styledishVancouverSince May 11, 200821 Reviews
(3.3)- Food
(3.4) - Service
(3.1) - Value (3.4)
- Ambiance (3.6)
Do a search below using the city or postal code search box if your city is not listed above.
Get dining news including restaurant closures and qualify for giveaways.
(3.3) (3.4) (3.1) (3.4) (3.6)Among the many Pho places in Vancouver, I would say this one has one of the more comfortable seating environment ie no big bright neon lights, dirty tables, sketchy chairs, etc. We ordered 2 different types of noodles and the minced pork crepe dish. The noodles were pretty good portions and the soup was delicious. The crepe was somewhat disappointing as the crepe skin tasted tough...like as if it was left out in the open for too long. But if I ever wanted comfort food, especially during rainy cold weather, I would come here again.
A bunch of us went to the newly opened Sciue at the Roundhouse Yaletown. And I think they're still going through some Grand Opening pains. There was lack of organization as the customers were confused of where to lineup to order pizzas vs sandwiches vs coffee. But one can't deny that the sandwiches were delicious and gourmet, with the taste of Italy in one bite. The pizzas were ok as they are not your usual $1/slice fare. You can order the slices according to how much you want (an inch here off of this type...2 inch of this type) and then the cost is according to the weight. I'm not particular picky about pizza so if I was hankering for a slice I would trek to a usual pizzeria. If I felt like a fancy sandwich I would go back to Sciue...otherwise back to Choices or Urban Fare for me.
We went to Azia for dinner before we saw a flick tonight. The service was very friendly and quick. And I think they've had enough customers saying they need their food fast to catch their movie...that the food came by very fast. Even with the speediness of the food, the dishes were still delicious. If I wanted Asian food of any time I would not come here as the price for the dishes are slightly on the expensive side and portions were small. But overall I wouldn't mind checking out this place again if I were in the area
If you want quick cheap eats before you go shopping, you should hit this place. The service was quick and prompt. Us party of 3 ordered the peashoots, marinated beef, dumplings, green pancakes, and each ordered a noodle dish. Even though the peashoots were simply stirfried with minced garlic it tasted great. I enjoyed my noodles because it was light and not heavy on the msg. The pancakes were too deep fried for my liking. THe only off putting this is that the washroom is way back in one corner where you have to walk around the kitchen to go to it.
I wanted to try something different than Zipang Sushi when I came to the Main Street area. Based on the solid reviews here, I decided to visit Ogenki. It was surprisingly sparse for a Saturday lunch. There was only one waitress but there weren't that many tables that would have prevented her to be more attentive. Most of the time we had to flag her down to refill our tea or clear the plates. The food was ok but nothing spectacular. What made this place worth going is the decent food at a cheap price. But if I want to the ideal combination of comfort atmosphere, quality food, and good service I would probably head to Zipang again
I tried this place based on the ratings here. I wanted to find a japanese restaurant for a birthday outing that is relatively close to downtown and comfortable sitting for 8 people. It is unfortunate to see how the business has been suffering because of the construction but it's still standing after so many years behind fences and rubble...so I would say that says a lot for a business. The food was tasty and sushi tasted fresh and served in hearty portions. However, service was poor...even though there were only a few tables and we sat in a corner...we had to wave the wait staff a couple of times to get their attention for things like refilling tea, taking away dirty dishes, etc. I may come back again with another group because of the food portion and seating...but not a regular place I would go to.
This is a definitely a nice welcome to the Main Street stretch of yuppie cafes and restaurants. This is where you can sit down and get yourself a traditional burger meal...but with a twist. I enjoyed the amount of condiments and toppings you can choose from. I had the spicy lentil burger which helps one avoid guilt trips of greasy burger chomping. The only thing that's off with this place is the somewhat surly staff that seems synonymous with cafes in yuppie areas
There's a reason why we don't go to this sushi place for lunch. The service is slow and negligent. The sushi and food is decent but the many sushi restaurants around the area still beats it. It is a comfortable place for a sit down and for ok food...but if I want to have good quality at a good value I will go to Sushi Maro or any of the 3 that line up Davie Street around Richards street.
