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Recognized as the "jewel in Vancouver's culinary crown," West's contemporary regional cuisine and service has garnered much critical acclaim. Local ingredients are sourced to deliver modern interpretations of classics.
I agree with just about everything written by the previous reviewer. I went to this restaurant twice, once for dinner and once for lunch. Both times, the food was merely OK, rather bland in taste, leaving me completely puzzled as to all the awards and rave this restaurant has received. For lunch, I went all out and ordered a chef's tasting menu, which was quite pricey, but I figured that I would get to taste the best this chef could produce. Still, no satisfaction there. I am not as turned off by the ambiance as the previous reviewer. Yes, the decor and atmosphere seemed business-like, but the seating was comfortable, and the tables were spaced far enough apart to give each table privacy.
We went to West for DOV 2010, and I think my expectations were too high for this restaurant, so I felt a bit let down by the whole experience.
For appetizer we ordered salmon tempura and sweet onion soup. The tempura was good, but something I could have eaten in any sushi restaurant. The onion soup was not particularly memorable. One of us opted to add scallop to the soup for $6. When it came, it really was just one single small scallop, sitting in the middle of the soup bowl. They weren't kidding about the lack of plurals..
For entrees we had lamb shank and ling cod. The ling cod tasted quite good (though I'm not too crazy about fish skin), but the "pemberton sunchoke and asparagus" mixture underneath it was a bit disgusting. The lamb was unfortunately dry, but the polenta that came with it saved the day! It was very creamy.. definitely the highlight of the whole meal. For dessert we tried chocolate orange marmalade pot and the rice custard with raspberry marshmallow ice cream. Both were nothing I'd rave about.
The interior of the restaurant is quite beautiful and the atmosphere was lovely. Our server was always there when we needed him, and not at all overbearing. No complaints there.
For the price we paid, I didn't think we got the meal experience I expected. However, restaurants have a tendency to drop in quality during DOV, so maybe I will be back one day to try their regular prix fixe menu.
I went here 1-2 yrs ago and I still remember my experience there. Didn't order much but their lobster risotto was orgasmic and unforgettable. The decor is beautiful. I would love to go again but I don't normally eat around there.
I ate at West as one of the restaurants I picked from the Dine-Out-Vancouver list. Voted the restaurant of the year, I had very high expectations. They met those expectations! For $35, I had the crispy duck salad (delicious), the pork roast on port braised cabbage (yummy) and for dessert, I had the banana chocolate cake (devine). Although the portions were small, I didn't expect anything more. The service was absolutely out of this world. Our server was very courteous even though we were 25 minutes late for our reservation on a very busy night. Our table remained spic n' span throughout the evening, he even picked up a lone crumb on the table as he walked by. Warning, West may burn a hole in your wallet if you go at any other time.
Normally I wouldn't mind being called Mr. Pilsner Urquell, even by a waiter, but somehow it seemed out of place in this chic dining room. I guess I couldn't expect any less when I ordered a beer and sitting behind me is a temperature controlled wall of wine topped off with library style ladders.
Everything about West is what you would expect for a restaurant with a stack of accolades higher than the beautiful cherry wood bar: excellent.
I would recommend trying this restaurant if money is of lower importance than food quality, service, and an overall outstanding dining experience. If cash is king, there are cheaper thrills in town.
I realize that dine out is not the best time to judge a restaurant. But aside from the obvious organic and earthy approach to food, I did not find any other distinguishing element in the food. The salmon was dry with no innate nor added flavor, the pork was not bad, but dry by the 5th bite. The dessert was the best, but still nothing special. I really would like to know what the critics love about this place? Again, I don't eat service.
