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“Bad experience ”

Harold's Kitchen & Bar
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2
Fri, 02-07
20:00
Ranked #8 of 929 Restaurants in Richmond
Price range: C$15 - C$31
More restaurant details
Restaurant details
Dining options: Breakfast, After-hours, Reservations
Dining style: Casual Dining
Neighbourhood: City Centre
Cross street: Minoru Blvd
Transit: The Bistro and Lounge can be easily accessible by transit buses or by taxi. We are a five minute walk from the Brighouse station on the Canada Line.
Description: Every day for over 35 years, Mr. Harold Cross has been coming to our place for lunch. In fact, you may see him sitting at his usual spot by the window, greeting everyone by name, sharing a laugh and offering a warm smile. Our biggest fan and one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, we couldn’t think of a better name for our restaurant. Located in the Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel, Harold’s Bistro & Bar serves classic Canadian and American dishes, Asian and East Indian specialties, sustainably-sourced mussels and wild salmon. At the bar, enjoy a wide selection of local wines, beer on tap, and spirits from around the world or catch a game on the big screens or relax with a martini on the patio; we're open until midnight. Join us for our daily breakfast buffet, lunch or dinner!
Reviewed July 8, 2023

I made reservations 3 days prior to the day we choose to Dine at Harold’s. I received confirmation of my reservation. The day before received another email, saying Looking Forward to your visit and confirm we were still coming. Replayed Yes. Arrived at Restaurant five minutes before our reserved time. 6:00 PM. Paid for parking. Had to go though Hotel to get to Restaurant, only to be told by front desk, that Harolds was closed. I received no email, phone call or text telling me that it was closed, due to the strike. NOT a happy camper. Very unprofessional. Good thing I only lived a couple miles, and not coming from a different city. Why would they not contact people on their reservation list to tell them of the closure . Not sure when I will go again, if I ever will. Very Disappointed.

Date of visit: June 2023
    • Value
    • Service
    • Food
2  Thank Sandra D
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviews (383)
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3 - 7 of 383 reviews

Reviewed May 9, 2023 via mobile

Had an excellent experience having lunch and dinner in there for my work layover. The food is incredible, plates look beautiful and service is amazing. Specially because of employee Jorge, amazing server!!

Date of visit: May 2023
Thank Lyli L
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed January 2, 2023

Had four meals there, very good food, very good service. All servers were very friendly. All the items we ate were very good.

Date of visit: December 2022
Thank MiguiPro
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed December 30, 2022

This restaurant has been in existence for over 30 years, first as the Wayfaring Tree Restaurant and then, following a significant renovation in 2009, as Harold’s Kitchen & Bar. How this eatery got its current name is a heartwarming story: In brief, Harold Cross had patronized this eatery every day for nearly 30 years. In recognition of his patronage, hotel management at the Sheraton decided to rename the establishment after him; thus, “Harold’s Kitchen” was born. Mr. Cross, for whom the restaurant was named after, continued to visit “his” restaurant right up until he passed away in 2020. Indeed, the restaurant’s backstory is touching, but how’s the food?

Harold’s Kitchen has been in TripAdvisor’s top 5 restaurants for Richmond for a number of years (it currently sits at #3). It’s also received a glowing word from the Vancouver Sun and was recently ranked at #2 in Noms Magazine’s “Best Breakfast” places in Richmond (2022). Given its accolades over the years, I was always curious to try this place and finally got the opportunity to do so – quite unintentionally – a couple weeks ago. You see, Pacific Coastal had cancelled our flight after 7 hours of delay and put us up for the night in the Sheraton Vancouver Airport. Since I was traveling with my dear grandparents, and they didn’t want to go beyond the hotel, we made our way to Harold’s Kitchen for an evening repast.

Curiously, Noms Magazine describes Harold’s Kitchen & Bar as being upscale, suggesting that the trees back by the hotel pool give the restaurant a “tropical feel.” Uh, sure. If this place is tropical then so too is the Dirty Apron at YVR (hey, they’ve got a couple of plants!). I’m more inclined to describe Harold’s Kitchen as nothing more than your typical hotel restaurant; that is to say, the ambiance and character is bland and largely unremarkable. Seriously, the restaurant is in the hotel lobby and is largely an open space with various shades of off-white and grey colouring. It was loud and busy when we attended Harold’s, but that doesn’t make up for the general lack of atmosphere.

Despite how busy the restaurant was, we were promptly seated at a comfortable table. Reviewing the menu, I noted that it was fairly compact yet wide-ranging in its cuisine – as I guess it has to be since this is, after all, a hotel restaurant. We ordered the Tempura Beans, Black Cod, Fish & Chips, and Meatloaf.

Our food arrived in good time. For me, the Tempura Beans were the clear highlight of our meal. Served with a Japanese soy wasabi dipping sauce, the beans were light and crunchy while the wasabi dip added a nice “kick” to this appetizer. Our mains, while they were certainly generous servings, reminded me, in presentation and taste, of Stages Bistro on West Broadway (another hotel restaurant). My fish & chips were crispy, but were far more batter than fish and my grandfather’s Black Cod, which I took a sample of, was surprisingly devoid of any flavour despite apparently being miso-marinated. My grandmother’s meatloaf was easily the best of our mains: The loaf was tender and flavourful; the crispy onions gave a nice texture contrast, but the potatoes were bland and the veggies rather uninspired.

I don’t know – I struggle with this one. Service was really good, but the food merely average. The appetizer was promising, but things promptly went downhill from there. I’m still surprised by the flavourless Black Cod – how is that even possible? The “modern equivalent to fine home dining,” indeed!

FOOD: 3/5
SERVICE: 4/5
VALUE: 3/5
RECOMMENDATION: I think Harold’s is another case of popularity (i.e.: number of reviews) pushing it to the top because our food certainly wasn’t noteworthy, less the beans. Thus, I would say if you’re staying at the Sheraton then Harold’s might be a decent option, but I probably wouldn’t go out of my way. It’s just standard hotel fare. Mild recommendation.

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Date of visit: December 2022
    • Value
    • Service
    • Food
1  Thank PookyCake
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed November 16, 2022 via mobile

Came here for a dinner with friends. Appetizers were all excellent, and a great Happy Hour deal. Entrees were equally good. Service was fantastic. The only reason I did not give a 5 star rating was lack of " ambiance". It's pretty open to the hotel lobby.
Having said that, the fact that this is a hotel restaurant that is not " branded", and has to offer food all day long and does it so well. is even more in its favour. And the story of Harold is very sweet.

Date of visit: November 2022
1  Thank CanadaTravelchick
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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