Vancouver is home to a lot of world class restaurants, offering all sorts of international (and fusion) cuisine. We’ve got some great sushi places, incredible steakhouses (Morton’s is my personal favourite), and let’s not forget about all that West Coast seafood (I recommend C and the Cannery). Problem is, some of these nicer restaurants can get pretty pricey, making it more difficult for the average person to get a tasty-taste. That’s why I’m so glad that we have Dine Out Vancouver. The promotion has been going on for a few years now, and I’ve had the chance to hit up Kettle of Fish, Gotham, Bacchus, and other great restaurants as part of this promotion. Last night, I went to Rare Restaurant, which started offering their Dine Out menu a few days early.

It’s a much smaller establishment, having only about a dozen tables or so. It’s somewhere between casual and fine dining, as there are white tablecloths and a premiere wine list, but at the same time, the atmosphere is quite alive with energy: when we arrived, the diners were chatting loudly, everyone was smiling and laughing. But as far as the food itself… I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

The glowing sign outside

Custom menus! (Reservation was under Susanne Shum)

Amuse Bouche
Smoked arctic char, endive, crispy flatbread
Tastes similar to smoked salmon, very smooth and flavourful

Pacific Oysters
pan fried ~ roasted red peppers ~ chorizo vinaigrette
Larger oyster, but not “gross” like how some bigger oysters are. Pretty standard here

Cauliflower Soup
truffles ~ lobster salad ~ smoked steelhead caviar
Lobster salad and caviar serve on wide bowl initially, cauliflower soup poured in after the fact

Veal Breast
confit ~ slow cooked savoy cabbage ~ apricots
Very small portion, flavour similar to beef stew only a touch sweeter, fruitier.

Poached Mandarin Orange with Cinnamon
A pre-dessert to get those sweet taste buds going. Certainly different

Chocolate
strawberries ~ Grand Marnier ~ Michel Cluizel Concepcion
The chocolate on the left is infused with Grand Marnier and is actually a lot lighter (in color and consistency) than it appears. The strawberry ice cream on the far right tasted very “fresh”

Guinness Pudding
anglaise ~ caramel ~ caramel ice cream
I like English-style puddings, so I was an instant fan of this warm pastry-like dessert.

Total bill for two people, including a couple of cocktails ($9 each, doubles), taxes, and 15% tip was $106.

For more about the Dine Out Vancouver promotion, which is officially being held from January 19 to February 4 at a number of Vancouver and Vancouver-area restaurants and bistros, check out the official page on the Tourism Vancouver website. I’m also going to The William Tell Restaurant next week, so look for a picture fest from there as well.

Related Posts:
–Dining out: The Fish House in Stanley Park
–Hot Pot at Sun Tung Kee. Happy birthday Joanie!
–Chilli House Thai Bistro
–CityTV’s Taste of the City