xenocvancouverSince July 12, 20086 Reviews
(3)- Food
(3.7) - Service
(2.7) - Value
(3) - Ambiance (2.8)
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(3) (3.7) (2.7) (3) (2.8)Had dinner at the bar last night and from start to finish it was a wonderful experience. The bar staff were extraordinarily knowledgeable and friendly, the cocktail menu containing both historic and modern drinks was brilliant and the cocktails themselves may literally have been the best I've ever had. The food as usual was superb with very nice wait staff and the front desk was terrific as well and were very accommodating - no mean feat on a Saturday night during the Olympics. Overall one of the best dining experiences I've had in a long time and I definitely plan to go back, particularly to eat early in the evening at the bar.
Fish Cafe is a terrific place to....eat fish! Wonderful, straightforward grilled, blackened or fried fish with a few nicely done sides, good turn around times, attentive and friendly service and all in all one of the best values in the city for the excellent quality of the food. Nothing fancy but very well done, fresh and simple eating that is a real treat. I plan to become a regular.
I honestly can't say I've had better pizza in Vancouver but you should definitely bring a good book, one of those new iPhones with a good movie downloaded and maybe even a sack lunch. Our waiter was actually nice but Im pretty sure he completed college, got married and raised his kids by the time the pizzas actually arrived. Bring lots of change for the parking meters and if you're expecting a pizza on par with the real thing, you'll be disappointed with the food as well.....
Chow may not deliver the finest dining in the city but it is really excellent and really stands out as a casual place to get terrific food at a very reasonable price. The menu appears to rely heavily on local products and changes with what's available so always yields fresh and vibrant dishes with a local BC feel. The service is amaturish but heartfelt and personal and on one occaision our server even obtained a recipe for me from the chef that has turned out to work really well in my home kitchen. This is the place I recommend to most visitors from out of town unless they are looking for something specific (sushi, Indian, really high end dining) and all our guests have always been pleased as well.
Having been to Tojo's about 5 times, I would highly recommend going early (6ish), sitting at the bar and ordering the omakasa (tasting menu) with house saki. The sushi and ala cart menu items are fine but overpriced and nothing special. The omakasa however is really terrific and often very inventive with a wide range of dishes which complement each other very well. Also sitting at the bar means you are not dependent on the wait staff which can sometimes be good and sometimes frustrating. As many reviewers point out, the price is high but I've been very pleased the last few times I've gone, as have all my guests, when we have done the above.
We had the tasting menu paired with wine choices and while the wine was excellent and the service responsive and respectful, the food was disappointing and uneven. One course which paired pork sausage with cauliflower was literally one of the most unappealing and unappetizing items I've had in some time. Other courses were reasonably well done so perhaps the secret here is to stick to ala cart. This is disappointing however, as a well done tasting menu can open your eyes to terrific new experiences (which this didn't) and can showcase the talents of the kitchen. This felt like we were being experimented on and definitely some of the experiments failed.
