Restaurants (continued)

As every other Saturday I am trying new restaurants around town.

Yesterday I wanted to go to Lucy May Brown but ... its dead now so I walked to La Gavroche which is a french restaurant (again) where you will need to reserve if you want a table and not be seated at the bar between books and wine bottles.

La Gavroche (1616 Alberni street)
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Setting: This is a really small restaurant which feels friendly and familiar. Unless you are at the bar like me and sitting next to a computer and an employee purse Lollll

Service: Lucky for me the service was perfect. Every employee working there came to talk to me during my dinner so it seemed like i wasnt assigned a waiter but everyone pitched in to deliver a good experience for me. And that was great :)

Menu: The menu has a lot of options and I was at a lost for a couple of minutes since I didnt know where to start and so many options to choose from. You have special prices for 4 services or 5 services with or without wine pairing. Choose from anything in the menu for that. Or you have many already selected and arranged dinner options that fit each other with or without wine pairing and all wines are listed with their items so easy to select a wine that fits your meal.

I decided to get the 4 services (which was a 5 services in the end since you get a trou normand sorbet)

Before the meal : With bread comes the butter (obviously) and some pate :)

I chose a red Ch La Targue (or something like that ...it was a Bordeaux anyways) wine which i finally had two glasses of in the end. it was a good wine.

First I chose the Steak Tartare with fries and pickels and crackers. It was my first time eating a steak tartare so i wasnt too sure what to expect. The good thing about this meal is that the owner comes at your table and prepares it in front of you and the way you want it !! Spicy?, he asked ? I dont know never done that before, I said. He said yeah it should be ;)
It was a good experience to eat it and it was big enough that i ran out of crackers and i was getting full so i didnt eat it all.

After that I got the cesar salad, which is also made at your table in front of you with ingredients of your choice (well you have some options anyways) This was also a really big portion which i couldnt eat all of it. It was only the second service and was really getting full at this point.

Then I had a surprised sorbet (trou normand) for appetite to come back ;)

It took a bit for the 5 Spices duck magret to arrive which was good since i needed a breather.
The duck came with some vegetable i couldnt really name, a tomato and a carrot. Also, it had duck breast obviously and the carcasse with some meat in it plus it had big pieces of stuffing (which i didnt like). This meal was good but not the best sauce ever. I would get it again though if I wanted duck next time. I recommend it.

After all of this I was full...really full, but dessert was going to arrive at some point.
I got the Creme Brulee which was really good (not as good as the Faux Bourgeois though). The top was definitly well done which a really tick sugary element lol. It also came with a really good kind of cookie or sugary cracker.

It took me 2 hours to eat there and thats incredibly long for me since i usually eat really fast.
The music was great there which made the atmosphere really relaxed and made me enjoy it a lot even though I didnt have a great spot to sit at.

I recommend to go if you like french food and good service.

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Restaurants

I enjoy discovering new restaurants and this tradition continues in Vancouver ;)

Here's a list of restaurants i went to so far and how much I liked them ...
(will be updated as i try new ones)


Les Faux Bourgeois Bistro (663 15th avenue east)
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I was told this French restaurant had the best creme brulee ever so I had to go there and taste it and I love this kind of food anyways so...

The restaurant is located in an easy to access and park your car area.
The staff was french, but I still got a good service from them ;)

Ordered a really good red wine glass of Chateau Rouselle Bordeaux 05 which was the best wine I got so far in Vancouver where good one is rare i find.

I started with the French Onion Soup which was really good with plenty of cheese and good bread. Salty just the right way too.

Then I went on with some Escargots (snails) which was served with garlic oil and some hard baked bread. it was good but would not really get them next time.

I tried the Canard Confit (Duck) has my main meal which was served with potatoes and green beans but the sauce didnt do anything for me. I wouldnt get that one next time.

Dessert was next : I obviously tasted the Creme Brulee and it was soooooo delicious. I dont know exactly what made it so tasty and smooth and vanilla flavored but hmmmmm i would go back just for that.

Enjoyed the overall experience.
Reservations needed if you want a table and not sit at the bar like i did.
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Glowbal grill & satay bar (1079 Mainland st)
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This restaurant has a good selection of satays and some options to select them by the piece or selection of the chef ...

I enjoyed 2 pieces of satay : - Salmon
- Something else that i didnt really order tasted like pork

these were delicious and i would have gotten more if I only new before.
The ribs satay looked delicious too hmmm

I also got the Onion Soup which was a great selection too. Lots of cheese, good bread. (not as good as the one at FauxBourgeois)

Good wine by the glass.

