[geryfung]

I thought there would be a thread about this already but nothing came up on search so i figured I'd start one.

We're pretty lucky to live in a city with such international tastes. There's so much to choose from I never know which ones to check out.

I just wanted your opinions on which restaurants are good and which are bad. Which ones have you tried? Which were your favorite? Which ones are a waste of time / $$?

Click here for the complete list of Dine Out restaurants and menus...etc.
http://www.tourismvancouver.com/visitors/dining/dineout.php

[HonestTea]

Chambers back! But @ $38...last time it was $18 I believe?

[Durrann]

^^ i think last time it was $25

or $28

im not sure

but blue water cafe is not on the list this year that sucks

[TomBox_N]

Joe forte for their oysters
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[supman7]

I'd also like to know which ones are good, suggestions?

[Liquid_o2]

Lots of good places on the list. Coast, Sandbar, Sanafir, The Reef.

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

pretty damn late.,...oh well

[bootymac]

.

[Ikkaku]

lol made reservation for griffins

damn the love for wannabe baller status!

[Mkhun]

thanks you !

[fishing666]

38$ is expensive as hell...

[Mr.Jay]

38$ is expensive as hell...

its a bargain compare to regular price for A LOT of these places

[G]

Anyone have any must-go recommendations? I've never went to any of them before but I think I am going to try out a few....I heard good things about The Salt Tasting Room and The Observatory? :S

[TomBox_N]

Anyone have any must-go recommendations? I've never went to any of them before but I think I am going to try out a few....I heard good things about The Salt Tasting Room and The Observatory? :S

Observatory is over rated. Aside from the view,food is mediocre at best.
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[TRDood]

38$ is expensive as hell...

+1, since I don't value the dessert.

Most of the $38 places serves entrees that are $32-$45 on their regular menu. To me, they are just giving away the appy and dessert for free.

I would rather go when these places are not busy, well, most of them are pretty dead during the week anyways. and i am not limited to the shitty selection of 2 or 3 entrees.

[HonestTea]

Agreed. $38 is pretty damn expensive for Dine-Out Vancouver compared to the past years..

[m3thods]

Pretty sure it was like that last year.

And man, I'm still going to Joe Fortes but they got rid of the Oyster appie :cry::cry::cry:

[G]

Wasn't it $15, $25, $35, a few years back? Only added a couple bucks... But still, for some places, I wouldn't spend $38 bucks for their Dine-Out Menu... =/

[LiquidTurbo]

^

Word. $38 + tax and tip and you're easily looking at 45-50 per person. With someone, it'll be $100. But that is to be expected for fine dining, really.

[kitsune]

Got reservations for Coast and Le Gavroche. :)

Don't know if I want to try others.. I went on a mad craze last year.. lol
Damn these things add up.

Any recommendations? I've tried most of the well known West Coast restaurants.. I think.

[Euro7r]

^

Word. $38 + tax and tip and you're easily looking at 45-50 per person. With someone, it'll be $100. But that is to be expected for fine dining, really.

If you get drinks too, that tacks onto the bill too. I guess if you only go once in forever to fine dining, it's not too bad.

[sh0n]

Quite the gong show even trying to see the menu today on tourismvancouver.

Looks like the $$$$$ restaurants are sold out (West and Coast) to name a few

I made reservations to the following (looking forward to them)
Joe Fortes's
Five Sails

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

might try the keg...lol nothing really interests me after browsing thru the menu

C restaurant, boat house...no cannery...

meh

[sonick]

I'll go if friends plan it and invite me, but I don't plan on making any arrangements myself. It's just not a good deal anymore; most of the places you can get regular menu items for $38 at the top-tier restaurants instead of three half-sized portions.

And then you have shit like Old Spaghetti Factory for $18, when normally $13 will get you the entire meal? How does that work?!

[q0192837465]

I will be going with my gf to Boathouse and 1 other....But i agree that it's not as exciting as before anymore cuz the deals arent really deals anymore

[tiger_handheld]

might try coast and watermark.


to the ppl that wanna try sanafir - its meh during regular days.

[6793026]

Anyone have any must-go recommendations? I've never went to any of them before but I think I am going to try out a few....I heard good things about The Salt Tasting Room and The Observatory? :S

salt tasting room is not worth it, you can just go on a normal day and try regular menu. It's more of a lounge than a dinner place.

lol made reservation for griffins

i went there last yr and went all out and to tell you the truth, it wasn't worth it. the prime rib was decent but overall, it doesn't even look like fine dining restaurant.

