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HouseXGuest
Categories: Nightlife Bars Pubs Restaurants Canadian (New) Pubs, Canadian (New) [Edit]
322 Water StUnit 200
Vancouver, BC V6B
Neighbourhoods: Downtown, Gastown
(604) 699-0249
- Hours:
Wed-Sat 5 pm - 12:30 am
Sun 11 am - 3:30 pm
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner, Brunch
- Music:
- DJ
- Best Nights:
- Fri, Wed, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- No
- Coat Check:
- Yes
- Noise Level:
- Very Loud
- Good For Dancing:
- No
- Ambience:
- Trendy
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
16 reviews for HouseXGuest
16 reviews in English
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Review from Rich E.
5/15/2012
I've been here several times and they haven't disappointed yet!
Sunday Brunch- Everyone is dressed up and it feels like a Friday night dinner before hitting the town. Don't dress in hiking and outdoor gear! The menu is simple and the entrees are all priced under $15. Fried chicken and bacon/pecan waffles isn't the same as you get in South Carolina or Georgia but they did a pretty decent stab and twist at it! The Huevos Ranchers is "alright". I found the tortilla shell way to dry and hard.
Evening in the Lounge downstairs- I've been here several times for birthday parties including my own. The do NOT charge cover. The ambience is intimate and it's a chill night out (no douche/douchette policy). The drink prices are super-expensive so pre-funking is mandatory. ;)
Sick of Granville St? HouseXGuest is the answer. -
Review from Kevin W.
Vancouver, BC
2/12/2012
Dinner. 3 people. Made reservation via Twitter DM because the phone wasn't going through, and I heard that they don't even check the reservation emails.. seems the most active on Twitter, so thought that'd be the best method. No space in dining room, so lounge it was.
Arrived and they didn't have my reso..what was the point of me going through all that on twitter but it isn't noted? Thankfully there were two tiny high top tables they pulled together for us. Highly uncomfortable...
PMC - decent, but high price point ($9) for 5 balls. Duck confit flatbread is good to share as well. Nay to Prawn Guac. Cocktails are the same, standard price, ~$10 in Gastown neighbourhood.
I dare you to order the Short Rib Poutine (not on menu, old menu), if they like you, if you have connection to someone that works there, then you'll get it..if you're a nobody, well, tough luck.
Service is actually NOT that bad as many say, it's slow, but they WILL come over if you flag down, and not ignore you, like many seems to have mentioned or made it seem to be.
Tips - Arrive early, get out early. -
Review from Ramon V.
The owners of HouseXGuest can't seriously think that this place is going to succeed like this can they?
Brunch, 3 people. We were offered a table the size of a bar table. The place was busy, and really loud. The music was cranked. At noon. On a Sunday. When most people are there to get rid of their hangovers.
While the 3 of us were yelling our conversation at each other, we ordered Chicken and Waffles, Huevos Rancheros and a Lobster Cake Benedict.
Let's start at the top. Chicken and waffles were decent. $12. The waffles had maple cream cheese to sweeten them, and were quite good, but small. A la carte waffles are an extra $7. Noooo thanks to that.
On to the lobster cake benedict. $15. What are the main ingredients in a benedict? You'd be forgiven if you forgot to mention ham, or even hollandaise, but I bet everyone of you mentioned eggs and an English muffin. This one didn't have the English muffin, nor any side item to help fill up the plate. Poached eggs, a lobster flavoured cake, and sauce.
The Huevos Rancheros.$11. As soon as it arrived I knew one thing for certain. I'd be eating again soon. Really soon. See my picture. I'm usually ok with leaving a restaurant slightly hungry if I didn't order enough, but this meal was tiny. The tortilla was small, the eggs were small. The white bean and bacon chili, a smudge. The avocado pico, a smidge. It took about 2 minutes to finish the plate and I jetted out of the door to Brioche on the other side of the building to find something more to eat. Some of you think I'm kidding.
