Glowbal Grill Steaks & Satay

The server had a great personality! I had the fun genes crab gnocchi… So amazing. We also shared this Brazilian chocolate cake and it was great. I need to get back here before I move!

Best brunch place in Vancouver. We always make a point to go when we visit Vancouver. We are sad to be unable to go this trip until they open at a new location in summer 2015.
Fabulous service, incredible food, great atmosphere.

After my second visit to Glowbal I have to leave a review… the first time I came here was a couple months ago with two of my girlfriends and we were served by a really nice and attentive young blonde guy that helped us on the patio I forget his name now. We shared the Satay Platter, the half roasted chicken, and the lobster ravioli. You should know before you come here for a meal that all the servings are small. The platter sounds plentiful because of the variety but each skewer is literally 2 or 3 tiny half bite size pieces of whatever meat. The lobster Ravioli was a more decent serving size but was SO salty. like you need to drink water AS you are eating it salty. The half roasted chicken was probably the most decent item we ordered and was actually a real entrée. I wasn’t a huge fan after our first visit (besides the service from our server) but after last night I am definitely not a fan.
We came here last night as a group of about 9 people for my girlfriend’s birthday dinner. Nicki was our server and I was not especially impressed with her service. My boyfriend and I ordered the smoked salmon flatbread (which we ate at Coast and thought was pretty good), the half roasted chicken, and the lamb kofta skewer and lemongrass chicken skewer. I asked that the smoked salmon be zapped in the microwave before being put on the flatbread and she looked at me like I was an idiot and asked «you know it comes smoked already right» and I said yes I am aware but I’d like it to be well cooked. She then gave in and said she could ask them to grill it for me. My boyfriend was missing his napkin and when he asked her for one, he asked for a napkin/​towel and the way she questioned him was so condescending as if he had stolen the napkin or had done something with it when really she could have just apologized that they missed his seat when they set up the table. The whole night her service was pretty mediocre and left us with the impression that she didn’t really want to be there or to be serving our group. The salmon flatbread had way too much sauce on it that it completely overpowered the taste of the actual salmon, the skewers were again almost bite size (I only ordered because my boyfriend hadn’t tried it before) the lamb kofta was literally a meatball…
One of my girlfriends also ordered the salmon flatbread and she had hers done the normal way without having it seared extra like I had mine. We both had stomach aches within an hour of eating the flatbread and went home after the dinner instead of going out like planned. If you’re in yaletown and you’re looking for a good place to eat and drink there are so many other options where you’ll get more value and service for your buck. So far I’ve experienced Italian Kitchen (hated it), Glowbal (not a fan), and Coast (really liked it). The Glowbal Group seems to be such a big name but I think there is much to be desired from the group as a whole.

Just came for brunch this morning. I enjoyed sitting on the heated patio on this bright and crisp winter day.
They offered all the tables some mini doughnuts but they were extremely greasy. The service was slow even though all the tables were not fully seated. The food is decent and like all the other chains we have in Yaletown.

My sister and I were wondering around hungover and starving about to eat eachothers arms. When we spotted this quain unassuming restaurant.
The Mac and Cheese balls were so amazing!
Order all the satays if you can! The sandwiches are absolutely delicious! And the spicy parmesan heavenly fries!
And lucky for us it was half off wine Wednesday!
Definitely a must go eat if you are in Yaletown!

Great spot for a late night martini with some good people and some tasty snacks to help with all those delicious drinks and laughs. Great vibrant and lively place.. And don’t be surprised to see some of your Vancouver ca Canucks there from time to time.

Went here for brunch today and I guess my expectations were too high. The meals took a very long time to get to our table. I believe we all had 6 cups of coffee before our food was on the table.
The servers were good and they helped the ratings but the time it takes to get food is too long. The eggs Benedict’s were just regular and was beside a bed of a super weak salad.
I wouldn’t mind trying their dinner menu but I’d never go for brunch to this place again.

