Wow!! Hypocrisy at its best! If you planning to be there, get ready for three things: 1. Poor service 2. Low food quality 3. Manager doesn't want to take feedback If you are interested in wasting your time and money, this is the perfect place. Our drinks were way undersized and after we asked repeatedly, they told us that the bar ran out of our drinks and this is what they had. Wow!!! Ready to charge us $20 per drink for something you don't have - dishonesty! I spoke with the manager - he had usual thing oh we are too busy, so we compromise on quality of food, service and we are dishonest! So much getting ripped!! Not ever coming here again, even it is free food or the last restaurant in the world! read more

I was looking forward to brunch with my mom after seeing their killer $10 benny special. Overall if you're getting one of the specials it's a fantastic deal. Nice ambiance and tasty food. My order was punched in incorrectly and while they "fixed" it, it was cold and sent back to me with only a tiny bit of hollandaise. My guess is they scooped the egg off the original plate and plopped it on a new plate. Coffee was weak and they only came around once to refill. There were tons of staff so I don't know why our water and coffee cups sat empty so long. I'm not sure if it's a regular thing but we also received complimentary mini donuts which were delish and a shooter size sample of one of their smoothies. I'll most likely be back with MUCH higher expectations (especially if it's for their pricey dinner menu). read more

I just had late dinner here tonight with my girlfriends. We are expecting high standard from this restaurant and its sister restaurants. It is very disappointing experience when you really have expectation for a restaurant like this. 70% of our meals are salty. Salty in the way that our lips start to turn white and will likely predisposes us to have acute kidney injury due to overload of saltiness. The following dish were extravagantly laced with salt: seabass, truffle fries and queso fundido. The following were tolerably salty: casarecce and cured duck. The manager was accommodating enough to offer alternative meal or dessert but we all declined. It's already getting late at night to order another dish and we already lost our appetite. Our server is not empathetic at all. She did not say anything but nor is she defensive. But, her body language says it all that she's not happy we are complaining. We were not the only ones complaining that the food is really bad but we also overheard the other table close to us that their food was so salty. They did not finish their food as well. On the positive side, great interior design. The watermelon salad is refreshingly delicious. I ordered this salad because it was recommended here by one of the reviewers. There is a big probability we will not return to this restaurant and its sister restaurants. Glowbal is UNglowbal!! read more

It was our first time at Glowbal and the experience was outstanding! We had a family dinner to celebrate my daughter's 21st birthday and wanted something special. And that is exactly what we got. It started off with our host MJ greeting my husband and I to our table while we waited for the rest of the family to join us. He spoke to my husband and assisted in having a special appetizer done for our meal. My husband met Chef Omar who executed his request. Our server Devon was very engaging and helpful with suggestions for drinks and our meals. He was quite easygoing with accommodating our requests. The food was amazing! Generous portions and delicious! My husband spoke to the manager, Franklin, to commend the staff and had he was equally as engaged and appreciated our feedback! We will definitely be back!!! read more

Spent 3.5 hrs here. That's how long it took to get drinks, our orders in, entrees and desserts for six. The staff appeared overwhelmed and poured wine into the table instead of the glass, and the apologies for long waits were so frequent they seemed disingenuous. The food was good, however, and we enjoyed dessert. Id give this place a pass until they get things better organized. read more

We knew it wouldn't be a good experience when we talked to the rude and unpleasant hostess. We asked her if we could sit at the table by the fire place and she said it was reserved and instead sat us at a table with not much room on either side. We were there for one hour and nobody sat there. The seating was so awkward that we could clearly hear the people next to us. We had high hopes for the new Glowbal but we were very disappointed. It seems like they can't make up their minds. They don't really know what they want to be. If you're trying to be like Cactus Club then you need to get better staff and train them. If you're trying to be hip and trendy then you're doing an awful job. read more

