Timbre Restaurant

What a busy place!
I had nachos with black beans which was a huge and delicious portion that came with 3 sides: salsa, guacamole, & sour cream. Definitely a dish to share. They also have a good selection of drinks and it I liked the décor and how clean everything was. My table-​mates had burgers/​sandwiches that they really liked.
I knock off a star because the service was slow (but good), it was loud (hard to hear my friends talk), and my nachos came to $ 19.95, which is a bit more than I would have likes to pay.
All in all, give it a try! I recommend it.

This review is based on some of the samples I tried of their signature dishes.
I sampled the Crab Cake Benny, Banana Nutella French Toast, and Braised Beef Hash. Everything was delicious!
The sauce on the crab cake was very tangy, and the egg was perfectly poached. The Nutella French surprised me, it was better than I had expected! Definitely a great combination that you can easily duplicate at home. The hash browns were nicely roasted and soft. You could taste that the beef had indeed been braised because it saturated with flavour!

The first thing that impressed me was the service. The guy who served us was extremely attentive, even when it was busy around 9pm-ish…and it was a Saturday night!
The décor was really neat, I enjoyed the giant wall of booze behind the bar. And it was sort of a cozy place… had a comfortable feel to it.
I had there pear, chicken and goat cheese sandwich and oh my gosh was it GOOD! I had tomato soup with it, which tasted like homemade soup.
Extremely impressed, definitely will come back!

We’ve walked past this place many times and always wondered about it. We finally tried it tonight: curiosity quenched and NEVER again need I go there!
I gave it one star for the stylish room and furnishings. The music is way too loud and terrible. We moved tables to try and be farther away from the speakers. No luck.
I ordered the sirloin steak medium. It arrived more over done than shoe leather and covered in brown sauce with at least a half a cup of whole peppercorns floating in it! At first I thought they were capers, but no, whole peppercorns, and lots of them! Gross. When I showed the server the dry, hard steak she had me put in in a side plate and took it away mumbling something about «showing it to them so they can time it better». What?!? So was she planning and slapping a new steak down on my cold mashed potatoes and soggy veggies in 15 mins?!? I wasn’t willing to find out so I canceled my order when I finally got her attention again. Even if the steak had been cooked nicely the veggies and potatoes were so heavily peppered they were not edible.
Both my dining companions ordered burgers which arrived on stale buns with under cooked fries.
At no point did the server apologize for the disgusting food but at least she took the steak off the bill. She still charged me for my drink though. Terrible food. Terrible customer service.

I used to LOVE Timbre. At least I thought I did. The atmosphere for bluegrass brunch was what I loved — the music, the lighting, the hanging plants, the local art, the crazy caesars, it was all really nice. I love walking in there. But then, comes the food and the service.
First, they do not have soy milk (or any non-​dairy option) for the coffee. I’m just lactose intolerant enough for that to be too hit-​or-​miss for me to risk it, and I end up unhappily making my way through a medicinal mug of black coffee.
Then, the service. It usually takes forever for anything at all to happen here. I’ve been seated at a table for 20 minutes before even getting a menu. I happily accept this from places with a lower price point, but this is not one of those places. The servers seem really friendly, and always busy, so I don’t blame them. Perhaps they just need more people.
The food is OK. I always have a benny, which makes me happy, but I’ve noticed anyone who has something else is underwhelmed. The crab cake benny is amazing on a good day, but on a bad day it is soggy and the eggs are over-​cooked. And the good day /​bad day split is pretty ⁵⁰⁄₅₀.
The worst though, is coming here any time other than the bluegrass brunch. There are TVs everywhere, often playing some kind of loud sport. A restaurant with otherwise such nice atmosphere should not have TVs playing everywhere.

