This was my second time at Published on Main and it’s disappointing to say that my experience this time was awful.
Despite it being a Michelin star restaurant, I didn’t have extreme high expectations for service given the atmosphere of the restaurant being more chic/modern, rather than formal fine dining. My previous experience here was great however after today I won’t be coming again. Me and my partner spent over $600 on food with the tasting menu and all we got was servers that ignored us when saying thank you or bye, looking away when we wanted to order (multiple times), etc. Their attitudes are WORSE than the workers at fast food joints like churches chicken or McDonalds. It’s surprising to think that a restaurant of this caliber wouldn’t do the minimum to train staff to smile, greet or acknowledge the existence of their customer.
Tipping culture is normalized in Vancouver, and because we ordered the tasting menu, tips was 22% mandatory when making the reservation- otherwise I would’ve given 0. The food was delicious and unique (I have to give credit for that), but if you want to experience grumpy, unfriendly staff, this is the place. Otherwise, you’re better off eating McDonald and you’ll walk out happier.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 5
Service: 1
okay okayy
Lovely restaurant. Staff was so helpful and friendly. Food was everything I could have wished for. My date was awful and I still had a great time. Amazing experience. Highly recommended.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kenzie Hammond
Absolutely incredible… Aslyn our server (sorry if I spelt wrong) was such a treat, they made our experience so much fun and special, and were there when we needed at every turn. We ordered most of the menu and every dish was exquisite - surprisingly my favorite dish was the iceberg salad, don’t sleep on this one! It was so well executed, and full of flavor. The 3 desserts we had were all out of this world, as were the cocktails. Definitely visit published while in Vancouver.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Winnie Liu
Update: The manager of the restaurant replied my email and apologized for the inconvenience caused. I appreciate him for being professional in treating my complaint. Therefore I changed my rating.
— Original review: Everything was good except the host that was very rude and not professional. We were told that the restaurant needed the table back at 7:45pm.
The food was great and our waitress was friendly & attentive. However the food was very slow to arrive. Each course came one after one slowly. This pushed our dinner time passed the 2 hour limit (slightly over 5 mins) that the host suggested when we first arrived. The dessert came at 7:50pm. We finished the dessert quickly within 5 mins. The server placed the bill on the table right after we finished dessert. I pulled my credit card out and was ready to pay without hesitation. My credit card transaction was at 7:56pm. (We did our best to be efficient to finish our meal!) Right after I paid the bill, as I was just wrapping up the conversation with my friend, the host impatiently stomped to me and said loudly in a bold voice: “Can I get your coat???” I was shocked and just passed him the ticket. He then angrily stomped away then returned with my jacket. He leered at me and threw my jacket to me. I understood that we were late by a few minutes to leave, but I cannot accept his tone and rude manner. I understand the situation being the host needed the table back, but we could have been approached more coutesously. We expected more from a high end establishment where we paid good money to enjoy an evening there. He chose to stomp to us and yelled “Can I get your coat??”. His attitude was very bad as a host. This is my first time to this restaurant and it is a truly unpleasant experience.
Manal
Came here to celebrate my birthday, entire party was left with food poisoning. I wrote an email and it has been 5 days without any response. Taste-wise, the cold shrimp dish tastes like styrofoam, the other dishes were better but we did wait a long time for the food, coat check wasn't really manned by any staff so upon exiting I just grabbed my own coat but I realized how easily another customer could've mistakenly or willingly taken a fellow customer's coat too.
Lack of accountability and customer service around genuine concerns such as food quality is appalling for a restaurant that is supposedly Michelin-worthy.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 2
Jennifer M. Bui
We were disappointed with the quality of the food, as everything was served cold. It seemed like the dishes were prepared days in advance and assembled when ordered. We ordered the pâté, which the waiter assured us contained foie gras, but when it arrived, there was none. Being from Switzerland, we’ve dined at many Michelin-starred restaurants in France and Switzerland. We don't understand why Michelin even recommended this restaurant. Save your money and avoid this pretentious restaurant.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Caitlin Mokosak
Really excellent experience! The food is top notch and the atmosphere is fantastic as well!
TL;DR: Despite only hearing rave reviews, my experience was extremely disappointing because of Published on Main's unwillingness to accommodate lactose intolerance and the rest of the food being underwhelming. I have no desire to return.
This review only has one star because however decent the service and atmosphere was, I'm ultimately here for the food which completely fell flat for me.
Please see the dietary restriction section of this review for more info about that, but comparing Published on Main to restaurants like Suyo and Kissa Tanto at similar prices points, both those restaurants gladly made dairy free dishes and dairy free tasting menus (and subjectively, both other restaurant's food and cocktails were much better).
This was a 2-person birthday dinner, and we received a free non-alcoholic cocktail which was a nice touch and a candle on one dessert.