This place is new. For the love of Gastown, put something on the plate. Make good of your name. Put restaurant before club. Put Guest before House.Take a risk. Don't let your customers take one. -
Review from Ella M.
Vancouver, BC
4/30/2012
Not sure if I have much to add to this except to say I've been here a few times and I've never enjoyed myself.
The best part about this place is the drinks. The decor has a cool concept but is way over the top. It' s like a bunch of Pinterest accounts and DIY design blogs puked all over the restaurant.
The service wasn't great but not terrible either. The first time I went there the doormen didn't want to let us in until we convinced him and then walked in to find the place have empty...nice. The food took forever to come out and was bland and undercooked. I have only sent food back a few times in my life, I really try not to, but it was noticeably undercooked. After we told our server we saw her take it back to the chef and the chef totally lost it on her! I'm not entirely sure what happened but we could see her freaking out from our table. The server was apologetic and comped the dish but it was an unpleasant experience to say the least. I think this place would do well with a new chef, there is tons of great talent in this city. HouseXGuest could be a great restaurant with a more inventive and well executed menu. -
Review from Crystal J.
Vancouver, BC
12/18/2011
This was by far the WORST experience I've had with any restaurant in my whole life. After our group booked a reservation two weeks in advance, made two confirmations and had emails as proof, they denied us at the door had told us they would never had accepted a large party on a Friday night. The emails included the number of people, date and exact time and was told the lounge would be reserved for us TWICE.
This was so upsetting. They were rude about it and made us walk around the building TWICE. There were 40 people in our group and we had all walked there. We had maps on how to get there made up.
The manager was just standing there not speaking to us. We were asking for him and he when we finally asked him if he was indeed the manager and of he could proof read our emails sent directly to and from the website email he just said he has no idea but that they wouldn't be fitting us in.
I was listening and he wasn't apologetic, sympathetic or give any reason or explanation as to what happened!!!
They acted rude and just looked at our confirmations and said well we can't get you in anyways.
Even if the place was the last restaurant in the city I would NOT go there again. Mainly because of the type of response we got and the way we were treated.
Please think about a new floor manager, and find someone with at least the ability to sympathize with his guests. -
Review from Steven S.
4/23/2012
Space is beautiful and weird, and I love weird. I also like to be treated well and not like I should feel privileged to spend my money at your establishment. Honestly the food is great, albeit very small portions, kudos to the chef. But the owners, management and to some degree the staff ruin a great space. Pretentious turned up to 11 is what it is. Treating your customers like they are not a "Guest in your House" but a pest is unforgivable. Again this makes me sad because the food is right up my comfort alley. Maybe it is the young owners who lack the gravitas to understand that no matter how hip you think you are, 75% of restos die in the first year. There are plenty of hip cool places in gastown who actually offer service and not hipster snobbery. Again I cannot say it enough, I would have given 5 stars for the food and decor alone but horrible treatment earns you one. I am from NYC originally and if this service was offered there they would be shuttered up already and those kitschy skulls would be on craigslist by now.
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Review from Cara P.
12/2/2011 1 Check-in Here
I had hoped that after a few days of contemplation that my review of House Guest would change for the better, but it really hasn't. I think, if anything, it's gotten worse.
The more I think about the poutine, the more I know I would never order it again - if I were to ever go here again that is. It was dry. It was pretty to look at, but looks aren't everything.
The more I think of the menu saying 'burger w/ fries' and serving crab taters instead, the more I think of friends with seafood allergies not fully reading the item description, to notice the switch out, and getting sick or dying. Fries are fries, not crab taters - call it Burger w/ Crab Taters to avoid the possible backlash of false advertising.
The more I think of the owners' behaviour before, during, and after my reservation, the more I think they should hire someone else to handle their email based customer service.
I found it to be a pain in the ass just to get a reservation for my party since they only take them by email (I tried calling, and emailed with my phone number, but to no avail.) The replies I received were short, not forthcoming, and when they did finally accept my group they complained about previous reservation holders' transient behaviour in the hopes my group wouldn't follow suit - while assuming that we would have (hence the elusive responses).