The restaurant is stunning and that's about the only good thing I can say for it. My partner and I had two out of town friends with us who were so excited to eat there. They even skipped lunch in preparation for their meal! Our hostess warned us that she had only been serving for three nights so bare with her....That was the understatement of the night. We ordered two appies; calamari and queso fondito. The fondito was the only good thing of the entire meal. The calamari came out in a solid brick with barely any breeding and it was undercooked complimented with Kraft mayonnaise. Disgusting!!! The four entrees we ordered came out five mins apart from each other except for our girlfriends who's never came out at all. The rushed her order out and it came completely burnt. So badly that we sent that back along with the pork skewer the calamari and two other entrees. We waited around for 20 mins for our bottle of wine before I got up to find our waitress to ask what was taking so long. She replied with... "Oh we keep the cheap wine down stairs" LOL We had to ask the waitress five times to leave the drink menu.... Five times!!!!!! Isn't this what restaurants want? Lots of drink orders? I eventually stole one off the other table and hid it under my chair. The entire night seemed to go from bad to worse. read more

Terrible service, terrible management (clearly). So unimpressed with this place, we left. I could manage this place better. After waiting for 20 minutes for a glass of wine, we inquired and the waiter's reply was "the bar tender is busy". This place was much better in Yaletown. They've obviously over expanded. read more

Great food, great experience! I have no idea why this place doesn't have better reviews and I'm glad we went despite the average reviews. It's a beautiful restaurant with outdoor and indoor seating. There's a large bar with Tvs to watch sports. The service was fabulous. The menu is extensive so there's something for everyone. We had the Waygu and the Wild Mushrooms from the Robata Grill. They were both delicious, the Waygu was medium rare - as all red meat should be - and the mushrooms were a nice accompaniment. For entrees we had the Scallop and Tiger Prawn Pasta and the Cioppino. Both dishes were perfectly cooked, substantially portioned and delicious. For dessert, the caramel apple bread pudding was decadent. We regularly eat at four and five star restaurants and Glowbal did not disappoint. read more

We are here for a birthday dinner but took 50mins for our entree to come! Quite disappoint! I believe they miss up the order because the table next to us came in later and got their entree first. Shouldn't happen in a nice restaurant like this read more

Came in tonight with our friends from Hamburg for what we thought would be a good send off home dinner. First I would like to say that all of the managers seem like they are guarding a president with such mean looks and ordering staff in not a friendly way. We had a reservation and we're seated quickly and the hostess that sat us was great. We sat there for around 7 mins before someone said hello and dropped off glasses but no water for another 10 mins until in asked for it. I was recommended a beer and then few minutes later was told they didn't have it. Then was suggested another beer only to be told they also didn't have that. I then got a beer in a bottle with no glass which is not right. Food came fairly prompt and all tasted fine but no one really checked on us. Our server was okay but I just didn't feel comfortable there and won't be back. read more

Went there on Sat. We were excited to try the new restaurant, but was completely disappointed. The decor was very nice, but the food was lacking in flavour. We ordered the duck poutine (soggy), seafood ceviche, miso sea bass (destroyed a beautiful piece of fish) and robata skewers (terrible). the only thing that turned out well was the truffle spaghetti and meatballs. Glowbal u disappointed us :( read more

Terrible terrible food, like something you'd get from a bad food truck. Over priced food and drink. Will never go back!

I've been to this Resturant several times since the grand opening, Each experience has been worse than the last. Let me start with the hostess: rude and incapable (It was pouring rain and we clearly had wet coats,the hostess didn't ask us if we wanted our coats to be put away. Which is part of their job description, and when we were seated I asked our server to help us with our coats, she looked nothing but annoyed) The food: mediocre. I much prefer going to their separate branches ex. Italian kitchen. The seafood ceviche is terrible, it literally tasted like the ocean and not in a good way. The pastas are a hit and miss, and the fries were soggy. Service: This is what gives this Resturant a 1 star. Why advertise it to be so high end and Pristine if you can't follow through on the service. The servers are highly incapable. The server I had last night was the worst service I've ever had. She was extremely rude and inattentive. Someone ordered a pasta and normally they would have offered fresh parmesan or pepper but we had to ask her twice before she came by with it.(10mins later) Along with that the night did not go smoothly and I didn't get a single smile from her. When it came time to pay for our bills, I paid with cash and she asked me how much change should she bring back. She even suggested an amount. Umm no, there are just so many things wrong with that. A server should never ask how much you want back. That is extremely rude and puts you on the spot. This entire experience was terrible and frankly I could pay way less and go to cactus club or earls and get service that's so much better. I will not be returning to Glowbal. read more

