Think twice before supporting this restaurant. Workers deserve respect and fair pay, not silence and gaslighting.
My father cooked food here for 122 hours from Mar 16 to Apr 10 but was only paid for 97. We tried repeatedly to contact the owner, James, and were ignored. When he finally responded, he gave conflicting stories, first claiming there was a “deal,” then later, he suddenly claimed my dad was actually fired on April 6 and should be glad the cops weren’t called. Yet, since then, messages between my dad and James indicate that James was fully aware of the hours my dad worked this time, and no mention of being 'fired' until now.
When we warned him this was grounds for a labour complaint, he replied, “Feel free. And good luck.” We are filling a complaint.
James didn’t just lie, he manipulated, deflected, and twisted the truth at every turn. He’s shown he's a liar with zero accountability. Supporting this business means endorsing his shady ethics.
Even staff who saw my dad working now claim they “don’t know,” choosing to stay silent because it doesn't involve them. There's a server who placed the orders and saw my dad cooking those days, who now claims she doesn't know when he starts or leaves. That kind of willful ignorance enables a toxic environment where exploitation goes unchecked. That kind of culture lets abuse go unchecked.
This review is posted to the West location but applies to the North too, as my dad worked at both during that period.
This is not just bad management, it's exploitation. Respect shouldn’t be optional. Don’t support a business that operates like this.
Suzie Q
Heard they had karaoke. Stopped in and it was seriously sketchy! Did not stay. Turned around and immediately left. I don’t recommend this place. I didn’t see karaoke either.
Denise Trottier
As we entered the establishment, the waitress/server displayed an unprofessional attitude. Her actions suggested that we were unfamiliar patrons, as she engaged in conversation with regulars while disregarding our presence. Furthermore, she inquired about our intention to pay, which I found both embarrassing and unacceptable. As reputable customers, we expect to be treated with respect and dignity by a mature and welcoming staff. Unfortunately, her behavior fell short of these expectations, impacting my willingness to provide a substantial tip. Unless the establishment hires new staff, I would advise against visiting this location.
Janay Holloway
Will always be my favorite shady neighborhood bar but I am very sad they got rid of Friday night karyoke. That was my favorite place to come after getting off work late and needing to sing my feelings out.
Mark Kinghorn
Best Staff on the West Side!
Shellee White
We just had our chinese food delivered and the delivery driver was very upset that it took him over thirty minutes to get here. I looked it up and it only took twelve. Since the last owner the food has changed, I would not recommend it. It is now sub par.
Mackenzie Horan
We came here to have a few before going back as this was the only bar open in our vicinity and at first, the bartender was nice and treated us well until one of us started a tab and as the hour passed, she became very passive aggressive towards us for “not tipping her” when we haven’t finished our tab yet. As I didn’t order from her the entire night, I only ordered at last call and she ignored me the first time so I had to ask a second and she chucked the debit machine at me and I noticed her sour attitude so I did not tip her (before I even knew it was an issue) and again she slid the drink over, like she didn’t want to deal with me. To be clear my bf was tipping the whole night and she even knew it too, but my friend on the tab ordered a beer which was put on the bill and he didn’t even get it and she made them pay for one again.
Be a better worker.
Colby1Kinobi
I don't get why this says smilies, this is a pub, always has been. Even in the photo you can see the sign say pub with a bit of the real name "the vault" . Was just gonna review that this place brings bad people to our neighborhood, with 2 elementary schools across the street they should think of relocation. Fights break out often here I live beside here so I hear and see it from my place.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Lily jackman
Sad to say for a pud that has regualrs come in everyday, no food. And to where the morning bartender will alow anyone in even when they apparently say they "get upset with people that use and all that" yet they are there and they serve them. And let stupid people inside. Let alone super bad bouncers that dont know there actual job !!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Austin Daniel's
The place looks the same as it did 10 to 15 years ago , it’s so run down , the washrooms are always a mess and run down even if the place isn’t busy it looks so old and not pleasant , the sign outside is barely visible so faded , the place is called smilies but there really isn’t anything to smile about , I’ve gone by the place almost every night from work and it’s never really busy maybe the most I’ve seen on a regular basis is between 10 to 20 people even on the weekends , I’ve also gone inside on the weekends even on game night and I fear to stay because the atmosphere inside I’m worried that a fight may break out , there isn’t even one security door person there on weekends at least to feel somewhat safe , my wife said she saw drug activity happening in the washroom , and no I don’t mean weed , I mean cocaine was being snorted and a couple people shooting up with needles and not in a diabetic sort of way either.
