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Chow restaurant is set to open in January 2007.The menu change with the market, designed to showcase the best products available.A smaller plates menu concept with a unique wine list.A casual and professional service in a vibrant atmosphere,inspired by its clientele.
Food: had the early prix fix menu ($35 per person). Had this portobello mushroom tart that was amazing and a creamy mussel soup which was good. For mains, we had the pork loin and ling cod. The pork loin was very good but there was a peculiar after taste while the ling cod was ok - a bit greasy I thought and may have been overcooked a tad. They both came with this cauliflower puree which complemented both dishes well. Ended the night with the chocolate mille feuille and pistachio nougat which were both excellent. Drinks were a tad disappointing - nothing special.
Service: fantastic the entire night. Glasses were refilled and they made sure we were taken care of without being too intrusive.
Ambiance: Great interior, great lighting, spacious but not much of a view. The restaurant also seemed a bit empty but it was a Sunday night.
I would recommend others to come to Chow's and we would return perhaps to taste the regular menu.
I came here for dinner with my friend last Thursday. She got there before I did so she had a drink at the bar while she was waiting for me. I had a drink at the bar as well when I got there, the bartender was quite friendly and knowledgeable with her drinks. We were then seated to our table, the place is quite small, and a little plain in my opinion. My friend started with the steak tartare ( which was one of the specials that nite) and then the ling cod, I started with the tuna tartare and then the braised veal cheeks. The food was very good, very nicely presented and well prepared. They know what their doing in the kitchen for sure. Service was very professional as well. Not the place you go to every week but for special occasions not too many better.
Read a bunch of great reviews of this place on dinehere.ca and decided to treat ourselves to a delicious evening.
To my surprise, this place was not what I expected. This place was "nice" but I thought it'll be more like West Restaurant. There were not enough dinner selections. We had the tuna tartar and the ling cod. The tuna was yummy, nothing can go wrong with tuna tartar. The ling cod was a disappointment especially that it was the most expensive thing on the menu. It was ok and did not melt in my mouth. As for dessert, we had the brownie w/ peanut butter ice-cream. That tasted alright and wasn't too satisfying.
As for atmosphere, they were playing some freaky non-loungy music. It wasn't very romantic.
I would not go again.
I have eaten here twice now. The food is memorable every time, and the wine selection very good, but everything is rather expensive, given the small portions they give you. The decor is a bit plain, though comfortable, but nothing special. The service is attentive. I'll probably return, but not too often, when there are other places in town offering better value for money.
This place is great. The room is lively the service pretty good and the food is just wonderful. Everytime I go, I sit and stare at the menu. Never quite certain what to order but every time that comes to the table is presented beautifuly and melts in my mouth. Lovely flavour combinations. The chef definetely has west coast style down. Perhaps a change in menu format would be good. The service is speedy and I would have given them 4 stars but food was delivered to the wrong person & descriptions were not accurate.
Hmm, very strange I know I submitted a review for this restaurant the other day but since then I think it's been deleted! Why? I know I gave a decent review on a place I would go back to for sure! Very strange...
Anyways, hopefully this post will survive. I went to Chow for my birthday dinner and really enjoyed it. The food was good - all local and fresh and I was quite surprised at the portion/price ratio. The size was good and the price was a little bit more than I'm used to paying but definitely worth it.
The really cool creamy cocktail I had was definitely memorable. The frozen nuggat? Delicious.
Not the easiest place to find but you might be lucky and find some parking nearby and take a short stroll up the cool part of Granville Street. =)
I'd love to go back and try more of their interesting cocktails. =)
Chow is great! Stopped by late monday night for dinner for 2. The space is cozy and simple. Has a sort of warm industrial feel. Service was great, the waitress was very attentive and friendly.
Food was fantastic. My date started with the roasted portabelle tart, which was really good. The mushrooms were served atop a flaky grilled sourdough baguette. If you go... u must order this! I had the sauteed organic mushrooms, which featured a nice mixure of different types of mushrooms. Just realized now that they mixed our orders up and I got the slightly less good tasting one :( oh well.
For mains I had the "Sloping Hill Farm" organic pork... which is really great. I would recommend ordering this. The Pork is very tender and succulent, and it's served atop a sweet and sour tomato chutney, which compliments the pork really well. My date had the pan-roasted arctic char, which was quite good as well. The fish had a good texture and wasn't too dry or anything, and the manila clam and mussel salad and the olive oil crusted potatoes served with it were pretty tasty.