We ordered: - The squid, which we could not chew and was tasteless. It came in a mushroom broth which was fine. - The gnocchi, which tasted only of butter. I couldn't eat it and my partner chose not to finish it for the same reason. - The bee pollen milk buns which were good, but not good enough for this price point (ordered for my partner who can have dairy). - The carrots, which were good, but not great. - The squash, which again was good, but not great. - The Manitoba pickerel which had good but not great fish, though whatever vegetables formed the base were not good and we both chose not to finish it. - The apple sorbet, which somehow made both our throats feel scratchy and tight despite no allergies? This was really strange and I've never experienced something like this. - The chocolate dessert which was good.
It sounds like we're really picky eaters, and it's up to you to decide whether you believe me, but we are both very open to trying new food and have had great quality meals at restaurants with similar price points.
Dietary restrictions: TL;DR: Few restaurants have been as unaccommodating as Published on Main for lactose intolerance, though they were very clear on which menu items I could still have.
Published on Main was not willing to adjust their tasting menu months in advance for lactose intolerance, and recommended the a la carte menu.
Upon arrival for an a la carte menu reservation, they provided a printed menu and circled items that were dairy free and items that (in their words) contained a small amount of butter (which I had said was fine for my particular situation). This really impressed me as no other restaurant has done this, but unfortunately the number of items I could have were very few in number relative to the size of the menu.
I asked about a few different dishes and whether the dairy could be modified, but the restaurant was unwilling to modify any menu item to do so. For example, they were not willing to place a dish's sauce on the side.
The gnocchi dish that they indicated worked for me did not have a small amount of butter - I had to stop eating after just 3 small pieces and still suffered for having done so. Obviously up to you whether you believe me, but I swear that's like the most buttery thing I've eaten and normally butter sits totally okay.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 3
Jeff Marchand
Just do it
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ab Bab
A fantastic dining experience. Tasting menu was absolutely delicious, creative, and done right. Kudos to the team behind this place. Hope to be back again and again.
Wonderful experience!! Our server Allison was great and very attentive!! The food was phenomenal our favorite was the Sweet Onion Agnolotti! Highly recommend. Thank you for a great date night!
Chef was let down by a poor server who made no effort to accommodate for vegan options. After coming back the third time we ended up having more options than we started with. If we had this effort from the start we would have enjoyed a nice meal but it ruined our experience sadly.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 2
Eugene Vassilev
Thanks for showing us a great time on our anniversary last night!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Eric Jordan
We were in town for my wife’s birthday and wanted to go somewhere special to celebrate. We really enjoyed our meal here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dario Sumano
There is better service at cactus club. Waiters should be able to pronounce the dishes. Atmosphere: lacking, was like sitting at a Starbucks or ikea. Dishes were meh, mostly butter and aguachile not very creative or new.
Service worst then McDonald’s staff.
This was my second time at Published on Main and it’s disappointing to say that my experience this time was awful.
Despite it being a Michelin star restaurant, I didn’t have extreme high expectations for service given the atmosphere of the restaurant being more chic/modern, rather than formal fine dining. My previous experience here was great however after today I won’t be coming again. Me and my partner spent over $600 on food with the tasting menu and all we got was servers that ignored us when saying thank you or bye, looking away when we wanted to order (multiple times), etc. Their attitudes are WORSE than the workers at fast food joints like churches chicken or McDonalds. It’s surprising to think that a restaurant of this caliber wouldn’t do the minimum to train staff to smile, greet or acknowledge the existence of their customer.
Tipping culture is normalized in Vancouver, and because we ordered the tasting menu, tips was 22% mandatory when making the reservation- otherwise I would’ve given 0. The food was delicious and unique (I have to give credit for that), but if you want to experience grumpy, unfriendly staff, this is the place. Otherwise, you’re better off eating McDonald and you’ll walk out happier.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 5
Service: 1
Lovely restaurant. Staff was so helpful and friendly. Food was everything I could have wished for. My date was awful and I still had a great time. Amazing experience. Highly recommended.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Absolutely incredible… Aslyn our server (sorry if I spelt wrong) was such a treat, they made our experience so much fun and special, and were there when we needed at every turn. We ordered most of the menu and every dish was exquisite - surprisingly my favorite dish was the iceberg salad, don’t sleep on this one! It was so well executed, and full of flavor. The 3 desserts we had were all out of this world, as were the cocktails. Definitely visit published while in Vancouver.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Update:
The manager of the restaurant replied my email and apologized for the inconvenience caused.
I appreciate him for being professional in treating my complaint.
Therefore I changed my rating.
—
Original review:
Everything was good except the host that was very rude and not professional.
We were told that the restaurant needed the table back at 7:45pm.
The food was great and our waitress was friendly & attentive.
However the food was very slow to arrive.
Each course came one after one slowly.
This pushed our dinner time passed the 2 hour limit (slightly over 5 mins) that the host suggested when we first arrived.
The dessert came at 7:50pm.
We finished the dessert quickly within 5 mins.
The server placed the bill on the table right after we finished dessert. I pulled my credit card out and was ready to pay without hesitation.
My credit card transaction was at 7:56pm.
(We did our best to be efficient to finish our meal!)
Right after I paid the bill, as I was just wrapping up the conversation with my friend, the host impatiently stomped to me and said loudly in a bold voice: “Can I get your coat???”
