As I mentioned before in a previous review, I have been going to West for many years now and upon the recent switch of head chef Warren G, I was disappointed with the food.

With a recent lunch at West, I am extremely happy to say it has returned to it's excellent form again. I think Chef David just needed a little time to settle in... and now I can say with full confidence that West is every bit as good as it was before.

I had the scallops to start. Extremely unique with pickled strawberries, rhubarb and an amazing tomato gazpacho. I then followed with the Pea Agnolotti which is in all honestly the BEST pasta dish I have EVER eaten in my life.

Fresh soft pasta filled with spinach and ricotto covered in parmesan shavings, fresh peas, a delightful pea sauce and parmesan foam. I added bacon which I highly recommend... it's amazing. If you have a chance to go there this summer, I highly recommend this dish.

Service was impeccable as always... long-time restaurant manager Brian runs the place like clockwork and the servers are always friendly, courteous and professional with excellent knowledge of the food.

Drinks are always amazing as per the David and David bartending team. You must visit if only for the drinks, but yes, the food is spectacular too.

In all fairness to West, we went for the Dine Out menu and I always suspect that restaurants do a half-hearted sampling of food for this. While the service was impeccable, and the cocktails were amazing, I've had the same food a thousand times before in a thousand different restaurants; it was fine but nothing special. Certainly not what I expected given the reputation of the restaurant. Perhaps I just ordered the wrong things (which should not be a factor in a restaurant with this reputation)? Perhaps food writers in Vancouver don't really know what great food is (try Esca in New York)? Perhaps the restaurant was holding back their skills and creativity for the regularly priced menu items? Funny thing: I can afford to dine at West at the regular prices but won't likely go back because the Dine Out food disappointed me. If they were holding back, they're turning away future customers.

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.

Have been to West many times now and with the exception of the desserts which aren't very good the food is awesome and the cocktails and wine list are excellent.

The bartenders are very entertaining if you opt to eat at the bar and we often do just to chat with them and enjoy a cocktail. I love the Kaffir fling. The bartenders really know how to pair wine with whatever food you choose so I always opt for their recommendation.

We have had good service (only on one occaison was it a little on the slow side) pretty much every time we go there. The food has always been so very good. Just skip the dessert menu (unless you opt for choosing some cheeses which are great); for some reason the desserts have disappointed every time and we don't bother with them anymore.

It is expensive and for us a treat for special celebrations, but we never leave disappointed. Many of our friends also eat there regularly and they love it as much as we do.

Had dinner at the bar last night and from start to finish it was a wonderful experience. The bar staff were extraordinarily knowledgeable and friendly, the cocktail menu containing both historic and modern drinks was brilliant and the cocktails themselves may literally have been the best I've ever had. The food as usual was superb with very nice wait staff and the front desk was terrific as well and were very accommodating - no mean feat on a Saturday night during the Olympics. Overall one of the best dining experiences I've had in a long time and I definitely plan to go back, particularly to eat early in the evening at the bar.

There's a reason for all the hype, acclaim & grandeur. This place is polished, from food, to service. I can say unequivocally that it's the best of the best - I really think it's world class.
My wife had the vegetarian tasting menu, I had the seasonal chef's menu - we both had bites of each others & unanimously loved everything. Food was epic - try it.
Our server was great. I was really impressed with the way she helped me with the wine list: we were overwhelmed by the novella of a list (I *hate* that - really...50 pages?!) I clapped the book shut & asked for anything she thought would compliment our meals for under $100. She took about 10 minutes, but when she came back to the table she presented a wine that was incredibly thoughtful. It came from a vineyard that we had mentioned to her that we had visited, it was owned by a man who owned a restaurant we mentioned liking & it was only $75! I had totally anticipated being presented with a bottle that was $100, or juuust over. Classy!
So, I would definitely recommend West (especially over Lumiere, or any other "fine dining" restaurant in this city - pshaw!). Obviously not a place to become a regular, unless you're loaded. But like the title of my post...definitely go for a special occasion!

Last year me and my bf went to West for my bday and it was one of THEE best restaurants we ever went to. Definitely our favourite for 2008. So for our anniversary, we went there again and WOW what a difference!!

Our server had a nice attitude, but it was extremely hard to get her attention, even though she passed us all the time as we were seated near the kitchen.

The food didn't seem like it had a proper balance; the roasted eggplant soup had a poached hen's egg on top which didn't add to the soup at all; would have been nicer with a bit of creme fresh!

We LOVE a good risotto (if you look at my previous postings, you'll see places that serve it well) so I ordered butternut squash risotto. It just was not up to par. It didn't have the creamy texture like others before, so I swapped it for a gnocci but it was SO STRANGE, who's ever heard of panfried gnocci with no sauce? that's what it was.

My dessert was fine (port poached pear w/cream cheese ice cream) but my bfriend's was strange, some banana thing with a chocolate cake shaped like a ball and rolled in sesame seeds.

needless to say, West is NOT our favourite restaurant for 2009. We didn't mind paying the huge bill in 2008, but it is definitely not worth the money for 2009.

Well we have been to West three times so far. Once with some professional friends, and we had quite a nice time that night. The second was also with some professional friends who were quite well versed in wines. This night the server decided to have an argument with my friend over the proper way to serve wine. It was a very heated argument and very embarrassing for me to witness it. The last time I went there was with my sister from Saskatoon. I guess that she did not fit the mould for West and my perceived take on the situation is that because of her we did not qualify for the service that West is known for. At one point over 20 minutes waiting for a drink!
The food is GREAT and the service can be also... but at this price point I don't care if I pull up in my sisters beater wearing a t shirt and jeans, (Which I never would...) the service should be up to par and geared to make all guests feel comfortable. The food is outstanding but the service can leave an bitter taste.

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.

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!!