Aside from the poutine, the croquettes sounded exciting but lacked the flavour you would have expected of them. The red eye ketchup is just BBQ sauce (and not so great as a dip). The baked mac & cheese was good but the texture of the topping was far too dry. The sliders I ate were delicious - though I wasn't expecting sliders based on the menu description I read. I think my friends mostly enjoyed their meals but the lack of fries with a couple of burgers was off putting since the menu said 'burger w/ fries' (the crab taters were pretty good though).
There were some decent cocktails - variations on some classics - I had the margarita. I've had many better. The wine selection is minimal, bottles are over priced (but they are everywhere so who'd notice), and they have no Chardonnay.
I'd hoped that they'd changed the space more dramatically inside as well, made it as cozy and 'dangerous' as their photos make it appear to be, but it was quite the same as previous restaurants in this space (sadly without the amazing Deli out back, which is missed.) The decor is more interesting than it has been, for sure, but it's all still basically the same
The entire feel of the place seems forced. Trying too hard, but not hard enough. The food should have been better, the cocktails better. So much potential but not enough heart - it seems fully 'designed' but the idea behind the design is money, not an amazing experience - suck em in but don't follow through. The music was not as great as so many people out there seems to think it is. You either don't notice it (which is great) or you notice that it's a mediocre cover of some already mediocre song. When you expect a higher end, Louisiana bayou, vintage, almost voodoo, eclectic feel and you get this, you feel disappointed. And that's how I felt after everything. Disappointed.
Our waitress though, was amazing. She gets every point of the second star on this review. -
Review from Brittany G.
Vancouver, BC
3/18/2012
Chicken and waffles while The Weeknd played in the background: seriously ideal sunday morning brunch. Dark, relaxed, and cool, with a playful menu. I can appreciate the new york influence. No problems with service or online reservations, contrary to the other reviews.
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Review from Janice F.
12/30/2011
Yikes, this place is uber trendy. And uh, cover charge to get in? What is this, a CLUB? Got here around 10:30 pm on a Wednesday night so I'm not too sure when they start charging for cover...
Well, fine - the DJ was frickin' awesome - loved the tunes, so I don't have too many regrets paying the $5 (should have been $9?) charge. This would be a disturbing new trend paying to pay for food.
I sampled the dessert trio.. for $12 you get three choices - I had the churros, which came with two sweet sauces - a red velvet (espresso) and dolce de leche. Nicely done churros, the sauces were a bit too sweet and liquidy. The apple donuts had a creme filling and were also pretty good, if also a bit too sweet. I didn't like the frost hot chocolate - It's a chocolate sauce poured over a rich ganache, with some marshmallows. Should've gone with the s'mores.
Oh, and when did cardigans become the outfit of choice for hipster guys? -
Review from TheHungryNomad E.
12/20/2011
House Guest opened its door to the public in October. It's located on Water street in Gastown. I've been there on several occasions since it seems everyone I know is having their birthdays and special occasions here. The food is hit or miss but on this last trip I went for brunch on Sunday and it was really amazing! There are only a very select few dishes on the menu but all of them were delicious. I tried a bit of each of my friends. The Croque Madame was different in the Best way! There was even a hash brown patty in the middle of the sandwich. My little friend on the right had the waffles which were delicious as well. I even contemplated getting an order as 'dessert' but felt too ashamed so I will have to go back again for the waffles.
The service is not so great and each friend who has gone so far has had a negative experience. Given the name you would expect some friendly 'guest' service; but don't expect too much or else you will be disappointed. This is the newest hip, trendy joint in Gastown which is packed most weekends. Don't forget to go downstairs to their small lounge/bar area. It's definitely worth a visit. -
Review from May C.
Vancouver, BC
11/2/2011
Are there hash cakes in heaven?
House Guest is a new restaurant that just opened up in Gastown in mid-October, and I had the chance to check out their brunch menu. With brunch being my favourite meal of the day (boy, do I wish places serve daily brunch), I have pretty high expectations when it comes to my eggs benny, hash dishes, waffles, etc.