A Unilocal 2 star review = «Meh. I’ve experienced better.»
And that pretty much sums up my brunch experience at Timbre.
For the past two years I’ve been walking by, contemplating their Sunday Bluegrass Brunch or a Caesar, or whatever… it looks great! Rustic, airy, cool outdoor bar seating (ideal for people watching) and a fairly decent menu, or so I thought.
Coffee was delicious, I’ll give it that. But I wouldn’t come back to Timbre based on this experience, nor would I recommend it to friends or anyone coming to the Drive looking for a meal. Giving it three stars would suggest that they were at least trying but didn’t quite hit the mark, but I didn’t even get that feeling. I got the feeling like they were trying to cut corners, and it shows.
We stood around waiting for several minutes while servers were busy, but even after seeing us, they walked over to other tables without acknowledging us. When we were finally acknowledged, we were told to take a seat wherever we wanted, and we sat down at a dirty table. It was cleaned for us 5 minutes later, but everything was so slow — getting our menus, getting our food. Once with our food, nobody checked up on us. If we wanted anything, we had to flag down servers. Maybe they were short staffed, but it didn’t seem unusually busy.
Then the food. Pulled-​pork hash ($ 13) was more like «Bowl of hash browns with a side of pulled pork and eggs». I suppose I don’t know what I was expecting, but the meat and the potatoes weren’t cooked together like a typical hash. The ratios were all wrong. I had an overwhelmingly large portion of large pieces of dry unseasoned potatoes served with a simple unseasoned scrambled egg on top (my request to have the eggs scrambled) and the tiniest amount of pulled pork.
The pulled pork was delicious in its simple preparation — just pulled pork cooked with caramelized onion. No spice. No BBQ sauce. It was good, but there was so little of it, it was a tease. After a few bites of the pulled pork and egg, I had nothing left but a bowl full of dry unseasoned potato chunks which I ate with the accompanying ketchup. This wasn’t a hash in the traditional sense, but again, hash browns masquerading as a hash. It was disappointing.
Also on the plate (tucked between the plate and the bowl of hash browns) were 4 pieces of multigrain toast — slightly buttered. No peanut butter or jam (mind you, I didn’t ask for it), but I like buttered toast, so I thought I’d eat it as is. Biting into the toast, I realized that I wasn’t eating butter — I was eating grease. It tasted like dirty canola oil. Gross. Did they panfry my toast in oil? Spread some deep-​fry oil on the toast? I don’t know and I don’t want to know.
The 3 slices of fruit, also tucked under the bowl, were comical in their paper thinness — 2 mm thickness of pineapple, orange, and watermelon screams, «we’re cutting corners». Maybe I’ve watched too much Gordon Ramsay.
Coffee was delicious, mind you, but $ 20 for a bowl of hash browns and toast — it ain’t worth it, live bluegrass band or not. There are better places for brunch on Commercial Drive at much better value. It’ll have to take some great convincing before I consider coming back.

The three-​star review is spot on. So much potential dragged down by the really whack. Firstly, great service to start… then had to bring the server the check so we could finally leave. Only had appetizers, which hit the spot. Most comical: Bruce Springsteen «Greatest Hits» played in its entirety, followed by CCR «Greatest Hits» in its entirety– actually, who knows because we split at that point. So weird– can’t any fool make an iTunes playlist that can fit to the tastes of the crowd? Also– heard that had blue grass on Sunday, but was only aforementioned Greatest Hts CDs.
Only go if you’re in the hood with no means of transport out.

The venison corn dog I had was innovative, delicious and left me wanting more.
You also gotta love a restaurant that grinds their own beef so you can order your burger medium rare.

I’ve never been to Timbre and been disappointed. The brunch is good (they manage to get sunny side up eggs exactly right, no mean feat) the dinner is good (their fries don’t suck) and they have lots of tasty beer and cocktails to drink (and they’ll make wee caesars if you ask nicely). It’s a bit small so it’s hard to go with a large group, but it’s totally worth crashing the place with a large group because the atmosphere is cool and fun and totally relaxing.
Did I also mention they have the best caesar in town? Most places give you a bean or an olive or something, but Timbre practically stuffs a salad on top of theirs, and they actually mix in horseradish so it’s properly spicy. Def. worth checking out.

My bf had been eyeing up this place on his drive home a few times, so we finally stopped in, and we were glad we did.
Cozy atmosphere, and got a seat right away even though there was a hockey game on. Nachos were pricey, but we only ate half, and realized they are $ 19 because they’ll easily feed 4 people! (guess a half order option could be nice)
It’s a small menu, but everything looked pretty tasty, staff was lovely.
Would like to go back for brunch.
Will mention it was freezing cold inside the night were were there, large garage style doors left it pretty drafty!

Forget any middling or bad reviews.
Great atmosphere. Nice staff. Great whisk (e)y selection. Delicious rustic food. Good music. Highly recommend their brunch.

Timbre… doing their part to gentrify the neighbourhood.
$ 19 Nachos?! Really?! $ 16 Burger (not bad or anything, but definitely not to die for)
Whether it’s live music or just the White Stripes cranked to the max you’ll need to focus your lip reading skills if you wish to have any sort of conversation.
It’s a shame that there are less and less places to grab a beer and a snack, hang out with some friends without needed to look for a second job to afford this city.

Oh no! Timber! You changed your menu! Where did your inexpensive nachos go?! Sure, we haven’t hung out in a month, but that’s no excuse to gussy yourself up and snub us low brow people.
My boyfriend and i came here a few Sundays ago and discovered their caesars were no longer on special… Unless i am crazy and they never WERE on special, but i really thought they were on Sundays…
I had come here quite awhile ago with my mom and another friend who were visiting from Edmonton, and we had a huge share plate of super tasty nachos, but these nachos were no longer on the menu. Everything also seemed… pricier. We spent a lot of time staring uncomfortably at the menu trying to decide what to do. I COULD have had a veggie sandwich for 14 dollars, and my bf COULD have had a club house sandwich for 16… but even after payday, i just can’t pay that much for a damn sandwich.
This was the place we’d go if we wanted to have a nice dinner and a drink. We aren’t too fancy, so spending more than 20 bucks each on a meal is out of the question, but Timber used to be a great place to meet our budget and exceed our expectations for quality. Thanks to their price increase (along with our friend HST) that isn’t the case anymore. I mean, i guess we could just get food and no drink, but i still think anyone who pays 15 bucks for a sandwich is a sucker. I will probably still be back here for caesars if anyone from out of the country comes to visit and wants to try something very Canadian, but aside from that i’m not too sure.

