The third Dine Out ’08 experience took place at Dockside Restaurant at Granville Island Hotel. I was going to try it in 2007, but ended up switching to a reservation at Chambar. This year I have returned to give this a try.
On Food
I think its food was great. The seasoning wasn’t over-powering and the flavour was good. I liked the lamb chops and the crème brule. The crème brule would be even better without the chocolate brownie at the bottom. The chocolate brownie was too strong. On the other hand, I was a little surprised that bread was not served. We actually had to order some bread. It was served with butter and chopped olives - it didn't taste good.
On Presentation
Presentation was good, too. There’s certainly room for improvement (such as the big slice of bell pepper and the huge chunk of mint jelly in the lamb chop dish), but it’s pretty good for what they are doing right now.
On Environment
We were seated next to a fireplace, so that was nice. Overall, the restaurant is really warm and cozy. And I like the fact that it is an open kitchen, so customers can see over the counter what the chefs are doing.
On View
Several lucky couples would get a good view every night, because they can only seat 2 at the tables that are by the windows. Part of the view is the False Creek, and part of it is looking at the Yacht dock. After all, the restaurant is called Dockside.
On Service
There wasn’t anything negative about the service. In fact, I like how every time they sent 2 people to serve our food so everyone at the table would get the food at the same time (there were 6 of us). One server was a little shaky when he’s collecting the dishes.
Dockside Restaurant
Food: 8
Presentation: 8
Environment: 8.5
View: 8
Service: 8.5
Overall: 8.2
Photos
Appetizer: Creamed Leek and Smoked Black Cod Veloute
Appetizer: ManZanilla Sherry Marinated Beet Salad
Bread that we needed to pay for.
Entree: Lavender Macadamia Nut Breaded Lamb Chops (The lamb chops were good, but found the risotto a bit too gluey. )
Entree: Malaysian Red Chilli and Yellow Coconut Chicken
Entree: Slow Roasted AAA Alberta Striploin
Dessert: Chocolate Brownie Creme Brule (Everyone gets the same dessert. I didn't like the brownie at the bottom of the ramekin.)
