Water St. Cafe

Beautiful Gastown at night!

Complementary Bread

Caesar Salad – romaine lettuce, fresh grated parmesan, anchovies and garlic

Sunshine Coast Seafood and Corn Chowder

Fanny Bay Oysters – sautéed with smoked chipotle peppers, cream, sundried tomatoes and parmesan gratinée

Baked Portobello Mushroom – topped with grilled vegetables, cream cheese and parmesan gratinée

West Coast Crab Cakes – Dungeness and blue crab, Pacific shrimp with a roasted corn salsa and garlic aioli

Potato Gnocchi – hand rolled potato dumplings, prosciutto, fresh Pacific shrimp and a butternut squash with sage sauce

Duck Confit – with a balsamic and pineapple chutney glaze on garlic mashed potatoes

Tiramisu – classic Italian trifle

Flourless Double Chocolate Espresso Cake – Served with a black cherry compote

Gastown is so gorgeous at night! I love the historic brick buildings and flooring! Makes me feel as if I’m walking in Europe or something! During the weekend, I went to Water St. Cafe for Dine Out with my girlfriends for a girls night out dinner. We each chose a different appetizer and I  had the fanny bay oysters. I have to say they didn’t look too appetizing but it tasted really good! The sundried tomatoes were a great complement to it. I also took a  bite from my friend’s stuffed portabello mushroom and it was delicious too! Next, I had the duck confit for my entree. I kind of wanted to try the crab cakes too but I wanted to see what everything else looked like! The duck confit was quite tender, and the pineapple chuntney glaze gave it a nice flavour. I took some of my friend’s crab cake and it was delicious! I really liked the bread crumb coating and you could taste a lot of the crab and shrimp in it. The gnocchi was also quite good, with a very nice sauce and was the right chewiness. Last but not least, the desserts! The tiramisu was very good! One of my favourites. It was quite strong in alcohol, but something about the right amount of cream and all was perfect. The chocolate cake was also pretty good, but I found it a little too fudge-like. But I guess that’s why it’s flourless! Overall, this dine out was quite delicious! It was only $28 and it was actually very filling! Service was okay, but not superb or anything. The ambiance is quite nice though. It’s a very cozy place; a very nice place to talk and to enjoy some food. It’s also directly in front of the steam clock which is beautiful to look at at night while enjoying dinner.

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Cork & Fin

Fresh Shucked Oysters

served with champagne & cracked pepper mignonette

Negitoro

Tuna belly, Japanese mayo, rice wine, citrus

Prawn Bisque

Creme fraiche & chive

Grilled Sirloin

Pomme Puree

Pan seared Lingcod

Tomato ragu

Cork & Fin is located in the Gastown area and is known for their market fresh seafood. They offer a raw bar where oysters are served as well as the main dining area. The above pictures are from a two person prix fixe menu for $30 each. The appetizer was a choice of salad or oysters, but we both chose oysters since the restaurant is famous for them! Otherwise, we tried all the different choices in the menu. Great ambiance, but portions were a little small.

Check out more at: http://corkandfin.ca/

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Octopus’ Garden

Fresh Oyster

Assorted Sashimi

Uni (Sea Urchin) Nigiri Sushi

Had dinner at Octopus Garden in the Kitsilano neighbourhood. The sashimi was very fresh and the rolls were very unique. However, the restaurant is very small, so it’s hard to find seats. The restaurant is owned by Japanese, so the food and environment is very authentic. It’s a bit on the pricier side, but the quality is excellent. Overall, very satisfied!

Find out more at: www.octopusgarden.ca

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