Port Coquitlam BC
A friend has been raving about the food at The Arms so we thought we would pop over and check it out.
This first thing that stands out about The Arms is the location.
It’s crap.
It’s in a strip mall with nothing but other businesses and housing around.
Ok, if you live close by it is very handy to stagger home drunk from.
By if you’re looking for a nice spot to sit and enjoy a few beers on the patio keep looking.
Let’s talk about the patio for a minute.
There are some great patios in and around Vancouver.
The Gillnetter has a fantastic one overlooking the Pitt river. And it’s not far. (As good as the view is though the food is not)
Anything on White Rock beach.
The Boathouse at the Quay.
Popina Kitchen on Granville Island.
Mahoney’s at Stamps Landing.
These are but a few of what our great city has to offer.
And then there’s the patio at The Arms.
If you love the aromas of wafting second hand smoke and a chorus of idling engines then this is the patio for you.
So don’t come for the patio.
Inside you will find a neighborhood pub that could be confused with a hundred other neighborhood pubs around town should you wake up from a drunk stupour with no recollection of how you got there and weren’t exactly sure where you were.
The obligatory TV screens with a variety of sports and gambling options. Neon beer signs. Sticky menus. The overall appearance of a Canadian attempt at creating an English style pub and not quite pulling it off.
If you look really closely you can still see the pall of smoke from the 80s still hanging over the place.
But what about the food?
We had the Arctic fish bites and the Beef Stroganoff.
Once I got past the mushrooms this was really good. The gravy was really rich and tasty, the beef was tender and noodles pretty well cooked.
The fish bites were tasty, somewhat surprisingly well cooked, and crunchy. The tartar sauce was just your typical restaurant tartar, nothing special.
My buddy says the burgers are really good here too.
I tried a flight of Margheritas.
All were good, my favorite was the watermelon.
The real story here is the value.
The stroganoff was $16 and the Arctic fish bites were $12. Those are pretty good prices and the portions are quite large. In today’s world those prices are kind of hard to beat.
Maybe because they don’t have an expensive patio to maintain?
As for me, I don’t plan on returning anytime soon. There are quite a number of pubs between here and my house that I’d go to before I went back to the Arms.
But if you live closer and are looking for good value I think The Arms might be a good choice for you.
Just don’t expect much in the way of a view.
Food 7/10
Ambiance 5/10
Value 7/10
Overall 6/10