made it difficult to cut into pieces. They also had bread, croissants and mini muffins. We tried the croissants which were a bit dryer than they should be. The Caesar salad on the side was drenched in dressing and looked pretty soggy. The mini sandwiches beside it which I did try were yummy but also soggy. On the side they had desserts such as cakes, cookies and pudding. I liked the cakes but the pudding was not so great.
Something that really surprised me was the bacon. First of all, there was no bacon. I didn’t notice it for a while until someone who came in later was asking for it. The server brought a plate of bacon and placed it on the table. I took a few pieces for my husband and I to have since we had missed out. I was in shock when I found a huge piece of plastic (2in x 4in roughly) in the bacon. What in the world. My guess is that they were in a hurry to make the bacon as the other person was insisting on it and they probably forgot a piece of the wrapper. I left the plastic wrapper on my plate hoping that the server would see it when she took my plate. I didn’t say anything because I was just really surprised. I’m just glad I didn’t choke on it.
Something that was random but I thought I would include were the bathrooms. The restaurant is a large square shape and to get to the bathrooms you had to walk to the opposite corner from the entrance, then walk to the end of the hallway and finally go up the stairs. A pretty long distance but it’s all right, at least you can burn something off on your way there and back. What was really unfortunate though is how COLD it was. Holy moly. As soon as I got to the second floor I was freezing. I am not joking you, this bathroom felt like I was about to pee outside. I feel bad if anyone had to touch the toilet seat with their bumbum. While I was freezing washing my hands another customer told me she too was freezing. Maybe a little heating upstairs wouldn’t hurt.
Overall, we found this buffet to be okay for the price. It’s not the best, there are definitely better places out there. However, if you’re looking for a buffet brunch (which there aren’t many of in Richmond) then you can try this place out. Don’t have high expectations though.

Just had lunch with a group of friends. The service was so poor it was laughable. We waited and waited for everything and when our food did show up, it was burnt, crusty scrambled eggs and burnt black grilled cheese. The coffee was watery and cold. When we asked for a hotter cup it took another 20 min. The waitress reeked of cigarette smoke when she did bother to show up. It really should not be that hard to make scrambled eggs, grilled cheese sandwiches and hot coffee. Sorry, Pantry but I will never risk a meal like that again.

Well, my colleagues and I came here for a quick lunch. Mistake number one.
We were really excited to see that there were no tables in the restaurant because we figured that meant we’d get great quick service and good food. We were wrong on both accounts, and by the end of the meal, we realized WHY there were no tables filled, and only one other group waiting to be seated.
The food was barely tolerable, the service was really slow, and in the end the server even gave us the wrong bill. With only two groups available, I’m not even sure how that’s possible but clearly, it is.
I will not going back, I’ll tell you that much.

This location is associated with the Travelodge hotel.
I stayed at the associated hotel for a couple of nights on a business trip and had occasion to have breakfast here on three mornings.
Overall, my impression was adequate, but unimpressive.
They offer the traditional breakfast array that one expects.
On two occasions I had the Pantry Breakfast — this was a typical 2 eggs/​breakfast meat/​hashbrowns/​toast.
These were OK — a bit on the greasy side, but not so as to be offensive. I try to avoid wheat; they don’t have a gluten-​free bread option, however they were happy to substitute a fruit bowl or sliced tomatoes for the toast.
One morning I tried the breakfast special of a spinach/​tomato/​feta omlette with roasted red potatoes — this was a disappointment — It would have been much better with half the spinach and twice the feta. It came with toast (not listed on the chalkboard).
Coffee was tolerable — not worth seeking out, but not so offensive that I didn’t drink it.
I wish I had the option of 2.5 stars, but Unilocal is Unilocal.
It’s an OK option if you’re staying at this hotel, but I can’t recommend coming here otherwise.