Anh and Chi, nice ambiance, very tasty, lots of flavor. Had a shrimp roll (Sai Gon) for appy and a Grilled chicken sub. A bit on the pricey side for the sub, $8, but good food. Newly renovated, must visit bathroom!

Main and 18th, around that bend. Welcome - Anh and Chi Vancouver

Food 9/10
Price 7.5/10

I had dinner with a group of friends at Kissa Tanto last Friday evening at 5:30pm.

We ordered everything on the menu and split it among all of us. Out of all the dishes, the tortellini was the most memorable, but it didn't call to us for wanting more. Overall, it was fine, but there was nothing particularly exceptional, except for the uninterested server and hostess. They made it very clear we were a complete chore and didn't deserve to be served.

Bottom line for us - food and service was ok. This Japanese / Italian concept was very confused. The drinks were standard for a place of this calibre, but nothing amazing. We won't be returning and would not recommend our friends to try this place.

So 3/10?

Interesting to hear. You are definitely someone who I know has a similar taste in food to me. I've heard lots of people who's opinions I respect aren't in love with it. I don't like the idea of the concept of Kissa Tanto to be honest, but Bao Bei is a standout as one of the best restaurants in the city for me, so I feel I need to try it. I can't say no one told me so though if I'm disappointed so I have a hard time ponying up a couple hundred for a meal that everyone tells me I'm going to be unsatisfied with.

So Hyang on 43rd and Fraser. Korean, buzzing little place, great food, good atmosphere, good service. Reservation recommended. Had the basic bibimbap, tofu seafood soup, and sweet & spicy chicken
Food - 8.5/10
Value - 8/10
Service - 8.5/10

SO HYANG Korean Cuisine

Cacao 70

Food - 1/10

The waffles were the biggest piece of sh*t I've ever ate in my life.

Italian Kitchen. 8/10 Duck confit with gnocchi was amazing. Someone also gave me their meatball since she couldn't finish it from her truffle spaghetti. Also excellent.

Service was also very good. Team lunches there are always awesome.

I'm going on Thursday, let's see how legit it is.

Wanted to try Kissa last week but the friend I was with has been there before and he adamantly refused to go lol ... he is very, very well off so it's not the price that makes him dislike the place, he said the food sucks. I trust his taste so I don't know what all the hype is about?
We then tried to go Bao Bei but they closed for a private function. Just my luck.

Ended up walking to Juniper since we didn't want to drive. Food was ok but menu was pretty pricey IMO. $15 Gin and Tonics.

Had the smoked Duck wings which were tender and juicy, goes well with a scotch. $16
Meat Chacuterie board, $29. Good variety of meats and cheeses but priced a big high for what you get.
Bill came out to just under 2 bills for just a couple rounds of drinks and appies, ouch.

never get places that charge out the ass for basic drinks and beers.. it costs fucking nothing to bring in, let people drink all they want, they will order more of the overpriced food.

Booze is where restaurants make their profit from what I understand...

Your thought process is backwards.
I'm not going to type out what your food costs to make on my phone, but I'll gladly break it down at some point how much time, labour and food cost goes into a plate for you. Booze is where the profits are. Food is just what gets people through the doors to get booze sold.

Once you hit a certain price threshold, I'm not ordering that booze and will stick to just the food. 5 years ago, you could get a cocktail for $8 to $10 in this city. A glass of wine was also $8 to $10 for local Okanagan wines. Now most trendy places are charging $12 to $15 for basic drinks. I saw a glass of Grey Monk for $14 the other night. It's like they are all trying to one up each other. My GF and I used to order a couple drinks with dinner. Now we typically do just dinner unless they have some kind of special going on. We refuse to spend $30 on two drinks. Instead, we have managed to get going a really good wine collection and have drinks at home.

Of course, this is Vancouver so there will always be the $14 dolla ballers who think they are Diddy and order a couple rounds of extremely overpriced drinks.

^ if you don't want to spend money on a nice dinner with wine and cocktails you should just stay home then. Do you think restaurants and bars just decided to gouge you? I would say 80% of restaurants make the owner a salary and less than 5% overall profit from gross sales. Sure cocktails were under $10 before, but have you seen real estate prices? Most restaurants renew their leases every 5yrs. Most businesses have seen their rent double over the past 5yrs. Construction costs are up dramatically, food costs are up, labour costs are up (hard to hire any kitchen help under $15hr). Also, most leases are triple net, hence it is the renter than has the pay the property tax. Business property tax downtown has gone up over 50% over the past 3 years.

