One of the many benefits of the recently released Michelin guide for Vancouver is discovering places I had never heard of dined at usually due to location. Although I have been to most that made it into the guide, a few were unknown to me. I decided to try all of them. The first is Bonjour Vietnam Bistro & Cocktail Bar. The atmosphere is not like a typical neighborhood Vietnamese restaurant. The owners have put a more Instagram feel into the interior and the prices are a bit higher than a neighborhood or street place, but was it worth it? Lets find out.
As we did not have lunch, I was down for an early dinner and they luckily had seating for us. We started with the beef carpaccio. It was delicious. There was a good balance of umami (from fish sauce), sweetness and acidity which was enhanced by the garlic, shallots, and herbs. Very nice bite.
Next, spring rolls. They were light and delicious; not heavy and chewy as some places are.
Crispy shrimp – these were ok, but I would skip next time
Honey garlic chicken wings – delicious
next, chicken skewers – SO delicious, the sauce was incredible and the cilantro added the perfect complimentary flavor boost.
Next are two dishes I would skip. The squid which was ok but I did not like the texture.
…and the fried noodles because they weren’t fried to me…and didn’t pack the wow flavors of the other dishes.
Lastly, probably the dish I enjoyed the most, the PHO. I loved how they showcased the beef bone; the beef itself was extremely tender. The broth was well developed with lots of depth. So so so good.
Overall the service was good, but sometimes the food came out slow. The food was delicious and I am looking forward to going back to try some other dishes but also I would get the pho, skewers, wings, carpaccio and rolls again. Thanks Michelin!
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high end vietnamese! who would have thought! would you say sufficiently better than typical vietnamese where pricing is lower?
I would say different but not to the point of trying too hard to be fancy. Just slighly more refined and can see the love and thought put into it.
This is a hard call to make. I can appreciate the love that goes into both. However, it is harder to pull off the “high end” version because the “street” version is so perfect already. I have had quite a few that were disappointing. In this case, I believe it was worth it.