cauliflower - gochujang, yuzu mayo, green…read moreonion..........................................................................................................................15
This was my favorite dish overall. I liked the textures and flavor. Not the healthiest, but flavorful. This was easy to share.
warm goat cheese salad - pickled beets and ribbons, maple dijon, candied hazelnuts.....................................19
Salad was OK, but since we were sharing, not everyone got everything. So I'd say, not great for sharing.
fried chicken - malaysian spice, curry leaves, acar awak...........................................................................................28
This tasted good, but it didn't taste as exotic as the ingredients would imply. It was also easier to share.
beef short ribs - guinness braised, mash, roasted carrots........................................................................................49
The server recommended this. Unfortunately, it wasn't amazing. The ribs we had at the Juniper in Banff was better. It was also hard to share. Definitely not worth the price.
campanella - miso cream, garlic confit, edamame, assorted mushrooms..................................26
It tasted fine. It was easy to share.
udon - dan dan style, cucumber, peanuts, sesame......................................................................................26
This tasted fine. It was easy share, because it's noodles.
lemon tart - strawberries and meringue..........................................................................................................14
This was fine. I always like lemon-anything and meringue.
chocolate pot de creme - caramel candies and chantilly.....................................................................14
I don't really like chocolate desserts and my father-in-law wasn't going to let anyone touch his dessert. He finished it, so I can only surmise it was good.
Cheesecake with berries..........................................???
This is not on the online menu so I can't really say exactly what it was. It was normal cheesecake that was flamed on top. It was definitely the most memorable dish. Unfortunately, it was the worst dish of our trip. All I can say is, it reminded me too much of my own baking (which I normally burn), except that it takes much more talent to burn the top than the bottom. My husband tried to eat the black char and I told him if he did, then he would need to schedule himself for a colonoscopy, because he'll be walking away with colon cancer if he ate it.
First, more positives: I like the vibe of the bistro - there was a bar at the front and someone was just hanging out on their laptop. It wasn't too busy or crowded. I liked that they had some goods to browse through while waiting for the rest of the party to arrive. The bathroom was also very clean. I liked the overall aesthetic - modern cabin chic.
The menu has the name of the chef. So I was kind of hoping for an experience similar to one I had in Colorado at a small sushi restaurant where there is no menu, and the chef creates an experience for you, and you treasure every single bite. I didn't quite get that here unfortunately. And I was on a diet (still am) and with people who don't prefer certain foods, so maybe there would be other things that I would try. If I lived in the area, I'd definitely come back and try out other things.
So that's why my rating is a 4/5 and the end of most of my review.
If you want to hear me complain, continue reading. Else, thanks for reading this far!
So again, I'm going on my soap box: This was the second restaurant that told us that the meals were great for sharing and they recommend it, you know, family style? Yeah, no. While some of the dishes were EASIER to share than at the Juniper, they were not great for sharing. In my last review, I had thought maybe it's because there are more Asian tourists who like to family-style every meal. Or maybe this is the new trendy thing. Maybe it's a Canadian thing. Here's a new hypothesis: maybe so many of these dishes are so overpriced and everyone wants to try a little bit of everything, so they don't have to feel shame when they start sharing these small plates with each other, the servers give them "permission" to family style. The idea of tapas is great - but these are fancy dishes that don't have much substance to them and it's really hard to split some things 6 ways. At least there were serving ware this time.
Finally, this is a special tid-bit to whoever reads this long review: Avoid sitting near the hanging exit sign if you are more than 6 feet tall. My brother-in-law sat under the sign and when he stood up, he knocked his head very strongly against the sign. Not good for safety. Functionality over aesthetics is what I prefer. Plus, who wants to sit UNDER something that has the potential to fall anyway? That never happens you say? Yeah, it happened to my mom. Different day, different story.
