I have lived in Vancouver for over 30 years and have been to the art gallery twice. Both for events. I love travel and visiting museums/art galleries, but this one has never appealed to me. The building itself is beautiful, and they recently opened a restaurant inside so I decided to check it out for dinner.
On Instagram, the pictures of the food are gorgeous, and for the most part, they are in person as well. We started with the Kampachi Sashimi, and you can see the presentation for yourself.
The taste was ok, but the fish was not sliced well. They were too thick and this gave the dish a texture that was not as enjoyable had they been sliced sashimi style.
We followed this with oysters. From the restaurant’s Instagram I was expecting a different presentation and service, so I was a bit disappointed. This is the second time this has happened to me at a restaurant, and I think restaurants should be careful that what they post on Instagram, and what is served, are the same (or clear to the customer of any differences). The oysters were still good. They served them with three very unique and delicious sauces. Unfortunately, the server did not explain them.
For my main, I had the sablefish with bok choy and squid ink mash. The fish was cooked well, and delicious. The sides were very tasty, especially the bok choy.
For dessert we shared the carrot cake which was good (not pictured). Overall, the service was ok. It was not overly good nor was there anything wrong with it. I think for the type of venue, food, and prices though, it should be elevated. The main strength of this place is the venue. We sat outside and there is huge potential here. You get a nice view of the downtown surroundings, and the art gallery. I could imagine someone turning this into a nice chic lounge after dinner service or a nightclub (though remember Vancouver is nicknamed “no fun city” so there’s probably some sort of by law against this). Its also a nice space for events. Overall, I would probably return for the venue and the food was not bad either. 7/10