Just walking by and Glowbal caught our attention. Very beautiful. The waitstaff was very friendly and accommodating even though it was late. Food was great, and so were the drinks. It was my gfs birthday and they made sure she was happy. It was very clean, and had good ambiance. No complaints whatsoever. I am surprised the rating is so low. I usually use Yelp to pick places to go to when I am unfamiliar with an area and would have missed Glowbal if we didn't decide to just wander in. Definitely worth checking out and was great for a late night treat. Thank you for a good time! read more

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Wonderful evening with friends at a great restaurant. The food was very tasty. Our server Bilal was very friendly and catered to all our needs. read more

Came here tonight for my cousin's 40th birthday, the service was good. However, I was disturbed by the raw meat tableside presentation. I was excited for the vegan plate but it came out so bland and the texture of mashed potatoes (without the flavour). The tiramisu left a lot to be desired. They came around with a surprise dessert platter, that was very impressive. White cotton candy was a fun suprise. Unfortunately, I won't be back. read more

Came here yesterday for happy hour for a girlfriends birthday.. We had a pretty big group and a few extras than the initial reso so the staff was good with accommodating everyone and helpful, asked if we wanted to move some tables around or get a second table which we did. I had the pacific Caesar to drink to start which was delicious... Although it did take a very long time for my first drink to arrive. Ordered the steak off the happy hour menu and it was awesome too ! Really good food and pretty great happy hour menu with good prices I think. I'm giving the 3 stars because the service was definitely lacking, which I've heard people say about this spot and they were right. Empty plates and drinks flooded our table, and near the end of it we were having to order 2 drinks at a time because we knew we wouldn't be checked on for a long while in between visits from the server, who was pretty forgetful most of the time and had to be reminded several times to bring out orders. I'm sure she was busy ! But, maybe the place is a little under staffed for those busy times ? Overall the food and drinks were good and I'm sure I will come here again ! read more

Went here a couple weeks ago to give it a try. I enjoy the other restaurants by the same people behind this one. I have to say I was disappointed though. It feels like a restaurant that doesn't really have an identity. The food was ok but not good enough for the price and portion size. The service was a little slow and hard to hear. This place is very loud. Probably wouldn't go again. read more

Such a beautiful restaurant, great menu, happy hour, and drink list! The only down fall was that our server was ignoring us a bit. She did not quality check us, and she only took our drink orders once an hour. Other than that she had a great sense of humour! Lovely place to go for afternoon cocktails. read more

Came here as a couple on Bruno Mars concert night. They were very busy so we asked to be placed at the bar. We ended up waiting for 5 minutes and watched the huge crowd come in after us get their seats. Then it took almost 20 minutes to get our drinks after ordering. Food came all at once so we felt a little rushed to get through apps before things got cold. Good thing we brought our appetites. The calamari was great, tender with some hot chillis sprinkled. The cashew/duck salad was enough for 2 and seafood salad was small but filling after an appy. I'd like to go back to give them another 2 stars, hopefully they'll have more staff during busy events. read more

I brought my significant other here for his birthday dinner and there was no acknowledgment of the occasion, even though I mentioned it twice, once when making the online reservation and again when Glowbal called me to confirm our reservation. The restaurant was also dead except for a small Christmas party in a separate room behind us, who had their own servers, and our server did not stop and take the time to ask if there was a special occasion for our dinner. When our appetizers came out, I was pleasantly surprised that they came out already split it onto separate plates without me asking for it, but that changed once the check came and I saw we had been billed for a splitting fee even though I had not requested it. I did not complain about this fee because I did not want to ruin the night but overall, I had expected more from such a well known restaurant in Vancouver and in the future there are many other restaurants in the downtown area that I would choose instead. read more

I've been here twice, both times the orders were screwed up. Either not enough staff or not attentive enough. They comped the table next to us for their screwup, but not ours! The food was meh, not worth the money. We went to McDonalds for ice cream sundaes afterwards... That was the best part! read more

