The Hemingway Public House

Our favourite local hangout! Sun drenched patio. Great food and great staff!!! It they ring the bell during Happy Hour they bring a free round of drinks!!! Best nachos in town served on a lazy susan. $ 4 breakfast on the weekends too!

Visiting from out of town… Alex, our bartender. Was dope as hell. My Jameson never tasted so good, thanks man!

Ugh. With so many cool joints in White Rock we took a chance last Wednesday night. As soon as I walked up, I did think twice as I didn’t know it was part of the Joseph Richards group and my experiences at their other establishments have not been good. Ignoring that gut feeling, we went in and was barely acknowledged by a waitress who just said «like sit where ever.» It was not that busy so okay. We sat wherever.
It took at least 10 minutes to even get our drink order in and even longer to get our dinner order in.
I have to remind you that it was not that busy. I had to ask for water and even that was apparently a monumental task. After an almost 45 minute wait for dinner (I really should have left but was in it for the long haul at this point) my po’ boy was pretty poor. Who the hell serves a po’ boy on soft focaccia? In the south, that is sacrilegious.
Upon asking for cutlery so we could, oh… you know eat, another 10 minutes goes by and I would like to eat my accompanying salad as it did look pretty good. Just as my husband was going to the bar to see if all the cutlery was stolen or something, our waitress reappears to ask us how things are tasting and I wouldn’t know sweetie cause I asked for cutlery 10 minutes ago. She runs off and throws it on the table with an «opps, my bad» and giggles and walks away. Are you kidding me? My bad??? Ah hell no.
Décor is boring, generic with not even good Hemmingway quotes carefully painted on barrels. Am I supposed to be impressed with the Old Man and the Sea references? Wow… original. I don’t know, at least give me For Whom the Bell Tolls. That could have earned another star.
I think the «opps my bad…» is the quote of the night. Not exactly Hemmingway but typical of any joint part of the JRG.
Stay away. Even the Boathouse is better and that ain’t saying much.

Over rated, over priced, small portions
It’s White Rock «rich rock». Shoulda had fish n chips on the beach.

In my opinion Hemmingways is way over priced. $ 7 for a beer is excessive. The staff is great. They are very pleasant. The atmosphere in the bar at night is odd though. They leave the lights turned up at night. It makes it like the place is closed.

Cannot tell you how insulted I was when myself and 6 of my family were when we tried to drop in for an after dinner drink last Friday night. After dining at «Five «for my 60^th birthday we thought while waiting for our drivers to pick us up we would go into this bar for an after dinner cocktail only to be told by the general manager that we would not be allowed in as I did not have proper identification Thank you but I’m 60. I do understand that there are rules but come on… if anything at least the GM should have had a little class. Needless to say after being treated so poorly I would not suggest this bar to anyone.

Hemingway Public House is a joke. Stopped in for lunch and had to wait several minutes for the hostess to greet us. She wasn’t busy, just shooting the you know what with another staff member. After being seated, it took about 10 minutes for a server to show up, during which time, we overheard the table behind us complaining that their order was incorrect. When our server finally arrived, she appeared to be on something or drunk. She wrote our order down incorrectly and then chided me for not wanting bacon on my burger. What? She kept saying, «Cool beans,» as a response to everything. The husband and I exchanged looks, but were hungry, so we decided to just go with it. A few minutes later, she returned with two glasses and a bottle of water. The glasses had lipstick and hair on the rim and had clearly not been washed. We got up and left. My husband canceled the order and the server said (wait for it), «Cool beans.»

Here’s what will blow you away about The Hemingway: how inexpensive it is for a restaurant/​pub on the beach.
Seriously, it’s like they had a meeting and said, «You know people have to pay the ridiculous costs to park down here and everyone else on the strip ups their prices because, hey it’s White Rock, it’s a beach full of tourists and they can, how about we do the opposite! How about we serve really good food at a price that has people saying ‘I WON’T surf at Charlies’!»?
And that’s what they did. There were so many good choices for an amazing price that I couldn’t decide but I eventually went with the Jalapeño/​Goat Cheese stuffed burger; very glad I did. I could have actually taken half the burger home it was so big and I didn’t finish my fries… all for $ 14.
I have seen some reviews about staff issues and though it wasn’t busy so I don’t know how they handle a big crowd, they were pleasant from the get go, food was quick, they kept checking up on me to make sure I had everything I needed and really made me feel welcome.
For the price, the location and view of the ocean and the tasty food I will be back. If for nothing more then to try those other 5 things I wanted to last night ;-)

Such a great place for breakfast! Yummy and super affordable. I always get an omelette and can never finish my plate because the servings are quite generous!
Check it out.

