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FigMint Restaurant & Lounge is closed. The restaurant will open under a new name in late 2011.
Lunch at the Figmint was excellent, the food was well presented and innovative. The ploughman's lunch $16) was very different to an English pub.....unusual cheeses and sliced meats with amazing home made pickles and beets, even a quail's egg. The Mushroom, Leek and Parmesan Quiche with salad ($15) was also very tasty. A little pricey but worth it, at least they survived the worst of the Canada Line construction. There is complimentary parking for restaurant patrons, I wished they had told us that when we reserved. The ambiance is comfortable but the high ceilings still give you the feeling of the former hotel coffee shop. The service was friendly but on the slow side. Go for the food, however, and you won't be disapponted.
Went here with my family on a weekend. There is free valet parking btw. The place is quiet like other reviewers mentioned. Very relaxing. The 3 course meal is a pretty good deal for $32, since one regular entre is about $28-35. We had the shrimp w/ shellfish bisque which was creamy, the trout was perfect, the chicken had a very unique taste, someone ordered the ahi tuna but I didn't get to taste it and the dessert was pear tart w/ lemon sorbet. Somehow, in my opinion, a lot of items tasted very lemony (tangy) and it's abit too much for my taste buds to handle. Also the sauteed mushrooms were very sour! My tongue almost shriveled up.
Another down side was that the appys took 15mins (reasonable) and the entres took another 45mins (yikes). My stomach was about to eat itself while we were waiting. But in the end, I think everybody was pretty satisfied.
Came here in a group of 6 for DOV 2008 on a Sunday evening. Restaurant interior design is definetely the work of Evoke International Design (David Nicolay). I love the modern minimalism and sleek lines presented in the huge space, the type of space that only hotel restaurants can normally afford. Service was courteous, attentive and a high point during our visit. Our server was polite and helpful, and made sure to come by to check on us after each course was served. Waters were filled promptly without us even asking. Food was solid. Beef tartare appy was creamy, meaty, and elegant; Duck Confit main was well done (Accompanying white bean cassoulet wrapped with lamb sausage in a ring-like mold was intriguing and surprising to say the least). Pear Tart with lemon sorbet rounded off the meal really well - not too sweet and satisfying. I've always wanted to try this place out, and am glad to get the opportunity through DOV this year. I would like to try their $32 set menu in the future.
I made a reservation for my little brothers birthday here and everything should of been fine. When we got there the tables were not set up. The place wasn't busy but we got there on a tuesday night so I expected something a little better than what we got. The pricing is that of a fine dining restaurant but when the food came out the appearance was that of a casual dining restaurant. So then comes dessert. For the price we paid and what we got I could of put a down payment on a new motorcycle and been more satisfied.
We had a large office lunch party here. The waiter highly recommended the salmon salad, so naturally that's what I ordered. For 20 bucks it was bland as hell and with piddly pieces of pickled beets and onions. And the teeny slab of salmon was nothing to write home about. The dish should NOT have been priced higher than $13 for what I was getting. Oh! And there was also a hair in my salad. A short black one (my hair is long blond - so it wasn't mine). All I can say is: There is no wonder the place is empty. They need to reduce their prices by about 30% or more to be proper value for what you are getting here. And their service is ridiculously slow. We were served our food one hour after arriving. The waiter was nice, however. He tried his best - not his fault the chef was so slow and not very talented.
We hit figmint after not being able to get into DimSum at Kirin. Very disappointing. The room was nice, in a weird hotel and the service was quite good as well.
However the brunch was not very good at all. Every thing that was served was over priced and overdone. When you start adding unnecessary ingredients the quality of the meal goes down very quickly.
We left unhappy, a little poorer, and still hungry. It's a shame because we heard good reviews about this place. Maybe we'll give them another shot at dinner.
We have heard some favourable reviews for this restaurant & lounge and thought we would try the dine out. We had reservations for a late dinner, and upon arrival, there was no hostess in sight to greet us. We were not certain whether we arrived at a club lounge or a restaurant. The bar/lounge was located next to the entrance and the actual restaurant was behind the lounge area. After waiting 5 minutes, the hostess suddenly showed up and did not even acknowledge our presence right away. Our server was very young and friendly and attended to our table though. I am not sure if other dine out venues serve smaller portions, but I was still hungry after having the calamari appetizer (3 meagre pieces), rainbow trout, and the (DOV smaller version) figmint brownie even though I am a light eater. Overall, the food presentation was artsy and creative, trendy and modern ambiance, but I don't feel the prices they charge were in line especially when it felt like dining in a noisy hotel lounge.
