GARY’S A JOKE BUT FOOD IS DEFINITELY NOT
Intimate Vancouver eatery serves uncomplicated, elevated fare
Who is Gary? Owners Matthew Bishop and Bailey Hayward say the name of their restaurant is an inside joke, capturing the unpretentious vibe they want for this neighbourhood spot.
“It's named after a friend who was part of a dinner series we held at our house during COVID,” Hayward explains to guests.
Obviously, there's more to the story. The friend was actually Greg Park, once mistakenly called Gary Wong on a shift schedule at a restaurant where he once worked.
“We jokingly called the dinner series Gary's Social Club. Greg comes into the restaurant and he reserves under Gary Wong,” Hayward says.
Bishop and Hayward, a couple, met while working for Collective Hospitality restaurants (Mackenzie Room, Say Mercy, Collective Goods) — he, in the kitchen and she, in front of house. Bishop eventually became kitchen director overseeing all three.
When the couple opened Gary's last fall, it wasn't the best of times with staff shortages, inflation setting in, and a skittish dining public, but it wasn't the worst of times either.
“We were a little naive at the time but good friends wanted to work with us. Almost everyone on the team reached out to us and worked with us over the years. It was a blessing to open with friends and people we respected,” says Hayward.
It also helps to be in a neighbourhood with good taste and a shortage of restaurants for foodies.
The intimate room, previously home to Fiore, is white-walled and modest, with a peek-a-boo window to the kitchen. A painting by Dan Clemens, of a couple of vintage cars, a desert landscape and white laundry on a clothesline, slid through my eyeballs and became part of my experience there.
With the concrete floor, however, it can get very noisy, especially with loud neighbours, as I had.
“We put in all the sound tiles in the ceiling we could fit,” says Bishop, who did a lot of the work himself.
Just a heads-up for the high decibel averse.
Bishop and Hayward describe the casually refined food as European, with French and hints of British. It's uncomplicated fare, elevated with great local ingredients, sourcing produce from Athiana Acres, Cropthorne Farm, Glorious Garnish, Klippers Organics Acres and North Arm Farm. Most proteins are local but not strictly so, especially with seafood, where Bishop likes to take advantage of what's great from other areas. Specials are based on surprise offerings from farmers. On the menu, appies are $16 to $23 and mains run $28 to $37.
On my visit, I was besotted by a chicken liver and foie gras profiterole with brandied cherry compote. Foie really loves brandied cherries, just like me. It was offered as a special but don't worry, it reappears in different disguises — most recently, it was served with toasted brioche and preserved peaches.
Lightly smoked, cured steelhead trout was bright and fresh and served with sauce gribiche (boiled egg yolk, mustard, oil, pickles, capers, herbs). That dish has recently been replaced with kanpachi crudo, orange, and tapenade.
Ling cod wouldn't ever win an oceanic beauty contest, but tastewise, it's elegant. Bishop served it with flageolet beans, lardons, and hispi cabbage — hearty and wintry. The hispi cabbage, from Athiana Acres, is more delicate than the norm and has a pointy shape.
Tender pork cheeks, braised in red wine, with spaetzle, chanterelles and tarragon, was an earthy, homey, comfort dish.
“It was such a good year for foraged mushrooms with little snow on the coast,” Bishop says.
For dessert, we experienced that little hint of British that Hayward referred to: sticky toffee pudding with vanilla custard, topped with candied cornflakes. If a table prefers, there's an option to order a chefdriven family style meal.
Wines follow the same ethos as food, says Hayward: “It's low intervention, sustainably farmed and processed. It's approachable.”
The wine director is Anna Sutela, who followed the same path at Hanai restaurant previously. There's also some cocktail classics, local beers and an extensive amaro list.
To mix things up a bit, they'll be doing a pop-up series with guest chefs, featuring counter service. The first is on April 7 with Tushar Tondvalkar of Indian Pantry and Brockton Lane, both private chefs, who'll be cooking Indian and Latin American food.