In my opinion the place needs a face lift , a new sign for sure for people to see the place , at least a door person on the weekends to feel somewhat safe , better serving staff with friendly attitudes that has a bartender and a walk around waitress for the tables. Anyways I hope some changes will be made soon so we can come back to our neighborhood bar once again……if not then turn it into a Chinese restaurant instead cause the food is great. Good Luck Smilies !!!!
great staff, weird customers, but great attitudes all around! also love the toys and the free pool. xo
Stay Hydrated
Some of my friends got assaulted here, the atmosphere after completely changed, it was traumatic and dont think i could ever go back after how staff treated the situation. Edit to add response to owner; i was there and watched it all happen, she was getting pushed around first and got assaulted by 4 different men at the same time because she pushed back, yet as seen by your reply it is clear that you back up 4 men beating on a woman, regardless of situation and its pretty sad even the owner condones it, and my other friend got assaulted as well, when he was a bystander. I heard her say we were all leaving multiple times but the men kept pushing her anyways which was self defense at that point, non of us were looking for a fight by any means. Bartender is sleeping with the man who assaulted them so its pretty obvious why she was chosing sides. Weve been regulars at this bar for a long time, yet were treated very poorly amongst this situation, bartender is an addict herself just like the guy who assaulted my friends, he actually just got out of jail from what ive heard and she was on house arrest herself. Not a great atmosphere in my opinion, hire better people. It was traumatic for all of us, which is why im writing a review. Id hope if a situation rises like this again that the victims would be treated better. Thanks for your input.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Megan Rymer
The gourmet dinner is still as great as it was 20 years ago. Shared with the family everyone enjoyed it!
Food: 5
Service: 5
L C
Great small pub with excellent staff and fun karaoke nights.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Shirley Cunningham
It's kinda of a dumpy looking place...But Love their Chinese Food. Most of the time it's Really Really Good ?? and I'm sooo thrilled or just okay. So...hit? or miss? Always quick, easy, and very pleasant delivery people.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Chicken Fried, Shrimp Chop Suey, Dinner for Two, Chicken Chow Mein
Think twice before supporting this restaurant. Workers deserve respect and fair pay, not silence and gaslighting.
My father cooked food here for 122 hours from Mar 16 to Apr 10 but was only paid for 97. We tried repeatedly to contact the owner, James, and were ignored. When he finally responded, he gave conflicting stories, first claiming there was a “deal,” then later, he suddenly claimed my dad was actually fired on April 6 and should be glad the cops weren’t called. Yet, since then, messages between my dad and James indicate that James was fully aware of the hours my dad worked this time, and no mention of being 'fired' until now.
When we warned him this was grounds for a labour complaint, he replied, “Feel free. And good luck.” We are filling a complaint.
James didn’t just lie, he manipulated, deflected, and twisted the truth at every turn. He’s shown he's a liar with zero accountability. Supporting this business means endorsing his shady ethics.
Even staff who saw my dad working now claim they “don’t know,” choosing to stay silent because it doesn't involve them. There's a server who placed the orders and saw my dad cooking those days, who now claims she doesn't know when he starts or leaves. That kind of willful ignorance enables a toxic environment where exploitation goes unchecked. That kind of culture lets abuse go unchecked.
This review is posted to the West location but applies to the North too, as my dad worked at both during that period.
This is not just bad management, it's exploitation. Respect shouldn’t be optional. Don’t support a business that operates like this.
Heard they had karaoke. Stopped in and it was seriously sketchy! Did not stay. Turned around and immediately left. I don’t recommend this place. I didn’t see karaoke either.
As we entered the establishment, the waitress/server displayed an unprofessional attitude. Her actions suggested that we were unfamiliar patrons, as she engaged in conversation with regulars while disregarding our presence. Furthermore, she inquired about our intention to pay, which I found both embarrassing and unacceptable. As reputable customers, we expect to be treated with respect and dignity by a mature and welcoming staff. Unfortunately, her behavior fell short of these expectations, impacting my willingness to provide a substantial tip. Unless the establishment hires new staff, I would advise against visiting this location.
