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A window-wrapped dining room offers an unparalleled view of Vancouver and Burrard Inlet. The Salmon House is renowned for its award winning menu and wine list; breath-taking views, sophisticated warm atmosphere and authentic native art décor.
Now, it's been a number of years since my last visit to this restaurant but I do recall it being very posh and elegant. Looking for a restaurant to celebrate my husband's birthday with his family coming into town to join us, I wanted to give them all a lovely evening. Wonderful success.
A view to die for as we had a beautiful clear night (back a couple of months ago when the weather was dodgy at best) and the in-laws were duly pleased. Service was with a warm smile for everyone and glasses were never empty which is always a plus for me. Food was piping hot and portions were plentiful enough even for the guys. You can never go wrong with the grilled salmon. So very tasty and moist and delicious. Hubby had ordered the daily special and you know, I can't remember what it was.. I was so focused on my salmon. LOL! I believe someone ordered the smoked sable fish and was very pleased with it as well. That's my next treat there!!
Desserts were decadent (I had the cheesecake and hubby had the chocolate bombe,.. as did the rest of the family.. crazy chocoholics!) and everyone left with a smile on their faces. My husband and his family were pleased with everything.
I can say we had an absolutely wonderful night of great food, a fabulous view and delightful company.
Would we go back? Absolutely!
My spouse took me here for a Milestone Birthday which happened to be at Valentine's Day as well. The view was fabulous, the food was good, and our server was friendly and personable. The hostess at the front was something to be desired though. Not warm or welcoming. Cordial and very uptight. I understand it was probably one of the busiest days of the year for restaurants; however a sincere smile and friendly thank you or how was your evening would have went long way. Our reservation was early and when we left around 7:15 pm the restaurant was not completely full, and the front staff (4) was standing around chatting; this leaves me to conclude they weren't busy or stressed. Not a good representation of the restaurant especially when they are the first person of contact and departure. Luckily I was in good company so I put it aside.
I found out afterwards my husband had made a note at the time of his reservations to advise the restaurant it was my birthday. I believe it is the job of the hostess or reservation manager to advise the server of this. It was completely not acknowledged. A simple Happy Birthday from our server would have made the evening more pleasant and a little special. Nothing else would have been expected. The special dining experience at the Salmon House definitely falls short. What sets apart an extraordinary restaurant from an average restaurant is the finer details and service from beginning to end.
We had gone to Le Crocodile for lunch and everything was amazing. All staff was warm, pleasant, helpful and attentive. The Classic French meal was extraordinary and done to perfection. We both had seafood. We reluctantly skipped dessert, but we were given cantaloupe sorbet to cleanse our palette and two chocolate crocodiles. The restaurant did not know it was my birthday, but we felt like it was a privileged to dine here and they manage to make us feel very special. A stark contrast to the Salmon House. Unfortunately my memory of this special evening at the Salmon House won't be for the food, view, decor, and ambiance but the unfriendly and non-welcoming hostess at the front, and the restaurants ability to make us feel like were just another mouth to feed. With so many other establishments in Vancouver with just as amazing views, it won't be difficult not to make a recommendation or desire to dine here for any special occasion, let alone a regular dining experience any time soon.
I came here to celebrate an anniversary with my relatives. We all had a great time and the service was excellent throughout the evening. It was my first time there, I was impressed with both the views and the restaurant ambiance. We were seated in the corner window spot and watched the sun set while we dined.
I agree with some previous reviews about the food being a tad dry, especially with my piece of halibut. But teamed up with the moist swiss chard, it was fine. The calamari that came with my fish was also tasty. The food really wasn't bad as some say, but that's just from my experience - from the appetizers to the desserts we ordered were all good according to our party.
Value is another story. Most entrees were in the thirties price range. $33 for a small piece of sable fish on rice was a bit over the top, but for a special occasion with a beautiful view, it was acceptable.
The candied salmon is delicious, amongst other appetizers. The entrees are tasty--none of it was overdone during my last visit. The view is beautiful. The service is excellent. Though it didn't turn out to be as good as I expected, I have no complaints about the appetizers, service, and atmosphere. :)
Got suckered to go because it was a friend's birthday. This place is such a rip off, and everything took forever.
Even though we made reservations, they did not seat us for close to an hour!!!
The menu is a complete rip off as the food is nothing special at all.
They might as well just rob you when you walk in. At least that would have been quicker and less agonizing than dealing with them.
They can't even make steak correct. Ask for rare and you get well done. Brilliant.
Waitress was also useless and full of attitude.
This place is a complete tourist trap and don't get suckered to go because you have a dumb friend that believes in hype.
Remember, you can't eat the view. Maybe just go for drinks, but even their coffee tastes like crap.
While this landmark restaurant cannot be beat for scenary, the experience is far from spectacular.
