Restaurant review – Provence Marinaside (Yaletown)
Spending time with good friends over brunch is always fantastic. I had never done brunch with Monica nor with Tanya and thus I jumped at the possibility of hanging out with two of my favorite gals for brunch. We met at Provence Marinaside, at the foot of Davie Street, in Yaletown. I have had dinner at Provence before, but (as you may have noticed by the fact that I do not have a restaurant review of it), dinner there was anything but memorable. And this time, Provence Marinaside didn’t make an impression on me either. The saving grace was, of course, the company. I love both Tanya and Monica and we had such a great time that the food and service at Provence was somewhat irrelevant.
The added bonus was seeing Michael Weatherly (of NCIS and Dark Angel fame). Weatherly is an actor I’ve always liked a lot, and from what I could see, he didn’t seem conceited at all. I was *this* close to say “hey Michael” but refrained myself. Geez, after all these years living in Canada AND living in Vancouver, I can still get a bit star-struck.
The food was really nothing to write home about, it was decently good breakfast, but honestly, screwing up breakfast is rather hard. I ordered scrambled eggs with fruit, toast and veal sausage. Perhaps not the best choice. The veal sausage was WAY too strong and it looked really pretty ridiculous. For about half the price, I could have gotten better scrambled eggs and sausage at an equally sophisticated restaurant (Crave on Main). I would rate the level of service and pricing at Provence Marinaside with the same of Figmint on 12th and Cambie (whom, if you recall, I didn’t like either).
Again, this wasn’t a BAD breakfast in terms of food, but it wasn’t something I would write home about or a rave review. The company was really what made it all worth it, because the service was pretty appaling. We didn’t get refills for our water, nor for our coffee, and I had to ask THREE times for jam. I am NOT impressed. If you’re charging high-end-ish prices, you should give me high-end-ish service.
Hanging out with Monica and Tanya, was just unbelievably awesome, and I got a lot of really important and useful advice in regards to my life in social media and also, in regards to the job search. It was very calming to hear them both reassuring me that I’ll be getting a good job. We also laughed a lot 
Good times, indeed. Although next time, I’ll probably suggest we change venues for brunch. I am not coming back to Provence Marinaside. Not until they have fixed their level of service
Related posts:
Are you sure you don’t want to open a restaurant as a job, something like: “Blogouver Cafe”. You could use Bill uber-geek Gates saying: “My job is about the most fun thing I do, but I have a broad set of interests, going places, reading things, doing things.”
Happy Hunting!
Wow, it’s one thing to have this experience like four years ago (when I went with my mom for afternoon tea) – it’s another to hear it’s still happening four years later!
I used to live in the complex above Provence and the service was definitely hit n miss. But the food IMO is pretty decent for the price, especially the lunch items. But yah, the service is not that great.
Sherman’s last blog post..Ninkazu Japanese
I remember this review and thought I’d put in an update:
I was just there last weekend for brunch (later – more lunch than breakfast) with friends and it was absolutely wonderful. Great food, great service, lovely ambiance. Maybe they have wised up and worked on their weaknesses. You might want to give it a return visit. I’d be more than happy to meet you there. At least that way, if the service is bad again, you’ll have decent company (If I do say so myself
) to overshadow it once more.
@ David and @ Sherman – I’ll pay it a return visit sometime – I was wary but maybe they’ve wised up.
BTW, one tip: If you do end up liking it and want to go back over the next year or so, stop nearby at Costco and pick up a gift card for Provence. It costs $80 but is worth $100. So before even walking in at the door, you get 20% off. That would probably cover 2-3 decent dinners with a nice discount.