After spending a long morning apartment hunting, hubby and I stopped into Timbre to partake in some brunch.
I had the roasted red pepper omelette, which was nice, but nothing special. Also, I’m pretty sure the «roasted» red peppers were in fact just regular red peppers. Not a huge deal, but there you go. My DH had the corned beef hash, which actually looked really good and he seemed to enjoy it quite a bit.
Our waitress was attentive and very friendly, but not overbearing. The music was quite loud, but since we were both exhausted and not in the mood to have a super-​involved conversation, it wasn’t a problem. It is something to bear in mind for future visits, though.
Overall, Timbre is not a bad choice if you’re hungry and kickin’ about the south end of the Drive. With all the other great restaurants in the area though, it’s not too hard to find something better.

The last few times I have had Timbre’s brunch I have been disappointed. Gone are the days that I would crave their delicious food with the sounds of bluegrass in my ears. Now, I struggle to get through mediocre eggs and hashbrowns that have clearly been deepfried.
It’s still a solid choice — but nowhere near as good as it used to be.

I had brunch here a few days ago with some friends and it was alright. It was my second visit to Timbre. Didn’t bother with a review until now, since I only had the yam fries last time.
It was pretty empty because it was a weekday morning so we snagged a table near the door and settled in.
I ordered the veggie hash with no mushrooms and added cheese.
It was alright… I requested scrambled eggs and they were pretty overcooked. The rest was decent. I’m glad I asked for cheese with it!
They were out of toast so we were offered toasted english muffins instead. I actually preferred this! I love english muffins!
I probably wont suggest Timbre to anyone, but I wouldn’t be opposed to coming back.

Limited tap selection (only 3 or 4) and pretty pricey food.
If it wasn’t for the impressive selection of bottled beers, it would have been a one-​star. Quite a few 650−750mL bottles of craft brew/​share beer for around ~$ 8 — not cheap, but at least it adds some selection.
I’ve driven past this restaurant/​pub in the summertime, and it looks like a great spot in the sunlight — with the open shutters, patio seats and log cabin styling. Too bad the food is overpriced and tap beer selection is so limited. Meh — can’t have it all, I suppose.

This place is a dichotomy, so awesome, and yet so mediocre. Here’s why:
THE AWESOME — live bluegrass music while you eat? Yes please! Such a friendly atmosphere and general vibe, and the music is pretty sweet.
THE MEDIOCRE — the food. Their brunch, which has been raved about, did nothing for me. The scrambled eggs were actually a blob. solid, and weird, and needed salt and pepper; come on people, scrambled eggs should never just be two eggs beaten!
They had some interesting bennies and a nutella french toast that sounded like sin, but I went for the standard breakfast to see how they did.
My plate came with a choice of bacon or sausage or ham: all pig variety. I try to avoid eating pig when I can, so I asked the waitress for chicken sausage, or something non-​pig; and she told me they only have pork-​based products. In Vancouver, in the 21^st century, I’d expect a restaurant to carry non-​meat alternatives, especially since I was just asking for no-​pork, not complete veggie. Because of that, I asked if I could have extra fruit (the plate came with fruit) — I was served a small selection of the blandest melon I’ve ever tasted, it was clearly unripe and had been refrigerated so was super cold. The pan potatoes were also not awesome. There were 2 jams for toast, both of which were the cheap kind that taste more like sugared gelatin than fruit.
I also requested skim milk for my coffee, turns out they don’t carry that either, 2% or higher only. I feel like this place is back in the 80’s when it comes to menu accommodating.
I realise this makes me seem like I’m the pickiest high maintenance eater around — but I’m really not, I just have expectations of a restaurant within that price range in Vancouver, and I suspect you do too.

Tisk. Tisk.
I tell you, my friends I have never tried so hard to like a place but Timbre is at least consist in not being up to par.
Sure this is a great place to people watch and drink but the food? I tried drinking first but that didn’t really help. I was with a friend of mine who was a bartender for ten years and she found the drinks watered down. I had a very watery mojito. The ice water was very refreshing.
My favourite, hands down, has to be the comment the waitress gave my friend after receiving a new batch of eggs. The first set was not cooked properly. This time round, the server tells my friend ‘we serve our eggs really hot so you have to eat them right away because our eggs cook themselves.’ So yes, eat them right away!
I couldn’t stop laughing. I was in tears!!! THAT my friends, that comment has got to be one the funniest comments I have ever heard. I loved it.

I walked by this place a few time when they had some live music going. It sounded pretty cool. It’s been on my places to try list for a while. Now I can finally cross it off because we stepped in for an early dinner last week.
The atmosphere is really nice. The wood décor gives it a kinda cabin in the woods feel. There was no music playing at the time, probably too early, but that was fine too. The staff was friendly and funny.
From the menu I learned that they are open for brunch on the weekends. That might be interesting to try. For dinner, I ordered the chicken club, while my friend had a burger. Both sandwiches came out quickly and looked great. I ate mine rather quickly and enjoyed it. I didn’t try dessert (on the menu referred to as «the after party»), but another table was enjoying some sort of blueberry treat.
I look forward to going here again. Another successful place on the drive.