OH, i got a question, are there any guys that WANTS to go to fine dining? when i was dating a chick, she's soooo into this, cause the bitch wanted to eat out and have me pay for shit.. i'm ike... no thank you.

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

I will be going with my gf to Boathouse and 1 other....But i agree that it's not as exciting as before anymore cuz the deals arent really deals anymore

indeed, hence why i aint too excited towards these dine outs

[skiiipi]

Booked the following
The Salmon House-A gf's favorite
Market by Jean-Georges-Heard its really nice, wanna ive it a try
Coast-Menu looks good
The Griffins-Baller wannabe :D
Maurya-Always wanted to go, so might as well try it during dine out.

I'll write a review after i go. My wallet is gonna hurt after all that.

[HonestTea]

Griffins menu is interesting LOL for one of the Apps and the Prime Rib Entree they make you add $10/each on top of the set price of $28

$28 + $10 + $10 = $48 before wine/drinks/tax

[f00tzilla]

going to dine out for: west, cincin, five sails, octopus garden (if we can actually get seats), society

guess i get to see if they purposely lower the quality of food for dine out or if it's consistent with their regular menu

[sonick]

going to dine out for: west, cincin, five sails, octopus garden (if we can actually get seats), society

guess i get to see if they purposely lower the quality of food for dine out or if it's consistent with their regular menu

Quality is ususally consistent as it's the same kitchen staff, but portions and ingredients may be lower quality. Though it could suffer depending on how busy they get for dine-out compared to what they see ususally.

[f00tzilla]

anyone have a reservation for COAST .. i forgot to book

[q0192837465]

anyone have a reservation for COAST .. i forgot to book

I think Coast is fully booked. I booked a couple days ago & all that's left is 11pm. I dnno if there r anymore tables.

[f00tzilla]

for those trying to get restaurants that are "sold out" on opentable phone the restaurant up.. i just got a reservation at COAST at 6:45pm for next week even though opentable said that there were no reservations available.

[HonestTea]

^ Thanks for the tip.

I tried with West and they said it's fully booked. If anyone has a spare reservation or can't make it for West on either a Sunday or Monday, please PM me :)

[Peanut Butter Jelly Time!]

Going to Seawall Bar n Grill at Westin Bayshore... anyone been there before?

[Dr-Vn]

how do you check what are the items on their dine out menus?

most of the websites i went seem to only have their regular menus on there =/

i.e where's the menu for coast, griffins, la terraza, etc.

edit: oh snap, i'm retarded.. i went thru the opentable.com website, so no wonder

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

weird

i think u go to dineout website, were the reservation page is

u click in, should bring up the time. Eventually u should be able to view the menu after clicking into their website

i had no problem viewing their special menus

[kitsune]

Went to coast today~
i recommend! Pretty good food~
i got the crabcake and shared a tenderloin and the jumbo prawns.
I suggest the tenderloin.. But ask if you can get the sides that come with the salmon/prawns.
The side for the tenderloin wasnt that great.. Kind of bitter and really salty.
Oh.. The clam chowder was good too. The red west coast kind~
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[kevin7352]

nice!! did it cost extra?

[f00tzilla]

went to CinCin yesterday their menu isn't posted on dine out vancouver..
from what i remember it was
Appetizer: sweet onion soup, something octopus, or baby greens
Mains: baked lingcod, wood oven pork rack, or 4 cheese pasta (it has an italian name)
Dessert: tiramisu, rhubarb pie or chocolate fondant tart

Overall it was ok but nothing really impressive... i'd give it like 7-7.5 / 10

[sh0n]

went to CinCin yesterday their menu isn't posted on dine out vancouver..
from what i remember it was
Appetizer: sweet onion soup, something octopus, or baby greens
Mains: baked lingcod, wood oven pork rack, or 4 cheese pasta (it has an italian name)
Dessert: tiramisu, rhubarb pie or chocolate fondant tart

Overall it was ok but nothing really impressive... i'd give it like 7-7.5 / 10

Hmm - I'm going to go there this friday. Never been but seems like its average at best. Ah well I'll try it anyways.

[sh0n]

I have a reservation that I am unable to make.

April 28 - 5pm - Joe Fortes - for 6.

If anyone is interested please pm and i'll let you know the details. I'll hold on to this reservation until this evening and from then on it'll be back on the opentable system.

[HonestTea]

I have a West reservation for Saturday, May 1st 5:45pm

If anyones interested, let me know asap. I will be releasing this reservation by tomorrow 9pm since I found one for Monday :D

[cctw]

yo for the west reservation how many people?