Our waitor gave us a complementary h'orderve which amounted to a miniscule shrimp with some form of vegetation. Not expecting much here but come on.
The restaurant was far too cool with the air conditioner constantly on.
My Seafood chowder tasted no better than can soup purchased from the supermarket at 5 x the price.
Our entrees (fish) were raw and too salty
It seems each and every time we have dined the the total experience keeps getting worse. Way to pricy for what you receive and the portions are also way to small.
While the location continues to amaze.........the food has gone way down. Dont think we will be back.
Was here for my mom's birthday with the family. Well for a (seafood) fish house I can say they don't do a good job cooking fish, overcooked, bland, just poor execution. The service was indifferent but the price your paying for your meal is unjustified. The view though is beautiful, just stunning, but still doesn't make up for the food.
This was my first time at the Salmon House and I thoroughly enjoyed the food and service. We arrived a very hungry party of four, since we hiked around Lynn Canyon for 3 hours prior to arrival. The decor was "Westcoast" cheesy - decorated in what we jokingly called "restaurant grade" totem poles, masks and carvings. (It would have been a considerate gesture to have the restaurant reference the Native culture in an authentic way)
We started with appetizers from the a la carte menu. The caesar salad was fresh and light in an olive oil and lemon dressing. The other couple's salmon taster had what looked like very generous portions. The wine list was extensive and offered high-end choices by the glass - which our wine connoisseur friends appreciated.
The rosemary infused flatbread was an interesting addition to the more traditional bread basket.
My partner raved about his shitake and crimini risotto. My aldergrilled salmon was smoked to perfection, although it was a bit over-cooked for my taste. The bed of crab and tomato risotto that supported the salmon was divine- just the right mix of creaminess and tanginess. And the two spears of baby asparagus were grilled to a crisp/tender slightly smoking perfection.
The service was attentive and warm, yet unassuming. Our server was professional and knowledgeable about both the food and wine. The other wait staff and front end people, were all youthful and friendly, although a bit unpolished. I noticed some reaching across diners' to fill water glasses and the hostess was making a personal phone call as we were leaving. To her credit she did end the call promptly and inquired about our dining experience.
Overall, I was very satisfied with the Salmon House experience despite having reservations that it was an overpriced tourist trap.
Could they possibly place the tables even closer together and squeeze more money out of their patrons? I'm sure they've thought about it. In fact, it looks as if that's all they've thought about. You can't get by on view alone, you guys. I felt like someone could reach over and try something from my plate, not that they would want to.
This continues to be a let-down. The place is living off its location overlooking the Burrard Inlet. We'd been 2-3 years ago, but things haven't improved. It's simply pretentious. There are better value-for-money restaurants around.
The food is extremely expensive for what you get. Portions are small, but well presented.
We went for a birthday celebration & to take an out-of-towner for the prestigous setting. We had the set meal with accompanying wines, which worked well with the exception of the port with the sweet. The (chinook) salmon dishes were excellent. But $75 is excessive for what you get. There are better restaurants.
Service was slow which means the dishes can be tepid when they arrive at the table.
Fancy looking posh-nosh for all those nobs on the hill that can't be bothered to venture into town !
Whoever felt you didn't get value for money has not been at the Salmon House for Sunday Brunch. Several of us went last weekend and all thought it was the best buy in town. The view is awesome ... but everything else was wonderful. And I'd just come off a 2-week Caribbean Princess cruise with exquisite dining - and not a bill to pay until the last day. The Salmon House Sunday Brunch was absolutely the perfect place to start off the Christmas season.
The view is spectacular, but the food is over-rated and too expensive for what you get. We had the Salmon and the beef tenderloin. The salmon was bland and very average and the tenderloin was nicely cooked but the sauce was too rich and 1 bean and one asparagus stock were simply not acceptable. For $30+ per dish you got at best 50% value. Ant low range steak house would be as good but you would get some vegies and pasta or potato. In short walk around the front to look at the view and then go to eat elsewhere.
After hearing friends talk about restaurant, I was encouraged to try it out and my man took me last night!
The items on the menu are quite different than other seafood restaurants. No breaded fish, chips, prawn, or lobster here. Salmon House is apparently an authentic Sea Food Restaurant...with a pure sea menu.
After our food arrived, a female worker (non-waitstaff), greeted the table, asked how we heard about the restaurant, & explained a bit about the food we ordered. I thought that this was nice since this kind of greeting is unheard of while dining out - at least through my experience!
Although I missed the red meat, I was delightfully surprised by the fresh, relatively healthier, & unique array in front of me. Aside from some sinful desserts on the menu, I don't think I saw any other non-healthy items. Don't want to get fat!
According to the female worker - who said that she wasn't the manager - the restaurant is known for its salmon and halibut. This was probably accurate!