Haha and to add to that we also spotted Rob Feenie dining here. I'm gonna give this place a 5 because I'm quite impressed with it. Chow has the innovation and quality of a much more expensive restaurant.
heard good things about Chow so came here to see what the hype was about.
we were welcomed and directed to our table very politely, i made reservations for 5:30pm and it was basically empty when we arrived..
i tried their house made sausage and it was not to my liking because it had this sour taste to it that i did not enjoy, the side that came with it did not compensate for the overall flavor of the sausage which was disappointing.. my gf ordered the sloping hills pork which tasted 10x better, i should have gotten that instead. we also had their dessert, the chocolate brownie was marvelous!
the service was excellent, our waitress was very friendly and professional with us the entire evening so we left her a generous tip when we paid for the bill.
prices are not expensive compared to other restaurants in the same category but their servings are quite small which makes up for their cheaper prices.
the ambiance here is great: nicely decorated and relaxed atmosphere contributes positively to the dining experience.
this place has the potential to be really good and that is why i would return here again, only thing i would stay away from is their sausage.. other than that, everything else was terrific!
So after endless hours of nagging from my partner, I finally gave in to her request to try Chow out. My first experience here met my expectations, but didn't really exceed them like a restaurant like Hon's or Congee Noodle House would. Guys - I'm just curious whether you chose the restaurant, your partner does, or a 50/50 split? I usually allow my companion choose since she's the pickier one.
Food: I had the prix fix dinner for $38 dollars. I forgot what I ate for appy, so it probably wasn't very memorable. I had pulled pork for the entree and was very pleased with it. Very tender and the pee puree was just the right texture and consistency. The desert was a apple tart - a Safeway pie with plain vanilla ice cream would be more satisfying. My partner had deep fried pull pork nuggets, which was overfried and tasteless without a sauce. Her main course of pan seared scallops were quite tasty tho. I also had a caesar that was a bit disapoiting - it was more of a shake than a cocktail.
Service: Our waitress was very helpful with our dinner suggestions, especially with the entree which were both delicious. Very attentive, drinks always refilled. The only complaint I have is the time gap between serving. Seated to drinks: 5 mins, drinks to appy: 10 mins, appy to entree: 25 mins, entree to dessert: 5 mins, needs more consistency IMO.
Ambiance: Nice and clean. Artwork I think is real oil paintings. The washroom wallpaper is a nice style too. Can't complain. I just wish they played some music tho.
Overall, not a bad restaurant. Heard they try to source locally ingredients, so that's good too.
I really can't think of any memorable reason that would draw me back here. 4 of us tried out Chow today for a celebration meal. I think the rest of the party was definitely more impressed with the liquor list and menu than I was. I had the grilled octopus dish that came with a chickpea arugala salad, homemade chorizo plus the "Mint Rickey" which was um, pretty bland. It tasted like ginger and water. It wasn't sweet enough for me. The octopus was surprisingly tender. But it was definitely cold all the way through when it got to my table. Oh well, maybe it was meant to be not warm? Wasn't impressed with the chorizo, where's the smokiness flavour? The portions were fair for the price. But... I still left hungry.
The service was pretty good! They catered to both guests of our party that had major food allergies.
Went there for an anniversary dinner and ordered from the early prix fixe menu ($38 each). The ambience and decor are perfect. Not too minimalistic, but sleek, cool, and comfortable.
Was blown away by how fresh everything tasted. The cucumber gazpacho with watermelon and crabmeat was amazingly good (my favourite!). It was tasty and refreshing. If summer had a taste, that would be it to a T. The bread was warm and delicious. My ling cod with gnocchi, bacon, and veggies was perfectly cooked. The fish was flaky, juicy, with a crisp exterior and bacon just makes everything taste better. It irritates me when fish is overcooked, so this was excellent.
The only thing that didn't overwhelm me was dessert. I shared two desserts with Caesar and even though they were pretty, the taste wasn't anything to remember. I've heard that the chocolate bar is really good, but there was a mix-up and by the time anyone realized this, we were too full to try it.
Overall, I love this place and can't wait to go again!
It was my first time here at Chow. I was impressed with the very modern, trendy, yet refined ambiance. I had the 3 course menu for $35, starting with the mussel soup, which had a very nice fish extract flavour for the soup base. Main course was the pork loin, which was tender and juicy. For dessert I had the chocolate mille feuille with Bailey ice cream which was a nice balance in taste. Service was friendly and attentive. I would definitely go back.
Wonderful place for dinner. Came here on a date with my dad. We ordered 2 appetizers -- portobello tart and organic mushrooms, both were superb. For entrees we had the salmon on chowder and duck breast on pasta, both were very tasty and portions are decent. For dessert we shared chocolate fondant with banana icecream and peanut butter sauce -- to die for! Food was organic, very fresh, very tasty, and very nicely prepared. Service was good. The only thing I wonder about is why the bill doesn't come in a billfold - it was by itself. It is a little expensive, but it's a great place to come once in a while because the food is worth it! They have parking in the back.
I only had the chance to get 5 appy's here between 2 others to share (we were on a multi restaurant tasting spree one evening). All I can say is YUM! very nicely and delicately done. Everything we ordered had great contrasting textures and tastes. I'm pretty wary of new trendy places, but the food is great. The service was good...nothing SUPER, but definately good...