[f00tzilla]

Went to Society yesterday .. it was mediocre nothing to rave about just average food... the short rib that i got for the main was pretty damn dry everything was pretty average I woulnd' treally go there for dine out if you have a reservation... i would only go to this place for drinks..

[BlackZRoadster]

west reservation for tonight 7:30 cant go b/c of work, anyone wants it pm me

[HonestTea]

Anyone try West or Coast for Dine-Out Vancouver yet?

(I know kitsune tried Coast but just seeing who else tried it and what they thought of it)

[f00tzilla]

I just came back from COAST..

overall it was alright..

I had the crab cake for appetizer it was good highly recommend, my frd got the prawn salad it was ok..

For main i had the beef tenderloin .. do not recommend... it was small and they slightly overcooked it (i asked for medium rare) and the vegetable sides were SUPER salty.. my frd had the prawn main the prawns were good but again the veggies were super salty.

The dessert was good .. the cheesecake lollipops were crazy good..

One of the things that kinda annoyed me is the slow service because the place was PACKED....

.. i have west tmrw will update.

[NimbeeTT]

Went to Griffins last night and we walked out of the restaurant barely able to move cause we were so full
had the striploin and the soup and omg the dessert bar was the best. They had this fruit cake/pudding/cake... thing and it was like heaven in my mouth

Service was okay, server was rushed because it was busy. Only down side was at the end of dinner she asked if we wanted tea or coffee and totally didn't occur to us that it was charged to the bill. So we ended up paying 20$ just on tea.. Otherwise it was pretty good

[BlackZRoadster]

i just got home from MIku Japanese restaurant, the food was very good, its a more upscale japanese place....first time there, however portions were quite small, i was left 80% full after dessert

[milkmilk101]

Went to Gtiffins last night too. Had the appi bar for 1st. totally over do on the appi.. cant help.. is all seafood!!! 90% full after main course. Had the salmon. it was ok.. already forgot how it taste like so not so special. and by desert, is getting late and dersert bar is kinda empty.. only have the fruity and nutty stuff left.. no more tiramisu so choco stuff.. sad..

[winson604]

Went to Griffins last night and we walked out of the restaurant barely able to move cause we were so full
had the striploin and the soup and omg the dessert bar was the best. They had this fruit cake/pudding/cake... thing and it was like heaven in my mouth

Service was okay, server was rushed because it was busy. Only down side was at the end of dinner she asked if we wanted tea or coffee and totally didn't occur to us that it was charged to the bill. So we ended up paying 20$ just on tea.. Otherwise it was pretty good

I had Grffins the other day only because my sister and them made a reservation for 6 and 4 people bailed last minute. I must say before I even showed up I had low expectations for value.

I had their daily soup which was some cream of asparagus. It was avg at best nothing special just tasted like cambells. My gf and everyone else had the Caesar salad and everyone said it was decent if not good.

At first I was going to get the striploin but I saw the table behind me all order it and it looked dry and small as hell so I decided to add $10 to get the prime rib. Not good at all, It was over cooked a bit, wasn't too tender, and the au jus tasted a bit different from what I'm used to.

Now to desert, I must admit the desert buffest was a nice touch. It had plenty of choices and many of them actually tasted pretty good.

Overall I would rate the food a 5/10. The service was just fine no real complaints here. As for value I would rate it 1/10.

$28 menu + $10 for prime rib = $38 for a soup, prime rib, and desert buffet. SOme would argue the desert buffet adds real value but really at this point in the meal how much desert are you going to stuff yourself with.

I would much rather spend that $38 and go to even like the Keg and get the prime rib + lobster tail for the same price any day of the week. I'm not a huge fan of the Keg but their prime rib blows Briffins out of the water hands down.

Would not recommend going to Griffins now or ever imo.

[BinsentoW]

i just got home from MIku Japanese restaurant, the food was very good, its a more upscale japanese place....first time there, however portions were quite small, i was left 80% full after dessert

I was there last night too. The food was very good. You don't get a choice of anything from the dineout menu, you got everything they put on it. The sushi rice was cooked really good. Its a bit pricey, and wasn't too filling.

[BlackZRoadster]

^ what time were u there? i was there at 830ish-10

i still prefer sushi with soy sauce and wasabi > the fusion sauces

[BinsentoW]

i was there at 845-10ish. Sat near the back of the restaurant.

[q0192837465]

Went to Market at Shangri-La yesterday. Dine out menu is $38.

