Cheshire Cheese Inn

Closed as of October 31, 2012

I love this pub. My roommates and I have been looking for a local bar/pub to hang out at and since we live in Kerrisdale there is not a whole lot around.

Our expectations were not set high as we live in an older community, but we had a blast at the british pub atmosphere.

Sinade, our waitress, was absolutely awesome and really made the best first impression for a bar one could have. While we have gone back a handful of times since our first visit (keep in mind we only started going like two weeks ago) we have yet to see her and hope to see her again soon.

Sad to hear it is closing down pretty soon though.

Things ain't like they used to be - least not at this pub.

I first ate here on a St. Patrick's Day evening, going there for dinner - but that was six or seven years ago. I recall it being pretty good.

That was not the case in my recent trip to the pub. To quote another musical icon, Bob Dylan, the times they are a'changin' ... but I don't think that's always a good thing and it certainly was not with this pub.

During my recent visit there, service was fairly prompt - but it was a Saturday afternoon, and not all that busy, so that's a wash.

The small glass of Kilkenney Irish Cream Ale was good. But that's where it ended.

I ordered a small bowl (or cup) of the soup of the day, beef vegetable soup, accompanied by a toasted BLT.

The BLT was pedestrian - it was okay, but I could have got a much better sandwich two doors down at Subway. (Kind of says it all, doesn't it?) In fact, I had debated going to the ubiquitous sandwich chain but thought a "real" sandwich and a bowl of soup would be tastier and healthier. Doh!

The soup was pretty bland, although the chunks of beef were a decent size.

But what really knocked this eatery from a 2 down to a 1 was the odour.

As I was being seated, an odour reminiscent of ... well, urine, wafted through the air.

It didn't get any better after sitting down. I probably should have left, but I felt a bit embarrassed to do so after being seated and placing an order - and I hoped maybe it would get better.

It didn't.

Now in all fairness, there's no way to prove it was actually, well, you know... but that's what it smelled like, to me. Now, they do have an outdoor patio, and the windows were wide open with a breeze from outside blowing into the inside dining area, so that's probably where the smell originated from. Maybe it was due to the rain, it had somehow produced an unpleasant musty smell, and that's what was assailing my nostrils.

No one else seemed to notice it, but the crowd eating there consisted completely of people in their 70's and maybe their sense of smell was not as strong as it once was (?) I do have a very sensitive sniffer - but that's one of the reasons I enjoy good food so much.

So if the smell is bad, the food is not going to taste as well as it might, at least not for me. And the food here was just not that good to begin with.

Pity. I did enjoy it the first time I went. This was so sub-par I would not dream of going back. Maybe this was an anomaly, but I'm not going to spend more money trying to find out.

Of course, according to that iconic British band the Beatles, money can't buy you love; and apparently, in this British-style pub, it can't even buy you a decent lunch.