We had been we a few times in the past for birthdays and other special dates so when a friend and his wife came up from Portland and we went there we were happy enough with the food, the service was definitely slower than in the past which was sad as we all know the cost we pay when we go here, (we expect to be treated well for the money we are spending), the plates finally start to arrive on the table and my husband were shocked how things had changed, portions had changed, not to mention something I asked to have removed due to allergies was still in there, when the waiter finally made his way back over to the table I told him and he was smug and finally after I stood up (I was going to find a manager) he finally took it back to the kitchen to replace it, I guess he expected me to eat it after all, after it was all said and done the manager was involved and we all ended up with free desert (whipped dee doo) ... we were all hungry after we left there.
It’s no longer the same and it’s no longer worth the wait.

Went with a group in a situation I wasn't paying thankfully. Ordered a bison steak mid rare as recommended by the server. Although the service is absolutely fantastic, and the food was pretty good, until I'm old and am full off 200 calories worth of food I'll skip this place. Our portions were so tiny, and I even had a huge dessert after and was barely satiated. Definitely a pre-eating place, and I felt sort of out of place the entire time. Not because I was wearing sweat pants and couldn't afford it, but because I was wearing a dress and heels and other people were wearing very casual wear, while the servers were wearing stuff that looked like you would wear to bed or completely suited up. Had no idea how to dress!

Went to Chambar with my brother the other night. The service was prompt and friendly, I was led to a seat right away. Loved the ambiance in the restaurant, it was quite hip and modern; the lighting inside was dim but not too dark.

We ordered the spiced fois gras terrine to start, then the coquette moules frites, and after much consideration, ended our great meal with the Symphonie Tropicale. Out starter took no time to arrive. It was quite unique, because we've never had cold fois gras before. It was definitely a very unique experience for our palate, a GOOD unique experience! But it would be great if there was more of the brioche french toast to go with the fois gras, because on its own, it was quite salty, but the everything balanced perfectly when eaten with the brioche french toast.

Next came the moules frites. The fries were served with a dijon mayo, which we both enjoyed quite a bit. There were plently of mussels in the pot with plenty of bacon. The broth was quite flavourful and delicious and the mussels were cooked just right. We were just too full to order a side of bread to scoop up the reminder of the broth.

We were a little hesitant when it came to dessert, but after much deliberation, we decided to go with the Symphanie Tropicale, which was a coconut macaroon with passionfruit curd and pina colada sorbet. It was a pretty tiny dessert for $11 (we each had about 2 small bites), but it was just so perfect that we couldn't complain. The pina colada sorbet was so refreshing that it make us felt like we were on the beach! We really just wish there was more of it.

Great experience, would definitely go back to try other items on their menu. Or might just go there for drinks and dessert!

So this is supposed to be the classy restaurant of Vancouver? I'll stick with Crocodile thankyou!! I guess people are equating expensive-for-no-reason with classy. Their seafood specialties are average. Mussels? How much? For what? In this tiny room? From the unsmiling waitress? Why am I waiting this long?

I feel that this restaurant might have been good at one time but that time, if it ever existed, has passed. Now people who do not know try to impress people who should know by going here. Expensive for NO reason

The two of us went here the day after Valentine's Day, and worried that it may still be busy, made reservations for 5:30pm. We got there early and waited outside. When 5:30 came we followed another couple into the restaurant and were greeted by a very frantic and rude hostess. She said "we're not open yet, you can have a seat over there". She was clearly not prepared to work yet (she wore jeans and a t-shirt) and was very rushed. She got someone else from behind the bar to offer us the menus and show us to our seats.

While the place was completely empty aside from the older couple who came in before us, we were offered really awkward seats right in front of the bar. The other couple (and a few others who came in after us) were offered more seats in the more private dining space in the back. Very odd. Perhaps they were hoping we would be the drinking type and would be ordering a few glasses from the bar. In any case, we asked to be seated in a more private location, and the same hostess begrudgingly took us towards the back of house.

Aside from this really weird bout of musical chairs, we were finally seated and thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the evening.

Food: We shared the poutine - delicious! blue cheese, balsamic vinaigrette on house-made fries. Very large portion- more than enough for 2 people to share.