Appy:
I had the prawn salad. The protion was alright as there are 3 prawns. The sauce was actualy quite good. I'd give it a 7/10

Entree
I had the hanger steak with asparagus. It comes in medium rare only. Portion was quite small, only 4 small pieces. But they were quite tender and juicy. Asparagus was very well down and no strings at all. The sauce was also very good. I'd give a 8/10 because of the small portion.

Dessert
I had the warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. Ice cream was nothing special. I really liked the taste of the chocolate cake. It was not too sweet with a hint of bitterness. Portion was decent as far as dessert goes. 8/10

Service
Very attentive, waitress was very patient with us. 9/10

Overall, I'd give it a 8/10. Food was great, but portion was rather small. Just don't go in with an empty stomach.

[sh0n]

Hmm - I'm going to go there this friday. Never been but seems like its average at best. Ah well I'll try it anyways.

Went to CinCin today for DOV Vancouver.

My Thoughts and Reviews:

Appetizer: 4/5
The sweet onion soup was pretty good with its distinct "sweet onion" flavour. The octopus salad was not bad - pretty average and was kinda fishy for the local tofino octopus

Entree: 3.5/5
The pork rack dish stands out the most. Meat was juicy, tender and flavourful - portion is kinda small but again it is DOV - the sides were ok and not that special. On to the fish - overall the fish tasted great. What got to me was the tomato and basil crust on the fish (tasted like the frozen fishliner crust) - it wasn't crispy, crunchy and was flavorless, flat and boring. However the sides that came it with it were very good namely the lentils and broccolini. One quip is that all the entrees seem to be mass produced and would just sit there on the hot plate waiting to be served (by that time the quality has diminished)

Dessert: 4.5/5
The desserts were really well done. Absolutely loved the chocolate tart - the lemon soberto that came with it was very suspect - didn't really go together (chocolate and lemon????) Perhaps a simple vanilla gelato would suffice? The tiramisu was very good as well there were some nicely spiked lady fingers hiding in the tiramisu basket

Ambience: 4.5/5
Great room. Ended up dining in the wine cellar cause the restaurant was quite packed. Great atmosphere, I understand now why all the A list movie stars dine at CinCin when in town.

Service: 2.5/5
Seated at the heated Terrance at first which we quickly changed to the wine cellar.
Our server was attentive, friendly but filled with awkward and weird comments throughout the night.

Comments included:
When asked if they have a special kind of cocktail - "Don't have that but we do have pop" - can't you recommend something similar?
"Oh of course we are here to serve YOU people for DOV" - didn't really want to hear "you people"
"Honey, can I get that plate for you?" - sorry but I'm not your honey.

Hostess: 1.5/5
We were one of the first parties to be seated in the private wine cellar. Within 5 minutes, another party arrived and were seated on the opposite side of the room. After that, one party sat within a table next to us. Half hour had passed, I looked up and realized the room was separated and divided by ethnicity - Asian on one side and Caucasian on the other. It's not a huge issue for me but please we are not in a high school cafeteria where the jocks and geeks sit separately.

Overall: 2.75/5
Go for desserts, skip the entrees. The food was uninspiring, even for DOV. There were some things on the menu that look appealing but I would think twice about revisiting CinCin

[sh0n]

Hmmm...

Seems like the general consensus is that everyone is having an mediocre DOV.

Either its not much value or quality and experience is average at best.

I'm hoping that things pick up and at least there are a few restaurants out there that outshine the rest.

[HonestTea]

^ Agreed 100%

[BlackZRoadster]

Honestly dine out has been dissapointing, i've basically cancelled all the reservations. For 38 bucks, you are still hungry. I regularly dine out alot at these places and I would rather go back during normal times and spend $50 and at least be full.

Im not being cheap, but the $38 gimmick was a good idea to get me into restaurants I've never tried before. And now I probably wont go back to any of those restaurants.

[vafanculo]

Not sure if it's mentioned here but there is a restaurant in steveston village called Papi's. They aren't doing a Dine Out but do have a $24 set menu to compete with it. I ends up straying from the set menu last minute and had the special Porkloin wrapped in prociutto while my girl got the set menu.

Not much of a review as I'm not much of a critic and I'm on my mobile phone, but let's just say it's worth a try for sure. It's across mcdonalds and it's an Italian restaurant.
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[BlackZRoadster]

^ i would recommend boston steak house, for $20 you get a beverage, soup, entree with a side....in terms of value it cant be beat

[Peanut Butter Jelly Time!]

Went to the Seawall Bar and Grill.. this was a $38 dollar menu and we found the food for value to be at par. There were 6 of us that night and none of us had walked out feeling hungry.. infact we were all quite full. Restaurant is located w/in the Westin Bayshore Hotel.