As my main meal I had a big piece of steak. When I got it, I thought it was an amazingly big piece of steak which was great. It was served on a wooden cutting board which I found strange and was sitting over a couple of green beans. The steak was tender, but it wasnt as good as a plate at a Hard Rock Cafe for example.

Didnt get any dessert since the bartender didnt really offer me anything or the card ... oh well!

like the satays would go back for that but not so much for the steaks.

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Cactus Club Cafe ( 357 Davie Street)
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There are a couple of locations in Vancouver but I went at the Davie location.

Atmosphere: I enjoyed the atmosphere here, half lounge/bar, half restaurant. It had a darker lighting, romantic, really like the photos on the walls and the structure of the restaurant also.

Service: Best service Ive had in Vancouver so far. The waitress was awesome, super friendly, always there to offer something, fast with refill from the other employees. Im really critical for service and it was a perfect one.

Menu: the menu as a great selection of every kind of meal and it is the restaurant chain of Chef Rob Feenie, so I had to take one of his creations of course :)

Started with a good red wine glass (cant remember which one)

Starter was a really generous portion of cesar salad which was delicious
Main menu: I took the Rob Feenie's Hunter Chicken which was served in a mushroom sauce. This was the most delicious and original chicken recipe Ive ever tasted. hmmmmm great :)

My dessert was a lava chocolate cake served with vanilla ice cream. I can say that it didnt ruin my dinner ... great chocolate :)

favorite service, great food.
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Subeez Cafe (891 Homer street)
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i was disapointed overall for this place which i was told was good.
Maybe the sandwiches are good I might have to try them at some point, but ...


The red wine I got was okay.
I started with the Mushroom soup which was good.
Then I chose the Maple soy Salmon which was not great but was alright

I was sitting at the bar and the service was not so great.

not a lot to say when i dont quite enjoy ;)
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Templeton (1087 Granville)
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Great brunch restaurant :)

This restaurant looks like an authentic 1950's style dinner. It is a really small place so you will have to either eat at the bar or wait a little bit in line for people to leave. There is a line up usually on Sundays so arrive early or be patient cuz it is good and youll want to wait.

They might have the best milkshake ever which is a generous portion of fabulous drink. There are a couple of different flavors but i always get strawberry ( or cherry lol i cant remember) but you can get root beer flavored milkshake. It is so big that it could potentially be a meal for some.

The breakfast are delicious and gigantic ... 3 eggs, sausages, really good bacon, good bread and potatoes! hmmmmm

The staff is also super friendly and i enjoyed them a lot.
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Brix restaurant and wine bar (1138 Homer street)
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This is the first restaurant I tried since it was right by my place.
Also I decided to go there because it offered some duck from Quebec ;)

You enter the place through an alley which gets you in the garden area of the restaurant where you might be lost like i was bc you have to go through it then enter the restaurant to be seated.

I got a seat outside in the garden under a roof . This place was a great place for a romantic dinner because the atmosphere was really appropriate for such meals. The place is heated if its cold outside so no problem there, being in an alley is kinda strange but you get accustomed to it also.

The service was great. The guy who would fill my water glass was so fast and im sure he was spying on ever sip i had since he was always around. lol

I got a really good red Syrah wine glass.
I ordered a soup as the starter but it was a bean soup which wasnt liquid enough ... was rough in my throat and did not like it at all.

Fortunately the Duck breast from Lake Brome which was served in a blueberry sauce with tomato ragout, wild mushroom and spinash was a great meal.

For dessert, I didnt get anything because i was full even though now I regret not having this good looking Chocolate Pot de Creme (chocolate mousse) hmmmm oh well

i had a great time at this restaurant
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Earls Restaurants (they are everywhere)
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Everytime I go there I like it. Ive been there 3 times until now and always get a good meal.

The combo soup,salad or sandwich is the best deal and most people take that.

The earls own wine is not good i hopefully will never get that one again.

I tried the clam chowder soup and different home soups and they are always tasty and good.

For meals:
I tried the chicken caesar salad which is really big and good.
The Cajun Chicken Cheddar sandwich is good.
The salmon was alright i found with a high price i wouldnt consider it for future choices.

Never tried the dessert since i usually go at lunch
good eat at low price
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The list is long for japanese restaurants where i eat but cant remember the names, but the sushi is always good and really not expensive here in vancouver.

For a good poutine (30 flavors): La Belle Patate (1215 Davie)


Oh man I shouldnt have written this before i eat ... im so hungry now !!!