Fez Café Bistro on Robson

I found delicious North African food in a cosy environment with great hospitality right on Robson St. (at Jervis Street) downtown.  I don't know much about Algerian food, but I loved basically all the dishes that I tried here in two recent visits.  When you walk in, everything about Fez Café Bistro is cozy and comforting - the room has big cushioned benches along the side, North African patterns everywhere, tajines and other decorations, and wonderful multi-coloured lights hanging from the ceiling.  You are also greeted with warmth and a little taste of mint tea right away.  It's been chilly and wet outside for both of my visits, and this was a perfect retreat from the weather.

I don't usually go for vegetarian food, but they had a vegan four-course meal (the appetizer course also included several different items - stuffed grape leaves, salad, three dips) that was really delicious, satifying and to me, a great value at about $30.  I'd gladly take vegetarian friends here.

This was a very nice, vegetable soup.

There is a choice of veggie couscous or veggie tagine in this set meal, and I had the couscous.  I was really taken by how buttery and delicious the vegetables were, even though there wouldn't have been any butter in the dish since it's vegan.  You can have a similar set meal with a choice of a number of meat dishes too (listed in the menu for two people or more), or just order à la carte.

This extra sauce is to add to your couscous dish as you go along.  The toppings are already served on top of your couscous so it is nice to be able to add extra sauce to your liking if you don't like your couscous too soggy.  When you order a tajine instead of couscous, you get a side dish of rice separately and the tajine (clay conical vessel, but also the name for the stew) holds your sauce.  I didn't get a good picture, but they bring the tajine with the conical lid to your table, and then take away the top.  

I was even given a choice of dessert at the end, and more tea with the table d'hôte meal.

On my second recent visit, I tried the bouraka beef and it was delicious and quite substantial.

This chicken tajine was ordered by someone else.  I had a taste, but much preferred my choice, shown below, the couscous royale for more flavour and variety.

The couscous is topped with plenty of veggies and chickpeas, a skewer each of beef, chicken, and two merguez sausages ($24).  I think there may have been another skewer of lamb as well, but I can't remember exactly. At any rate, it was a lot of food (I had some for lunch the next day) and all very tasty.  They give you a gravy boat of more tasty vegetable broth/sauce to add as you go along also.

Our large group got these wonderful tiny baklawa (I think) treats compliments of the house. Dates stuffed with marzipan, and beautiful little date and nut cakes with filo pastry layers on the bottom.

This Fez chocolate date cake was really nice, and was my favourite dessert aside from the baklava. 

I have noticed that it's been somewhat quiet on my visits, especially compared to the ramen shop next door which is super busy all the time.  I do enjoy that type of atmosphere because I find quiet restaurants relaxing, but I really hope that they do well enough to survive.  I think a lot of people around this area downtown aren't as familiar with the food of North African countries, but this place makes it really accessible and it's delightful to try something different.  This particular neighbourhood  of downtown is overrun with bustling ramen shops, so I welcome this unique gem.

El Camino's on Main St. (at 16th Ave.)

A good Tres Leches cake in Vancouver is hard to find.  This one was delicious and the whole restaurant charmed me when I went to their Oscars viewing party.  They have all sorts of Latin American dishes, lots of tequila, and great servers.  Check out their website.

This Nightingale Needs a Little Nursing...

It's difficult not to have high expectations when you know that David Hawksworth is the owner of this fairly new restaurant.  I had hoped that the mixed reviews were just the result of the operation needing a little "working-out-the-kinks" time.  I figured there could also have been some unreasonable expectations involved.  I figured the negative reviews would act as alarm calls, and the restaurant would scurry about to fix the offending issues.



Well, I think it needs more love.  Here are my impressions of my dinner there.  In short, I wouldn't mind dining there again should an occasion call for it, but I'm not going to be rushing over again for now.  Mostly very tasty food with a couple of misses, mediocre service for this price point, and a pretty room but not terribly cosy on the bottom floor just doesn't add up to justifying the cost for me.