This is one of those reviews that makes me sad i have to write it.
Firstly, I would like to say that the staff were lovely and accommodating. This is in no way a reflection on how our party was treated. We were moved when we asked, they smiled and made jovial converstaion, and it seemed as though the employees really did enjoy working there.
The bad news is that the restaurant itself has such an underdeveloped sense of what service is. We were there for almost two hours before we received apetizers. Two hours without food (plus an unlimited budget for liquor) was not a wise decision. The event we were there for was a global (no pun intended) event for our company, so we had booked over a month in advance. I felt like we had all just showed up last minute and demanded food.
The appy’s came and went and within 10 minutes our food had arrived. We waited over 2 hours to get fed, and all of our food came right away, so most of us did not finish our entrees, let alone desert. I packed mine to go.
From reading the other reviews, this isn’t unusual. In fact, it seems to be the norm, which is disappointing. I’m not sure how a place like this, with that location, could possibly stay in business with all the other places in Vancouver you can go to eat.
I’d advise the amazing staff to move on to another Donnelly Group. The staff were amazing, the food was fine (it is really hard to focus on the quality of a meal you’re not even able to eat a ¼ of), but the delivery and timing was so off it was almost embarrassing.
If it had been my money I would have walked out after an hour.

The original Glowbal, ahh what a fantastic restaurant. First off the staff is great! I’ve been here a few times and I have never been disappointed. One of my waiters was an older gentleman who checked in on our table every 10 minutes (which was great) and he gave great recommendations. This restaurant is located in central Yaletown which is perfect if you want to have an eventful night after a great dinner. I haven’t been here for brunch before but I’m sure it’s fantastic! One of my favorite dishes is the tuna (forget the actual name of the dish but it’s a main course). It’s yummy, fresh and comes with a range of different vegetables. I also really enjoy their side order of Brussels sprouts. Normally I’m not a huge Brussels Sprouts fan but there’s are great! I could eat 5 pounds of Brussel sprouts from there and be very happy!

How can one not, always trendy, nothing to expect less from this enormous restaurant Glowbal Group.
A must-​visit to Yaletown, not just for drinks and food, but for the eye candy and atmosphere.
If you go the Tourism Vancouver info centre by Canada Place, go grab their rack for promotional cards for complimentary satays ;)

I decided to come here since I was walking around yaletown for brunch and this place was packed. The server recommended the special which had a little of everything so it had a egg mushroom ham omelet, egg benedict served on deep fried potato, salad, potatoes, waffle with fruit and danish with an orange marmalade. There was also a sample of a shot of smoothie prior to this meal. When the food came out WOW the brunch looked and tasted amazing. It is actually a lot of food and I can understand why this cost ~$ 15 per person since it was made for sharing. I really liked the concept of getting a little bit of everything and I enjoyed sitting outside on the patio. The service here was excellent and I wish they had this place in the states, i would actually go to brunch here if they did (usually I am not a breakfast or a brunch person but this place has converted me).

Came here to fulfill my stamps for the passport and tried their brunch. I had reserved for a table in a certain area, but when we were seated, they offered us a table with high chairs. We requested somewhere else like a booth, and they ended up giving us a booth all the way at the back of the restaurant. I guess it was better than the high tables in the busy area. Anyway, the service was a bit slow for our liking, but as we were in no real rush, it was fine.
The waitress was very polite and conversational, but as we were sitting near the back, she only came to us once in awhile. We had a lot of questions for her and she was very accommodating and went to ask the chefs if she didn’t know. She provided a soup sample for one of our entrees because we were unsure if we would want the soup they had for the day, which was a super nice touch.
I got the huevos rancheros. It was ok, very big portion. I could not finish it. The tortilla comes on the bottom with all the eggs, beans, bacon, salad on top.
We got two satays. They were very cute — mac and cheese stick and tuna albacore and bacon wrapped scallop. They did not come on sticks which is what I thought. The mac and cheese was a fried ball. The tuna albacore was like a tuna sashimi /​seared tuna tataki. The bacon wrapped scallop was so so — small scallop, overcooked, bacon overcooked as well.
Our final bill was about $ 50, but we all had drinks. Using the Costco gift card it’s like saving 20% off, though, which isn’t so bad for 3 people. Would we go again? I don’t think so. I prefer the other Glowbal restaurants over this one.

We made a reservation well in advanced. When we arrived the place was not packed but we were still sat at easily the worst table in the restaurant. The table was so tightly fit in that our server had issues serving us.
We ordered halibut. which was about Safeway quality, the salmon … Which was over cooked and the ½ chicken. which was so dry it was a step away from jerky.
We will not be going back and I certainly wouldn’t recommend it with all the amazing places to eat in Yaletown.

