TASTE THE 10 BEST OF 2017
One fine year for restaurant debuts
I’m usually speeding down the fast lane keeping pace with restaurants opening in a perilous industry, but at this time of the year I do a quick shoulder check.
It’s been another year of cautious optimism, mostly casual affairs except when backed by a high-end hotel (Botanist at Fairmont Pacific Rim, venues at Parq Vancouver, Mott 32 at Trump International). But it’s in the casual arena that Vancouver finds its soul. It’s a matter of making it sing.
Consider my favourite of the best new restaurants for 2017, St. Lawrence. Owner and chef J.C. Poirier has fine dining experience in some of the best kitchens in the country, but in past years his food and restaurant style has relaxed: Ask for Luigi (killer pasta), Pizza Farina (Italy approves), Pourhouse (comfort food done right).
At St. Lawrence, he searches for that soul and finds it in the country-style Quebecois food that saw him through childhood. It’s an alchemy of love and honour. Poirier crafts it into the sublime.
It’s so obviously an outpouring of pride, passion and love of the food he grew up with in Quebec. The cooking shows huge technical skill and artistry, and yet it’s homey comfort food. St. Lawrence has personality and theatre and focus and takes Vancouver’s eclectic culinary scene forward — casually.
Here are things I’ve noted in 2017. With the rise of artisan butchery, quality keeps getting better and even burgers are worthy of praise (Two Rivers Specialty Meats, I’m talking to you) and sure, go ahead and have that mediumrare burger.
Beer lists keep getting better and better with the explosion of great local beers. Vegetables are being adored and cooked with such reverence and appreciation by the better chefs; they’ve moved closer to centre plate. When it comes to sustainability, it’s so ingrained in good restaurants, they’re no longer show-offs about local, ethical or organic ingredients. Same with gluten-free — it’s just a given that there are gluten-free options.
Negatives? Noise levels are louder than ever in restaurants geared to the under-30s, although I admit my intolerance has escalated.
I was heartened to see the city’s response to a couple of ventures born of the struggles and strife in other parts of our world. We embraced Tayybeh, a regular Syrian pop-up, run by refugees from the war-torn country. And Yemen Haneeth, a direct result of the suffering in Yemen, is providing a former Yemeni businessman a start in this city. It was most recently operating on Clark Drive but is on hiatus with a promise to appear again.
Here, then, in alphabetical order, are the top 10 new restaurants:
BOTANIST
Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel | 604-695-5500 botanistrestaurant.com
Sexy allure doesn’t come cheap, but chef Hector Laguna’s experience at some of the country’s best restaurants is evident in the dishes. Here’s hoping the cacophony of live entertainment from the lobby and the restaurant has been calmed.
BOWS AND ARROWS
4194 Fraser St. | 604-620-7657 bowsxarrows.ca
A coffee bar with geeky standards morphed into a lunch and dinner spot. Chef Kris Barnholden cooks by imagination and dishes are well-orchestrated surprises.
FAYUCA
1009 Hamilton St.| 604-689-8523 fayuca.ca
A brilliant partnership between Ernesto Gomez (Nuba) and Jair Tellez (a celebrated chef in Mexico). Pork jowl with black beanbraised cipollini onion, charred salsa and poached egg? Oy!
HONEY SALT AT PARQ VANCOUVER
39 Smithe St.| 778-370-8200 parqvancouver.com
A spinoff restaurant from Las Vegas with drama in a country-spun way. Farm-to-table menu, fastidious about quality B.C. ingredients (mostly) and attentive service.
MAK N MING
1629 Yew St. | 604-737-1155 maknming.com
There is nothing cliche about Makoto Ono’s food, or partner and pastry chef Amanda Cheng ’s baked creations. Disciplined creativity on the plate in a small, eclectic room.
ODDFISH
1881 West First Ave. | 604-564-6330 oddfishrestaurant.com
The owners nestle into neighbourhoods like at their Nook pizzerias, and Tavola. Oddfish serves delicious seafood in their naked honesty, simply and probably grilled on the plancha.
ORTO ARTISAN PASTA
1600 Mackay Rd., North Vancouver | 604-929-0203 ortoartisanpasta.com
This rustic pasta-forward restaurant has DNA from La Regalade restaurant. It’s the Ask for Luigi of the North Shore and, furthermore, shares space with Bad Dog Bakery, which does breakfast until 11 a.m.
SPACCA NAPOLI
2801 St. Johns St., Port Moody | 604-939-5800 pizzeriaspaccanapoli.com
The chef made pizza in Naples and the owners, including a dentist, are food-obsessed Italian friends born of food-obsessed parents. Would they abide so-so pizzas? Not on your life.
RANGOLI
1480 West 11th Ave. | 604-736-5711 vijsrangoli.ca
This isn’t a newborn — it’s more born again. A move to new digs, an upgrade from the hurry-up-andeat style, a bigger menu, samosa flights — happy hour has a whole new feel.
ST. LAWRENCE
269 Powell St. | 604-620-3800 stlawrencerestaurant.com
This restaurant screams no to poutine and serves beautiful, delicious, finely tuned country-style food of Quebec. A total seduction of the senses.