The decor of this place is very cool. The ambiance is dim, and they had a DJ spinning tracks. It may not be for everyone, especially those looking for a quiet place to wake up. It's quite trendy, and you can pick up on it when looking at the staff and what they wear.
Our party was seated adjacent to a wall of mini antlers, and in front of the stairs that lead to a more secluded area. Since it was quite busy when we got there (11:30am), I would recommend making reservations first.
I ordered the Gypsy Benedict, and my husband ordered the Chicken & Waffles. Both dishes were fabulous. The chipotle hollandaise sauce was heavenly, and the goat cheese was a nice addition to the overall taste. The benedict was served on what looked and tasted like a puff pastry - a good change from the traditional english muffin. My dish also came with a hash cake that fell from heaven. I can't pin point what was in the batter, but it was light and slightly crispy. It wasn't too oily, so I think it may have been lightly fried, and then baked? The potatoes made it taste so velvety, and now that I think about it, I should have ordered some extra to go! The Chicken & Waffles dish was amazing as well - definitely a must try if you're on the hunt for a good plate of C&W. The cream cheese maple syrup was genius, and the chicken was really tender.
By the end of our brunch, we received a quick tour downstairs, as it was not open during brunch. The basement had a separate bar area, and a nice lounge feel with vintage items displayed throughout their bookcases. I loved how they showcased vintage luggage pieces inside their clear tables. One the way up, I noticed they had more luggage pieces stored away. It did make me feel like I was in a very old house (minus the old house smell).
Overall, I would definitely recommend this place for lunch if you're looking for a trendy place to go. I can't wait to go back to try their dinner menu!
FYI ladies - their washroom is downstairs. One last tip - brunch is only served on Sundays, so make that reservation or else you might miss out! -
Review from Vincci L.
The atmosphere is what makes this place unique. A collage of frames, leather seats, taxidermy, dark accents all around, dim candlelight....
Came here on a weeknight and it was quite packed. Got a seat right by the window. The tables are quite close together so it was a bit uncomfortable at times. There was loud music in the background.
For food, we shared a poutine, which uses lattice potatoes (think potato chips) instead of fries. Also, we got a sea platter, consisting of skewed tempura halibut & hickory sticks, scallops,prawn cocktail, seared tuna, crab tater tots, tarragon remoulade, anchovy & truffle mustard. This was a perfect share plate-everything was bite sized and fresh. I especially enjoyed the scallops and the tuna. The crab tater tots were also a surprise favourite.
Service was decent, and the washrooms are really cool.
I could see this place being constantly busy, especially on the weekends. Also checked out their brunch menu-chicken and waffles!!? Yes, I'll be back. -
Review from Jill R.
Vancouver, BC
12/2/2011 1 Check-in Here
Yay! We're fans! We went for brunch and had a very nice experience. I had the chicken and waffles and my husband had the eggs benidict. I tasted his and it was super yummy and I loved my dish. The only thing I'd do different is order the cream cheese maple syrup on the side and dip my waffles in it rather than having it poured all over. It was yummy but a bit sweet for me to have all over.
Our food took a while to come out but they offered us a complimentary drink which we thought was very nice considering a lot of other places would have simply apologized and left it at that. I ordered the mimosa (which was just what the doctor ordered since I was a bit hungover:) and my husband had the beermosa, which he really really liked. We thought the drinks were a really nice extra step.
The atmosphere was really cool. The DJ was playing awesome music and the decor was really fun. Our server was super nice and attentive but it wasn't busy so I can't say what it would have been like if it had been busy.
All in all we had a nice brunch and left wanting to go back and bring friends. We'd like to check it out at night and I'm interested to see how that goes compared to some of the negative reviews it's received.... -
Review from Karina S.
Vancouver, BC
12/30/2011
Yesterday was my 6th time at this restaurant. While I love the ambience and I think the food is actually pretty good, I've had enough with the horrible customer service. The owners need to understand that while it is a hip restaurant right now (since it is so new), that will only carry it for so long. If it does not improve the level of customer service, this place won't last more than a year.