Great happy hour specials ($5 wine and 50% off food.) The service was fast, and the atmosphere was nice. A bit of over crowding at the entrance, but perhaps it was a busy evening. Would come back again. read more

It can get pricey but it was well worth it. Recently I've tried Hys and Gothams and in comparison to these priced steak houses I would prefer Glowbal. The striploin steak was so buttery and cooked to the perfect. Both of the other two mentioned restaurants over did my steak. It comes with great sides (mashed potatoes, carrots, and asparagus). Service was slow at times but they were very attentive. We mentioned at the beginning of dinner that two of us were celebrating birthdays and they brought out surprise complimentary desserts. The absolute best thing and high light of the night was their caramel bread pudding. Best I've ever had definitely recommend. read more

Went on a Saturday night & had a reservation for 8:45pm but didn't get seated until 9pm. There wasn't even a waiting area where we could sit, so we had to stand awkwardly by the entrance until our table was ready. When we were finally seated it took another 15 mins for water to be brought to our table. Everything took way too long, they seemed understaffed especially for the size of the restaurant. The server forgot some of our drink orders. My food was the most bland thing I have ever tasted (or not tasted) in my life. I was shocked. The food looked good but I had to add salt just to make it decent. I should have sent it back but I was way too hungry to wait another hour or so for something else to arrive. The place itself looks nice, and the server brought us a plate of little dessert tarts to thank us for our patience. Overall I don't recommend this place at all. It's nice to look at the architecture from outside, but the food/price/service is not worth it unless you like to be disappointed lol read more

Terrible. Overpriced, food awful. Rude waiter. No gluten free pasta option (um what year is it?!) Nightmare spot for a vegetarian. The $17 beet salad was completely underwhelming - no dressing, no flavor, tiny portion. With all of the Glowbal restaurants in Vancouver, I have seriously wondered for years why they have never hired a chef to actually create a tasty, fairly priced menu for all? read more

Great service but horrible food! We ordered the satay platter.. the chicken and beef were waay over cooked and scallop was basically chewing on rubber. Really really bland and the chicken has the "chicken" smell everyone tries to avoid. We also got the tuna tower as an appetizer. It tasted fine but the tuna was def not fresh. The color was darker around the edges which usually means it's been sitting out too long. The rest of it was really good so basically avocado and mango. The papperdelle pasta was good . Nothing special but definitely not worth the money. I had reserved a table of 15 for my bday and decided to check out the food before going and thankfully I did because I ended up cancelling my bday reso. Anyways avoid glowbal. Not worth your time or money or taste buds read more

A group of us went to Glowbal for food and drinks. I ordered an alcoholic beverage. It took approximately 45 mins to receive my drink. The appetizer took over and hour and my main took even longer. The food was great but the service is super slow. I'm not sure how such a restaurant is unable to deliver food to their hungry customers in a timely fashion. I will not be returning. read more

Food, service, and atmosphere is always top notch at any Glowbal Group location, and their new flagship restaurant is no different.

My wife and I went for dinner at Glowbal tonight. Service was very good. Very attentive. They must have filled my water glass 8 times. Our server was professional and anticipated our needs well. It is nice to see someone who clearly takes his job seriously. So nice job there. Initially they seated us at a table where I had a direct view of the toilet in the wheelchair bathroom 15 feet away every time the door opened - as there were no other washrooms upstairs this happened about every 2-3 minutes. I asked our server to move us and he obliged quickly. But poor management decision to arrange customer seating with a recurring view of a toilet. My real issue though was the food. It was just ok. I had lobster paella and my wife had the lamb. She said the lamb was not seasoned so was a little bland. The lobster in my dish was a little over cooked and did not have much flavour. The saffron rice was good but the star of the dish was lobster and it was just not particularly good. The menu did not offer much that seemed creative or different from any other higher end restaurant. So I was disappointed with our experience. We won't be returning to this location. We have had good experiences with other glowbal group restaurants - at Trattoria and Italian Kitchen - so maybe we'll just stick with those. read more