I can't wait to go back here again!
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.
I had heard from others that had been that it was expensive, and that the portions were too small, but when we went the food was nothing but excellent. The organic duck dish was great, and the dessert was something to write home about. I do however need to agree about the expensive part, our bill was over $250 for two of us, but the amount of bad food and service I have received from other restaurants I would say it was worth it. Its not like I will dine here every week, but on special occasions its nice to go here to avoid a disaster.
We have been there 2 times and I keep on wanting more!
Food quality is very solid and taste of food is refined and skillfully mastered.
For both occasions we went for the prix fix menu before 6pm, $38 per person for 3 delicious courses is definitely well worth it. Although i do think regular menu is kinda pricey for what u get.
Their prix fix menu changes periodically and they make use of seasonal produce.
Duck pate is always good, I have ordered the organic pork twice because I found it so tasty, especially with the maple glazed turnips, my significant other usually has the fish with clams for entree, and he seemed to be happy with that.
The dessert chocolate bar was just dreamy!
Overall food is really good at that price, service was not too bad for us, but that could because we've always went there early when it was not busy.
Will definitely go back!!
So I went again, for the early prix fixe dinner, and Chow is that good. Everything I have had at the restaurant has been of the utmost quality. It seems like JC, the chef, thinks about every item that goes on the plate, but he doesn't over think it. Flavours are bold and unique, but not over the top or ridiculously overdone. I had the mussel soup, which was perfect temperature and texture. The flavour was also very deep and rich, which was great with the mussels. The main, pork, was so good. When the waitress said it was pork loin, I almost switched to the Ling Cod (which was great, though the bulgur was just good, not great). Glad I didn't change, however, as this was the best pork loin I've ever had. Had one about a month ago at Fuel, and there is no comparison. This one was so tender, juicy, full of flavour, you'd think it was a different cut than what I got from the 4th avenue star. Nice and pink, it was also a very generous serving. At $35 for 3 courses, this pork dish is probably normally at $25-30. The sides, gnocchi (two very long ones), baby kale, mushrooms, olive oil potatoes, sunchoke puree, and jus were great, crisp when they were supposed to be, soft and creamy when it was meant to. His purees have always been amazing (cauliflower!). Desserts again were tasty, I had a chocolate mille-feuille, with nice accents of caramel and bailey's ice cream. Such a steal at $35, I will be going again and again.
ps. We also got the 'fries' to start -- such an impressive texture on the inside. Thick cut fries, that are pillowy soft in the middle, and they look like pieces from a Jenga game.
I came here with my sister, a fellow foodie, and tried this place after reading all the hype. I did not regret it. We weren't super hungry, so I ordered the early prixe fixe dinner and she just ordered the tuna tartar.
My first course was the ling cod, which were 3 balls of tender fish fried on the outside served on a small bed of greens. Very delicious, not oily, and it was a great start to the meal. My sister's tuna tartare was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS and all the flavours blended together perfectly. The avocado paste at the bottom, the sparse pieces of taro chips, the sweetest grapefruit I've ever tasted, and above all, well seasoned tuna tartare that had a tangy and fresh taste to it. I've never had tuna like that. AMAZING for $15.
For the main course, I had the organice pork, and the meat was incredibly tender. The Shitake mushrooms were also moist and delicious. Very good.
Dessert was pistaschio nougat. Frozen nougat on a very crisp and tasty wafer, paired with a slice of warm poached pear and pear puree. Wonderful and innovative blend of flavours (pistaschio and pear! who would've thought?).
Service was all right, just decent. Ambiance is nice, but also nothing to write home about. Sort of casual. Overall a great experience, and I will definitely be back.
Not sure what to expect from a new restaurant called "Chow" but they really had it all under control in such a busy space. BTW the name apparently derives from the owners' wife's last name!. A litttle on the loud side but I understand they are working on some art to dampen it down. I did not mind and actually enjoyed the louder ambiance which made it a place where you can really enjoy yourself without having to "sit up straight' like Bishops or West. There seems to have been a lot of thought into the whole space which worked flawlessly. The unflappable servers were great as too was the food which was brought up from the kitchen below at a steady pace. The food was well presented and perfectly cooked. Our table of 5 all had different menu items and we sampled around. Each one tasted as good as the last! Go to Chow you will not be dissapointed.!!!!!!!!
| 1. | Ouisi Bistro (82 m) |  |
| 2. | Picnic (92 m) |  |
| 3. | Phoscao Cafe (100 m) | |
| 4. | Meinhardt Fine Foods (114 m) | |
| 5. | Kyo Korean BBQ & Sushi House (130 m) |  |
| 6. | Luke's Corner Kitchen & Bar (140 m) | |
| 7. | Bean Around The World (146 m) | |
| 8. | Caffe Barney (155 m) |  |
| 9. | West Restaurant + Bar (249 m) | |
| 10. | Cafe Crepe (256 m) | |