The communication between staff is very poor. Every time I enter the restaurant the immediate reaction is to say there are no tables. When I politely ask them to check, magically there are tables available. Last night, the doorman told us we had to pay a $9 cover charge. I told him that it was ridiculous for a restaurant to charge a cover charge, which it is. We paid it as it was late and I didn't want to move our group of 6 to a new destination. Instead of acting like a host, he acts more like a bouncer - not a great first impression for a restaurant to have. Once we got passed the "bouncer" and to the actual restaurant, we were told that there were no tables for 6 people. I couldn't believe this! After arguing with the bouncer and paying a $9 cover charge to eat dinner, we then find out they don't actually have room for us. I asked to speak to the manager. He told us he could seat us downstairs until a table came available. We accept and wait downstairs. About 20 mins later, he comes down to tell us our table is ready. We take our own glasses and move upstairs. However, once we get upstairs, the hostess isn't aware we were waiting for a table and tells us there isn't a table ready. We stand around while she rushes around trying to sort things out. The staff is clearly irritated with us. I politely explain that it was the manager who told us we could come upstairs and take our table. She doesn't seem to care, and the manager is nowhere to be found. She appears very annoyed with us - lovely! In the end, we finally get a table. As soon as we sit down, our server rudely places the menus in front of us and tells us we have 10 mins to order something or the kitchen will be closed and we won't get any food. Seriously? This just keeps getting worse. We order food. While it takes way too long, the food really is good. The waitress is still rude, though. At one point, I see her leaning over trying to get my friend's (who is in the middle of a conversation) attention by yelling, "MISS, MISS, MISS" in a very rude tone. What kind of place is this? On a positive note - the manager sent over the really excellent grilled cheese sandwiches right away as I had mentioned I like them during an earlier conversation.
In addition to the truly awful customer service, they aren't on open table, they don't have a phone number and they DO NOT respond to email reservation requests. In fact, I am still waiting for confirmation for the reservation request I emailed on Tuesday (it's Friday)! I explained my concerns to the manager last night. I hope that he took note. This restaurant had great potential. I really hope it makes the necessary changes, so that Vancouver doesn't lose (what could be) a great new restaurant. Every time I mention this restaurant to someone, the first comment I hear is, "but the service is so bad". Perhaps, I will give them another chance in a couple months. For now, I am simply too annoyed to go back. It's too much of a hassle to just have dinner and drinks. There are plenty of other restaurants in Gastown that have even better food and incredible customer service (L'Abattoir). -
Review from Malloreigh M.
Vancouver, BC
11/30/2011 1 Check-in Here
This raucous joint obviously had a LOT of money put into it. I wonder if they knew their business name had "sex" in it when they bought the domain name.
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Review from Picky E.
Vancouver, BC
12/6/2011
Far from good, good from far.
I just got back from sunday brunch at this new "hotspot" in Vancouver. After hearing many great things about this restaurant my boyfriend and I had decided to stop by. The interior and decor of the restaurant is beautifully done; but unfortunately I cannot say the same for the food on the brunch menu. It seems to be that the owner has favourably spent more time designing the restaurant than configuring the menu, and/or hiring qualified chefs. My boyfriend ordered the chicken and waffles. With a deep fried dish like this, you would expect the food to be steaming hot; but to my astonishment it was icecold. I have a feeling that it was probably sitting out pre-made for the longest time and just pieced together everytime someone ordered it. I ordered the two eggs with bacon and a hash cake. My order was hot and made to order, with the only exception that my poached eggs were not drained and laying in a pool of murky water. The food is very mediocre at best. Come here for drinks and to hang out after a rough saturday night, but if you're looking for amazing food; I would strongly recommend against this restaurant.
Although our waitress was very accommodating and attentive, but excellent service could not make up for the lack of care into the food. Maybe the dinner menu would be a whole different experience; but that is for another time and day.
