What I Thought of It

Smitty’s, Strathmore
503 - Hwy #1 (see map)
Strathmore AB  T1P 1C1
Phone: 403 901 0788

While on a long drive heading back to Calgary, we were feeling famished. We hit Strathmore on the way and decide to stop for something to eat. We picked Smitty’s, despite our previous experience.

We arrived at Smitty’s in Strathmore around 5:15 pm on a Sunday. Because Smitty’s is right next to the highway and attached to the Esso gas station, you might expect a lot of customers. But no, the restaurant was empty. Even so, it was a while before the server noticed our entrance, and she brought us to a booth with old food crumbs on the seat.

Our server seemed friendly at first, but her true disposition would come out in the course of our meal. By the end, she came across as someone who didn’t want to be working there. She brought our drinks and then took our order. Our food did not take long, but now I wish it had taken longer.

I got a burger with fries, and my friend got salmon with vegetables. Where to begin? My fries tasted like nothing. I could have put anything else in my mouth and it would have tasted better than those fries. My side order of mayonnaise was lumpy and sour, like it was past the expiration date. My burger was okay. The patty did have the taste of meat, but it was overcooked, tough, and greasy. The excess burger grease should have gone on the fries, maybe, to give the latter some flavor.

My friend’s salmon looked nice, although it was almost impossible to see, hidden under a thick glob of hollandaise sauce. The plate presentation reminded me of a cafeteria line, where food is slapped haphazardly on your plate. The vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots) were overcooked, such that the carrots tasted like baby food. It seems they were seasoned unevenly, because half the portion was bland and the other half buttery. The salmon was cooked from frozen, as my friend could tell from the texture, and the hollandaise sauce was not worth eating.

As she cleared our table, our server dutifully asked how everything was. “It was okay,” I answered. This was met with silence and indifference. It seems she didn’t care to know why it was not good or how it could have been better.

Ambiance-wise, Smitty’s in Strathmore looks cozy and homey. It would be nice if they took more care to tidy up the place. When we first arrived in the empty restaurant, we spotted one table with dirty dishes, which were still there when we left an hour later. Underneath our table, I found some cutlery that had been lying there for some time (based on the collected dust).

Judging from the lack of customers - only one other group showed up while we were there - we should have been warned.

Last thoughts: The first thing I want to say is STAY AWAY. I will never set foot in this Smitty’s again, not even if they have the last remaining food on the planet. After two bad experiences at two different Smitty’s restaurants, I am done with this chain.

Food +
Service ++
Ambiance ++++
Washrooms +++
Tidiness ++

Find Smitty’s Strathmore on the map

Smitty’s (connected to the Petro-Canada gas station)
450 North Service Road (beside Highway 1) (see map)
Moose Jaw SK  S6H 4P9
Phone: 306 692 7922

Smitty’s is Canada’s largest family restaurant chain, with locations in every province except Quebec. The Smitty’s we visited is connected to the Petro-Canada gas station on Highway 1 near Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.

We noticed right away that the servers were in stress mode, quite out of proportion to how busy it was in the restaurant. Our server was literally running around, almost sprinting. It was both amusing and puzzling.

In keeping with the high-speed mode, the hostess took our drinks order as soon as we were seated. Our drinks came with ice; we had requested no ice. This was nothing serious, but it proved to be just the beginning of a terrible meal.

When our server finally came to take our order, she was unfriendly and short, forgetting to ask what kind of sauce we wanted with one of the entrees.

Then the food came.

I got Fish and Chips, highlighted on the menu as one of Smitty’s signature dishes. The fries were curly and looked tasty, but that’s where it ended. They were bland beyond rescue; no amount of condiments could make them edible. The mixed vegetables were equally dull. I wondered how long they were cooked for, because they had lost all taste and colour. Compared to the lifeless vegetables, the two pieces of fish looked appealing, but again I was deceived. The batter was dripping oil and didn’t taste like much, but being crispy, it was the best part of the meal. The fish inside tasted like it had been marinated in water and thus drained of all flavour.

My friend ordered the Shrimp Skewer with Rice and Stir-Fried Vegetables. The shrimp tasted like they had endured the same cooking treatment as my fish. The rice must have been a day old; the grains were hard and stale. The “stir-fried” vegetables had probably been prepared the same way as my overcooked mixed vegetables, and the teriyaki sauce itself was dull, as if it had been watered down.

I honestly can’t recall ever having food this bad at a sit-down restaurant.

I found out that the washrooms had also been neglected. Before sitting down, I had to clean everything to avoid enjoying someone else’s leftovers. It was extremely dirty!

Conclusion: Wild horses couldn’t drag me to this Smitty’s again. That is a shame, because I used to love eating at Smitty’s on road trips. I don’t know when, if ever, I would willingly set foot in Smitty’s again.

Food -
Service -
Ambiance +++
Washrooms -

Find Smitty’s in Moose Jaw on the map