Will always be my favorite shady neighborhood bar but I am very sad they got rid of Friday night karyoke. That was my favorite place to come after getting off work late and needing to sing my feelings out.
Best Staff on the West Side!
We just had our chinese food delivered and the delivery driver was very upset that it took him over thirty minutes to get here. I looked it up and it only took twelve. Since the last owner the food has changed, I would not recommend it. It is now sub par.
We came here to have a few before going back as this was the only bar open in our vicinity and at first, the bartender was nice and treated us well until one of us started a tab and as the hour passed, she became very passive aggressive towards us for “not tipping her” when we haven’t finished our tab yet. As I didn’t order from her the entire night, I only ordered at last call and she ignored me the first time so I had to ask a second and she chucked the debit machine at me and I noticed her sour attitude so I did not tip her (before I even knew it was an issue) and again she slid the drink over, like she didn’t want to deal with me. To be clear my bf was tipping the whole night and she even knew it too, but my friend on the tab ordered a beer which was put on the bill and he didn’t even get it and she made them pay for one again.
Be a better worker.
I don't get why this says smilies, this is a pub, always has been. Even in the photo you can see the sign say pub with a bit of the real name "the vault" . Was just gonna review that this place brings bad people to our neighborhood, with 2 elementary schools across the street they should think of relocation.
Fights break out often here I live beside here so I hear and see it from my place.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Sad to say for a pud that has regualrs come in everyday, no food. And to where the morning bartender will alow anyone in even when they apparently say they "get upset with people that use and all that" yet they are there and they serve them. And let stupid people inside. Let alone super bad bouncers that dont know there actual job !!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
The place looks the same as it did 10 to 15 years ago , it’s so run down , the washrooms are always a mess and run down even if the place isn’t busy it looks so old and not pleasant , the sign outside is barely visible so faded , the place is called smilies but there really isn’t anything to smile about , I’ve gone by the place almost every night from work and it’s never really busy maybe the most I’ve seen on a regular basis is between 10 to 20 people even on the weekends , I’ve also gone inside on the weekends even on game night and I fear to stay because the atmosphere inside I’m worried that a fight may break out , there isn’t even one security door person there on weekends at least to feel somewhat safe , my wife said she saw drug activity happening in the washroom , and no I don’t mean weed , I mean cocaine was being snorted and a couple people shooting up with needles and not in a diabetic sort of way either.
In my opinion the place needs a face lift , a new sign for sure for people to see the place , at least a door person on the weekends to feel somewhat safe , better serving staff with friendly attitudes that has a bartender and a walk around waitress for the tables. Anyways I hope some changes will be made soon so we can come back to our neighborhood bar once again……if not then turn it into a Chinese restaurant instead cause the food is great. Good Luck Smilies !!!!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 1
Restaurantji Recommends
great staff, weird customers, but great attitudes all around! also love the toys and the free pool. xo
Some of my friends got assaulted here, the atmosphere after completely changed, it was traumatic and dont think i could ever go back after how staff treated the situation. Edit to add response to owner; i was there and watched it all happen, she was getting pushed around first and got assaulted by 4 different men at the same time because she pushed back, yet as seen by your reply it is clear that you back up 4 men beating on a woman, regardless of situation and its pretty sad even the owner condones it, and my other friend got assaulted as well, when he was a bystander. I heard her say we were all leaving multiple times but the men kept pushing her anyways which was self defense at that point, non of us were looking for a fight by any means. Bartender is sleeping with the man who assaulted them so its pretty obvious why she was chosing sides. Weve been regulars at this bar for a long time, yet were treated very poorly amongst this situation, bartender is an addict herself just like the guy who assaulted my friends, he actually just got out of jail from what ive heard and she was on house arrest herself. Not a great atmosphere in my opinion, hire better people. It was traumatic for all of us, which is why im writing a review. Id hope if a situation rises like this again that the victims would be treated better. Thanks for your input.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
The gourmet dinner is still as great as it was 20 years ago.
Shared with the family everyone enjoyed it!
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great small pub with excellent staff and fun karaoke nights.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
It's kinda of a dumpy looking place...But Love their Chinese Food.
Most of the time it's Really Really Good ?? and I'm sooo thrilled
or just okay.
So...hit? or miss?
Always quick, easy, and very pleasant delivery people.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Chicken Fried, Shrimp Chop Suey, Dinner for Two, Chicken Chow Mein
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