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Sitting atop the waters of Vancouver’s inner harbour and just off the path of the famous Stanley Park Seawall makes for very up-close views of the non-stop urban activity on both water and land.
Choose from a selection of freshly-grilled fish or try the juicy wild salmon baked on a cedar plank in a wood-burning oven. More local favorites? Grilled prime rib steaks, wok squid and wood oven pizza.
Sample some of the many BC wines-by-the-glass or the diverse selection of beer and ale as you extend your marina-side adventure in the adjoining pub.
I have been coming here for years. Cardero's makes for one of the best spots to have a lunch on the year-round patio with its stellar view; probably the best in the city. (The lounge seating by the front bar is also as comfortable and breathtaking if you grab a spot by the window).
The wok dishes are always good; the rib appetizer is the most tender I've ever had, you could eat them with a spoon, and the miso cod was amazing.
They have amazing specials ($10 for a burger and a beer, etc.), but really, come for the view, the rest is just icing on the cake.
Cardero's has been around for a while, and always makes for a great dinning experience. Service level has increased and now matches that of sister restaurant at the Sandbar. The menu is simple and focuses primarily on local seafood. Their patio as always busy on a sunny day and makes for an enjoyable and unpretentious experience. Fried oyster are a personal favorite. Price and value is where it should be for the well positioned coal harbour location.
I went with a friend to Cardero's and while we were primarily interested in drinking, we ordered a couple of appetizer's as well.
From the outside you see the outdoor patio on your left and the entrance to the restaurant in front of you. It's in a great spot, if you're walking along the path to or from Stanley Park, in between boats that are docked on either side of you. So you hear the birds, see people getting on and off their boats, see lots of people walking on the pathway. Lots of movement.
We wanted to sit on the patio ( nicer to drink in the sun ) because inside it's a little dark even with the many windows. The open kitchen is to your immediate left upon entering, it really adds to the action, and it's always entertaining to watch your food being prepared, if you decide to eat inside. The bar is to your right once in the door, it's your standard dark wood type bar. It strikes me that the owner(s) of this place probably haven't renovated in quite some time, as the dark woody features inside seem to hide the actual age of the furniture and the establishment.
The servers are in jeans, white shirts & don white aprons. The girl who tended us was efficient, but not chatty nor particularly friendly. She brought us what we wanted without any smiles nor pleasant banter. No exemplary service that day, and no complaints either. Very banal.
The appetizers were quite good, a Wok Broccolini dish and Wok Squid. Both were done well, the broccoli wasn't over cooked and was in a semi-sweet sauce while the Squid was not chewy cooked in its batter. Nice. The menu had a few Asian items to go along with the burgers/pizzas and seafood items.
I'd stop here again if I was in the area and next time I'll try one of the main dishes.
Been going to Carderos for years - what happened? The food is bad, the service was bad, and it wasn't even busy. Must say I love the lounge ambiance and the musicians. It's the only thing keeping me coming back, but in the future it will be only for a drink before heading elsewhere. Boo :(
I had family visiting and they were staying at the Westin, by the Cardero's. My uncle told me that he had been twice to this restaurant already, earlier that week, and loved the place, so we went there, again.
We got sited in a booths and had by the same token more privacy. Our waiter was always present as needed and very courteous. I shared a spinach salad with my aunt and the cook split it for us. Then I ate their Pacific Sesame Crusted Albacore Tuna and it was delicious! All the food ordered was appreciated by the guests.
We really had a good time and I'll go again! The ambiance was outstanding!
Great location, great service, but the food isn't anything to write home about. The Seafood Stew special was overcooked, the wild pacific salmon was alright but I found it overpriced for the portion. Only thing that saved them was the crab cakes and mussels for appetizers. If there was more "oomph" to their menu, it would be a whole lot better. I've been a few times in the past 5 years and this time wasn't as great as the other times. Hopefully there will be something new in their menu so that their service, location, ambiance, and food can be more consistent with each other.
I have eaten here a few times and find its a better place to drink than to have a proper sit down dinner. The food is good; my favorite dish is the lamb shank which is falling off the bone and quite tasty. The view is spectacular as you are right on the water overlooking Stanley Park and Coal Harbour. My advice is to come early, sit in the bar section in one of the comfy chairs and use this place as a great starting off point for a nite out on the piss.
