Metropolis Grill & Bar
4800 Kingsway (Metropolis @ Metrotown)
Burnaby, BC
When I was around 20 years old and living in Panama, TGI Friday’s opened a location there. With a lot of American-culture loving friends, it was considered “hip” and was often ended up being dragged to that place for gatherings. Back then, I will admit, food wasn’t that bad; I recall a dish I often ordered: Mushroom Chicken Mushroom, which had, as the name suggests, chicken topped with, you guessed it, more mushrooms and breaded mushrooms. After a year or so, as expected, things started to slip but it was still decent.
When I moved here, I was not really interested into going to one – specifically, Metrotown’s location; but, in the end, for some odd reason, I ended up there with some friends. “As expected” or not, food was sub-par and I knew there was absolutely no point for me to go back. Some time ago, that location closed and was replaced with a restaurant called Metropolis Grill & Bar. How good or bad would it be? That’s I went to find out… (Note: A couple of days after I visited this place, it was “closed under further notice”…)
This is a stock picture I took a couple of days prior. Yeah! to stock pictures!
The night I walked in was not overly busy but “busy enough”. I was guided almost to the end of the restaurant. OK, that’s usually not a problem for me; in fact, it was good I was in an isolated area. Unfortunately, there was a side effect of that: lightning there was… bad. As a result, some of the upcoming pictures will be a bit fuzzy.
Usually, a small menu means consistency. After all, less variables help the kitchen. In this case, the menu was relatively small; however, some items looked a bit too exotic for its own good. Mussels, for example… OK, OK, some places that would be expected; just that I was not expecting it from here. Anyway, for drinks, I went for tomato juice.
Sorry! I haven’t had my share of vegetables in a while so I thought I could “cheat”. Now, I usually order a Virgin Mary, which is basically the same but, instead decided to go for the basics. As for the drink itself, it was a bit unexpected: it was a straight drink, i.e., not even ice. Oh, well…
As for the food, again, I went for the basic: a burger (+ mushroom). I am realistic on this one: if they mess up with a burger, which is technically “simple”, what are the chances they will mess with a more complicated dish? Anyway, instead of regular fries, I went for yam fries. The burger itself was… Meh. Not good, not bad, no redeeming qualities. Conclusion? No reason to come back for it. The saving grace was the yam fries. Not sure if it was indeed “good” but it was different from the regular french fries.
Conclusion? While I don’t care much about TGI Friday’s, the replacement given is not necessarily better.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow, this shows how long it’s been since I’ve gone to Metrotown or even passed the area.. I didn’t even know TGIF closed!
Not just closed until further notice. All their stuff is being sold off at bankruptcy auction. I think that’s a sure sign that they’re closed for good.
Doug, welcome and thanks for your the update! It seems that Metrotown is now the bermuda triangle for restaurants. In the last couple of months, at least three have closed, though one was related to the lease. Is it a sign of the times?
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