Came here the other day for a friend’s birthday and had a great time. Glowbal has always been a fixture in the heart of Yaletown and it never disappoints. I used to get a lot more joy coming here when I was younger — perhaps because there were less restaurants like Glowbal and it’s starting to get overshadowed by many of the other dining options in the area.
Anyhow, food was excellent as always. I started with the Satay platter (which was shared). Everything came on a stick which I’m a sucker for. I really enjoyed the albacore tuna and the mac and cheese sticks. Who knew mac and cheese could come on a stick? This is a great little sampler that gives you a little of everything for the indecisive.
I had the lamb shank for my main. The meat was juicy and tender — cooked to perfection. The size of the dish was a little on the small size (I’m a big eater) but I did have the satay plate to start so the post-​dinner Micky-D’s run was not necessary.
Value-​wise, I would say it’s okay. For the price, it’s not an amazing deal but Glowbal is consistent and you know what you’re going to get — excellent food in a nice restaurant. Our server was also very friendly and attentive.
Oh, and parking’s a B*tch.

A friend of mine and I were in search for a place to go for brunch on a late Saturday afternoon. We stumbled across the glowbal grill and decided to check it out.
As we entered we noticed the outdoor patio, with white tables and heated lamps and we made our way through the entrance. The inside looks clean, fresh, modern with white tables and wooden beams and some modern wood on the walls. It looks upscale and classy. The place wasn’t too busy for an afternoon but we were fine with just sitting and catching up.
We were served a complimentary smoothie that was delicious. The brunch menu had lots of options and some are a little pricy but all looked super tasty. You can get eggs Benedict, a salad, Belgian waffle and more.
We decided to share the Belgian waffle and the pancakes. The Belgian waffle was delicious and for sure hit the spot! Cooked to perfection and paired with a Carmel sauce, topped with bananas, fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and ice cream! I was so excited to dig in I messed up the presentation a bit before I decided to take a picture! The portion size was good for the waffle and I was very impressed on how tasty it was!
The pancakes were good but after having the waffle I feel like they couldn’t compare as much. They were two large pancakes topped with a blueberry sauce, fresh blueberries, strawberries and blackberries and wipped cream. It would have been nice if there was some maple syrup on the side as that is usually what I like to eat my pancakes with.
The service was good. We were seated straight away and our server was always on top of everything and he made sure we were happy!
Overall I think this place is good to go for brunch! The décor and ambience isn’t anything too special but the brunch is pretty tasty!

If you’re looking for swanky décor, loud trendy music, glitzy lights, trendy crowd, you may enjoy this restaurant. They have a good selection of food but the restaurant feels impersonal. We had the penne pomodoro and maple cedar sablefish, with a few beers. Penne lacked lustre albeit served al dente if that is your preference. Sablefish was served with some green bean tempura. For almost $ 30, portion was small. Fish was tasty and rich but I felt the combination of that fish with deep fried beans made the dish a little rich, too fatty, too heavy. Maybe that is why the portion was small. Rich and small: p Chose not to have dessert there. Maybe another time. Patio was too loud.

Glowbal’s got the big fancy name, swank interior design, and handsome-​beautiful servers. Unfortunately, I didn’t find the food to be all that special.
The satay platter was served on a tin dish. At first it looked cool, but then as the server was taking it away, I realized that it reminded me of a dog plate.
The server told us that the satay skewers were famous, that they built Glowbal into what it is today. The executive chef even came out to introduce the food to us. Sadly, when I ate them, I found that there wasn’t anything special about them. Although, they were not dry, they were not especially tender or delicious. Just average. I couldn’t really taste the different marinades, if any were used. The mayo sauces were not memorable in anyway. I was looking for a smoky flavor that I usually associate with skewered meats, but didn’t get any. They were basically what a competent college student could make for a Saturday night BBQ.
Service was friendly but not that quick. It was odd that there were so many servers, hostesses, and busboys around but it took me several minutes to flag our table’s assigned server to come.
I think Glowbal is a place for rich people who don’t really have much of a palate to spend their money. Or perhaps girls on their ladies’ night out who want to sip cocktails with barely any alcohol in them, and look pretty in the mood lighting.

