Connaught Restaurant - Prince George

Connaught restaurant is under new management, The restaurant has a few shabby(for lack of a better word) tables, the food is not very good. I understand they just opened not too long ago and that they may improve with time but right now they seem more like a truck stop than a restaurant. The signs are not that inviting outside as they makes them appear desperate for business. I could've had a better bowl of soup at home and the coffee was terribly watered down. The waitress said the coffee pot wasn't working properly so it might not be very good. I don't think I will be going there again

I’m trying to figure out if having two open signs is an act of desperation. Are they pleading with potential customers or are they attempting to remind them that the Connaught is an actual restaurant and not some morbid example of failed city planning, having stood stalwart in one of the busiest intersections of town against neighbors torn and rebuilt time and again over Connaught's impressive lifespan. Connaught has an open sign next to its hours of operation and a second oversized-hand-written sign repeating the fact a few feet over. “Come in, we’re open”. I felt like the word please should have been added. The hours of operation have obviously changed because the opening “7” is in a different font and the closing “8” is in paper. This forces me to question the problem solving skills of the owners since a flat knife could remove the old number and the replacement cost is about the same as my beef barley starter.With tables pleasantly spread, the Connaught obviously must service a large customer base. I don’t imply a large number of customers; I mean a “large” customer base, where people get winded when they stand. Most of the tables are booths, as why alienate your customer base with chairs they couldn’t sit in. And yes, I admit having a rather significant posterior, but I can sit comfortably in a charter flight coach seat, so I feel I have the right to make the observation. The decor felt more at place in a hospital cafeteria, with disco-era flower pattern plastic seats against taupe bricks and worn wooden railings. And there was a rather disconcerting brown stain running down the middle of the ceiling, like someone either managed to projectile vomit with such velocity as to achieve escape velocity or someone lost their bowels during a brief case of reverse gravity. Although someone could easily explain this as being grease condensation from the kitchen, I would counter that the stain is not circular and runs down the side of the wall.The waitress recommended a beef barley soup and steak sandwich. I also accepted the offer of gravy with my fries, because it’s been a few months since my cholesterol dangled my hairy avocados in front of the three-headed dog of Cerberus. I know the barley soup was made on site, though I still wished it didn’t taste like it was dropped from a Campbell's soup tin. The sealed saltines flanking the bowl reminded me to lower my standards. Unlike D’Lanos across the street, Connaught's tables are large enough to accommodatee all the required condiments and coffee creamers with enough spared for actual food. The waitress didn’t treat me like someone wearing a Marylyn Manson Bad Religion shirt at a Jehovah’s Witness convention when I declined to have coffee. At least my gravy didn’t have an undertow. It was generously but deliberately rationed over my fries, which were, with a bit of shock, good. I felt the name steak sandwich to be a bit of a fib. I mean I always pictured sliced fillets mixed with cheese and onions and shoehorned into a submarine. What I usually got was a trimmed slab of cow over a toasted piece of wonder bread. Connaught didn’t even put the steak on the bread, like I was enjoying some deconstructed art exhibit of what a sandwich could be. This was a small steak with garlic bread and a half-plate of fries. The steak was simply average. Once again I'm forced to deliver mixed praise for a family restaurant, meaning I have to offer penance to the church of Gordon Ramsay by reciting twenty curses in front of a mirror. The food isn’t terrible and if forced between the competition, I would select Connaught over D'Lanos, which I can still see from my peripheral vision. This meal satisfied me, but like a dinner should. I just wanted to unbutton my trousers and watch hockey, which is weird since I hate hockey and never wear pants around the house unless I have company...…at this point, you officially know too much about me.The biggest problem Connaught has remains the same mentioned numerous times already: Why go here when clearly better places are nearby. Beyond D'Lanos, U

The wraps and soup are very delicious. The coffee is just average. The restaurant is usually at a comfortable level of busy throughout the day, except during the lunch rush when it is very busy.

Get to the front, the food is worth the wait. The portions are generous and the flavors are delicious. Definitely a must-try for lunch!

I was recently introduced to this restaurant, which is a great little spot located downtown. I have been visiting it for the past few years and have been consistently impressed.