I ended my meal with a cute, freshly brewed stainless steel glass of coffee. It was a nice surprise as some restos' coffee just CANNOT be trusted! This coffee tasted similar to ones found at Yaletown restaurants.
Recently two of us ate here and were profoundly disappointed. Though salmon is still a good value, other fish dishes are not. I had a sole entree that had been frozen since the early 20th Century and was bone-dry with no sauce to hide the aridity factor. It was barely edible. Fortunately they served with it a couple of asparagus stalks and twelve grains of rice, for variety...
For dessert we decided to share an exotic sounding multi-textured chocolate cake,ice-cream and fruit sauce priced at $12. The three components came on a stylish plate with artistic swirls of red sauce, but the other parts...cake and ice-cream had been measured out with a coffee spoon and had to be seen with high-powered magnifying lenses...not supplied. Good-bye Salmon House over the Hill.
We arrived at the Salmon House one recent wet and snowy weekday evening not knowing quite what to expect. The place was hopping!
Without a reservation, we were greeted pleasantly and our coats taken by the hostess. A comfortable booth at the back of the lower level. Several groups already seated and clearly enjoying themselves. No music that we could hear above the hub-bub but also no ringing cell-phones or TVs and hardly any cell-phone use.
It’s a bare polished wood table and no fussy place settings. Sparkling glasses. Linen napkin. The wine list features BC wines. We had the house salad and the fresh kushi oysters, and then spring salmon ($30) and the tenderloin ($32). Absolutely no complaints. Friendly unrushed competent service.
If you like a place with some energy, and staff who are on their game … it’s a good experience … perhaps better for groups than romantic couples, but not everyone wants hush
As a tourist I was very nterested in trying salmon and where better to go than salmon house.
We had the fresh first run of the spring salmon, which is salmon brought in that day (at least thats what they claim). Its expensive, at 36$ but it was moist, and had that smokey wood fired flavor.
We also had the sampler which i didnt love.
the lox was ok, the candied salmon interesting.
The view was outstanding. the ambience is very very nice.
Visited the Salmon House last night in West Van for a small company xmas party. The restaurant was beautiful with a real native flare. Reminded me a lot of the native long house at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria. I could imagine how popular this would be with the tourists and bus groups.
We felt welcome when we walked through the door and with no wait were escorted to our table. Our server was attentive and classy with just the right mix of service and quality checks yet not pushy or overbearing. The menu was fairly small but a nice range of tastes and combinations to offer something for everyone 4 adults and 2 kids with some non seafood eaters..
While it was a stormy, nasty night I could only imagine the view over the city would be breath taking. The prices were very reasonable considering we all had appys, mains, and drinks.
My Plus(s) - Due to water contamination concerns they served mineral water out of bottles and warm drinks yet at the end of the meal they took them off the bill.
My Negative(s) - Due to water contamination concerns they didn't have any ice. I like my scotch with just one ice cube but they weren't able to comply. I suggested they run across to the gas station to buy a couple bags.
Over all a really nice experience, good food, good atmosphere, good friends. We will return for that special mean some time.
Salmon House on the Hill was first tried by us when 21 years ago I was expecting son number 2. Well it was AWFUL. Dry salmon etc etc. My husband was shocked by his entree as well. I have tried again and again at 5 year intervals and can tell you confidently that things have not changed. The view is great. The food is awful.
My friends & I arrived at about 9:15pm for a late dinner. Super slow service from the start and all throughout dinner. from the time we sat down, it took them about 20 mins to get us our drink orders and another 15 to bring us the starter bread&butter, which was stale & leathery. We had the most inconsiderate & unpleasant server. He was in the middle of taking our food order when he decided to leave us to go serve the table next to us before returning to take the rest of our orders... WHO DOES THAT?!
Mediocre food that is too overpriced ... my friend ordered a rare westcoast tenderloin. It came out well-done...our server was no where to be seen so she sent it back with another server. 10 seconds later, our original server brings the over-cooked steak back & asks my friend to cut into the centre because it will be more rare there. WHO DOES THAT?! when a customer sends something back, there is a valid reason...fix it & send out the correct order...this guy gives it back to my friend and implied that she doesn't know what a rare steak looks like. ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!!! I was so unhappy with my overall experience that I took the time and effort to make my awful experience known to the whole lower mainland so that they NEVER GO THERE... I have also written a complaint letter to management. My last words about Salmon House on the Hill: a "high-class" restaurant with low-class service and expensive food that belongs more in a pub...
The Salmon House has gone seriously down hill in recent years. At this rate, it will be located on tidewater before the Olympics. The menu is very limited and grossly over priced. So is the wine for that matter. The seafood is dry and overcooked and I've tasted better chowder out of a can. The only thing it has going for it is the view. But you can see that for free from the parking lot.