I was at Cardero's with a relatively large party. We all began with a round of appetizers. I had the Wok Squid. It was like large Calamari. I was told it wasn't deep fried like Calamari, but, I think it was because it had a fried batter skin on it. It was Good. Not exactly sure if it was 13$ good, but, good nonetheless. I had the Jumbo Prawn Platter for dinner. The Platter came with 8 big prawns, 2 roasted Roota-bega, and a few pieces of other veggies. It also came with a small scoop of rice. The rice was pretty sad, I mean, by anyones standard the rice was pretty sad. It was over cooked and mush. The Prawns were good. Can't say it was a 30+$ meal good. Now the Ambiance, it was a really nice look restaurant. The Staff are all dressed like Proffessional waters, and, the service was great. We had someone in our party who wasn't feeling well that night (not related to the food), the Waiter came by with a few moist towels. And the Manager stood nearby to ensure things were alright. Great service throughout the night too. Drinks were brought promptly. The really great thing about this restaurant, is that you can ask any waiter to bring you anything, it's not where only your waiter will serve you and all other staff will avoid eye contact and ignore you. I enjoyed my experience there. This is a Restaurant that's good for bringing a date.
Just so you know in the seafood wok....it's loaded with salmon, little scallops and it notes lobster on the menu however, it's delivered with a baby lobster from Asia, not Vancouver. Why? It's $24.00 for the dish and two carrots. Not very much value for taste and presentation. Lots of salmon a little scallops and a few shrimp. The Lobster was visually a tiger prawn.
The hamburger was disgusting...the bun was soggy and the bread was very thick.
Servers are a bit green.
Our bill was $110.00 for two dishes and four drinks. One of which was a hamburger.
View is great, location is great, ambiance is pretty good in the lounge. The patio is great.
The value sucks and the servers need a class on how not to ask dumb personal questions.
Have been to this place countless times but never had a table by the window as the place is always full and those tables are the first to go. For some strange reason the place was fairly quiet so I had a great view of the water, mountains and Stanley Park. We had a great server who kept everything happening and the food is always good but quite comparable to Earles & Cactus Club but a bit more expensive which is understandable with that great view
Excellent food... as one of my buddies puts it "great seafood, but you don't feel like you're paying premium." I'd highly recommend Cardero's for almost any occasion. This is a MUST for tourists imo. I always bring my friends from afar here as it sorta showcases what the West Coast Vancouver is about - great seafood, scenic moutain backdrop, and the water.
went for dinner here with a friend.
getting the tables was the hardest part. it was sunday evening and the waitresses didn't tell us whether we should make a reservation, or just wait....and made us wait quite a long time before i realized we had to make a reservation. but i guess she knew what happened so she tried to give us a spot quickly. we got in a booth inside right beside the bar. but being on the patio would have been beautiful, since it was coal harbour and all.
our server was courteous and made sure we got our drinks and the food was good. the food wasn't bad. i really like the wok squid!!! the sauce is delicious...a bit onion/garlicky, but nonetheless yummy. oysters were on special for 3 dollars. not bad....
i had the queen charlotte halibut. it was very soft and creamy. the rice that came with it wasn't the best...i would have rather preferred a risotto to be paired with it. my friend's burger was alright....i guess you could call it a "high class burger".
the dessert (Creme brulee) was good, but too cold for a creme brulee.
price-wise.....i would say it was adequate because of its decor. i think the appetizers are much better than the entrees...and dessert is sub-par. but the view and the live music (i loved it because the performer played Jack Johnson!) makes it a worthwhile visit. Be careful though, being right beside the bar is very noisy. Ask for a patio seat...and reserve on evenings!
If you're looking for hubbub where the food, prices and service are fair, Cardero's is one option. It's always busy and noisy so I prefer coming here in summer for its deck. I like lunch better than dinner here and overall the staff are great. The wine list isn't bad for a more casual place.
Lunch at Cardero's
Great location and very professional serving staff. Clean and tidy facilities.
I ordered 10 oysters in the half shell. The oysters lacked any hint of coming anywhere near an ocean but seemed fresh in texture. The sauces were good and necessary to give the shell fish a hint of some flavour. And thank God the server placed a large bottle of Tabasco sauce on the table. I’m wondering if some want-to-be sous chef thought it would be a good idea to rinse this delicate shell fish in fresh tap water prior to placing it on ice.
The Cajun burger I ordered was 3/8 of an inch (or so) of a chicken breast sliced to a flat flap (were they running short of chicken?). Could not tell if it was fresh or frozen chicken but boy it was sure cooked. For added measure they made it complete with nice burnt bits. The BBQ sauce was nice which helped the chicken flap gain back some moisture. The limp coleslaw added crunch to the burger. The faux herb bun was unnecessary and over kill with the additional salt. If you are on a salt restricted diet, pass on this item or better yet do not approach the table. If I might suggest, leave the bagged-for-convience-and-flavour cutesy tater fries and plate some real pommes frites.
