Le Belisse Café bills itself as having been voted best croissant in Vancouver, and it’s easy to see why. All of the pastries here are truly beautiful to look at. But that’s a bold claim, especially when you’re across the street from Ladurée (admittedly, though, Ladurée in North America isn’t quite as good as in Paris or at Harrods in London).
I tried the two most basic offerings, the plain croissant and the pain au chocolat. The pastry for both was very nice—flaky with just the right mixture of moisture and crispness. The pain au chocolat was an unconventional shape, which I think adversely affects the chocolate to pastry ratio, but it was good.
I’d definitely go back and try some of the other beauties in their display case.
The name Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar really understates what a fine dining restaurant this is. Both the interior and service are what you would expect from a high end restaurant, not an oyster bar. It is true, however, that the upper level and bar are bright and loud like a kitchen, but the lower level is nice (and would be even nicer with a glass partition between it and the upper level.
There is an interesting cocktail list, and a well-chosen selection of wines. We started with the house-made sourdough and a seafood tower. It was the best seafood tower I’ve had because of the thoughtful side dishes. I particularly loved the mussels escabeche.
For mains we had sable fish, cod, seafood linguini, and a special mushroom pasta. All were good, especially the linguini.
The dessert sampler for four was interesting. There was a great variety and it was nice to try most everything on the menu, but I didn’t feel there were any real standouts.
This is a thirty year old restaurant that looks like the focus is on Greek food, so that’s what we had for lunch. It was just okay. The spanakopita was probably the best item we had.
The first time we went here we waited for ten minutes and no one ever showed up form the kitchen, but the second time the service was good.
They have quite a few wines by the glass at good prices, although I wish they had more Greek and Santorini wines beyond just retsina.. My Australia Pinot Grigio was good.
What a terrific find this was! And I do mean “find”! There is no apparent entrance or street level signage for this retro lounge located above the round Starbucks at the corner of Denman and Davie. You have to take the long ramp up from well down Davie Street, or climb the stairs on Denman labeled Lucky Sushi to find a way in.
Once there, you’ll find it was worth your search. It seems like back in the early 60’s everything needed to be round: apartment buildings, revolving restaurants, and spaceneedles. And so, Bayside lounge is round. It turns out to be the ideal shape. The circular bar at the center is orbited by a ring of barstools, which in turn are surrounded by cocktail table planets, the whole thing is encased in a halo of banquettes. It’s incredibly efficient, and you instantly feel transported back to 2001 A Space Odyssey.
But a lounge is nothing without great cocktails, and Bayside has pages of them, both traditional and innovative, plus changing features. Everything we tried was deftly prepared with fresh, lively ingredients.
The food is also perfect for a lounge—really beyond expectations for a lounge. We started with the four cheese dip, which was good to the last dollop, especially with the seasoned naan bread.
The ceviche was also way beyond expectations, with tender chunks of fish in a bright acidic sauce littered with crisp, freshly slivered onions and peppers.
The hamburger was also excellent, with all my favorite ingredients (which is to say everything from bacon to tomato to onion straws) and served on a bun that was up to the task. Accompanying crinkle fries were hot and crisp.
The payoff is that Happy Hour is basically all day on weekdays (noon to 6pm, and a bit later on weekends) making the food and house wines an absolute bargain.
Delightful setting for a delightful meal. Even on a cloudy day it’s great fun overlooking the beach from the second story (street level) of this stylish location.
We started with the crab and spinach dip, which was wonderfully creamy without being two rich. Then for entrees we have the ceviche–which was classically prepared with a nice hint of jalapeño to accompany the line–and the lettuce wraps. I particularly liked the couch of the peanuts and the kick of korean sauce in the wraps, and there was a half a head of iceberg lettuce to make wrapping easy.
There’s a nice cocktail list (excellent whiskey sour) and some interesting wines by the glass.
I was very impressed by this charming sushi restaurant at the quiet end of Robson Street.
The place bills itself as Ukrainian sushi, but it is in fact, well, sushi. There is a selection of Ukrainian souvenirs available to support the Ukrainian war effort, but beyond that, it’s a normal sushi restaurant with some pleasant twists.
Unlike many sushi restaurants, the selection of different types of fish is somewhat limited. Most of the dishes focus on tuna, salmon, or shrimp but they’re combined in interesting and tasty ways.
Note that the menu has been expanded from anything that I found online. It’s now much more polished and has more offerings, including not just sushi but also coffees and desserts.
The combo offerings for lunch are a particularly good deal. They include a very tasty miso soup with the interesting addition of sesame seeds and your choice of many different flavors of hot tea.
We tried both the orange and the mint teas, and they were both delicious. The two combos we tried both came with four pieces of nigiri consisting of tuna, shrimp, and salmon, and then an eight-piece roll selection. One included the BC roll which is similar to a California roll but incorporates cooked salmon.
The other was my favorite. It was a spicy salmon roll which had the interesting presentation of placing the spicy salmon mixture on top of each slice of a roll similar to a California roll. This provided a generous helping of the spicy salmon which was very nicely seasoned and just the right spice level.
