For my birthday this year, S took me to Ancora since it’s been on my go-to list for sometime now. The restaurant is located just off the bridge and has a beautiful view of the city by the water.

The interior is beautiful with blue and brown chairs against a white backdrop. I love how the light shines in through the floor to ceiling windows. There is a patio as well but we chose to sit indoors.

Complimentary Bread

To start, we were given complimentary bread.

Nova Scotia Lobster Risotto

Ancora is known for combining Peruvian and Japanese cultures while incorporating a Pacific North West flare so it’s interesting that you’ll find sushi and sashimi here. However, I wasn’t really craving for sushi, so we went for all hot dishes. S and I shared the appetizer size Nova Scotia Lobster Risotto which was served with  preserved lemon, peas, cauliflower, thyme, and hazelnuts. The portion was so small for $24, but S and I both agreed the risotto was delicious! It wasn’t very heavy like the traditional Italian risottos, but rather very light because of the lemon. There was a decent amount of lobster and I especially liked the incorporation of the hazelnuts which gave a nutty chocolate flavour. A really interesting twist to a traditional dish.

Aji Panca Glazed Sablefish

Seared Scallops and Pork Belly

For myself, I got the Seared Scallops and Pork Belly which was paired with green peas, chanterelles, cipollini, and goat’s cheese agnolotti. At first, I thought the dish wouldn’t be too filling, but it turned out to be quite filling especially because the goat’s cheese agnolotti was rather heavy. The seared scallops were cooked perfectly with a nice golden brown sear. The pork belly could have been more moist, but the pea puree worked well to moisten the pork a bit. Really enjoyed this dish!

To finish, we were given complimentary macarons and cookies. This is usually part of the dinner service regardless if it’s a special occasion, but it was nice that they added a candle. S had put on the reservation online that it was my birthday, so we were actually pretty surprised that our waitress and hostess had not said a single word when we arrived. Further, when our waitress brought the dessert over, she still did not say happy birthday which I found quite odd. It wasn’t until we were paying that she finally ended with happy birthday. Our waitress was actually extremely cold the whole dinner and she even placed the dessert menu down without saying a single word. It was pretty shocking to see such cold service given the ambiance is such nice. However, I think it was just our waitress as I saw other staff being quite warm to their diners.

Overall, I was quite impressed with the dishes and loved the combination of Peruvian and Japanese. For the portion sizes and quality of food, the price is well justified. The ambiance and view is also spectacular and is a great spot to walk around after dinner. However, we definitely did not have good service here, so that was a bit upsetting.

Pros:
– Well executed dishes combining Peruvian and Japanese twists to West Coast dishes
– Ambiance and view of the city is beautiful

Cons:
– We personally had very cold service

Price Range: $50-70 per person

1: Terrible 2: Poor 3: Average 4: Good 5: Excellent

Food: 4 Service: 2 Ambiance: 5 Parking: Paid meter parking Overall: 4