Beyond the Rhetoric

Coast Restaurant, located in the Yaletown district of Downtown Vancouver, was the next stop on our Dine Out Vancouver adventure. Because it is located in Yaletown, Coast is naturally a very hip and trendy kind of place, so don’t expect to have dim candles and quiet conversation. You don’t get white tablecloths either, because this (somewhat) fine dining establishment has kept the atmosphere rather casual. There’s even trendy music playing at a reasonably high volume throughout your meal.

Although I don’t mind the casual atmosphere, I prefer a quieter restaurant when I want to enjoy my meal. Even FigMint Restaurant and Lounge was considerably quieter than Coast, despite the former having a definite bar/lounge area adjacent to the main dining room. Oh, and as you can probably tell by their name, Coast Restaurant is all about a West Coast flavor with a little bit of chic on the side. Let’s have a look at what they offered for this year’s Dine Out Vancouver menu.

Hawaiian Ahi Tuna Tartar: Yes, more tartare. The ahi tuna itself was reasonably smooth, almost like chopped up sashimi, but the deep fried (rice-based?) part underneath was quite chewy and stuck to my teeth. Interesting concept that could have been executed a little better.

Dungeness Crab & Halibut Cake: Nothing all too special here. If you’ve had crab cakes before, these will taste very familiar. I did enjoy the pickled vegetable salad in the middle.

East Coast Fresh Shucked Oysters: This was not included in the Dine Out menu, but Susanne and I decided to add a few fresh oysters to our meal. You can choose between East Coast, West Coast, European Coast, and Japanese Coast oysters, although only the first two options were available on the night of our visit. Clean and refreshing.

Moroccan Spiced Lamb Sirloin: This was my main course and I was surprised by the size of the portions. It’s not huge, but the size of sirloin medallions were larger than I was expecting. The meat was slightly overcooked (I asked for medium-rare) and the Moroccan spices were actually quite mild. The pureed potatoes were very smooth.

Miso Glazed Queen Charlotte Sablefish: The flavor of the sablefish is similar to a Chinese-style black cod. The meat was firmer but silky smooth. And no, that’s not a sausage in there; that’s a fingerling potato.

Peanut Butter Bar and Warm Milk Chocolate Fondue: I thought that we were going to choose between one or the other, but the server told us that we would get both desserts! The crust on the peanut butter bar was flaky like a thick wafer and the chocolate fondue was delectable. Hidden behind the bowl of chocolate were a couple of (I think) blackberries.

I was reasonably happy with my Coast Restaurant experience, although there was nothing that made me go “wow.” Service was good and we were finished our meal in just over an hour. That’s pretty speedy for an establishment of this kind. The total bill for two, including the four shucked oysters, two cocktails, taxes, and tip came to $115.

Filed under Food and drink.