Water Street Cafe Employer Reviews

Pretty middle-of-the road experience. Management can be difficult at times, granted that's their job. Your hours will live and die by the reso list, and you should expect to be called-off regularly when it's not summer or Christmas. Tip-outs are a...

Pretty middle-of-the road experience. Management can be difficult at times, granted that's their job. Your hours will live and die by the reso list, and you should expect to be called-off regularly when it's not summer or Christmas. Tip-outs are above-average, thanks to both the high guest turnover rate & the high dinner prices. Live music on the second floor and regular dinner & drink specials (such as "Crabfest" in late spring/early summer) keep things interesting and ensure the place never fully "quiets-down". Located in a **VERY** touristy area of Vancouver, so expect plenty of friendly people from across the pond. High prices and the location tend to filter out any "troublemakers", for lack of a better term.

The biggest "down-side" to working here will probably be the "Walmart-happy" work culture. The managers and (especially) the owners have a heavily idealized vision of what they want the place to be, which is pretty disconnected from how it functions in reality (it's a tourist-heavy elevated dining restaurant, while management expects a "top 5% fine dining" kind of experience). That's pretty par for the course for hospitality, though, so your mileage may vary.

The biggest "up-sides" to working here will definitely be the relatively small main floor (which keeps the pace smooth and consistent) and the co-workers. To management's credit, they have high recruitment standards, and it really shows in the quality of character of the people you'll be working with. FOH staff is universally friendly, personable, and professional, and the synergy & camaraderie between BOH staff is unreal (especially given how small the kitchen is). Expect to make some friends here, and to always feel safe and comfortable.

As an added bonus, your schedule tend to be very flexible. It's never an issue to work less if you have school or other commitments. Management also tends to be very understanding & accommodating if you need to take time off (if you're sick, for example).

Good coworkers and environment, tips are really good in summer and have lots of regular customers. Management can be difficult but it's their job, they are also flexible and helpful whenever you need something. You have to be able to work fast and...

Good coworkers and environment, tips are really good in summer and have lots of regular customers. Management can be difficult but it's their job, they are also flexible and helpful whenever you need something. You have to be able to work fast and support the team.

Management here is really poor, the coworkers are great but it's clear that the owners care little about the workers as they overbooked the holidays during the peak of another covid pandemic while overworking their staff. I was quickly moved into...

Management here is really poor, the coworkers are great but it's clear that the owners care little about the workers as they overbooked the holidays during the peak of another covid pandemic while overworking their staff. I was quickly moved into another role with little to no training and wasn't given any guidance on my performance or anything. I ended up leaving due to a lack of communication from management.

I enjoyed my time at Water Street Cafe, I learned a lot about BC wines, made some really good tips. This is a competitive work environment. During my time there, it was clear that the best servers got the best sections. If you're the lazy server w...

I enjoyed my time at Water Street Cafe, I learned a lot about BC wines, made some really good tips. This is a competitive work environment. During my time there, it was clear that the best servers got the best sections. If you're the lazy server who doesn't want to work hard and be a team player, this isn't the place for you.