tingRichmond, VancouverSince November 10, 200429 Reviews
(3)- Food
(3) - Service
(2.6) - Ambiance (2.9)
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) (2.6) (2.9)Went here on a Thursday night; there were a few tables;
Ambiance is perfect for dating; nice loungy music in a dark room but a bit indifferent from our Yaletown eateries (Cactus, Coast...) I've been to. It's comfortable.
The food was solid and much attention was paid to details (there was curry-flavored foam for goodness sakes! and they used bell peppers for a samosa cover instead of a flour); definitely not worth the price though.... The waitress recommended 3 or 4 dishes for my friend and i. We ordered 3 - a black cod, a samosa, and lamb chops... Paying $16 for 2 pcs of small lampchops and $13/14 for ONE samosa (fist sized) hurts my soul... I guess I was expecting bin / la bodega portions and therefore, was surprised by this.... Perhaps if you enjoy fine dining then these prices and portions are reasonable but for me, if I paid $19 for a dish I expect a bit more than the quarter of the plate full...
That said, the drinks were well made and service was excellent... the waitress must hv checked up on us like 6 times. hahaha
Bill came out to $85 for 2 for 3 tapas and 2 drinks.
I wish dinehere would have a category for value ;)
Came here on a Saturday night. Ordered a sausage, crab meat pasta with tomato sauce. When the pasta came, it had some canned corn and peas on it, sausage (just the skinny wieners- not even "hot dog" stand sausages), overcooked pasta way past al dente, and the sauce tasted like ketchup / tomato paste mixed with cream (there were hardly any tomatos in it). Also, the crab meat was missing, and when we told the server about it, she took the plate back to the kitchen, (without any apologies). Another server then took the same plate back out, still crab meat less. When we told the server again, the plate again went back to the kitechn. When it came back out the second time, it was the same plate of pasta with some like 5 pcs of crab meat on it. By then it was cold. This incident speaks for itself in terms of food and servicE!
This restaurant just opened not too long ago. The architecture is quite thoughtful in its blend of moderness with a Chinese tea house style- nice wall of chinese tea pot display, mirrors on ceiling, see-through kitchen. The food on the other hand needs a lesson (or perhaps we ordered the "wrong" items)? We had a rice, a steamed bun, and an appetizer. While the steamed bun was quite tasty, the stewed bean curd and 'stir [fried] rice with vegetable & salted pork" were way too greasy. The fried rice was just glistening and layered with oil, and the tofu, which didn't require frying (as it was stewed or boiled) was still covered in an additional layer of sesame oil. I've had much better fried rice elsewhere, and for casual Shanghai food, I'd rather go to Aberdeen.
Went here on a Friday night; even though we saw the reviews here we decided to give it a try as we saw positive reviews elsewhere. This was a mistake! The atmosphere was quite nice- nicely painted walls, arched passways, tasteful paintings, and a great belly dancer to entertain. However, the food was just awful- I've had better food cooked at home and even at food courts. I had a beef, prawn and scallop souvlaki for $17. The rice was way too salty, and the roasted potato looked fried but was soggy, and had no herb/lemon flavor. I should have known better and just went to Kalamata instead of experimenting with new places. The service was just average, so it's not really worth it for me to come back and try again. I did not find the home-style feeling that was described in a review I found elsewhere either.
This restaurant was the best one I've ever been to in White Rock, and probably the best food&service within the price range of Earl's-Cactus-Keg's type of restaurant.
When we sat down, it felt like we were part of a wedding with the romantic ambience curtains draping over the ceilning, lighted trees indoors, good singer on an acoustic guitar. The waiter was fast at all our requests and checked on our water more than twice. We put in a rushed request and the food came 10-15 mins later too, seeing that the waiter does work with the kitchen rather than merely giving them the orders. The busser brought the hot, toasted bread right away, which was crusty outside and soft and warm inside, served with herb butter and we couldn't stop ourselves from asking for seconds.
The entrees were flavoured perfectly - not overly salty or bland, and BIG portions - I had the seafood penne which was filled with huge, fresh scallops and huge tiger prawns in a mildly spicy sauce. My partner had the sirloin steak, which was cooked perfectly and better tasting than Keg's. Only complaint was that the mashed potatoes with the steak were a little cold, but still delicious as the potatin SKINS were still in them - yummy, fresh, and homemade.
I would come here any day over the Keg (who has messed up more than one of my meals before). That's one reason to go back to White Rock.
