So Nordstrom finally opened up in Vancouver last week, and while Jess and I were there checking things out, we noticed this restaurant on the 3rd floor by the men's section. It looked pretty cool from the outside so we had to try it out and let you all know how it is!
They are located in the corner of the store, so they have a nice corner view over Robson and Howe.
We went on a Friday after work so it was very busy there. View of the bar.
Cool ceiling!
We reserved a table days ahead and requested a table by the window, so our spot was perfect! We started off with water (cold and hot) while we looked through the menu for drinks.
Salt and Pepper
Instead of coasters, they place the cups on their square napkins instead, which was a bit surprising as I would have thought they would have their own coasters for place like this. For the drinks, of course I had to get a Mojito $10.00.
This drink was not on their menu as a featured cocktail, but it is common enough that they should be expected to be able to make. Again, there was no coaster given for the drink, and not even a square napkin underneath this time, very surprising.
Visually the mojito looked great! The taste however was a different story. Instead of ice cubes, they opted for crushed ice instead, with pieces small enough to fit through the straw! Now I don't know about you guys, but I don't really like my mojitos to be slushy, so drinking this with ice pieces coming up the straw was not very ideal. The drink itself on the other hand was not your usual mojito. I'm not sure what they used to make this mojito, but it wasn't the typical rum that restaurants use. Whatever it was, it took over this drink, as that flavour was all I could taste in this drink. You could hardly taste the regular minty flavour of the mojito, and it was not that great of a flavour. I did not like this mojito at all, and I've definitely had better elsewhere.
Our friends had a Lonetree Cider.
It's worth noting that their menu indicates the calorie count for each item next to the price!
For appies, we decided on the Fried Calamari $11.50.
For appies, we decided on the Fried Calamari $11.50.
This calamari arrived coldish, which was a bit disappointing as I'm not sure what would they be waiting for before bringing this to our table. These weren't your typical calamari either, just like the mojito. Normally, calamari is served dry with two types of dip, but this one did not come with any dip. It came pre-sauced with this Thai sweet chili sauce, very different! The calamari itself was very tender and tasted good overall, but it was just a shame that it was cold.
We also had the Roasted Mushroom Bruschetta $10.25.
This also arrived cold and the bread was uber hard, which made it very difficult to cut in half as we were sharing this. That being said, the flavour of this bruschetta was very good! The combo of flavours just worked so perfectly together and it was very enjoyable. Of course this would likely be even better had it been freshly hot instead of cooled down already when it arrived.
After browsing through their menu, I found a lot of their items to be quite expensive, and coincidentally, I ended up choosing something that was on the cheaper end of their menu, Short Rib Grilled Cheese $14.95.
After browsing through their menu, I found a lot of their items to be quite expensive, and coincidentally, I ended up choosing something that was on the cheaper end of their menu, Short Rib Grilled Cheese $14.95.
The fries were very thin cut, my favourite kind, very similar to earls. They were not evenly salted as some were very salty whereas others were barely salted. I ended up adding pepper to them, which enhanced the flavour to the point where I didn't need to dip the roasted garlic lemon aioli that was provided, as dipping it at that point would have made them way too salty. The fries were ok overall, as I did end up finishing them all.
Jess had the Sauteed Chicken & Angel Hair Pasta $18.95.
This dish consisted of the chicken with baby spinach, oyster mushrooms, roasted garlic tomato sauce, rosemary beurre blanc. She found the chicken to have good flavour on its own, but the sauce was just way too salty. It was as if they had poured a bag of salt into it!
Our friend had the Shrimp Linguine with Spicy Tomato Sauce $22.95.
This dish consisted of grilled wild shrimp, baby spinach, petite tomatoes, parmesan cheese, and fresh herbs. He found this to be quite spicy for a guy that can eat spice, as he rated the spice 7.5/10. He said the linguine has flavour and the spice really brings out that flavour well. The shrimp is grilled nicely and had good flavour as well. Overall he thought this dish was good but not amazing.
Our other friend had the Cilantro Lime Shrimp Salad $18.75.
This salad consisted of wild shrimp, petite tomatoes, pickled french beans, radish, and roasted tomato dressing. She found this to have too many tortilla crisps, to the point where they took over the flavour of the entire salad. It was like they poured a bag of hickory sticks into the salad! According to her, the shrimp had no flavour at all.
The service here was pretty good, as we were attended to often enough by our server, and when she had to go on break, she briefed the server that was going to cover her for each table before introducing her to each table she was looking after. Our servers were friendly and helpful, and the service was good overall, but nothing exceptional during this visit.
When we got our bill, we were given these below:
They're individually wrapped mint chocolate sticks!
Overall this visit was an interesting one. We were really hyped to check this place out since it was new and it looked promising, however I was kind of disappointed with the results. The interior decor and location was nice, but the food itself was not that great. I think out of our party, I was the only one that really enjoyed my dish, whereas everyone else had some sort of issue with their dish. The service was good as to be expected from a restaurant like this, but it wasn't spectacular service. So overall there was mixed feelings about this restaurant and we're not sure if we'd return for a second visit.
Food:
2.5/5
Service:
3.5/5
Price:
$$-$$$
Overall:
3/5
Let us know what you think of this place if you've tried it, and whether there are dishes worth trying to get us back there for a second visit. Thanks for reading everyone, munch on!
- Phil
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