My wife and I dined here with another couple last night. The room is in my opinion absolutely beautiful. From the leather sling seats to the ceiling effect it is very west coast contemporary. The wine list is justifiable famous, huge! easy to navigate and you will find a wine for every taste and budget guaranteed! Most of the table went with seafood themed meals so we had a lovely Sicilian white. Speaking of meals, this is the only thing lacking in these types of restaurants. The food is beautifully prepared and presented but seeing that entrees average 40+ dollars and first course around twenty, the could afford to give decent portion. I'm not talking about stuffing your face but some dishes don't even allow you to develop and appreciate all the subtlety and care they were made with before they're gone! The service was impeccable, unobtrusive and friendly. The service was the high light of the night, which shouldn't be the case, the service should supplant the meal not overshadow it! The cocktail list is very inventive, I had a Bergamo (blood orange and coffee based), wonderful! All in all the night averaged out to over $100/person all in. In line with the caliber of the restaurant but still an overall disappointment for that kind of dough. Vancouver has way to many restaurants with this type of formula. A neutral rating at best.
Made reservations for 8:15, however we had to wait until 8:45 for a table.
The atmosphere at West is very open, and what I would consider to be more "business" than.. "romantic" I guess. Not really my cup of tea. The place did look better as it got darker though.
Once thing I like about the service is that they're accomodating and friendly, but they don't try to suck up to you like many other higher end places do.
Food was great, but didn't quite blow me away. We all had the tasting menu. The first couple of dishes, the Amuse Bouche, Tuna, Foie Gras, and Scallops were all great tasting. World class. But the pink bream and kobe style beef were just okay. And I'm not a big fan as cheese either, so that threw me off a little. Favorite dish was definately the scallops; best I've ever had. Alot of the plates incorporate alot of fruits and sweet flavors, which provided great balance, but didn't suit the palates of my dining party.
The desert was great, but not punch the waiter "damn this cake is good! Why didn't anyone tell me how good this cake is" good
Overall I had a pretty good experience, but West didn't really meet my high expections. In any case, I'd definitely recommend checking this place out if you haven't already.
If you will forgive the sexist expression, this restaurant is a 3 dressed up as a 9. The service is first-rate, the room warm and welcoming (though by no means smartly designed or decorated). But the food is mediocre, disappointing at even half the price point.
My party ordered both the March and the Chef's tasting menu. The problems were consistent throughout all the courses. The dishes were fairly well conceived, but the flavors were shockingly unfocused. When serving small plates, every morsel on the plate -- from the tiny quail's egg to the wild mushroom garnish to the underlying bed of quinoa -- needs to pop. But, alas, the quail's egg was cold and unseasoned, the wild mushroom tasteless, the quinoa bland. And I'm just talking about the supporting players. The featured proteins were mostly even worse: a much too aggressively salted sablefish; an undercooked, chewy quail; a dry, mealy-textured tenderloin and shortrib ("aged and cooked sous vide"!).
The consistent inferiority of the food piqued my curiosity about the kitchen. So between barely touched entrée and dessert (marginally better than the savory dishes) I went to observe the cooks at work through the giant looking-glass window. Then it all made sense. It was difficult to identify the chef. No one was tasting anything. Plates were being fired and assembled perfunctorily, according to instruction. No pride, no concentration, no love.
We may have caught West on an off night (did the chef call in sick?). But I'm guessing this resto is in some sort of disarray. The whiff of decline is in the air (perhaps the service was a tad too ardent?). Does any one know the inside scoop?
We went here for DOV. The food was a let down. It seems like food created for people who were so bored with dining out that they needed their food to be extra weird to have something to talk about. Contrast this with better fine dining, where the food is rich and satisfying with interesting flavouring. Case in point: we started with the squid appetizer. This dish consisted of a couple coils of squid coated with black tempura. What does that look like? A big turd. I can't help but this that this was an inside joke from the kitchen team to stick it to the dine out Vancouver crowd. It tasted fine--like any other tempura. Next, the arctic char was prepared by wrapping it in a thin, taught leaf of chard. Interesting, but again, not particularly tasty. The grapefruit curd dessert was good. At the end of the night, I felt like something had been taken from me. On the plus side, service was extremely attentive.
I use to love this place, i had almost all my big celebrations here. I've been a customer since david hawksworth time, to warren gerathy, and tried it out once again when it was david gunawan's turn. The quality of the ingredient that they use are still very fresh and good, however what they pair with the dishes now doesn't make it outstanding anymore. I had the spot prawns to starts, lets just start with the presentation of the plate too much red. The prawn however was cook perfectly. However the flavours doesnt excite me.