The service was extremely friendly and helpful. Our leftovers were packed up in a very delightful looking to-go box, and we were even given cups to take the rest of our hot tea with us. All in all, one of the better sushi choices along Robson.
I’m a big fan of Lebanese food. We often have it for lunch. Because Yasma is only open for dinner, we lived here for a couple of years before we got around to trying it. But I’m sure glad we did.
The flavors here are at a complexity level above any Lebanese food that I’ve had elsewhere. Even the common dishes, such as hummus, baba ghanoush, and tabbouleh, all contain ingredients and spices that make them stand out and add a terrific level of complexity. For example, the tabbouleh includes not just interesting seasonings but also pomegranate seeds. It was not the only dish that was served with the addition of pomegranate. There was also a delightfully spicy sauce that seemed to be comprised of both pomegranate and harissa. The chef’s tasting menu is a terrific way to sample most of the dishes on the menu. Our favorites turned out to be most of the cold course dishes that were served in the first of three rounds. This included:
– Hummus – Baba ghanoush – Tabbouleh – A spice tray with a selection of olives
As you would expect from a high-end Lebanese restaurant, the pitas are perfectly puffed and delicate.
The hot dishes included lamb and chicken and were served on the traditional garlic sauce. The tasting menu concluded with an assortment of bite-sized pieces of baklava.
If there was one shortcoming, it was the wine list. The white wines seemed to be of a singular note, although they were offered from four different countries. Unfortunately, they were out of the French Chardonnay, so I might be inclined to bring my own bottle the next time, assuming they have a corkage fee.
Vancouver’s West End has a wealth of exquisite omakase experiences. Tetsu is a standout among them for a few reasons:
1. It’s been around longer than some 2. It has been recognized among the top 50 restaurants in all of Canada 3. It has consecutive years of Michelin recommendations
But the reason that I particularly like Tetsu is because you can enjoy a wonderful omakase experience while sitting at a table for two and enjoying intimate conversation, rather than feeling like you have to be focused on the chef preparing each dish. (The restaurant is tiny—twelve seats total, of which up to four may be at the sushi bar.)
That’s not to say that the food is not still the primary focus. Everything that we had was absolutely delightful, and the variety made the meal consistently interesting without getting into what I sometimes call nigiri fatigue.
I particularly found the miso soup at the start of the meal a good example of what makes for a great omakase. The serving was just enough to really enjoy the flavors without getting too full to enjoy the coming 20 courses. There was a complexity to it that I have not encountered in any miso soup before.
This was followed by an assortment of appetizers that were each distinct and unique among all of the omakase experiences I’ve encountered. As is often the case, sometimes the seemingly simplest things are the standouts. I was particularly fond of the corn chowder that came with this course.
I also really liked the decision to serve nearly all of the nigiri dishes in pairs. Rather than being handed nigiri one at a time, as is so often the case in an omakase restaurant. Here two pieces are plated together allowing you to compare and contrast the subtleties between the different preparations.
It would be hard to pick a favorite amongst all of the nigiri served. There were a total of 14 offerings, and each had a distinct place in the sequence (with the possible exception of the spot prawn, which I still find to be a gooey mess).
Certainly, the octopus was by far the most tender I had ever been served. It had been simmered, but still, I’ve never had octopus that melted in my mouth before. The citrus pepper paste served on the Hokkaido scallop was another standout. My wife, who doesn’t particularly like eggs, was surprised that the Tamago (which had been torched to create a brulee on top) was among her favorites.
Many 20-course meals end with a succession of desserts, each trying to top the previous one. Here they instead picked what I think was a stellar way to end the meal with a flavorful and yet light white coffee pudding.
In the end, we felt we had had just the right amount of food and certainly had gotten our $200 worth from this remarkable experience.
It’s difficult online to determine what the beverage offerings are, so we had brought a bottle of champagne, which I always find to be the perfect accompaniment for sushi. It turns out that they do have a limited wine list that includes one champagne, and the pricing is reasonable. If you like sake (which we don’t particularly care for), there is an extensive sake list available.
The service was certainly Michelin-caliber: precise, friendly, and informative. This is definitely a restaurant we will be returning to time and again.
The mark of good ramen is that the broth is hot and flavorful, and that the noodles are still ardent when served, the vegetables still a bit crisp. This place has it down pat. I had the spicy garlic ramen with a medium thick broth. The scoop of garlic on top was a bit overwhelming until mixed in, and then it was just right. The spice level was also perfect. It’s nice to have the option of pork shoulder rather than pork belly. It was lean and tender.
We also had gyoza, which was perfectly seared, nd edamame, which made a nice starter. Service was friendly.
Charming Italian restaurant just off of Denman and Robson. Despite the bustling neighborhood, the outdoor dining is surprisingly serene, nestled in a quiet residential respite from the traffic.
We went for Saturday brunch and ate outside. The “Toast” we chose was sautéed mushroom, and it was delicious, and plenty for two to share. We also had the day’s frittata, which was filled with an assortment of fresh vegetables and came with a tasty side salad.
The wine list offers mainly Italian wines, with about 1/3 of them by the glass.