I've been to Zipang a couple of times in the past and decided to go there for dinner with a friend. I learned that the little restaurant acquired a new chef so I was interested what kind of new twist he would put into the already well known and fresh dishes. And I was not disappointed. The sushi came out on lovingly made plates decorated with fried lotus slice, white turnip enwrapped candle, and colourful roe. The menu is larger with more sushi choices and tapas style dishes. Also there was a menu of special rolls. We ordered the zipang and princess rolls, beef tataki, edamem, assorted tempura, and seafood okonomiyahi. Everything tasted great! I'll continue coming again before their budget runs out for little cute plate decorations ;-)
I've been meaning to try out this place, and when I got the invite from my friend I immediately accepted. It's a very loud festive restaurant that's for sure. I didn't try the oysters as I've heard some horror stories from friends who've been there before. So my friend and I had the clam chowder, shared marinated mussles and the scallop pasta. The clam chowder was nice and creamy with a kick to it. I probably wouldn't order the marinated mussels again. I prefer my mussels belgium style (cooked in some savory sauce or broth served with frites). The pasta was nice but nothing too wow. The most interesting part of the evening was the service. We had 2 waiters....one who brought our food, and the other who came by took our orders. The one brought our food was nice and charming, and a bit of a flirt. The other one was 'out of it'...meaning he seemed like he smoked something one too many before coming into work. And there was another rowdy server/dishwasher/etc, not sure what she did there. She spazzed at a guy, looked like a friend who was visiting. The guy was hiding her cell phone as a joke and she just ripped him out in front of the customers. When we left, she was outside smoking and cat called us as we walked by. It was for sure an interesting night.
I've always wanted to try the Afghan Horsemen and I was not disappointed. We sat in the cushion/low tables area with a middle eastern decor and where you sat on cushions. There were so many choices on the menu so we decided to take the easy route and ordered the special platter. Even though it says for 2, it could be filling for 3-4 people. It's very romantic with great atmosphere...definitely a good place to go on a date.
We came to this parlor for a very late lunch. We were pretty much the only customers in there. I thought it was cute and quaint restaurant, very reminiscent of an old 1950's style pizza parlor. We were starving so we ordered 2 pizzas: one custom made with artichoke, sun dried tomatoes and ham, and one called the Sopranos (tomatoes and bococcini). Both were excellent pizzas with the nice fresh out of the oven taste. Pretty good value at $27 for 2 small pizzas and a tea. Wish there was opened in Vancouver.
My friends and I like to call the all you can eat restaurants, All You Can Stuff. The symptom is when your eyes are bigger than your stomache and you try to order as much food as you theoretically think your stomache can take. That's what happened to us...but it's not a bad thing. It is a typical menu with your basic sushi pieces and cooked dishes...and the odd samosa and spring rolls. What I liked about it is that the food was fresh and nicely made. Mostly importantly the place was comfortable and clean to eat in. I would go back again...but not next week :)
There was a large group of us, approximately 30. We booked ahead of time and managed to get seats in the lounge area so we can get 'front row seats' to catch the BB game...so we were split in tables 5 to 7. We all ordered around the same time....as so our table thought. First we ordered some appy's: shrimp cocktail like dish, humus and pita, tuna tartar terrine, and spicy beans. They came pretty quickly and weren't too bad. I particularly liked the humus one because it was half humus and half pesto/jalapeno like dip. Now here's the main complaint....so it appeared that all the appy's came around the same time. Then we saw other tables starting to get their entrees...and our table waited...and waited and waited. Even the other tables had finished their meals, we still haven't received it yet. We inquired why it took so long and they claimed because our order was at the end of the queue and it takes 30 mins to cook the guys' sirloin...........by 30 mins I think any medium rare becomes leather. And I don't think a pan seared ahi tuna dish needs to be 30 mins on the grill. We became even more irritated when we saw the other tables receiving their desserts while we stared longingly at their ice creams and cakes, while we felt like forgotten starved orphan. It is very Glowbal Group wannabe, and originally advised against coming here...this last trip further confirms it.
