Mia Stainsby takes in the terrific dishes and postcard- perfect views at Sol Sunbelt Cookery
Diners can enjoy delicious, well- priced food while enjoying the view of the nearby mountains, Stanley Park and the marina
On my first visit to Sol Sunbelt Cookery, it was, “What’s wrong with this picture?” The food was delicious. The view from the patio was postcard- Vancouver ( the two usually aren’t compatible). So where was everybody?
Troubled, I began over- analyzing Vancouver’s fickle dining behaviour. Is delicious, well- priced food not enough? Must every new restaurant be in Gastown or the Downtown Eastside? Was it too bourgeois? Have we become extreme restaurant judges?
Speaking of judging, I went with my friend Linda, who happens to be just that, a Supreme Court judge. She weighed the evidence, deemed the food to be delicious and intends to return with her husband.
On a second visit a week later, the scene was different. The place was busy. A lovely server ( whose name I learn is Sima) was right on her game, compensating for our other server, who needed a refresher on waiting tables. ( He badly bluffed his way through my husband’s questions about wine and mixed- up orders.)
Sol is co- owned by Gord Martin ( the chef) and Abdel Elatouabi ( front- ofhouse). Elatouabi once ran Bravo Bistro in the same location and then a Moroccan restaurant, Le Marrakech, in Gastown, before moving back to Morocco to work as the chef for the crown prince. “I had to have 70 staff in the kitchen. He’d throw a party for 500 with two hours’ notice. Usually, I’d cook for 200 people a day,” he says. “I had to make 600 recipes a month. He ( the prince) didn’t want anything repeated.”
Elatouabi loved the job but not surprisingly, it played havoc with his family life and so they returned to Vancouver.
Martin is known for Bin 941 and Bin 942 ( now closed) as well as the popular Go Fish fish shack. When I catch up with him by phone, he’s in Mexico getting some downtime. “I’d basically worked 20 hours a day for the last three months,” he said. Five minutes into the interview, as he was telling me about the farmers he’s working with in Mexico to supply boutique products for Vancouver chefs, the phone cut out. I’m hoping he’s OK because I never did hear back from him after leaving messages.
Sol food spans the Mediterranean coast with Martin’s assertive flair and prices are very reasonable. They topped out at $ 22. The seafood is fresh, piled high and cooked deliciously: mussels with chorizo, smoked tomato broth, rosemary patatas bravas and grilled focaccia and the cioppino with a thick spicy tomato broth, lobster, clams, mussels and white fish.
A disconcertingly large but tender octopus tentacle, grilled and charred, topped a Greek- inspired salad. Black truffle chicken with arugula salad and truffle honey beets ( I didn’t see the porcini- crusted risotto cake that was on the menu.)
Salad niçoise was artfully deconstructed — anchovies, fresh tuna, quail eggs, olives, green beans and lettuce. A confit of duck leg came with a quadrangle of apricot/ fig/ pistachio rice pilaf and a loose mound of celeriac apple salad.
Pork tenderloin with ras al hanout spices and citrus relish had a wonderful side of wild mushroom truffle baklava that I’d have loved as a vegetarian main. So good.
Also so good was a take on Bin 941’ s Navajo fry bread, sprinkled with zatar ( blend of herbs and spices).
Only one dish disappointed – prawn kebabs, with pomegranate chili glaze were overcooked to the point of chewy.
Desserts are worth checking out. A lemon meringue pie went through an Alice- in- Wonderland transformation — lemon mousse in a glass was topped with a charred marshmallow ( meringue) and a “stick” of pastry.
This location has seen a lot of restaurants come and go in rapid succession — Bravo Bistro, Crime Lab, Six Degrees, Bliss Bistro.
There’s eye candy outside with the mountains, Stanley Park and marina, but Sol does lack a feeling of neighbourhood intimacy and it’s not a hipster location. However, Sol does have Elatouabi ( and his Moroccan- honed spirit of hospitality) and Sima ( do not let her escape) and downtempo live jazz and a DJ on weekends, but the rest of the staff could use a little more fire.