Where do I begin? Went there last Friday with 2 girlfriends. A nice looking place, but wondered why on a Friday night there was hardly anyone in it. Well I was about to soon find out.
The Ambiance is solid, nice décor modern trendy but not over done. However, it seemed like they played only one song that night, over and over and over and over again, the whole time we were there.
The Service, well from the moment we got their our server, hovered over us. Now I like our server to pay attention but this man literally did not leave us alone, however at the same time he didn’t really ever listen to us, that or he just wasn’t able to comprehend the words that were coming out of our mouths. He kept coming by every couple of minutes asking us if we were ready to order, then telling us that he keeps coming around because he hates not having anything to do. Well I’m sorry that your restaurant doesn’t have any patrons but that doesn’t mean you have to crash our party. Well finally after being harassed for the umpteenth time, we finally ordered.
The Food, I ordered the crispy duck salad to start and the Butternut Squash Agnolotti (inhouse menu) Butternut Squash Ravioli (website menu), same disastrous dish. The Crispy Duck Salad was anything but crispy. I got 2 thumb size pieces of duck neither one of them with any Crispy skin or any skin on it for that matter. The flavour was okay, with the salad itself, however the soy-ginger dressing drizzled around the edge of the plate was way too overpowering. The Chili Cracker tasted, well it really had no taste, but reminded be of a stale pork rind. The Butternut Squash, which was what I was really looking forward too (I only ordered the duck salad because the server suggested the Butternut Squash was not enough for dinner) was mediocre at best. Butternut Squash has a rich orange colour, however when I cut into the pasta the filling was pale almost colourless. The flavour was okay, but I was expecting a more bold flavour, it tasted more like potato. The Grana Padano shavings were huge, and overpowering, every time I had a piece of it, which was with almost every bit, that’s all I could taste. I think it would have been much better if they used a fine grater and eased up on the amount, just a little sprinkle to add another dimension to the dish is all they need. The Brown Butter Emulsion was tasty, however the crushed Amaretti Cookie was a disaster. It was so sweet that no matter how small the crumb, it just ruined the dish, it was like you were eating dessert for dinner, which in most circumstances is fine, but not in this case. I tried to push it aside, but most of the smaller pieces had melted into the sauce and on the pasta so literally every bite I took I was either overwhelmed by the cheese or by the cookie. The fig soda I had was different, I couldn’t quite decide if I liked it or not. It was okay, but as far as original cocktails go I’ve had far better. I opted not to have dessert, but one of my girlfriends did. She had the Cherry, which I’m not sure why it’s named Cherry, it’s basically a chocolate cake topped with ganache, not mousse (mousse is light and airy ganache is creamy but dense, this was ganache) a small mound of Cream Cheese Ice Cream (and I mean small) and a few halved cherries with a little cherrie sauce drizzled around, barely enough to get the flavour of cherry. My girlfriend enjoyed it, I thought it was meh. To be fair, my two friends did enjoy their meals, one ordered the Lamb sirloin and the other the Salmon, could it be that it was just my bad luck to choose possibly their 2 worst dishes? Could be.
Overall this restaurant has potential. The location is good, the décor is great! The menu needs to be completely revamped. There’s nothing unusual or different about it, pretty much same standard mediocre cuisine you could find in one of many standard mediocre restaurants around town, except you pay quite a bit more for it here. Oh yeah and they could invest in another CD or two to change up the music every now and then, or better yet, just tune in to one of the free radio stations.
Wine dinner events are a chance for the a winery as well as the restaurant to showcase their best - it is a PR event. As far as wine dinner event goes, this was a dissmal failure of both. I have never been to a wine dinner where the representatives from the did NOT bother to come up & tell the patrons about the winery and the individual wines or even thank them for coming. People loves stories behind the wines - that is what sells. At the pre-dinner wine tasting at Firefly wines, I have never been to a wine tasting event where the wine reps actually SCOLDED the event attendees for coming up to try the wine. If you are cheap about it, don't have a tasting. No try, no buy. This added to the notion that the wines although, good, were over-rated & overprices for the quality. The food served that night were cold and unremarkable, not the hype the event was made out to be. The table service was terribly SLOW - entire event took 4 hours! The wait time between the courses was unacceptable. At times, there were NO servers in the dining room. To make it worse, the restaurant added a mandatory 18% service charge that they "forgot" to tell the event attendees - for EXTREMELY POOR service! The bill took forever to come, especially when we could not wait to get the hell out of the place! If you want to see how a wine dinner is suppose to be run, to go La Terrazaa or Il Giardino. Attendees who attend these events are foodies, older, more financial secure with more disposable income to eat out and buy wines. Overall, this event did NOTHING to showcase the two restaurants or the wines - in fact, it made me not want to return or buy the (over-rated) wines.
