Shaughnessy

Hey Everyone,

A while ago Jess and I went to VanDusen Botanical Gardens to check it out, but we did not check out the restaurant that was there at the time. A little while later I was invited to lunch at the Shaughnessy restaurant, so it was a perfect opportunity to see how it was!

This restaurant is located as part of the VanDusen Gardens but on the side of the complex where their parking lot is located, so it is easily accessible, separate from the main lobby. They have a nice patio for the summertime, but we sat inside to avoid the bugs!

Their lunch menu isn't very extensive, which makes decision making a lot easier. I decided to go with a Seared Rare Albacore Tuna Burger $17.

I like the fact that they cut it in half for you already, as I am starting to do that with all my burgers and sandwiches now as well. It makes eating it so much easier, as large burgers and sandwiches tend to fall out of shape and drop ingredients and sauces. The bun was very soft and fluffy, and did not overpower the burger's flavour. The garlic and cilantro marinated seared tuna tasted very good with the shredded green cabbage, capers, dill and chive aioli, and fresh tomatoes. This was a very light and satisfying burger, perfect for a lunch that won't give you a food coma afterwards. 

Their fries were pretty good at the beginning when fresh, as they tasted like fresh cut fries rather than frozen ones. The flavour of the fries itself was not good enough to be eaten without ketchup though, so I had to use the ketchup. If you know me, you would know I like to eat my fries with just salt on them, but these fries were not salty enough, so I had to add extra salt and pepper on them. They became very hard as it got colder, which leads me to believe that either they weren't fresh cut fries or they were over-fried. The fries ended up to be a bit of a disappointment to me.

The service was very good here. We had several servers helping our table, and they were all very friendly and helpful. The speed of the food however, was a lot longer than we expected. We waited a long time for our food, to the point of where we thought they might have forgotten our entire order! The restaurant wasn't extremely busy, so we weren't sure what was causing the delay. 

Overall this restaurant is nice for a lunch spot on a sunny day. Their prices are pretty reasonable too, so it's ok to dine here on any given day. This visit was good enough to make me want to return here with Jess next time to check out more of their menu. Hopefully more pictures next time!

Food:
3.5/5

Service:
3.5/5

Price:
$$

Overall:
3.5/5

Thanks for reading everyone, munch on!
- Phil