This place was recommended to me by a friend so 4 of us booked a reso to eat here on a friday night. Every time I've tried to get a table here it's been full so booking ahead of time is recommended.
Nice restaurant, small space but nice and not cramped at all. Service was friendly. I ordered..
Appetizer - Scallops with double smoked bacon risotto $16. Dish looked and tasted great.
Entree - Lamb Shank with scallops and pear risotto $30. Once again, great looking and tasting dish.
Dessert - Chocolate Ganache with orange chocolate sorbet $12. This was a fantastic dessert.
Overall, nice place, great food. My only concern is the amount they charge here for the portion size. Food is great but usually when I spend this amount of money to eat I leave feeling full.

Been eying this place for years, but wasn't sure if it was worth trying. Read some good reviews and a few friends recommended it so decided to take my husband there for his birthday last summer. We had an early reservation so got seated in the far corner of the restaurant sort of tucked away. The inside of this restaurant isn't very large, so it's a great place for an intimate, romantic dinner. We loved all the dishes we ordered. Everything was cooked perfectly, presented nicely and tasted good. Between the two of us, we had their scallops, lamb, duck & ahi tuna (I think) and we were super happy with our choices. The portion to value ratio was good, between the 2 of us, with drinks included the bill came to about $150, which was not bad considering what we got. Definitely worth trying. =)

This is a small,beautiful and elegant restaurant. Expensive but for a special dinner it is worth it. The food is excellent and the menu always has something different. At our table we had the tomato soup and endive salad to start. Then the risotto, the chicken breast, the beef tenderloin, and the pork belly. Everyone was happy with their meal.

Meals are beautifully presented. Dessert is rich so you might want to share one between two diners.
Staff is attentive and friendly, and yes you can ask for the leftovers to be packed up to take home.

I recently went to pear tree for my anniversary and had a great intimate time. I had request to sit in a quiet spot and which they did do that for me. It was a small restuarant but it carried and great ambiance and great food. They do have a small menu, but everything on the menu is made to perfection full of flavour. I definately recommend trying to this place out, its nice, modern, good service, great food and a local neighbour with fair pricing for a fine dining place. I had the Spot prawn cappucinno bisque delightful, full of flavour and the prawns were cook perfectly. Then we had the trout, it was so so. wasnt enough flavour after if you had the bisque but otherwise the fish was cook perfectly. The scallops on bacon risotto was a killer, bacon and scallop goes really well with eachother. Then the pork trio. totally amazing. Dessert was sooo amazing. i wanted more. We had request to have a chef menu and he did it for us. I appreciated that they did us a chefs menu last minute when the restaurant was full that night. I was definately a night to remember and i will be back for more. last note** the buttery brioche was soo soft, moist and buttery** wouldnt mind seconds , but if we did then we won't have finish all 9 courses. Amazing.

We celebrated Valentines Day a week later to avoid the hectic rush. Who wanted to run around town like crazy people for sub-standard service? Not us.

I've heard many good things about The Pear Tree, but I'd also heard stories of disappointment. Fortunately, our night was of the former instead of the latter.

The small menu is elegantly laid out, and the first page is a seasonal "fresh sheet" of a set menu. On the day we visited The Pear Tree, it consisted of tuna tataki with a chicory and cress salad, a main of pork belly, spot prawn rigatoni, celeriac puree, steamed veggies, and hon shimigi mushrooms. Guess what I ordered!

We started out with the scallop and risotto starter. The scallops were a little on the small side considering the price tag, but the dish was delicious! My companion commented that he loved the way the risotto tasted and the creamy texture. Although the dish was fragrant and smooth from the addition of cheese, the grains of the arborio rice were still distinctly (and pleasantly!) noticeable.

As you might have guessed, I ordered the Berkshire Pork Belly. It appeared to be braised in a pressure cooker and the thick ribbons of pork fat just melted in your mouth, typical to how Chinese "cou yuk" is braised until tender. I really loved the celeriac puree and the steamed vegetables - I just wished there were more! The spot prawn rigatoni had lots of flavour as well, and I loved how the chef kept the vegetables and the rigatoni "naked" as to balance out the richness of the pork belly.

My companion ordered the braised lamb shank, which was tender and and succulent. You could have literally eaten either of our meals with a spoon, the meat was just that tender. He was also extremely pleased to find that the same risotto accompanied his lamb shank. I had to agree - the risotto was a pleasant background to the meaty lamb. The staff also brought over a complimentary pea shoot and apple salad which went really well with the lamb shank.