Service was great, our server was attentive and showed genuine smiles throughout the evening with light amounts of chit chat. Came to refill our drinks without needing to be asked. The food wasn't piping hot, but at the right temperature to be eaten right away. My guess was that it was sitting there waiting for all our other entrees to be ready. Their clam linguine had a lot of ingredients and the chorizo was a good choice to combine it with.

Dessert -> green tea creme brulee... damn that was good w/ the ginger snap, i just wish it had a heavier green tea flavor, serving size was just right though. Anymore and I wouldn't have been able to finish it.

After dinner, went for a walk along the water.. great way to end the evening. Overall 8.5/10. If the food was a bit hotter I would've given it a 9/10.

The one mark off was simply because I don't like the seats that we were sitting on.. a mix between a sofa/couch was too soft and low for the table for me.

[miky]

Going to Cincin tmr.. hoping for the best

C-restaurant on the 4th, very excited about that.

[f00tzilla]

Went to west yesterday... it was good
appetizer got the sweet onion soup highly recommend my gf got salmon tempura it was super small do not recommend getting that as it was just like average
Main i got the pasta with short rib add on ... it was good but i dont think value wise it was worth it... my gf got the fish entree it was alright..

the dessert i got the chocolate orange pot de creme .. it was pretty damn good .
my gf had the coconut /pineapple dessert it was good as well

Overall it was worth it

Went to five sails today

amuse bouche was a salmon sashimi slice with dijon sauce and a small cup of butternut squash and apple soup .. it was good! ... the salmon sashimi slice was better than the tempura salmon from west lol...

appy i had the sablefish chowder .. it was ok nothing to rave about.. gf had the crab salad which was very good

main i had the veal + veal sweetbread + prawns it was OK the veal was a little dry though.
gf had the halibut which was a little dry as well

dessert i had the opera cake it was pretty good but not awesome
gf's dessert was the lemon millefeuille which was GOOD i would recommend getting this as your dessert .. it was pretty lemony but the different textures/richness currently make it the best dessert of all the dine outs i've tried this year

five sails is worth it overall plus you get the amazing view

[keifun]

So me and my friends had reservations at db bistro moderne beside lumieres on W.broadway yesterday, and we had the $38 menu.

Appy: I had the curried cauliflower soup. The curry spice kinda ruined it for me and I found it too rich for my taste. My friends all had the Pork Terrrine which looked like spam. I tasted a bit of that and I thought it was better than my soup

Main: I got the swordfish dish. The plate was very tiny. Just 3 small cubes of swordfish on top a bed of chinese style stir fried vegetables that were really salty. A friend got the Rock Hen Duo and that turned out to be the best, which basically was chicken and mashed potatoes. The mashed potatoes didnt even tasted like real potatoes and more just like the packaged powder stuff.


Dessert: This was the only thing I enjoyed. I got the Rhubarb sundae which was just a crumble with ice-cream with lots of ginger-flavoured whipped cream.

Overall:
Food was 2.5/5 with small portions and tastes were just meh.
Service was 3.5/5 the waitress was very nice and prompt. decent service

In the end, I wouldn't go back..
Should of spend my $38+ elsewhere and be full and satisfied.

[cctw]

Going to Cincin tmr.. hoping for the best

C-restaurant on the 4th, very excited about that.

C-restaurant sucked pretty bad..

Cauliflower soup tasted weird....the salad had 3 small thin slices of fish..

entree...i got the eggplant thyme..tasted alright but portions were overly small..
the salmon tasted ok...and the shank..well the meet was just too soft..

best part was the dessert..that was a solid 4/5...

overall not worth the $38 and will make you leaving hungry...if you still wanna go then I'd suggest getting the $49 one..which has 4 courses..the food looked much more appealing..

i would rate it 2.75/5 at best for C-restaurant

[Peanut Butter Jelly Time!]

Would not recommend going to Griffins now or ever imo.

+1 to your post.. how people keep going back there is beyond me.

[Mr.HappySilp]

Went to A kettle of fish last night.

Not worth it IMO. Me and my friends were early so we waited in the lounge. When it is time for our eversation the server/waiters never called us. Waited for another 5mins and we went up to them and they said the tables weren't ready. Wait another 10mins and still tables were not ready yet we saw people who just walk in. So really when you customers waiting in the lounge you don't set their tables up first and pass 15mins into their dinner time and did not even apolgize.

Entree was decent the salmon was a bit over cook.

