Nancy H.
Yelp
***Update 03/09/26***
There's nothing sadder or more disappointing when a beloved neighborhood restaurant (or store) lets you down. Such is the case with Social Corner.
I have frequented this restaurant many, many times since moving to Yaletown as I love the food and the ambiance. It's one of my regular go-to places to bring out-of-towners. There's much to love about the menu, the decor, the patio and the servers - all consistently good. But last week, SC let me down big-time. Here's what occurred:
SC was planning a two-day celebration to mark its 10th anniversary. All items on their menu were advertised as 50% off, all day, on March 2 and March 3. What an amazing deal! This special was heavily advertised at least a week in advance. I subscribe to a lot of Vancouver newsletters about upcoming events, and food and hospitality news, and this event at SC was advertised on all the platforms I subscribe to. Even on my personal Yelp group chat (a bunch of us Van Yelp elites), this event was highlighted. So... lots of advertising about this amazing special! In late February, my daughter and I booked a table for March 3 in the mid-afternoon, and for days we pored over the menu online, discussing what we'd order (we were drawn to the seafood paella, for sure!). We both were really looking forward to this meal!
One hour before our reservation, I received a text on my phone and an message on Open Table that the restaurant suffered a water pipe break and, as a result, had to close the place for the rest of the day. All reservations were cancelled. My kid and I were SO SO disappointed but, hey, we understand, these things happen and are unforeseeable and out of anyone's control. The timing was just really unfortunate for us.
I was hoping to get word from the restaurant that they would honor their special pricing deal for us (and all the other diners whose reservations were cancelled, due to no fault of ours/theirs). But no. Not a peep. So I emailed the restaurant, a very nice letter (if I do say so myself!), describing how my kid and I were looking forward to our meal there for days, saying how we're big fans of their restaurant, and asking if they would honor their special pricing for us.
Well, today is March 9, nearly a week later, and the restaurant never even bothered to respond to my email. Crickets. It makes me wonder, if this is how they treat their regular patrons, well, they can't value us that much if they don't even reply to their emails.
I worked customer service for nearly a decade and any reputable place wouldn't have even waited for patrons with reservations to call or email, to ask for any specials to be honored in such circumstances. We'd have been all over that, telling patrons when we first notified them of the cancellation, that any coupons or discounts or specials would be honored for a meal in the future. And surely, if someone contacted us after the fact, we would never ignore their call or email! JUST....WOW.
So my advice to anyone reading this: if you are planning a special meal for a special occasion, and you book a table for SC, it'd be wise to have a back-up plan, just in case.