This place is another good reason why I will be skipping Slickety Jim's from now on. Nice Cafe is still 'hidden' from the mainstream and I hope it does for a long time. Like the surrounding cafes, this place does get the long line ups during brunch time but luckily we only had to wait 15 mins. Dont even think about bringing a party of more than 4 as they don't have the table setup for it. Also, warning of the hipsters and yuppies that come here. So we ordered, florentine bennys, a 'super' omlette, and a typical breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast and hashbrown. The service was great as our water and coffee were constantly filled....had to wait longer than expected for our food but that was ok. I loved my bennys as the eggs fit perfectly on top of the english muffin (some cafes don't use 'egg mcmuffin' like contraption for cooking and eggs get all messy on the plate). The omlette was super packed with veggies. All our plates were of huge portions and felt like good home cooked meals. I love the mom 'n pop feel of it and definately go back again for a weekend brunch.
I've been to Dinesty a couple of times now since it first opened. I think this most recent visit made me notice the slight decline in service and food quality. First thing I noticed is that they changed up the 'lawn' chairs to more comfy leather like seats. My friend and I ordered cold wined chicken, dumplings, marinated beef wrapped in pancake, noodle soup and seafood stirfry. The chicken dish I noticed didn't have the preserved goji (sp?) in it and i couldn't taste the wine at all. Dumplings were ok...but then again all Shanghai style dumplings taste the same to me. I did love the beef dish and noodle soup. Seafood dish I thought was on the plain side. The little touches that they had before like the custom made vinegar sauce trays and peach flavoured water were missing. I think little touches like these enhances the experience and differentiates itself from other similiar restaurants. Even with this lacklustre dinner spread, I would come back again because I like the decor and the general good quality of the food.
Went to Stepho's for the very first time last night. Amazingly there was no line up at 6:45pm. After about a 15 min wait we were seated, and luckily at that time we saw the line building outside. We ordered the hummus and pita, calamari dinner, and chicken souvlaki. Hummus and pita was decent but I always like nice, warm soft pita bread. The calamari dinner was huge and seemed to be overflowing. But the calamari sort of looked bland and didn't taste 'fresh' from the stove. The chicken souvlaki was pretty decent, the chicken had a great taste to it and not too dry. I would go back again if there was no lineup. It's good value for the amount of food you get but not worth the long wait.
Even after the supposed lunch rush, it was still busy at 1:30pm. We waited for nearly 15 mins for a table which isn't too bad. We only ordered about 4 dishes. First it was the cold dish, chicken and glass noodles dish which was tasted a tad on the bland side. Not sure what the sauce was but I think it was a version of a light peanut sauce. Then it was steamed 'soupy' dumplings which are too die for and piping hot, so careful! The pickled veggie and pork meat noodle dish was light and the hot and sour soup was very spicy. The service was off today. You would think that since we were all sharing that they would bring bowls for us. It took awhile each time we waved them down to refill our tea. Overall, I think it's still one of the better Shanghai style restaurants that is combination of good food set in a clean and comfortable environment
We went on a Wednesday night so we were able to get a table right away. The waitress was friendly and attentive, and came by the table often to check up on us. We ordered the wings, humus and pita, mussels, and the wontons. My fave were the wings with the sweet gooey goodness. The humus could have had more 'zing' to it. How the mussels were served were good...we ordered the Madrid style but the mussels themselves seemed overcook. The wontons were ok but I personally don't prefer the currey peanut sauce it was served it...it seemed to cover the taste of the wonton too much. Overall it was good, and I would come back again for brunch or try other tapas.
We live in the approximate area and we must have driven by this place a zillion times. But after reading the positive reviews, I thought I give this place a try.
We came in on Sunday lunch hour and it was fairly busy. We snagged the last available table which was really a portable picnic table. Luckily, a nearby table cleared out within minutes of us sitting down so we scooted over. We ordered a large rare beef flank and tripe noodles, one of their special sandwiches, and a lemon grass rice dish. I really enjoyed the pho noodles as the soup tasted mild but still savoury. With pho noodles, it's the actual soup that makes or breaks it. The bread used with the sandwiches had a nice crust but still soft inside...the only complaint was it seemed 'dry'. I think we are use to vietnamese sandwiches with some sort of spread in them.
My fave, the lemon grass chicken rice, was delicious and moist. One of the best around. You can always order the lemon chicken seperately like an appetizer too.
The service was a bit slow and the waitress would forget to bring the supplements to the food, like the sauces and dish of bean sprouts. But I think it was just busy. The other time I've dined there, the waitress was attentive and ensured that you were enjoying your meal. I do wish they had made and brought the vietnamese coffee at the beginning instead at the end of the meal so it can finish its 'drip' after my last slurp of the noodles.