Desert was really bad. the Chocolate bread pudding was really hard and taste really bad.

Overall, for $38 it wasn't worth it.

[BlackZRoadster]

So me and my friends had reservations at db bistro moderne beside lumieres on W.broadway yesterday, and we had the $38 menu.



You make it sound like there was a choice of a lesser priced option? b.c im pretty sure there wasnt a lesser priced dine out menu when i checked

[cctw]

Went to water street cafe today...and it was really good!
fanny bay oysters, baked portobello mushroom appis

duck confit and crab cakes for entrees

new york cheese cake and chocolate espresso cake for dessert...

overall solid 9/10...definitely better than C restaurant imo

[skiiipi]

I've done 4 Dine outs so far and here is a brief review of each one.

The Salmon House
I've been to this particular resturant numerous times and has always been a favorite between myself and the gf.

Appetizers
I had the tuna, and the girl friend had scallop and tomato tart.
The tune was average at best, it was nicely done however was nothing special, however the tart was very good, the scallop along with the crispy garish went along really well texture and taste wise.

overall 8/10

Main Course
For this one, we both ordered the Salmon. during our previous visits, we always get their Salmon and they usually do a very good job cooking it, I personally like my Salmon on the rare side. I asked the server to make sure the Salomon was cooked a bit more on the rare side, however both our salmon came out more of a medium as opposed to the medium rare that we both requested. None the less, the flavor of the fish was quite delightful.

overall 7/10

Dessert

We both ordered the Raspberry Cake/Espresso Cup/White Chocolate Strawberry ,very well done, not too sweet.

overall 8/10

Service/Ambiance
Our server was very attentive, and avaliable when needed. The ambiance was good, the resturant was not too busy when we went, and we got seated near the window, and despite the rain, we had a great view of DT vancouver.

overall 9/10.

Total rating 8/10

Market By Jean Georges
This is my first time at the resturant. Upon reviewing the menu, I realized that there wasnt a significant differance between the non dine-out menu and the dine out menu, and the regular menu offered more choices so both the gf and I got swayed from the dine out menu to the main menu.

Appetizers
I had the Seard Scallops-$12 while the gf had the Roasted Beats/ Goat Cheese-$10
The Scallops along with the sauce tasted amazing, however the portions was rather small, only 3 medium sized scallops, so at $4 per scallop, i'm not sure if the taste can justify the price.
The Roasted beats/goat cheese was very well presented, however Goat cheese is an acquired taste, and definately not something that I would choose to eat myself, so I cannot give a fair review of this particular dish, the GF seem to enjoy the dish though.

Overall 7/10

Main Course
I had the Soy Glazed Shortribs-$24 while the gf had the slow cooked arctic char-$26.
The Shortribs was cooked very well, very tender and flavorful, the serving size was reasonable for a higher end resturant, roughly around 6-7oz. The flavor is a bit on the heavier side which suits me very well, if you do not have a heavier pallet, this dish may be a bit on the salty side for you.
The Arctic char was cooked just the way I like it, between rare and medium rare, flavor was there but the fish was extremely tender. The size of the fillet was fairly standard and was reasonable for the price paid.

Overall 9/10

Dessert
I had the Rhubarb and Strawberry Crisp-$8 while the GF had the Grand Marnier Souffle-$12.
The Souffle was delicious, very fluffy and not too sweet. The hint of orange from the Grand Marnier added a sophisticated touch.
The Strawberry Crisp was a bit to sour for my taste, however I made the mistake of having the sweeter Souffle before eating my own dessert, so the taste might be a bit tainted.

Overall 8/10

Service/Ambiance
This was my first time at the restuant, and I was quite impressed with the overall decore/atmophere. Would be nicer if it as on a higher floor with a better view. Our server was very professional and attentive.

On a side note, the valet parking at the hotel was also one of the better experiance I had with valet parking, the valet was very courteous (unlike the experiance I had with Fairmount Valet....see below).

Overall 9/10

Total Rating 8.5/10

Coast Resturant/Lounge
This was my first time at this establishment, and once again I got side tracked from the dine out menu and ended up ordering from the regular menu.

Appetizier
GF and I both ordered the seafood platter, at $29 per person it was definatly not cheap, however we felt like we easily got our money's worth. The platter came very well presented with 6 GIANT prawns (these thing were huge, I've had lobster tails smaller than these), sushi/sashimi, 1/2 Dungeness Crab, 1/2 Lobster and raw oysters. The crab meat was very sweet, the sushi was suprisingly very delicious (spicy tuna roll) and fresh. I personally did not like the oyster, I was not sure which one it was, but it was a smaller oyster, similar to the size of Kusshi, but a much stronger taste with a hint of copper after taste.
Overall the seafood platter definately satisfied our seafood craving.

