I was sooo excited to try Jethro’s Fine Grub because of its extensive pancakes and french toast options. Their menu really sounded amazing. Sadly, I was disappointed in every single way possible…
Let’s start from the very beginning. Since yesterday was a holiday, I called Jethro’s to see what time they closed in case they had holiday hours. We didn’t want to drive out there and find out it was closed. The lady who answered said “we close at 4pm, LIKE WE DO EVERYDAY” in a tone that sounded like you should have known. Uh, ok lady, thanks for the warm welcome. I disregarded her off-putting tone and we drove out to Jethro’s in Point Grey, anyway.
We arrived to a packed place – albeit there were only around 7 or 8 tables in the tiny restaurant. One server could have easily ran this joint, instead there were at least three of them. Customers were crowding the door, so we walked in as far as we could, then a server barked “come in and close the door behind you”, in an annoyed, frazzled and attitude-laden tone. Like it was a privilege to walk through their doors. Whateves, I thought, I can’t wait for my pancakes!
We put our name down and they told us it would be a 30 minute wait. So we went outside, made certain we closed the door behind us to ensure we didn’t get yelled at again. At this point we actually considered leaving because of the negative vibe. There was a Tim Horton’s across the street that looked really good right about then, and we would probably have received better service. Yes, we should have left when we had the chance.
This restaurant is a very basic, casual diner. By basic I mean they use plastic water cups, chipped side plates and my coffee mug had a long crack in it. Gary’s plastic cup was dirty on the rim with what looked like sawdust, but hopefully was just coffee grounds. Whateves, I thought again, I can’t wait for my pancakes!
Big Block ($10.00) – 6oz burger with lettuce, tomato, pickles, double smoked bacon, and sharp cheddar. Served with fries. On a positive note, all their burgers are made fresh on site with 80% beef and 20% lean pork. And all their portions are humongous!
Another positive, they were bumpin The Beastie Boys – I love me some Intergalactic-Sabotage.
Our food was served to us by a cook. He came running out of the kitchen really angered and annoyed, and literally THREW us our food. He tossed the plates on the table and RAN away. I am not exaggerating. He was very angered about something. Probably because none of the three servers were around to run the food? He didn’t speak a single word to us. Didn’t ask who was having which meal. Threw my pancakes down in front of Gary, and threw Gary’s burger in front of me. Whateves, I thought for the 4th time, I can’t wait for my pancakes!
The Gold Rush ($10.00) – Banana pancakes stuffed with caramel, pecans and streusel. Topped with more caramel, pecans and streusel and whipped butter. (I asked for whipped cream instead of whipped butter). From the photo, it looks like an incredible stack of ginormous pancakes with a generous dollop of luscious whipped cream, doesn’t it? Yes, looks can be deceiving. In reality, the pancakes were dry, chalky and powdery in texture. Then to my surprise, the middle bits were RAW. I’m assuming the banana slices were ice cold, so the batter surrounding them didn’t cook. Gross. But not only that, the pancakes had no flavour – none. They just tasted like powdery flour. At least they took the pancakes off our bill.
I feel like I gave Jethro’s a lot of chances. I should have known by the attitude of the phone call to stay away from this place. This is the service industry. Service being the operative word that Jethro’s is completely lacking. Bland, raw pancakes with a dash of rude, attitude-laden service. Take your money and your appetite elsewhere.
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