I searched for Afterglow but seems like it’s attached to the restaurant for review purposes.
I have to admit that Glowbal Group has the best service of all the restaurants I have been to this city and that’s a lot! So on a Friday night after having had a yummy meal at Refinery we headed down to Yaletown for a drink. We settled on Afterglow as looked to have room and wanted a comfy lounge and chat.
The décor is nothing spectacular but the lighting makes it seem hipper than it actually is. We sat close to the entrance as there was a large party of young suburbans celebrating a birthday. They had all dressed to kill but had little experience when it comes to socializing.
Enough about the ambience which on this particular night was non existant. I started off with the sistine chapel as the name was funky and it was just meh.
Needless to say I won’t be coming back to Yaletown for any ambience or great conversation:(

Hmmm… To start on the positive or negative… I’ll hamburger it.
Absolutely hands down the best service I’ve ever had. We were seated right away out on the patio with the heat turned up and blankets ready for the cold breeze. Our waiter Scott was friendly, attentive, helpful and corrected our order without any questions. He started us with water and a free teacup sampler of a tomato basil with crème fraise soup. He gave us a free meatball satay while we waited for our second steaks without asking (more on that later). We started with 4 satays as: lobster mac&cheese; meatball; bacon wrapped scallop and shortrib. The first 2 were alright, nothing super special. Shortrib was a bit dry for my liking. By far our fav was the scallop which was cooked perfectly and the bacon crispy. I ordered the daily special: maple goat cheese spinach flatbread with duck confit. Delicious! Thin, crispy crust, not too dry and wonderful blend of flavours.
Now on to negative. extra bad cause it’s a steakhouse !
F got a RARE 6 oz rib eye (bone in) steak… which came out MEDIUM.
M ordered the steak tenderloin & bone marrow. The large bone barely had half a teaspoon worth of marrow on it. Secondly, her supposed rare steak was completely WELL-​DONE. How does that even happen at a steak restaurant!
Scott was kind enough to quickly take it back to the kitchen and get them new steaks and marrow. The manager and chef both came out to serve the dishes and apologize for their mistake. M’s tenderloin was rare, very tender but lacked any of the meaty, savoury taste they promised. F’s rib eye was closer to medium rare and was quite tough surprisingly but the flavour was there.
Back to the positive of Scott’s superb treatment (⁵⁄₅). F had a coupon for her bday which was for 1 free dessert but instead they gave us a full dessert platter. It came with strawberry new york cheesecake, tiramisu, a macaroon and crème brûlée. Check out pics for this one. If I was to have anything again here, it would be the dessert!
We were so full from we had to walk the long way back to the car and through Superstore before heading home.
To conclude:
Quite disappointing overall with the food here (²⁄₅). Don’t know if I’d come back to this one (prefer Coast and have yet to try Black & Blue)
If you do come, have the scallop satay, flatbread and dessert platter!
Thanks for trying Glowbal.
(Side note: nice décor, very comfortable seating, open kitchen with the meats hanging out for all to see)

Tried their brunch menu with Vincent N.
The menu selection is quite good. Food costs a touch more at $ 13 – 16 for a breakfast, but the quality is decent.
The server, Scott, was excellent. Everything was prompt, and he was very professional.
For drinks we had some mimosa. This is hella expensive, but quite good. Champagne mixed with orange juice.
I had their smoked salmon benedict. The poached eggs were pretty much perfect. Smoked salmon was a bit thin, but the taste was good. The hash browns and salad were okay but nothing special. One thing worth mentioning are the super cute Heinz (one time use) mini-​ketchup bottles they serve now. Guess this is easier to deal with than the larger bottles, though that’s a ton of garbage they’re now creating.
I also had a chance to try the steak sandwich. The meat was definitely too salty. Some other people in my group tried it too, and we all had the same conclusion. Unfortunately, this was also the case for the fries (top layer). Looks like they just sprinkled some salt on top. Had to shake down the bowl to get rid of some of it.
To be honest I was pretty torn. The service is excellent, but the food was really just mediocre. Looks like the place is hit or miss.

Quelle petite phrase bouleversante au coeur d’un être?