My wife and I had a great meal Global tonight. Our waitress Alice was the top notch ,pleasent and helpful with a menu. She helped contribute to what was a very nice evening. read more

I went here for lunch with a friend, who said the Burger was good. It's got a nice feel to it, and a hip atmosphere with high ceilings and clean lines and I like a place that encourages you to sit at the bar and eat, which it does. A friend and I split the burger which came with a cone of fries. After we ordered, I saw the cook dumping a bag of frozen fries into the fryer and I immediately knew the fries would not be great. Then I saw him fry them twice and thought maybe I might be wrong. But I wasn't. The burger was really good - it had a great beefy taste, it wasn't too big to get in my mouth which is very important to me, and it wasn't over-condimented so it didn't fall apart. So far so good. The fries were really disappointing though. They weren't crisp, they were mealy inside, and they were over seasoned with some kind of salty, paprika type of spice. So I'm giving them 2 stars for the hamburger, less a star for the lousy fries. read more

Overpriced with bad service and mediocre food. $18 for a crab cake that's maybe 3cm in diameter. What irritated me the most was that the waiter kept on talking to my date in Spanish and only spoke in Spanish when at our table, which I don't speak or understand. read more

I didn't even want to give 1 star!! Thanksgiving brunch was appalling. For 3 adults I felt like we were robbed of $180+ . No one from our family will ever return - I highly recommend if you're reading this you go elsewhere. Fairmont pacific rim has a five star brunch. I asked for English breakfast tea and got red rose!! Yukky and cheap!! The service was terrible; a number of girls had attitude and were more interested in gossiping, while holding my toddler going down the stairs a member of staff pushed past me instead of waiting-rude!!!. I had to ask twice for water refill and many more times for milk and hot water. Many of the items were empty, others were cold and dried out. Dessert wasn't even worth trying lining up for. They basically provided cheap poor quality food, with terrible service and had as many guests as possible squished into a small space! read more

Every meal I've had here has been disappointing. The food's been greasy and way too heavy. Plenty of staff bustling around but the service is actually quite slow and inattentive. It's a big, highly designed, corporate kind of restaurant that offers faux luxury. It's expensive, but not very good. After last week (a friend took me, and really wanted to try it) I won't go again. read more

I've upgraded the rating to a 3-star, since I finally got a response from the Maitre D' and he acknowledged my experience. I appreciate that despite a bad review, a restaurant can own up to it. So considering this, I'll give Glowbal another chance in the new year. I'm hoping their service times & food quality will be better by then. read more

Whatever wrinkles Glowbal had when it opened, they've been ironed out. Exec Chef Pedro Gonzalez has come up with a wonderfully diverse menu and dishes are eye-stoppers. And the service is like a well-choreographed ballet--no one hovering but there when you want. For a complete dining experience, ask for Ed, the amazing sommelier, and go for his pairing suggestions. Contrary to what some diners think, you don't pay more. And Ed's choices are noteworthy. Not to be missed: the prawn and pumpkin bisque, deep and complex flavours. Same goes for bison short ribs. Best to bring a few friends and order lots. read more

Came here for private event. The servers were friendly, but the service was agonizingly, agonizingly slow - perhaps because the kitchen was slow in preparing, I'm not quite sure. At any rate the restaurant was largely empty so it didn't make much sense. By the time the food came around, it wasn't hot either. The halloumi skewers were cold, the roasted vegetables were subpar (mostly a bunch of oily asparagus heaped on a small skillet), and the rosti was extremely salty. The desserts were a bit better, although the chocolate cremeux tasted like store-bought chocolate mousse from IGA. The only thing this restaurant has going for it is the decor, but it doesn't make up for the hefty prices, the lacklustre food, nor the slow service. I won't be coming back here again. The whole experience felt like any Vancouver chain restaurant (Earls, Milestones, Cactus Club, etc), but a little worse! read more

Amazing place for brunch. Russell and Kevin were great and attentive. And went out of their way to make sure we were happy with our meals. And we ordered the brunch special - deep fried buttermilk chicken on croissant. Very good. Must try. read more