I dined with two other people, and we managed to make a good dent into the menu, sharing all items.

The roasted maitake mushroom with pecorino, brown butter, hazelnut ($12) was one of my favourites.  Fairly simple, but delicious.  Very nutty with the hazelnuts and the browned butter.  I also liked the fact that there were so many vegetable dishes on the menu.  

This cocktail was the Haddonfield ($15...didn't really pay attention to this at the time), and was very pleasant, balanced, and worth having again.  Bourbon, Calvados, PX sherry, green chartreuse, Angostura bitters.

The meatballs ($16 - there were three of them) were a miss.  Specifically, braised meatballs, San Marzano, parmesan, pine nut, basil, chili.  One of us, a meatball aficionado of Italian descent, found it too dry, as if they had been sitting out for too long.  I agreed and I was also disappointed in the weak flavour.  However, the pine nuts included were a good addition.  The sauce was fine otherwise, but not too memorable. 

The grilled Pacific rockfish, fresh ginger, scallion, black pepper ($14) was very tasty, but I couldn't help but think that I could go to a Chinese restaurant and get almost an entire delicious fish with similar flavours for the price of this slice.  I did know going in that this meal was going to be pricey, and this is in the "small" section of the menu, so it wasn't really a surprise, but it was just so similar to a Chinese fish dish, it naturally ignited my Chinese thriftiness.

This Pacific octopus with blistered caper, parsley, fermented child, vinegar ($19) was one of my favourites.  It was meaty, tasty and interesting (mostly because it isn't found like this commonly in restaurant here).

This grilled merguez sausage ($17) was spicy and flavourful, and the baba ghanouj was great with it.  I didn't get a shishito pepper (I think there were two on the plate).  Also, to be honest, I don't remember the mint and only remember the cilantro.  If I could go back in time, I'd keep this dish, but skip the meatballs.

The brussel sprouts, dried plum, chili, chardonnay vinegar was also delicious, and I will try to remember to add sliced prunes the next time I roast brussel sprouts.  I had never had that combination before, and the sweet dried fruit went so well with the brusssel sprouts.

This pizza ($17) was also very nice.  Cooked new potatoes on pizza is great. It also had roasted mushrooms, garlic confit and fontina.  The crust had great texture, with the centre being very thin yet structurally stable, and a nice level of chewiness.

Here we come to dessert, and I've included a photo of the menu because it is not on the website.  Each dessert has a pairing, and so my hopes were high that they were well thought out, and with a chef owner of this calibre, I assumed that going to the effort of putting pairings on their dessert menu indicated that each pair would be remarkable with each other.  I chose the salted caramel pot de crème, whipped crème fraîche, butterscotch, vanilla breton ($12), which was paired with NV Taylor Fledge 20 year old tawny port, douro, prt ($17).  Suffice it to say that when I tried them together, I did not understand why they were paired, and nothing remarkable happened apart or taken together.  The dessert was recommended by my server and it was good, but served too cold for my taste.  I wouldn't bother having the port again, at least not for $17 a glass.  I should have had a cup of coffee but one of my dinner companions did order a coffee and received one that was too cold.

So the best thing about this place was the food.  Some improvements can still be made there - for example, I would suggest re-evaluating those dessert pairings, and look at what's happening with the meatballs. I'm going to assume the pricing will stay the same, and I guess there are plenty of people around that will pay but I would love to see that just slightly lower, even if it was just a bit shaved off the drinks or larger portions for some of the dishes.  The room was quite busy on a Monday night.