Good were the Cajun Ling Cod (maybe sweet potatoes fries instead of some what-kind-is-this white rice?) and the Wok squid was good (the sauce not so much as it made me think of Kraft Ranch dressing with a chili chaser).
The spinach salad with beets looked flat and tasted same. Is it possible to add some dressing yourself?
Biggest challenge: Waiting almost an hour for our meal. My sense was that the servers were equally frustrated.
Lunch $129.00 for four people, no liquor. No value here.
My Lord Ann what are you thinking?
Over the years, we've been to Cardero's several times. We come here because of the location at the marina... the view is hard to beat! We love the west coast style that Cardero's offers. Unfortunately, I think that the food has some room for improvement.
Waiting for a table in the bar, we order ceasar drinks. These drinks were so spicy and over-seasoned, I had to request that they be watered down. When we were seated on the patio, the view was pretty good... but the food was kind of bland. We had the tuna tomato salad and this was probably the tastiest dish we had, essentially a seafood spin on insalata caprese. My husband had the cajiun lingcod and I had the vongole linguini. While edible, neither dishes were great. We followed the mains with the sorbet, which was obviously scooped earlier and water started to crystallize, and a cappuccino, which was yummy.
The service was above average. The server assumed that we were tourists and worked hard for a good tip.
This is a cool place to dine. I like the atmosphere, the patio, the general feel of the place. I've been here about a half dozen times in a couple of years, usually @ lunch. I find the food to be inconsistent, ranging from excellent (big salads) to bad specials (halibut special that was dry as grandma's teat). The service is also hit and miss depending on who you get. And they have such a big staff it's not possible to pinpoint the good servers and request them. Last time we were there we got a server that treated us as though we were his long lost cousin Joe. I thought he was going to slap us on the back to thank us for tip but thank god it didn't come to that. He called us "guys" although I'm clearly not one and he was completely annoying. I will go back to Cardero's because I do like the place but I wish they would be more consistent with staff training and food quality. They have got the market cornered as far as location and ambience, though... and I know what to order now, so it's all good!
I have eaten here a couple times and as beautiful as the views are, it doesn't make up for the mediocre food. Their "big" salad is neither big nor good. Boring dressing on bland greens with an egg, one baby potato, 3 olives and probably half a beet. I can make a better salad any day and I didn't go to cooking school! My husband had the olive and feta ravioli. The tomato sauce was too sweet and there was not an iota of olive flavour in it. Upon inspection, the pieces of olive were smaller than a peppercorn. No wonder you couldn't taste them. I'm sure the seafood and steaks are good, but it takes more than that to make a good restaurant. Also, the wine prices are a tad ridiculous. $30.00 for a half litre of Blue Mountain. If it weren't for the location, would it be so popular?
Cardero's is the perfect restaurant to take out of towners to: solid menu, excellent location and views, and reliable service. I have always had consistently good service and food here. In fact, my only complaint would be that the menu hasn't changed for some time - I started coming here about 6 years ago and each time I come the menu seems to be exactly the same as the last time. Some modernization of the menu would be nice.
I recommend the torta milano for dessert.
Visited Cardero's with my partner twice over a 2 week period. Was really busy both times and had to wait in bar area until outside table became available. Bar area really pleasant and they hoist a flag to let you know your tables ready which is a novelty. Had a good table outside with a lovely view of the surrounding area. We both had the salmon burger with fries which was so good! The bread we were told was home made and the fries not greasy at all. I also had the spinach salad with goats cheese and red onion which was really good. Waitresses really helpful and friendly and service was excellent. Would definitely recommend to friends and will return on my next visit to Vancouver.
My husband and I took some out of town guests to Cardero's. Everything was alright. Not great, not poor. The menu is small. I had the shrimp wontons with fried rice. My mistake - don't order Chinese food at a non-Chinese restaurant. Not good at all. The patio was nice but the tables and chairs are all packed together too closely. Everyone else seemed to enjoy their meals. The restaurant looked a bit worn. It was ok but I wouldn't return.
| 1. | Cafe Villagio (33 m) |  |
| 2. | Blue Edge Organic Cafe (46 m) |  |
| 3. | Moonstruck Tea House (77 m) | |
| 4. | Blue Tree Cafe (125 m) |  |
| 5. | Starbucks (127 m) | |
| 6. | Take 5 Cafe (129 m) | |
| 7. | Seawall Bar & Grill (129 m) | |
| 8. | Currents at Bayshore (129 m) |  |
| 9. | Coal Harbour Cafe (163 m) | |
| 10. | Soirette Macarons & Tea (190 m) |
