With a restaurant-per-capita ratio that rivals that of New York, Vancouver offers a diverse range of cuisines that would surely satisfy any taste. Unfortunately, with an increasingly large number of choices, finding the right place becomes a daunting task. As a food lover, I have long intended to write restaurant reviews in hopes of helping my fellow foodies find the best our city has to offer. My criteria is simple: quality food, service, ambience, and value. Each category is a possible five stars and the restaurant scores the average of the four numbers.
Expect to see reviews regularly on SeeHearTasteDesign, but don’t expect to always see them listed by neighbourhood; sometimes I may group reviews by type of food or value. One day I may even pass the pen to someone else to write a review, maybe someone in a different city, or a different country for that matter! For now, I am staying local and I want to tell you about a couple of new(ish) places that are well worth trying. The next time you find yourself in the Commercial Drive area of Vancouver, and if you’re hungry, treat yourself to any of the following three restaurants:
Falconneti’s East Side Grill ★★★★
1812 Commercial Drive | t: 604.251.7287
Food ★★★★
These guys make really good sausages (that’s their specialty), and they offer several different kinds of gourmet hotdogs. I always, ALWAYS, go for one item here: Tacos Sausiche. You pick one kind of sausage (I like the vegetarian) and they will chop it up and serve it in three soft shell grilled tacos with homemade salsa verde and guacamole. Beware that when they say something is spicy (Yucatan Chicken Sausage), they really mean it.
Service ★★★
Nice and friendly but pretty slow...
Ambience ★★★½
If you’re lucky and get a table on the new patio (upstairs), you will enjoy a lovely view in a comfortable and sleek setting. If, however, you sit inside, bring earplugs as they usually crank up the volume of whatever music they’re playing (I don’t understand why).
Value ★★★★½
The Tacos Sausiche, my favourite dish there, costs $9! That’s a big bang for a few bucks.
The Pond ★★★½
1441 Commercial Drive | t: 604.254.2548
Food ★★★★
The Pond offers a variety of homemade Spanish tapas. Some are better than others, of course. I have tried a few, and my favourites are the paella, the house salad (which comes with grilled red peppers), and the mushroom dip. Mmmm…
Service ★★½
The place has a few friendly faces, but none of them know enough about restaurant service. We had empty glasses sitting on the table that were neither cleared nor refilled, the server wasn’t good at explaining what the dishes were, and we felt a little neglected at times.
Ambience ★★★
It’s nice and cozy in there. But the music is very cheesy and elevator-esque.
Value ★★★★
If you’re going there for a tapas-type meal, it won’t be cheap. But if you have the paella (which is only $10) as a main dish, and add a couple of appetizers, then you’re in for a well-priced treat.
Timbre Restaurant ★★★★
2068 Commercial Drive | t: 604.215.7515
Food ★★★★
Timbre specializes in Canadian (or northwestern cuisine). I ate there during Dine Out Vancouver 2011, and it was delicious! I had spinach salad, BBQed duck with mashed potatoes, and amazing strawberry shortcake for dessert. These items are not on the regular menu, but they have a handful of unique dishes that are well worth trying.
Service ★★★★
Friendly, attentive, and professional staff.
Ambience ★★★★
It’s small in there, but they’ve made it look good and feel comfortable. They occasionally host live music (from jazzy dinners to bluegrass brunches). Sometimes, they burn a little wood to give the room that special ski lodge vibe.
Value ★★★
The portions may be too small for this to qualify as good value, but it is quality food in a lovely environment.
Go out and try those places, if you haven’t already, and tell me about your experience. I’ll be back soon with more restaurant ideas and food recipes.
