Impression of Steveston Seafood House mixed
by Stephen Johnson
(Steveston, BC Canada)
On Sunday, February 22, my family and I went to the Steveston Seafood House to celebrate my birthday. As suggested we made reservations, mentioning that we were celebrating my birthday, however more about that later.
The ambiance was wonderful, our server was also very pleasant, but then it became a mixed experience. I had the “special” dinner, starting with an appetizer of shrimp and scallops, followed by the “House Salad,” with an entree of steak and lobster tail, followed by a desert. My wife had the seafood salad, which she shared with my mother-in-law, and my mother-in-law had the fish chowder, which she also shared with my wife. Both are light eaters, but both were very complementary about what they ordered and, though I didn’t sample it (which maybe I should have) they gave both a thumbs-up!
As for me, over all I was pleased and satisfied that the young owner of this restaurant is keeping with most of the things that has made the Steveston Seafood House so popular. My appetizer, the shrimp and scallops, would have been excellent if they had been hot! Apparently they had been prepared well ahead of our server serving them, so they were not hot and the flavor that would have come out didn’t. Then came the next course which was the “house salad.” What a disappointment! There was absolutely nothing about this salad that set it apart. In fact, I could have ordered the same thing at ‘Tim Horton’ and that is what I would have expected to get. The entree arrived, which for me was steak and lobster, and I was worried. But low-and-behold it was excellent. The steak was cooked to perfection (medium-rare) and the lobster tails likewise was absolutely perfect. I was again brought to a high, but then desert arrived. Being the only one who ordered a full dinner I had a choice, albeit limited. My wife and mother-in-law ordered the pecan pie, which I tried a bite and other than the crust on the bottom being doughy, it was very good. With it my caramel flan arrived and it, like the salad, was very 'pedestrian'. Maybe my expectations where too high, but it was a flan that had no more than a very light caramel flavored liquid on it. And, with it being served, although another table had just been honored by the wait staff as celebrating a birthday, in our case absolutely nothing was noted by our server nor said.
Overall, my impression of Steveston Seafood House is now mixed. As a resident of Steveston, I am proud of our businesses and restaurants. However, in this case, I would say, if you go to the Steveston Seafood House don’t have high expectations and you won’t be disappointed. Predominately, the way the food is prepared and served is excellent, but beware. If you get a high note on one course, don’t be surprised if the next course is, at best, mediocre. So, be set for a little bit of a roller-coaster ride... but, I have faith in the new young owner, carrying on the tradition of excellence that this restaurant has become so well known, will quickly repair the issues I mentioned.