The space to write a negative review about this bar is just not big enough.

I’ve been here for karaōke Monday and I love it. Only decent karaōke bar in surrey and surroundings. They have a great selection of songs, from classics to modern jams. Now the business of the place depends on the night. I’ve been here some mondays and it was packed, other days it’s dead, either way it’s still fun.
I’d suggest going with a good group of friends and prepare to embrace yourself!
Since it’s not a weekend night the bar attenders pay more attention to your drinks which is nice.
I definitely suggest going if karaōke and alcohol is you’re thing!

Had a great meal & dining out experience at The Hemingway tonight. Hubby & I each ordered the sirloin steak — medium. Cooked to perfection. Nailed it! Service was top notch. Enjoyed the live band very much too. It’s been awhile since I’ve had good food AND good service happen at the same time. Thanks for restoring my faith that this art hasn’t been lost. Hope to go back soon.

Decent restaurant, close to the beach, you can sit on the patio. The server was nice and friendly. Tuna Poke is our favourite– comes with crispy wonton, top it with tuna, veggie, and avocado. Nice ambience.

Made sure to return to Hemingway on our recent visit. Again a pleasant and delicious experience!

Not their finest hour when we had a business lunch here. They knew we were coming, but for some reason surprised that we wanted to sit on the patio. Put together two tables? Never! We settled on a table just inside where that was possible.
Personally, I’d prefer that our server just wrote down our order to avoid any potential mistakes, rather than show off the ability to remember an entire large group’s order. I wasn’t terribly surprised when some lunches arrived incorrectly, and mine didn’t arrive at all. At least they comp’d my meal, which arrived when everyone else had finished.

Went to Hemingway for a drink and appy with the girls. They have a beautiful patio to enjoy in the sun but unfortunately there was no space. We got the next best thing, a table inside right by the window so we still had the view of the ocean. Our server was attentive and prompt. Special for Mother’s Day were $ 3 mimosas which is a great deal and $ 4 Caesars. I ordered the edamame beans and instead of plain beans they were mixed in a Szechuan sauce. Delicious! We also had the veggie flatbread, equally delicious with fresh arugula on top. We also had the salt n pepper wings. The wings were small and crispy, average at best. The atmosphere in Hemingway is nice. A good place for day or night. A nice stop when on the White Rock strip.

The sandwich was $ 13 and tiny. Ended up going somewhere else after to top up.
Service failed to deliver napkins and refills in a timely manner.

Visited this establishment on a Saturday and had a very poor experience. I was unable to place orders from bar staff. The staff were very rude and unpleasant. One of the staff named «Matt» was particularly rude and out right lied to my group. He explained that we were unable to order from bar staff and we should find a waitress. He further stated that debit and credit cards were not accepted. I found this ironic as the credit/​debit machines were being used by all staff. Perhaps it was pure laziness, as it wasn’t incredibly busy.
Our group was able after a half hour to find one pleasant waitress to serve us however we were so put off by the poor experience we paid and left.
Hard to understand how an establishment can maintain a standard of service with paying patrons being turned away by staff like «Matt»!

Food was great, I had the bacon and egg sandwich with a fruit bowl that I substituted at no extra cost. Service was really lacking, took forever to get our menus, put our order in, and get our bill. Seems like our waitress was extremely busy and the other waitresses not so much…
I gave it a lower rating because of the service. But what saved you from a one is that your food and prices were great.

Yo Ho Ho, eating by the sea we go… I was thrilled to see that the Joseph Richard Group setup shop here in White Rock!
Now I can get my 4.00 breakfast fix and a view to boot! So out on the motorcycle this morning we spot the Hemmingway as we are putt putt putt-​ing through town, Look-​it-​dat! JRGroup! Decision made, we’ll eat here!
The Hemminway is a nod to the famous Ernest Hemingway and you’ll find the kegs inside adorned with some of his quotes. Outside the patio is well covered and has a good view of the ocean, perfect for sunsets. Inside they have done a beautiful job of the bar and the whole place is nicely done! Spend a few minutes and look around!
Oh… FYI. the patio is reservations only! so call ahead!
So the food. Compared to the Henry I found this breaky very similar, I found the hash browns at the Henry in Cloverdale a bit spicier which I prefer but this breaky was every bit as delishous. You can’t go wrong coming here. I’ll be back again and again. Thank you JRGroup!