Then I had the halibut dishes with gem lettuce, the lettuce was amazing. BUT my hailbut had a hard seared on it so it was hard as a rock therefore it caused my fish to be over cooked.
The desserts were still very good. Can't go wrong with pastry chef vianni's desserts.
The service was good, but i prefer the old servers that use to be there. They were must more personable, much more knowledge and know how to carry on with a great conversation.
The drink by David are still so amazing , i tell him the flavours he's just able to surprise me with something every time. So stopping by just for a drink its a definate must do.
This restuarant really needs a more experience chef to bring it back up, perhaps a executive chef that has many more years of cooking experience on his back. I loved this place one and I hope it does well in the future.
We went with a group of 4, and by far it was the best service we have ever received at a Vancouver restaurant. I highly recommend the West Tasting Menu - it's a wonderful medley of some of the best dishes they have to offer. We asked for a substitution with our main dish, which they happily obliged, and it was the best Beef Tenderloin I have ever had. I know it can be costly, but I also recommend being adventurous with the selection of wines available. A few of us also indulged in the Scotches they had available, great variety as well.
I would definitely return, it was well worth it! I know why people consider it the best restaurant in Vancouver.
My friend and I went to West for the Dine Out Menu. Wow, did they ever book up fast! The only reservation we could get was for 9:30pm on a Wednesday - but I can understand why. The service was excellent - not too "in your face" and our waiter was friendly with a good sense of humour. A nice change from most places of this caliber, where servers tend to be somewhat snooty.
To start, I had the ravioli with smoked sablefish and butter potato with leek vinaigrette and milk foam. Very tasty - I loved the foam - it was so light, yet so full of flavour.
For my entrée, I chose the Pave of AAA beef, braised in red wine and mushroom with whipped potatoes. The beef was fabulous - so tender and moist - it was absolutely delicious. The potatoes were almost over-whipped and had a touch of that "gluey" texture that you get sometimes. (I remember the first time I tried whipping my potatoes with a hand-blender at home, and got the same texture... sort of gummy) I wasn't really expecting that here. The flavour was incredible though, so buttery and just a "melt-in-the-mouth" feel.
The dessert was my favourite part - a lemon meringue tart with vanilla ice cream and poppyseed "tuile" or wafer 'cookies', if you will. The lemon was heavenly - it reminded me of a lemon curd dessert my grandma made years ago - and the crust of the tart was spectacular. Very light and crunchy with kind of a nutty flavour to it. The ice cream was very creamy and was a perfect accompaniment to the tart.
I have eaten at West before, not as part of Dine Out, so I thought that the value was incredible. Yes, the portions are smaller than most places, but the quality of ingredients far exceeds that which most people are used to. Unfortunately, I can't afford to eat here as often as I'd like, but for Dine Out and special occasions, this place is a must try!!
As one of the most expensive and well reviewed restaurants in Vancouver, I went to West expecting to be blown away. That did not happen. The service was very good, the ambiance was nice, but the food was only good to OK, I ordered the crab starter, which was excellent, and the beef tenderloin main dish, which was slightly undercooked and fairly tasteless. I added lots of salt and pepper and drenched each bite in the red wine sauce and it was good, but not outstanding. My fellow diners felt the same about many of their dishes, some were excellent, but some only "meh." Maybe you have to know what to order?
My favorite part were the special "extras" sent out by the chef, the amuse bouche was a delicious bite of scallop that was perhaps the best thing I ate all night, and then there were tiny lemon meringue pies that came with the check -- delicious and oh so cute!
Went to West for Dine Out earlier this year and had a great experience. I don’t go to the high end restaurants very often but it was well worth it and I have gone another time since. After I read in the Sun that Feenie dropped out because Dine Out customers weren’t repeats and not worth it, kind of sealed the coffin for me on his restaurants. At West, not only did the food taste good, but the nuances in flavours and innovation in textures in our meals were crazy especially their desserts. Now I know why some people will pay as much as they do for a meal like this.
I agree with the previous reviewers who found this restaurant "just OK". The service was excellent, but that was the only thing I found above-average. The food was rather bland and tasteless despite all that had been done to it. The decor was also puzzling and left me wondering what they were trying to achieve. I had the chef's tasting menu and my husband had an appetizer and entree. Our server timed everything perfectly and had excellent wine recommendations. Probably somewhere you want to take a date or someone else you want to impress, because of the excellent service, and of course, because of all the hype. But don't expect delicious food.