I was shocked and just passed him the ticket.
He then angrily stomped away then returned with my jacket.
He leered at me and threw my jacket to me.
I understood that we were late by a few minutes to leave, but I cannot accept his tone and rude manner.
I understand the situation being the host needed the table back, but we could have been approached more coutesously. We expected more from a high end establishment where we paid good money to enjoy an evening there.
He chose to stomp to us and yelled “Can I get your coat??”. His attitude was very bad as a host.
This is my first time to this restaurant and it is a truly unpleasant experience.
Came here to celebrate my birthday, entire party was left with food poisoning. I wrote an email and it has been 5 days without any response. Taste-wise, the cold shrimp dish tastes like styrofoam, the other dishes were better but we did wait a long time for the food, coat check wasn't really manned by any staff so upon exiting I just grabbed my own coat but I realized how easily another customer could've mistakenly or willingly taken a fellow customer's coat too.
Lack of accountability and customer service around genuine concerns such as food quality is appalling for a restaurant that is supposedly Michelin-worthy.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 2
We were disappointed with the quality of the food, as everything was served cold. It seemed like the dishes were prepared days in advance and assembled when ordered. We ordered the pâté, which the waiter assured us contained foie gras, but when it arrived, there was none. Being from Switzerland, we’ve dined at many Michelin-starred restaurants in France and Switzerland. We don't understand why Michelin even recommended this restaurant. Save your money and avoid this pretentious restaurant.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Really excellent experience! The food is top notch and the atmosphere is fantastic as well!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Savoury Danish Donuts, Aebleskiver
TL;DR: Despite only hearing rave reviews, my experience was extremely disappointing because of Published on Main's unwillingness to accommodate lactose intolerance and the rest of the food being underwhelming. I have no desire to return.
This review only has one star because however decent the service and atmosphere was, I'm ultimately here for the food which completely fell flat for me.
Please see the dietary restriction section of this review for more info about that, but comparing Published on Main to restaurants like Suyo and Kissa Tanto at similar prices points, both those restaurants gladly made dairy free dishes and dairy free tasting menus (and subjectively, both other restaurant's food and cocktails were much better).
This was a 2-person birthday dinner, and we received a free non-alcoholic cocktail which was a nice touch and a candle on one dessert.
We ordered:
- The squid, which we could not chew and was tasteless. It came in a mushroom broth which was fine.
- The gnocchi, which tasted only of butter. I couldn't eat it and my partner chose not to finish it for the same reason.
- The bee pollen milk buns which were good, but not good enough for this price point (ordered for my partner who can have dairy).
- The carrots, which were good, but not great.
- The squash, which again was good, but not great.
- The Manitoba pickerel which had good but not great fish, though whatever vegetables formed the base were not good and we both chose not to finish it.
- The apple sorbet, which somehow made both our throats feel scratchy and tight despite no allergies? This was really strange and I've never experienced something like this.
- The chocolate dessert which was good.
It sounds like we're really picky eaters, and it's up to you to decide whether you believe me, but we are both very open to trying new food and have had great quality meals at restaurants with similar price points.
Dietary restrictions: TL;DR: Few restaurants have been as unaccommodating as Published on Main for lactose intolerance, though they were very clear on which menu items I could still have.
Published on Main was not willing to adjust their tasting menu months in advance for lactose intolerance, and recommended the a la carte menu.
Upon arrival for an a la carte menu reservation, they provided a printed menu and circled items that were dairy free and items that (in their words) contained a small amount of butter (which I had said was fine for my particular situation). This really impressed me as no other restaurant has done this, but unfortunately the number of items I could have were very few in number relative to the size of the menu.
I asked about a few different dishes and whether the dairy could be modified, but the restaurant was unwilling to modify any menu item to do so. For example, they were not willing to place a dish's sauce on the side.
The gnocchi dish that they indicated worked for me did not have a small amount of butter - I had to stop eating after just 3 small pieces and still suffered for having done so. Obviously up to you whether you believe me, but I swear that's like the most buttery thing I've eaten and normally butter sits totally okay.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 3
Just do it
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
A fantastic dining experience. Tasting menu was absolutely delicious, creative, and done right. Kudos to the team behind this place. Hope to be back again and again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Wonderful experience!! Our server Allison was great and very attentive!! The food was phenomenal our favorite was the Sweet Onion Agnolotti! Highly recommend. Thank you for a great date night!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Fried Maitake Garlic Scap, Bee Pollen Milk Buns, Duck Confit
Chef was let down by a poor server who made no effort to accommodate for vegan options. After coming back the third time we ended up having more options than we started with. If we had this effort from the start we would have enjoyed a nice meal but it ruined our experience sadly.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 2
Thanks for showing us a great time on our anniversary last night!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We were in town for my wife’s birthday and wanted to go somewhere special to celebrate. We really enjoyed our meal here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
There is better service at cactus club. Waiters should be able to pronounce the dishes.
Atmosphere: lacking, was like sitting at a Starbucks or ikea.
Dishes were meh, mostly butter and aguachile not very creative or new.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
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