Smitty's in Sidney - it feels like they are not interested in trying

Well I made a mistake the other day in Sidney and ate at the local Smitty's.   I had driven someone to the ferry and stopped in Sidney to buy a couple of things I needed.   By the end of that I needed to eat something for lunch and I really just wanted a quick burger.  I wanted to avoid eating at Macdonald's and decided on the Smitty's because it was on the way to the highway.

I had no idea that Smitty's was so expensive.    Their prices are comparable or higher than what I would spend at White Spot.   I should have walked out when I saw the prices but I was hungry and in a rush.

All I had for lunch was the burger with yam fries and gravy and I was on the hook for $17.89.    This meal was the complete opposite of what I had at the Boleskine Bistro.

The starting point was the burger at $12.99.  For this I would expect a decent quality burger which is not what I got.   The burger was much too salty and I like my salt.    It was verging on the inedible.  The bacon was burned, I could see that before I even took a bite.  Clearly no one in the kitchen was tasting the food as it was being prepared or cared if they put out improperly prepared food.

The yam fries were cold and I expect frozen ones they brought and deep fried.  If you can not be bothered to do your own fries from scratch, do not offer them on the menu.  In one hour a kitchen staff member can make all the fries needed for a day in place the size Smitty's, that is a labour cost of only $12-$14 to make dramatically better fries than the frozen crap way too many places offer.


The gravy was steaming hot but much too thick.  There was an odd graininess to it, I am can only assume they did not make it in their kitchen but used a powder.  I fail to understand why any restaurant would bother making gravy from powder when it is so easy and cost effective to make it fresh everyday.   As to what sort of gravy it was meant to be, that was not clear to me at all, the menu did not say what sort of gravy it was supposed to be.

Smitty's is trying not to be a fast food place but is making the food as if they were one but charging prices that are unreasonable.   I know they are a chain, but that is not excuse for bad food.  White Spot is a chain and can consistently do a good burger.

I have no plans to ever go back to this Smitty's and I suspect I will avoid all the restaurants in the chain.