Duck with gnocchi, goat cheese and scallions a- divine! the sauce was some sort of hazelnut emulsion - very good- imparts a nutty flavour that was both sweet and savoury. Meat was tender and juicy and went well with the cheese. My only complaint about this dish was that this dish had a rather overwhelming amount of scallions and only about 5 pieces of gnocchi.

Lamb shank with cous cous braised in honey and cinnamon - lamb was fall of the bone tender; cous cous though tasty on its own, got lost in the juices of the lamb. Overall a bit too sweet and an unbalanced dish. The portion size was very good though.

Espresso Cheesecake with chocolate mouse- beautifully presented, rich and decadent; the textures of the silky mousse with the crisp chocolate wafers, along with the cacao gelee and the cheesecake was a delight for the palate.

Pistachio cream in a pie crust, with white chocolate ganache, sour cherry compote and lemon buttermilk sorbet- OMG delicious! This was seriously the best dessert I have ever put in my mouth. And this is coming from a chocaholic. From the sweetness of the white chocolate and pistachio cream to the tartness of the lemon and cherry, to the crumbly yet buttery texture of the pastry crust, this was like a flavour explosion in my mouth! Do not let the complexity of the dessert stray you from this one. It was literally so delicious that I became self-aware that maybe I had devoured this dessert a little too fast.

Value: Excellent. Portions were enough to make you full but not so much that you feel sick afterwards. The quality of the ingredients really showed in all of the dishes we ordered. Everything was made fresh to order using obviously only the best ingredients.

Service: Aside from the rude hostess in the beginning, the service throughout was top notch. The man that served us was very polite (but not in a snobby way), witty and knowledgeable. He was very professional in that he was able to both connect with us as individuals (made us feel comfortable), as well as a customer (brought things out in a timely manner, and explained whatever you wanted to know).

Ambiance: honestly, a bit cramped. The tables are so close together that you can listen to your neighbour's convos without even trying. Very loud by the bar, but more private and romantic near the back. The dark room, the old brick walls and 'warehouse' type construction gives this place a fun sort of vibe.

I've read many of these reviews and I must say, I share the same thoughts as many others

Service was excellent. They changed our utensils right after our appetizer, and wiped the table. The servers were charming, great service.

Food was solid. Mussels (the tomato cilantro sauce) are never a letdown. Always great flavours.

Last time I came, I had the 6 diff types of pork. It was very disappointing and I was glad that they had taken it off the menu.

Today I had the 9oz steak + lamb. Steak was excellent. The flavours were great and though it was a bit burnt, it was marinated quite well. The bruschetta bread game along with the steak tasted excellent, although quite salty.

Lamb was very, very disappointing. The sauce was extremely lacking, tasting like sugar soup with a hint of cilantro and cinnamon. Ingredients were very lacking too. There are far too many good lamb shank places in this town, to be disappointed at a great restaurant like Chambar.

I'd say the food was overall quite salty, but it probably isn't for many people. I personally had to drink 3~4 cups of water.
Overall food experience was solid.

I've been at Chambar for dinner a couple of times and I have to say I always enjoyed it.

Last time I went I ordered the trio of appetizer which included escargot. It was the first time for me to eat snails and I really enjoyed it. For main course I ordered the venison it was cooked medium rare to perfection and served with different type of sauces. The mustard based sauce was absolutely amazing (and this comes from someone that don't usually like mustard).

My girlfriend is vegetarian and at the beginning were were a little disappointed that there were no vegetarian disces what so ever on the menu. The waiter tho was very help full that they cooked up a custom disc for her to order.

The ambience is really romantic although a little too busy during weekends.

Service was excellent throughout and the price on the expensive side.

I would definitely recommend Chambar for a special romantic dinner or just to enjoy some excellent food.

I celebrated Valentines Day here with the gf, and about time as I've been raving to her about a few of their standout dishes I've had here in the past.

Reservations were a must on this evening and we were seated immediately upon arrival with our coats checked. Decor is fantastic and can suit either a quiet or noisy dining experience, though this restaurant has taken upon the latter. Ambience continues to be borderline loud. I wouldn't say it's unbearable nor would you have to shout across your small table but a truly quiet evening out would be out of the question here (perhaps I am biased as I noticed they played a lot of my favourite music: Earth, Wind, Fire, Temptations, Isley Brothers). People must remember that this is not a fine dining establishment and compare it to others as such. This is most definitely a hotspot for the Downtown hip crowd therefore there are touches of ostentatiousness here and there.