After fighting the wife about coming here, I was finally “convinced” to try it out. Well, I can only say that it was excellent. Their $32 set menu is an absolute bargain for the quality and the abundance that you get. Thinking that is was going to be too small (like most places), we ordered the scallops as an extra dish and although delicious it was superfluous to our meal. The service was flawless and very accommodating to some allergies and changes to the dessert option. The ambiance is not to my liking, but if you like big places with minimalist décor you got it. Overall, this is an exceptional place to eat. It feels and tastes like everyone cares. The dishes are very innovative and beautifully presented. Furthermore, valet parking is free and IT makes a huge difference if you want to park anywhere near Cambie. We will be back for more.
We have been to Figmint during their debut last summer, so we needed a confirmation of the excellent surprise we had at that time!
So back for a second experience on 23rd January, we enjoyed a drink in the Bar-lounge at first. Excellent service, good fresh music, good wine list.
We then enjoyed a great dinner:
with a surprising fresh salad and an excellent squid appetizer to start!
We all took the very tasty lamb as an entree, once again we have been happily surprised by the well-balanced taste of it.
So, Figmint is a real dining experience, where the food is not boring, the mix of ingredients is fresh and surprising.
Service is good.
So don't hesitate to go even though Cambie works are a desastrous experience!
Mr. Humphries Should be well proud of himself. As the former Chef de Cuisine of the Elixer ( He's the one that made it good) he's moved-on to better and bigger things with his own figment. The food was outstanding no question at all that this guy is one of the very best cooks in Vancouver. Forget the bloated over-hyped "big-name" kooks and do yourself a favour and try this restaurant. Lamb, fennel, thyme jus- perfect. Gryurere soufle with walnut emulsion and caramelized pears- perfect . . .
Been to FigMint now a few times for lunch and found it to be decent. I've had the mixed greens with goat cheese and figs. They give you lots of goat cheese and figs and is quite tasty. I've also had their ceamed onion soup and quich which was quite tasty. The only problem I have is that in their lounge they have an express menu with panins, soup and salad but won't serve you that if you're in thier main dining room.
Service is pleasant and the ambiance is great. Nice, bright, open room.
They have a decent looking brunch menu and I think I'll try that next.
Went on a Monday night at 5:30ish and the place was very quiet. Only 2 other tables the time we were there. Minimalist design - people are to create the atmosphere. It was nice to have the place pretty much to ourselves.
The food was wonderful! Appetizer- Gruyere souffle with roasted pear was a highlight to be sure! Maincourse- I had the gamehen-coq au vin and my wife had the lamb. Both were outstanding and interesting. Themes of green and mint are found throughout the meal including desert. We had the "chocolate tasting" and it was heavenly. I have a soft spot for European/French gastronomy and so this was a treat for the tastbuds. The food quality is what we had expected. The service was great, but we were the only people there so that is fine. When I had mentioned that we had been wanting to try Figmint for awhile, our server presented us with a 20 dollar gift card and welcomed us back.
Despite the construction on Cambie, Figmint is a solid dining experience.
After having read all the good reviews, I decided to bring my wife to try the Dine Out menu. We arrived early on Sunday night and the place was empty. Not a good sign.....
We both went for the duck confit white bean and green bean salad with pumpkin dressing and saffron veal cheeks with beet puree. Both the salad and veal cheeks were disappointing. The salad was really bland with not much flavour. The veal cheeks were really dry. The wine pairing was good and it was the only saving grace. Our desserts were miserable too and I could not finish. Perhaps it was an off night....
We were thoroughly disappointed in the presentation of what was offered bread and dips and spreads for $11.00 per person charge. Not only were we embarrassed but our guests mentioned that they felt the cost was outrageous. When the buffet style appetizer menu was explained to us it certainly sounded different from the reality. one small table add 3 bowls of dip and one basket of bread...this could have been purchased at a grocery store. I realize that the dip was made in house but for 11.00 per person it was ludicrous
The table set up and food presentation was amateur at best. The table set up was lacking no knives to spread the dip on the bread, no tongs to serve yourself with but there were forks...for what to spread the blue cheese dip onthe baguette! The crudities platter presentation showed no imagination or pride in the work, the raw broccoli and cauliflower we cut up into large chunks. In a nutshell I feel we were over charged for the bread and dips.
