The Location
If you are going to go to MeeT in Gastown at 12 Water Street in the inner courtyard you should know ahead of time, it is a vegan restaurant. We didn’t. I gather the name of the restaurant is supposed to be a play on words but it really is not obvious at all. This is the main excerpt from their website about their restaurant:
I don’t see anything about being vegan, do you? Unless you are to assume that vegetarian is the way “you want it” which, for the record, I don’t.
The Company
We were out with friends having a super cool adventure downtown and wanted a place to get a bite. MeeT has a great online reputation, is in a great location and has fantastic ambiance.
The Food
My so-called “burger”
I started to get a little suspicious when I saw items on the menu like “aged cashew-cheddar” and “hemp-based caesar dressing”. I scanned the hamburgers section. All I saw was, “…all burgers are served with crispy fries AND salad, come on a kaiser bun with lettuce and tomatoes.” Sounded good to me so I ordered the Southern Barbecue Burger:
“…our house-smoked burger with whisky bbq sauce, 2 crispy onion rings and aged cashew-cheddar cheese (*onion rings contain gluten).” OK, nothing about it being a lentil burger, soy burger… I thought I was in the clear.
The Realization
Reuben’s MAC’N’CHEEZ BURGER $14½: house smoked burger topped with our mac’n’cheez, pickled jalapeños. chiptole mayo & 2 crispy onion rings
It was not until after we ordered that we noticed at the bottom of the menu, “All menu items are vegan AND gluten free”. Bloody hell. I was going to pay +$14 for a burger that did not contain meat? I asked the waitress what exactly was in the burger and did not get a clear answer.
The Conclusion
To this day, I have no idea what I actually ate. All I know is like most vegetarian dishes it was too sweet for me. Had I known it was vegetarian, I would never have ordered the southern BBQ knowing it would make it even sweeter. I would have ordered the portobello mushroom burger, damn it.
I was a vegetarian for over three years and if I was still one, MeeT in Gastown would be a great place to go. That said, I am not. I feel like the restaurant was misleading and just confirmed I never want to be a vegetarian again. We had great service, were seated immediately and overall had a great experience but deep down, I was pissed. I felt like I was duped and did not enjoy the food.
I will not be back.
BTW, here is the response from the restaurant “Hey Suzie! The patty consists of non-soy plant based proteins, primarily wheat and barley. Other veggies are also added for texture, taste and nutritional content. The cheese is cashew based and our BBQ sauce is a house-made whiskey based sauce. Hope that clears things up. Holla if you have any further questions!”
Too bad! At least you had great company!
Yes, had GREAT company!
Good quality photos Suzie!
Thank you so much Randal! Amazing how I can sneak those in, LOL.
Ack! On the lady not knowing what was in the burger. That’s messed up.
How does she not know?
Great pictures though and again, you made me feel like I was there too.
I got the feeling she wasn’t supposed to say or maybe she just wasn’t used to people asking about it. It was weird, I can tell you that. Thanks for the feedback my friend, it helps inspire me to keep going!
It looks like beautiful place but wow, it seems to be relying on people being “in the know.” I just don’t understand how they can not put what is in the burger on the menu, nevermind not being able to get an answer when you ask! That’s just not right.
I totally agree Jamie, totally not right at all. I did hear from the restaurant today, “Hey Suzie! The patty consists of non-soy plant based proteins, primarily wheat and barley. Other veggies are also added for texture, taste and nutritional content.”
Sounds like they don’t even make the burgers in-house. But either way, in-house or buy-ins, they should be able to say EVERYTHING that is in the burger. Not this business of, primarily made with …
No, for those with allergies, that answer simply will not do.
That could be! Interesting point. I agree, should have made it clear what they’re made from up front.