We quickly picked out our dishes: the Venison Shortloin Carpaccio to start, the Congalaise, Artic Char and Lamb Tajine to share with the Pear Toffee Pudding to finish. My gf had the Blue Fig Martini while I had a bottle of Celis White. The venison was subtle and was accompanied well with the mild root vegetable julienne and chevril. The mussels are impeccable. Our Congalaise had a generous amount heat from the chilis while the lime and tomato pairing toned down the richness of the coconut milk. Copious amount good to share with 3 people. The frites on the side are not enough to sop up all the sauce - order the fresh, crusty house roll to soak up the rest. The Arctic Char was buttery smooth, and the lentil ragout was again a nice pairing, however ragout being a misnomer as the butter sauce was fairly thin. The fall-off-the-bone lamb shank was unlike anything you'd normally see done to lamb. The honey, cinammon and figs steer the lamb into a rich medley of sweet and savoury flavours, with the yogurt and African red chili pairings on the side help offset your tastebuds with a cool or hot linger. The toffee pudding could prop itself better as a finisher for our meal but was overall a nice, light offset.

Prices lean on the expensive side though the few standout dishes are worth the extra coin.

The service could step it up some to align itself with the better restaurants in town, but I'd hardly call it terrible. Service is somewhat casual though the ambience tends to call for it. Our server was polite and followed up after every dish (they sent out one dish at a time which we really appreciated).

What makes this restaurant so good are the unique pairings of ingredients you wouldn't normally find elsewhere, with a few dishes that make them memorable. To be truly above the pack refinements can be made all over though I think they're happy with how it is now. Their only flaw might be their hype.

Eminently good. Highly Recommend.

At the last minute, a friend and I decided to go eat at Chambar because the restaurant we did make a reservation at did not have the coveted AC during a summer heat wave. We were seated at the bar, even though we were offered a window seat at the front/loungy part of the restaurant.

Service: Bartender was excellent, she knew how to look after her guests and it was a great pleasure to see her mix up fresh creative drinks - using ingredients like vanilla and lavendar syrup and slicing up fresh fruit like lemons. Servers were professional, courteous and attentive.

Food: The tomato cream mussels were tasty. Lots of fresh mussels, served up in a tomato, onion and cumin broth. Would have liked to have tasted a bit more of the chili, but sauce was solid as made. The fries were a bit too salty. My girlfriend and I both ordered the duck done three ways: not sure the bold flavors of the sides actually worked: the beets in the orange vinaigrette was quite sour and overpowering, the goat cheese green beans was also overpowering in its piquantness, the cheese didn't seem to help mellow out the flavor, the walnut mash was interesting, but it just didn't wow me, and the walnut chunks were too large. The duck, however, was done medium and very tender and flavorful.

Ambiance: Chill, relaxed yet sophisticated. Very nice.

Recommended!

Food: My dining compadre loved the veal (close to ordering a second portion!) and I wasn't that hungry and so ordered the Congolaise mussels for the both us which turned out to be quite good and with a large portion of mussels. Dessert was the highlight - we ordered the passion de chocolat and it was sublime. Rich chocolate cake with a sorbet on the side - a great way to end the night. The people sitting beside us raved about their desserts and now I can see why.

Service: Friendly and attentive but not overbearing - the perfect balance.

Value: portions were small - if I had been hungry, our wallets would have been in trouble. Large plates, small cuts of meat and very few filler veggies. The veal was described to have fingerling potatoes and what we got were 4 small little discs of potato, that all added up would have amounted to just 1 single small fingerling potato! Drinks were ridiculously overpriced for what was received. The saving grace is that the mussels were actually quite plentiful, so don't miss out on those.

Ambiance: great space but not acoustically pleasing - everything was very loud and the way the tables were packed tightly together meant that we were in listening distance to others and it made it difficult to carry on an intimate conversation. A whole mish mash of people, many of whom who thought they were god's gift to the world (to the couple sitting beside us who laughed when a young girl slipped and fell, if you're reading this, you guys are douches and we can all see that you guys are posers, evidenced since by your ugly wallpaper patterned shirt and cheap Breitling model watch and your girl wearing a cheap Guess top thinking she was so classy).

Overall, I would return to this place and recommend others to come as well since the food was very good. I would, however, choose to sit in the corner if possible to distance myself from the mega douches that seem to be multiplying in this city.