The dessert's were beautiful and tasty chocolate mousse divine - our compliments to the pastry chef, everyone loved them. Lastly the restaurant/lounge was closing for renovations on April 4th and they didn't bother to notify us so we could make an informed decision about having our party there. It was like a ghost town.
One final note they can renovate all they want but if the food doesn't change then who cares about the surroundings.
I tried a dinner out Figmint for my second time at a friends request, thought I'd give it another chance after my first awful experience. I can say I will definitely never be going back. The service was slow, although we were one of 3 tables in the whole restaurant, and the servers seemed confused (we got the wrong dishes twice)... with 3 of them rotating by our table every 5 minutes, it was completely unnecessary.
The food is way over priced and bland. The portions are ridiculously small for the price we paid (fortunately there was a few other places to choose from close by to eat a real dinner afterwards). We had voiced our opinions about the food and they tried to make it up to us by giving us a free glass of wine, and of course they didn't have the first 2 types I asked for. Why have it on the menu? and why wouldn't the server know it was out of stock? he ran back and forth 3 or 4 times before I actually got a glass of wine.
Don't let the stylish design lure you in. I certainly won't be going back to Figmint and I would never recommend it to anyone. I can think of a dozen other restaurants that I would like to see on that corner.
Ok. The girlfriend and I went to Figmint for Valentine's day. We had the 5-course prix-fixe menu at 55dollars/person. We had oysters to start. Girlfriend had the Ahi Tuna Sashimi, Seared Scallops, Free Range Chicken Breast, and the Apple Upside Down Cake for desert. I had the Pickled Beet Salad, Braised Beef Short Rib, Marinated Sablefish, and the Espresso Creme Brule. Food was good. BUT! we had the oyster after 30 minutes, and then the first course in 1 hour and 15 minutes, and then the main dish in 2 hours!! My reservation was at 7:30 and we left the restaurant at 10:20 and I am not exaggerating slightest bit. I politely asked why it may be taking so long and the server told me that they are short staffed... wow.. The manager or the owner who's not doing much but walking around in his semi-angry face doesn't offer an apology or anything. And the portions are TINY. Literally it's two pieces of scallops and two pieces of tuna. The main dish wasn't much better. Definitely not going back there EVER! Thanks for ruining our night Figmint!
My boyfriend and I have been wanting to come here since it first opened. It's a bit pricey, so we decided to come for lunch, which is a bit cheaper.
When we arrived there were only 2 other parties, so we figured service would be good and quick. Unfortunately, both of the people who waited on us weren't friendly at all. It's not so much that they were mean, but they didn't smile or phrase things in a polite way. Neither of the servers seemed to know what was available for drinks and one of them called my boyfriend's trout tuna when she brought it out. There was also a significant delay between the two courses, clearing our plates, bringing the check, etc.
The food itself was decent. It seems like the executive chef has good ideas, but the lunch time cooks struggle with the execution. My salad was overdressed and my chicken club just had too many different flavours to make it tasty. My boyfriend had their onion soup, which was an interesting idea and a neat presentation. However, they use imitation truffle oil that doesn't add much. The cheese in the rainbow trout salad was unwelcome.
The atmosphere is nice for that kind of restaurant. It was clean and simple but nice.
Overall, we might go back at a time when there are more people and give them another chance. Unfortunately the food wasn't as good as it should have been and the service was disappointing.
I jokingly referred to the trendy mispelling of this place when I first saw the sign outside of the restaurent. I suggested that the mistake had happened, and perhaps it was cheaper to stick with it then change all the menus etc. As it turned out, the spelling was more indicative than whimsical.
It was a dineout meal with a $35 dollar prix fix. We had a 9:00pm seating and were greeted cordially. My date was seated along the wall at a two seat table and I was seated facing her but away from the restaurant, which is an open, simple but attractive room.
I noticed the couple beside me had pushed two tables together and were sitting together side by side. I requested to our very nice and polite if somewhat superficial server that we would like to do the same as there was an empty table beside us. Note that it was already past 9:00 PM, there was no reservation for that available table, and there were other seats available. She went to her manager (I guess) to confirm, but was unable to accomodate us. The couple beside us was kind enough to give us their extra table and we enjoyed the rest of the evening. The three courses featured both mint and fig in the dishes with a fig and caramel pudding deser that was sensational. Our server was apologetic about what happened, and the food was delicious if not too filling. At this time of year, a restaurant is supposed to showcase, and did so with the food, but I have to question their customer service, especially considering the additional table I requested was never filled. With the choices in this town, they need to step up and not just think about selling seats. They want to sell them again don't they?
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