The decor is going to attract a lot of customers and you can tell that a lot was invested in this.  It has a very classy updated retro style. But the real work needed here is in the service.  I've only to Hawksworth once, and there were absolutely no issues with service and it was delightful, so one would think that it might be possible to nearly duplicate that at another location even if it is not the same level of fine dining.  Anyway, I get better service at IHOP at a fifth of the price (shout out to the amazing male server at the Broadway location).  The service at Nightengale wasn't terrible.  It was almost fine.  Let's say a near miss.  Certainly nobody kicked a piece of pizza at my foot like the night Alexandra Gill visited (reading that review made me laugh).  They seemed pretty friendly, but this felt more like a mask covering some general indifference.  So to start, unfortunately a couple of people had cancelled on me and I originally had six people which meant that there was (I presume) a six-top saved for me upstairs in the nice part of the restaurant.  I try to be considerate, so I left a message updating the restaurant that we were only going to be a party of four.  They weren't able to pick up and didn't get a chance to check the voicemail, so they weren't aware of this when I arrived (it's not that often that I call a restaurant during service and can't get through, but they were busy so that's not ideal, but not that big a problem).  So then we wind up getting seated at a table for four right in front of the door.  When I expressed my interest in an upstairs table, I was told it was all full.  I had arrived in front of my guests, so I made sure he understood my preference by politely reiterating by mentioning that I'd appreciate a table upstairs if one opens up before my guests arrived.  He mumbled something about if you want an upstairs table, you need to reserve it ahead of time.  Which of course, I had, but I didn't bother with trying to get into an argument with him since we did only have four people. I did get the feeling that it wasn't quite as full up there as he made it seem.  At least we didn't get a high top table, which I had specifically asked to avoid when I made my original reservation.  The person I spoke to and who seated us wasn't going to be our server for the night, so there was that indifference, with what felt like a fake politeness laid on top.

Then later in the evening, we had trouble flagging our server down a couple of times.  She was fairly friendly though.  We didn't have time to get the cold coffee replaced and it was apparent then that it was difficult to get her attention.  I don't think it was comped when it was mentioned either.  The slight indifference could be sensed again, but she did definitely offer to replace it.  There was a lack of warmth in both people I dealt with that evening.  The food in general did come out quickly though.



I did enjoy the meal with my dining companions, and there were definitely some highlights, and the menu itself is exciting and varied.  I would love to see this place improve.  I am not sure how much motivation they will have to do this, as it is already a very popular spot.  I think the food is interesting enough to make the visit worthwhile if you've got the money to burn.  But if you don't, maybe save up a tiny bit more and head to Hawksworth instead if you want a more polished experience.

Döner Kebab on 4th is Falafelly Good!

I love the falafel wrap here.  I love it so much that it's one of the few places where I'll gladly eat a vegetarian meal without even being tempted by meat.  They scoop the mix right into the deep fryer after you order, so the falafel balls are hot and crispy.  Then they put ample toppings into the pocket.  However, they do have some seriously good meat dishes too.  Go to a fancier place, like places a few doors down, and how much would you pay for a succulent braised lamb shank dish?  Here, you get a beautiful falling off the bone lamb shank on top of rice, and it's going to be cheap and flavourful.  They also have a simiar braised chicken leg dish that is very good.  I have also tried some of their salads and the homous, and it was all good, so you may prefer a platter rather than a wrap. The people there are nice, and the man that I think is the owner really seems to care about the food.

House Special Chow Mein

New Town Bakery makes my favourite house special chow mein ($16) in Vancouver.  Everything that you'd normally want is on there including squid, chicken, barbecue pork, bok choy, prawns, onions, plus extra goodies like fish balls (halved), liver, pigs ear, and Chinese mushrooms (in other words, they don't cheap out with button mushrooms).  Everything is perfectly cooked and extremely tender.  The prawns are plump, too.  They ask if you prefer the noodles soft or crispy, so you will get lots of nice crispy edges if you are like me, and like the noodles pan-fried.  I always pick up some Chinese buns/pastries while I'm there and some of them are half price at the end of the day.  Also, servers are friendly to everyone and will speak English with you without judgement.  There are plenty of other choices on the menu, and they are open for breakfast too (with Chinese style and Hong Kong Western style breakfast menus).  But I think it's hard to find a good house special chow mein right in Vancouver, and they do a great job with this dish.  

Fatty Papa!