Going out for dinner is about a great experience, sure it might cost more, but I would rather go out less and really enjoy myself instead of worrying about every cost when you are going out.

there is also a threshold though where price VS volume has to come into consideration.

if your drinks are $14 a pop, odds are i'm only going to order 1

if they are $10, i may order 3 or more, its just a mindset, and i'm sure the profits made on 3 $10 drinks is substantially more than 1 $14 drink

^ not necessarily, it depends. If you have a pack bar/restaurant like Parlour in Gastown, I would rather someone come in for a $14 a drink and stay 15 mins Vs someone who orders 3x$10 cocktails that stays 2 hours.

A place like parlour the majority of people are cheap as fuck.. its more like spend 2 hours nursing a single $14 drink than the guy buying multiple drinks.

I dunno..when my friends and I go out we usually spend a stupid amount on booze and if the majority of places catered moreso to the people who actually spend money as opposed to taking 15 minutes to make a drink for the guy spending 45 minutes with a cocktail and an appy they'd probably make a lot more money.

I disagree when I go out it's for the meal with no dishes usually prepared a lot better then I could prepare it myself, I could care less about the alcohol. I think if you need alcohol to have a great experience you're doing it wrong but that's just one guys opinion.

Anyone been to Sushi Bar Maumi? Read they ship their fish directly from Japan daily.

Fuck that shit. Some of us don't drink (either DD or for health reasons) and some of us don't need a lot to get buzzed or shitfaced (Asians, heh heh). Are those people supposed to just stay home and not partake in our dining scene because they're also not raging alcoholics or don't want to drop $150pp every night out?

That being said Vancouver, 5 years ago you could turn up without reservations to a semi-trendy restaurant on a Friday/Saturday night and be seated in a reasonable timeframe. Now? Fuggetaboutit.

Also, drinks that used to be $8-10 are now $15. I'm sorry that's just price gouging plain and simple. Especially when you order a "glass" of wine and they give you a pathetic 1/8th glass pour. In Europe a glass of wine is a fucking GLASS filled to near the brim. Speaking of which, I've also never been pestered so much in this city by servers to order more (i.e. "Is there anything more I can get you?", "get you another beer?" "would you like tea or coffee?" every 15 minutes, etc.) No fuck you, I don't linger. I will just sit here with my water and my meal and I'll be out of your hair in 30 minutes. :D

Civic blues, I bet servers go out of there way to serve you because of all the money you save not drinking you must be big a big tipper!

5 years ago, minimum wage was also $8, it is set to go up to $11.25 by the end of Summer. Everyone wants more. It all adds up.

Most of the expense hikes were already mentioned by Z3guy.
Canada also has some of the most expensive liquor due to all the taxing.
In Europe, a bottle of amazing wine from a nice vineyard will probably cost roughly $7. In BC? $7 will get you a bag of vinegar. Can't really compare.

Servers dont ask you if "you need anything else". Bad reviews on Yelp.

Servers actually do it. "Fuck you asshole don't pester me. I don't linger. Leave me alone."

Yeah buddy go to Save Ons buy something and cook it yourself at home. Since when basic serving etiquette is a bad thing? This is not Europe.

I totally get it. I'm not saying it doesn't have a negative effect. Its just the way it is. Every business is different and some, volume works for profitability, and some, margins work for profitability.

I think the food I put out provides massive value for people, but some people just don't see it. They see some fuck off salad and a stromboli that you can only eat half of and you throw the rest away as value over a 6oz steak from a respected supplier with locally grown, pesticide, GMO free vegetables that are in season. All I can do is hope the people that come try what I offer leave feeling good, and hopefully a bit more educated about what goes into their food. I truly believe the wastefulness of food production is destroying the earth.

You are exactly the type of person I want coming in. Food is expensive, and so are my (and should be because they are talented and hard working as fuck) staff.
We bust our asses to put good food on the plates and people appreciating it is why we do.

You should have a drink and chill the fuck out.

now that i'm a little older and care about money more i just can't justify dropping $50-100pp on a meal and some drinks. glad i have a gf who hates expensive pretentious places as well, usually our tab together is between $40-80.