For dessert, we had a choice between a chocolate ganache, creme brulee, a poached pear, cheese plate, or a lemon tart. Since M is not a dessert person, we shared a chocolate ganache, which was enough for both of us. It came with a streak of salted caramel and chocolate orange sorbet. The dessert portion was perfect, since the ganache was deliciously, sinfully rich. Although that was great on its own, I loved the canelle of orange-chocolate sorbet, which was garnished with candied orange peel.

We really enjoyed our dinner at The Pear Tree. The dining room is a little cozy, with a beautiful wine cabinet and pear tree art adorning the walls. Along with our bill, the maitre'd offered us bite-sized hazelnut macarons sandwiched together with a mascarpone filling. It was a great way to end the meal!

The spotted prawn cappuccino absolutely blew my mind with its flavourful base and tender poached prawns. I don't know if there were portobello mushrooms in the base, but it sure tasted good! The little pastries that come with the plate are essential for both esthetics and add that bit of texture to the dish when you mop up the fine foam of the "cappuccino". The double smoked bacon risotto under the orange carmelized scallops was bursting with flavour although the orange on the scallops was hard to detect. The poached pheasant from the Table d'hote was tender and infused with pancetta and the braised lamb shank was well-seasoned. Appetizing plating on all dishes.

Would have preferred more natural lighting as part of its decor and the signage for the restaurant was hard to pick out because it was yellow text on light silver.

The Pear Tree has had a lot of hype to it, so I was expecting a lot from the place. The location is tucked away in North Burnaby next to a burned down bank (odd), but the decor and atmosphere is obviously rather posh for the area.

The first thing that is easily noticed is how small the menu is. There is very little to choose from (just a handful of items). Then, you'll notice the very high prices. For something like rabbit, which is not a usual meal, I could understand, but for the rest?

The food itself was delicious, but the portions were incredibly small. I was certainly not satisfied by the meal, nor the appetizers. For the price, you ought to get something that is incredible. Nothing about the experience made me feel that I was really getting something special.

While the Pear Tree might be highly rated by food critics, the mass majority will not find this place worth the value.

Dined there June 9th, and had a very nice experience. Decor is just perfect - very warm, comfortable, and classy. This restaurant rivals anything "downtown", and can definately hold its own. I agree with the previous reviewer - the lobster cappuccino was over the top - but I disagree with it being not great - it was fabulous, and very unexpected. Sidenote, they make an excellent whisky sour, and that's difficult to find.

After visiting the Pear Tree for the second time this past weekend and having a similarly happy experience to the first, I feel that I'm comfortable giving the place a rating.

The highs - the Pear Tree is certainly a fish out of water in Burnaby, with it's retro decor and downtown-worthy cuisine, but that's wonderful for locals. The atmosphere is unique, intimate, and more than pleasant. Food-wise, I've experienced practically everything on the sparse menu and everything is easy to get excited about. From the mouth-watering scallops to the excellent tenderloin, the kitchen manages to create simple yet stunning dishes. In particular, I must call out the lobster cappuccino - a mind-numbingly scrumptious appetizer of lobster chunks in a frothed cream sauce.

The lows - there are several rather minor quibbles that I have with the Pear Tree. For starters, I am not a fan of the sweet slice of bread that is individually served to each person before the meal. Besides beginning such a fine meal with a rather odd shock to the taste buds, there is the interminable wait for it to arrive, only after drinks and dinner have been ordered. The next thing is the menu. As I have said, everything there is wonderful, but it is rather limited. I'm not one to need 20 items to choose from, but unless one of the daily specials appeals, it would be hard to want to come back more than a couple of times a year. Service is hit-and-miss (mostly hit), and the wine slection, despite an impressive glass wine cabinet separating the dining area from the kitchen, is somewhat pedestrian.

Overall, the Pear Tree gets high marks from me for stellar food and a cool vibe. The lobster cappuccino alone has got me recommending this place to all of my foodie friends. If the wait staff could be slightly more attentative, the wine cellar comprised of a few more exotic bottles, and they can fix that bread, it would warrant 5 stars and several visits a year.

I've been to Pear Tree 5 times: 4 times before their reno and 1 time since their reno. The first 4 times were incredible: the atmosphere was so warm and intimate; the food was excellent (nice presentation, high quality ingredients, delicious!); and the service was extremely high class and attentive. My husband and I had named it our favourite restaurant. Unfortunately, the last time we were there (in February), our experience wasn't quite the same -- the servers had divided all of their duties and we seemed to keep being lost in the shuffle (forgot to give us bread; when we asked for it someone brought bread but didn't bring butter because they thought we were asking for our second helping; never filled our water glasses; took forever to place our order). We were SO disappointed but haven't lost hope yet -- we'll give it another try!