I've been wanting to try this newish okonimiyaki place on Robson with a great name.  I'm enjoying my original style okonomiyaki ($8.50, chicken, bacon, and seafood versions are also available) plus an add-on of soba noodles.  I combo'd up with a fresh watermelon milk slush for $3.50 more.  The slush was delicious but watermelon is seasonal so it might not be available much longer this season.  The okonomiyaki was good.  It was not Hiroshima style so the soba was not crisped up on the grill and incorporated in it, but was still a great addition sitting on top.  The restaurant also has other homey dishes like omurice (fluffy rice filled omelette), curries, noodles in soup, and gyoza.  Casual bright room with simple and clean decor, so it may not look it, but it does have full service.  Hope it's here to stay.  

Neverland Tea Salon

I don't really need to say too much about this place.  It's fantastic.  Most importantly, the food and tea was top notch.  Both the savoury little sandwiches and the baked goods are ridiculously good at Neverland Tea Salon (on Broadway between Balaclava and Carnarvon).  You can see the menu for the high tea pictured.  All of the pastries and finger sandwiches are creative, flavourful, and unexpectedly pleasing, and include multiple textures and flavour components to go that extra mile - like the little bit of delightful crunch under the malted chocolate mousse cake.  I've been there a couple of times now, and they change the items up a bit, but it's all been delicious.  They even let you choose different teas when you finish a pot, and I had their Earl Grey, and their signature Take Me To Neverland chocolate and peppermint scented black tea blend.  I love the Neverland theme, and while this may attract clientele with children, everyone seemed well behaved when I visited.  The tea cups and flatware are great.



I think service can be somewhat improved, depending on which server you get.  Also, they seem to freak out a bit when you arrive an hour before closing which was plenty of time for me personally in that instance, but they basically close the kitchen then, so be prepared for them to sound a bit on edge if you come in just before that time.  I also had the servers ignore me for quite a few minutes after I walked in, so it would have really been disappointing had they not let me have afternoon tea.  This is where they could do with some improvement, by the way.  Some servers are really not that friendly and welcoming (luckily for the first visit, I had a remarkably competent young man with excellent customer service skills that left me with a very positive impression, which led me to wanting to come back).  They do stay open quite late for an afternoon tea place, which is quite nice - on weekends, they "close at 7 pm," but really, keep in mind that this means 6 pm.  They also have cocktails, which I haven't tried yet.



My favourite high tea place in the past has been The Secret Garden Tea Co. off W. 41st, with warm and friendly service everytime, a prettier and daintier room (less shabby chic) and delicious food and tea, and prettier pastries, but only 3 types of sandwiches.  Neverland is a strong contender.  You get more variety with five types of finger sandwiches, plus a mega scone.  You get more opportunity to have a variety of teas at Neverland too.  Pricing is the same for high tea.  And perhaps it's due to my foggy memory, but I feel like the flavours are more exciting at Neverland, but I do remember that everything was absolutely delicious at The Secret Garden as well.  Anyhow, try both.  They're both good.  And it's fun to go to different settings.



I've also enjoyed the afternoon tea at Bacchus Restaurant and Lounge at the Wedgewood Hotel, which is only available Saturday and Sunday between 2 - 4 pm.  But it did have less creative flavours, and was more expensive, but it came with amazing service and is set in a beautiful richly decorated room filled with cushy velvet covered chairs and dark wood.  I only went once, and was very impressed by our very kind, very dignified butler-like server.  But I have received much colder service for drinks in the early evening (perhaps because everyone else was in their lawyer suits from the courthouse, and I was dressed very casually) so I can't be sure that the service is consistent for afternoon tea.



For me, high tea makes me feel civilized, pampered, and indulgently girly, and is the perfect antidote to a grubby, "go-go-go" week of work.  It's like the meal version of a long meandering stroll versus what sometimes feels like sprinting through a muddy obstacle course.  Just a note though, that while high tea can be very girly (I have organized a big bridal shower high tea, for example), men have definitely enjoyed the experience with me too, so it doesn't have to be for just the girls.