After seeing a TV show rating West one of the top 10 restaurant in the world, I had high expectations when I went there for my birthday. I had the 7 course tasting menu, and the food was okay at best. The food was so refined that all texture and taste was lost. I prefer more naturally tasting food than the ones I had. Perhaps some people like it this way. I guess the prices were justified by the labour intensive dishes.
The ambiance was business-like. Not really what I would call romantic, cosy or even comfortable. The best part of the experience was the service. Our waitress did not raise an eyebrow when one of my friends decided not to go with the 7 course tasting menu, and she timed the dishes well so that my friend did not feel left out when everyone else was eating.
Overall, I was very disappointed and would not go back. What's a restaurant with mediocre food.
Had the chance to try this top notch, award winner on friday. They offered a $35 table haute as part of dine out Vancouver. Food was excellent, but the service was a little cocky. I will have to go on a regular night to truly assess the value of this upscale bistro.
So my partner and I went to West for a private function put on by the BCWAS.
The kitchen prepared a 5 course tasting menu accompanied with wine from Black Hills.
Ambiance: Fresh and modern. This was my first time here.
Food: Every dish was well thought out in terms of pairing with the wine. In many cases it made the wine exceptional! Presentation was interesting, but I am not a fan of over the top presentation and I think David is pushing it a bit. From what I have herd he has only recently taken over as Executive Chef and I think it may take time for him to hit his stride.
Service: Exceptional for the most part. Water was filled often, bread was filled often, butter was perfect temp. Only gripe is that I was early and really would have liked a pre-dinner drink.....
here is what we had
FIRST
CELERY ″CANNELLONI″ SALTSPRINGISLANDGOAT CHEESE, ORANGE AND CELERY FOAM - BLACK HILLS ESTATE WINERY ″ALIBI″ 2008
SECOND
HALIBUT WRAPPED IN SCALLOP AND SPOT PRAWN MOUSSE APPLE INFUSED HEIRLOOM CARROTS, VANILLA AND FENNEL EMULSION - BLACK HILLS ESTATE WINERY ″CHARDONNAY″ 2008
THIRD
CEDAR SMOKED THIESSEN FARM SQUAB PEMBERTON BEETROOT, WHITEPORT AND VERJUS REDUCTION - BLACK HILLS ESTATE WINERY ″CARMENERE″ 2007 & 2008
FOURTH
HAY BAKED SPRING LAMB PARSNIP, CERIGNOLA OLIVES, ESPRESSO INFUSED JUS - BLACK HILLS ESTATE WINERY ″NOTA BENE″ 2006, 2007 & 2008
FIFTH
ROASTED RHUBARB WITH OAT AND CARAMELIZED APPLE CARAMEL ICE MILK, CINNAMON DOUGHNUT - BLACK HILLS ESTATE WINERY ″SEQUENTIA″
Overall: We will come back for sure. I really want to try their cocktails as other reviewers have indicated they are exceptional!
First of all, I agree with the ambiance and decor. It's very nicely decorated. We decided on their tasting menu. The food was good but nothing to rave about. Personally the food is overpriced for what you get.
The service, well, I guess it depends on who you ask. The server ignored me the whole time, however, he did give my friend the VIP treatment with his flirtations. I just found it very inappropriate for him to ask me (when she went to the washroom) if she's available and what her ethnic background was.
| 1. | Cafe Crepe (16 m) |  |
| 2. | Daniel le Chocolat Belge (46 m) | |
| 3. | Heirloom Vegetarian (96 m) |  |
| 4. | Caffe Barney (99 m) |  |
| 5. | Bean Around The World (99 m) | |
| 6. | Siena (107 m) |  |
| 7. | Luke's Corner Kitchen & Bar (112 m) |  |
| 8. | Kyo Korean BBQ & Sushi House (119 m) | |
| 9. | Meinhardt Fine Foods (139 m) | |
| 10. | Phoscao Cafe (148 m) | |