Overall 8/10

Main Course
GF and I decided to order the 28oz Bone In Ribeye for 2-$49. The steak was carved into strips, which made sharing much easier.
The steak was by far one of the best rib eye's I've ever had. I'm a frequent steak eater, and have eaten at many different steak houses, and this one was definaly one of the best. Meat was very well marbled, and full of flavor and extemely tender.
The only down side to this meal was that for $49.99 it was pretty much steak only with no sides...it came with some deep fried brussel sprouts, but those were hardly ediable (too salty and dry), for $49.99 at least they could have thrown in some steamed vegitables.

Overall 9/10 (10/10 if you dont factor the sides)

Dessert
For dessert, we ordered the Pastry Chef's Dessert platter-$14, I dont quite remember exactly what was on it, but the portion was very generous, 4 differant kind of dessert including the cheesecake lollipop on the dine out menu.
Everything was delicious, nothing was too sweet (often times with Caucasian resturants, the dessert is way to sweet for my taste).

Overall 9/10.

Service/Ambiance
This resturant felt more like a lounge than a resturant, the overall noise level was a notch higher than the rest of the establishments that I've visited during this year's dine out. The interior decore was very modern. Our server was very friendly and attentive. He was easy going and checked up on us often to make sure everything was okay.

Overall 8/10 (I personally would prefer a quiter setting)

Total Rating 9/10

Griffins
This was my first time visiting this establishment and will probably be my last. The resturant was only serving the dine out menu, so I didnt end up swaying away from that.

Appetiziers
Both the gf and I decided to spend an extra $10 a person to go for the appetizier bar.....maybe our expectations was set too high due to our experaince the previous night at Coast, but the appetizer bar was far from appeling. The cocktail shrimp were a decent size, however they are not fully deshelled, which made eating them a pain. The smoked salmon was mediocore at best. The soups were bland to say the least, I could not finish my lobster bisque as it didnt taste appealing at all.
The appetizier bar felt like something you would find at a cheap hotel/casino buffet.....definatly not a fine dining resturant.

Overall 3/10

Main Course
I opted to go for the Prime Rib (extra $10), and the GF opted to go for the Salmon.
The Salmon was medicore, nothing special, certainly no where as good as the arctic char from Market, nor the Salmon from Salmon House.
The prime rib was a dissapointment. I've had better prime rib at Milestones. The meat was over cooked (I asked for medium rare, the cut given to me was more like medium well), the au jus was too sweet and was "unique" in not a very good way. The size was generous (about 10oz), however due to the bland flavor, I couldnt even finish.

Overall 4/10

Dessert
This was the part that we were both looking forward to, the dessert bar. Lots of options, the cheese cake was okay, a couple of the other cakes were too sweet for my liking. Again this dessert bar is like something you would find at a buffet.

Overall 6/10

Service/Ambiance
I think this portion is greatly affected by the fact that the resturant was only serving the dine out menu. The crowd was very family oriented, a lot of young kids, and the resturant was heavily under staffed for how busy it was. On numerous occassions I felt like I had to wave down my server because she was no where in sight when we needed her. Besides bring us our main course and refilling our water, she didnt do much at all.
For a total $130 with tip (we both had an over priced drink at $12 each), this was an extreme dissapointment, we spent $160 at Coast the night before, and I would MUCH rather spend the extra $30 for our complete experiance at Coast.

On a side note, the Valet parking at the Fairmount was also dissapointing. When I gave the valet attendent my valet slip at the end of my dinner, he simply gave me my keys and pointed to my car and asked myself and my gf to walk to my car myself. for $12 + tip I would expect him to drive my car up to me and open the door for at least my passenger. The valet attedent was not very professional, he did not thank me nor did he wish my a godo night, very small things but further dissapoint me in terms of overall dining experiance.

Overall 3/10.

Total Rating 4/10

I have one more dine out left on Monday, and I will write a review after. I apologize if there are any typos/gramatical error, too lazy to proof read.

[HonestTea]

^
Awesome review(s)!

Thanks!