The Top Shanghai restaurant has some of the best vegetarian steamed dumplings (probably has lard in it) and steamed buns I have. There's no doubt about the authentic and genuine recipes. However, prepare to receive the worst service in the world when you come here. When I walked through the doors, you will be standing in the midst of 15 ppl who are also waiting for a spot. The hostess ignored me unless I fought your way to the front.
Knowing this place is packed, we ordered as soon as we sat down. We ordered Chinese doughnuts and soy milk (they are supposed to complement each other). However, the doughnuts came first but the soy milk was missing, even though we've requested it THREE times from different waitresses. Who, by the way, just needs to scoop the soy milk out of a boiler. So the doughnuts became all cold when it was supposed to be eaten together with the soy milk. It didn't come until I walked to the kitchen entry and requested for it from a busser (fifty minutes after the doughnut).
We ordered take out near the end of the meal. We kindly reminded the waitress once about it, after ordering, fearing she might forget since it's so busy, but she yelled "You SAID SO ALREADY!" in response. After waiting for another twenty minutes, they delivered the bill, and the waitress forgot to mark down the take-out order. When we asked how long it'd take to make the take out congee she forgot, she yelled "thirty minutes". Frustrated, we decided to just get the bill, and leave her a small tip of $.70 on a $20 meal. As she walked away with the money tray, she looked at how much tips we got, and said to her peer, "oh, these people had a $20 dollar meal but only left $.70 in tips." (in mandarin). I wanted to say to her, it was lucky you got a tip at all, when you yell at your customers for something they did wrong.
Why would i ever go to Denny's again when I could have brunch that is this delicious at Aurora? Oh, because I would still be hungry afterwards.
I was planning to have the Belgian waffles (that was on the menu of their Web site). When we got there, it was no longer part of the menu. So I ordered granola but then ran out of yogurt and was offering it with milk. I declined that offer and had the french toast instead. My fried had the sablefish hash with poached egg. They were both decent, except the toast could be a tad crunchier, and the sablefish hash a tad bigger. I don't expect to need to order appetizers with a brunch meal, so if you were just ordering an entree by itself, expect to grab an extra muffin or creme-filled coffree as a filler afterwards.
Knowing that most of Dine Out's popular restaurants bookout in the first few days, I decided to give this restaurant a shot even though it was pretty late when we called. We actually got in on a Friday night (when we booked Wed).
The meal itself was wonderful - I have never eaten steak that was pre-cut yet presented in such an aesthetically and geometrically appealing way. The side veggies were cooked in just the right amount of time - crunchy and flavourful. The steak was marinated and juicy with flavour.
The seafood hot pot (bouillabaisse) had just the right tone of tomato and herb flavours. It wasn't heavy at all and the thin melba-like toast adds a nice crunchy touch.
My only complaint was that the salad should have had a little more vinegar on it, but at least this was better than some other restaurants which drench it in olive oil. Also, though service was polite and pleasant, except once when the waiter/busser reached in front, rather than behind, to give us the spoon for our dessert.
And of course, throughout the meal, we were in awe of the view of Vancouver.
The sushi here is simple - it's fresh because it's so busy, and cheap because of the volume (or farmed?). It tastes good but not delicious, but you can't expect much from a fast food sushi place. I trust them for a good, non-soggy seaweed, fresh fish sushi lunch.
Once, however, I was asked to wait 25 mins for my sushi order, because they couldn't keep up with orders. However, that only happened once. The other times, the waits were usually <10 mins.
Among the few cafes in Gastown, this is by far the one with the best sandwich. Their foccaccia sandwiches are large and filling, and warmly toasted. The fillings are not overstuffed or dripping with dressing or mayo - a big plus! Also fillings are gourmet and fresh, and vegetarians will be delighted to find that their egg and tomato sandwich is unlike any other - must be the herbs. Compared to tiny, and rather bland, sandwiches at other cafes, these are formulated with heart and fresh ingredients. yum.
I have not tried bakery / coffee items tho.
Unless you love canned / frozen vegetables. I ordered a Baked Portugeuse Veggie Rice - and received a mix of frozen baby carrots, frozen peas, canned waxed yellow / green beans in a less than satisfying Portugeuse sauce with not enough cheese nor spices.
my friend and i went on a saturday nite and it was quite quiet. i liked the ambiance because it had a tuscany theme - peaches and greens throughout the room. tables were placed far apart from each other in the spacious and dimly lit room. their pastas are fresh, the sauces was done light and right. portions were huge (though probably not compared to antone's). i recommend the one with anchovies, it doesn't taste very fishy and the spices were just rite. however, the bread was sub par, rather dry and chewy. service was prompt.
