This corner seafood eatery has been a Yaletown staple even before the area took off as the it-village for media types and yuppie loft-owners. Today it’s one of the hottest restaurants in the city with a sexy dining room serving a unique spin on traditional Northwestern seafood. Along a pedestrian corridor of ramps and stone walkways, a vibrant blue façade is home to a cozy outdoor patio for summer dining. The rest of the year guests tuck inside the dining room with its exposed warehouse ceiling, polished floors and red brick walls lined in oiled-bronze sconces. Like many of Vancouver’s better restaurants, the space is limited to no more than twenty-or-so tables opposite a long drinking bar where locals often camp out for more solo dinners.<br />
The Food
Executive Chef Frank Pabst creates a seafood and raw bar that incorporates the culinary traditions of French with preparation techniques usually found in a Japanese sushi bar. At the raw bar, Yoshi Tabo cuts up a selection of sashimi, cut-rolls and seafood salads that’s one of the city’s more cutting edge sushi locales. If ordering off the more-traditional menu, dinner begins with a selection of ahi tuna carpaccio with pineapple salsa, tuna tartare with sesame wonton or organic Frasier Island greens with aged sheep cheese. Main course is a mix and mash of crusted white sturgeon with cauliflower puree, beef tenderloin with macaroni gratin or kobe-style short ribs with summer squash and grape tomatoes. If arriving late, the kitchen stays open till 12am with a special midnight menu as well as service at the bar that often goes on till 1am.
Last Word
Yaletown seafood and sushi eatery is one of the city's hottest dining rooms and counter-style bars for under-40 professional-set.