[TRDood]

why would u go there for dine out? the regular menu is cheaper!

i hope you had a chance to try thr $20 lobster special last month. it was awesome.

and their portabello mushroom is so nasty. it was a waste of $8


Went to water street cafe today...and it was really good!
fanny bay oysters, baked portobello mushroom appis

duck confit and crab cakes for entrees

new york cheese cake and chocolate espresso cake for dessert...

overall solid 9/10...definitely better than C restaurant imo
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[TRDood]

skiipi, how did coast's seafood tower compare to blue water cafe's?

blue water cafe's 2 tiers cost $80 and it doesnt even have crab and lobster. it would be $125 for the add-on (3-tiers).
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[cctw]

mm i dunno...i didnt order the mushroom..only tried a little bit...i thought it was fine..my friend that had it liked it..

and i guess depends what you order...the oysters were $13, crab cakes $22 and dessert $8 i think? on the menu...so i guess you're saving $15...

but imo the duck confit was really really good..for some reason..maybe it was the sauce...but I'd definitely pay $28 for this than $38 at C Restaurant...that place was....crap hahahahah (well except for the lemon cheesecake)

[skiiipi]

skiipi, how did coast's seafood tower compare to blue water cafe's?

blue water cafe's 2 tiers cost $80 and it doesnt even have crab and lobster. it would be $125 for the add-on (3-tiers).
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

I've personally never had blue water's seafood tower, but based on what you mentioned, I would say coast offers better value. For $29 a person you get half a crab and half a lobster along with 6 giant prawns.
If you are a fan of oysters then coast's seafood platter probably is not for you as the oyster in the platter was mediocore at best.
Personally, my favorite place for oysters is still Elliots in seattle, especially during weekdays at 3pm, 50cent oysters, price increase 50 cent every 30moin
But back on topic, the Coast's seafood platter offers really good value imo
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[BlackZRoadster]

went to yokohama in richmond

JUST DO NOT GO THERE! I ordered a regular dish of tuna toro sashimi. It came out still half frozen and wouldnt fall apart. The color was still in its frozen stages, when normally tuna toro is supposed to be white, shiny, oily and kinda loosely attached. I also ordered a side order of a fresh whole uni for like 9 bux special. Worse mistake, the uni was so unfresh and ammonia tasting it was super bitter.

The dine out menu foie gras is good, but you get literally one bite, the wagyu appetizer was 4 tiny morsels the size of a quarter. No service whatsoever, nobody came around to ask how everything was....everything was cooked too salty, and the fried rice was too bland. Lobster was the best part but they still overcooked it. Dessert was one bite of mochi.

Including tips and everything was just 100 with no drinks. WORST experience ever.
Would definitely go to GYu teppanyaki if i was looking for teppan.

Rant over/

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

i had great experience at C restaurant, but i browsed thru their dine out menu for this year, looks boring as fuck so im gonna skip that.


Blue water cafe's 3 tier tower is definitely worth the money, tho it doesnt come with a cheap price tag. So prepare to shell out some $$$

[HonestTea]

BlackZRoadster, next time don't ask for reservations from people, especially from me if you aren't planning to go. I had 3 other people asking for my West reservation. If you weren't planning on going then don't ask for it, cause it could've benefited the other 3 RS members.

Having West call me about my reservation was a big WTF, at least have the courtesy to cancel it on my behalf if you took the reservation and even modified the group party to your liking. Like seriously?

[Ch28]

^ That sucks.

[BlackZRoadster]

jenson button: i did go man, i told them a friend called in by the name of Mxx , and they said ok and sat me down, i think there was a mixup , b/c after 10 min sitting down they came back to ask is may at our table?

[HonestTea]

*Shrugs*

I have no idea, I got a call on Saturday and was like WTF then I got a OpenTable email about not showing up and shit like that.

[ra1nn]

I went to Joe Fortes today.. and it was OKAY.
APPETIZER:
bf and i both ordered the Joe's Raw Plate
= It was actually better than I expected. The tuna and smoked salmon was topped with a sauce that was very unique and I loved it!
ENTREE:
We both shared the sirloin steak & Prawns and Fresh Shrimp & King crab Gomiti
= It was not THAT good. The sirloin was a bit overcook and the Gomiti was a bit "salty" but it was edible.
DESSERT:
One of each ( vanilla creme brulee and chocolate lava cake)
the vanilla creme brulee seemed a little bit flavorless? lol but i'm a sucker for creme brulee so it was still good for me. The chocolate lava cake was also very very good :)

The entree was a little bit disappointing but the app and dessert was a turn around.

[canucksfan]

Anyone have any reservations that they cannot make? Would love to try this before it ends.

[BlackZRoadster]

^ most restaurants are still available, google "dineout vancouver 2010"

[winson604]

Not sure if they are still taking reservations but Mistril was the best dineout me and my gf has ever had.