Their salmon salad had a unique dressing w/ strawberries n goat cheese, the dressing was done right - not overly sweet or oily. the pizza was disappointing - the dough was so greasy like it was deep fried.
I went to Bistro Sakana expecting fresh, good sushi, and inventive Japanese tapas, and my expectations were met. I was pleased with the fresh scallops and wild salmon. They had brown rice sushi, where were a delight for the health conscious eater. However, the brown rice used were the short grain kind - I would have preferred something a little more toasted or wheaty tasting. I was disappointed with the tiny portions. Each roll only had 4 pieces - and at $5-10 / roll, the bill sky rocketed. We each spent $34 per person - including tax, tips, but no alcohol was ordered.
I love the vegetarian options and the funky decor here. There were custom T shirt designs on the wall, n gothy-like sculptures hanging off the ceiling. I believe their art work rotates and is for sale.
I had the no-chicken butter chicken. I can see why this entree was created because the sauce was so good! Instead of chicken, they used jackfruit. As my first time having jackfruit cooked, this was an exotic Indian experience for me.
The staff was laid back and wasn't phony like some other waiters are. I'm glad they keep it real.
One small complaint was that the leather seats was ripped and it was taped by duct tape. I'd rather someone stitch it up.
On a Saturday evening, my group of 15 friends went to nevermind for a late dinner around 8'ish. The waitress gave us like 3 menus to share among 15 peeps.
My friend and I decided to order their Westcoaster salad and Daisy Duke pizza to share. When our food came, she brought us two pizzas instead of 1 pizza + 1 salad. When we told our waitress (nicely) that we had ordered a Westcoaster salad, and not a pizza, she bluntly said "I only wrote down two pizzas. There's no salad." And she repeated this in an unfriendly manner, and tried to force upon me and my friend to have both pizzas! When she realized that the other pizza belonged to another friend in the opposite end of the table, she finally offered to put in the salad that she forgot about earlier.
I am highly disatisfied with her bad attitude. It's one thing to miss an order, which would have been forgivable. However, she had this stuck up royal b*tchy attitude and was blaming the mix up on her customers. She repeated over three times that she "didn't write down any salads" when it was purely her fault that she forgot about it. I can forgive her if she admitted that there was a confusion, but she was blaming us and said that we never ordered any salads. Three of my friends, however, were witnesses and all heard it when I ordered my salad! I am never going back again if I need to put up with this kind of service!
PS - the food was awful too - the pizza wasn't hot/crispy enough, there were too much bacon and salt on it. The salad had WAY too much olive oil in it. To the chef - fat makes food taste good but only in moderation! The martini, which was on special for $5.25 didn't do anything for me - I could barely taste the alky. The decor needs touch up and re-painting.
I like Japone because I like Japanese tapas but their portions were WAYYYYYYY to small for what they charge. The agidashi eggplant is like agidashi tofu but served in an eggplant shell and is highly recommended. Their avocado / tuna with seaweed sauce is also very good but for $8.95 u only get half a tiny fist full of Tuna. Compared to Guu in downtown their portions are smaller and prices are higher, but I would say the food is more carefully prepared.
I came to Noor Mahal under the recommendation of trying their dosas. Never having had them before, I was pleasantly surprised. Dosas are similar to savoury French crepes. Of course, the filling is prepared w/ Indian spices. It was served with some horseradish tasting condiments and other "dips". But the crepe itself was so good. I don't think I've ever had another burrito or wrap or fajita that would be anywhere as good! Try their crab dosa!
ok so we had a party of 5 people going there on a Saturday night. arrived 7:15, didn't get seated til 8:45. the waitresses kept telling us 20 minutes more for 3 times. frustrated and ready to kill, we were all calmed down by the sake and the delicious, fresh sashimi. the assorted sashimi rice bowl, california roll, and house vegetable rolls are highly recommended and possibly the best I've tasted anywhere. the waitresses didn't apologize for the long wait, and the room was way too bright and small, but it was all worth it.
Among six ppl, we shared 5 tapas and an entree... tapas were a generous size, and the "concept" of the dish was good, but it wasn't prepared well. e.g. beet risotto - too creamy; potato gnocchi - too starchy, and not enuf veggies; yam frites - too soggy n greasy (weren't frites supposed to be crispy?); lamb skeweres - not tender enough. However, ambience and presentation was great. the food at least looked good, but only had an average taste.
