The Portly Chef

I love this place. The owners and staff and food are amazing. I started out feeling so welcomed. The woman at the front greeting me made me feel so welcomed and remembered me from a really long time ago. She is one of the owners and is very lovely. The staff was great. A real team with great atmosphere. Then the food came. Not one complaint. So good. We ordered off the appetizer menu to share plates and I was blown away. Above and beyond what I was expecting. You HAVE to try the broccoli Parmesan dish. I could live on it. I hate giving glowing reviews but sometimes there’s no other review to give.
I will eat here a lot more often. A real gem on the North Shore.

It’s okay. Food was decent. Prices are fair. Interior is not very exciting. Menu is adequate. Wine selection is poor. I won’t be Rushing back anytime soon but it’s a good place to go when you live on the north shore and you don’t want to cook at home. It’s weird that they don’t have proper soup spoons. We had a very nice soup but had to eat it with the type of spoon that you serve dumplings with at a Chinese restaurant. We asked for a proper soon but that’s all they have.

Let me start by saying Emily, our waitress, is absolutely incredible at her job. So helpful, so knowledgeable and is willing to go the extra mile (you’ll see what I mean shortly).
I had been here once before with my girlfriend and we loved it! I had the Pork (to die for) and my girlfriend had the Pork Belly Carbonera (also amazing). We started off with the Pork Belly and Scallop appy. Quite probably the best appy I’ve ever had.
I revisited the Portly Chef last night for father’s day. My mom only eats Chicken meat and I had forgot to take an in depth look to see if there were any options for her. I remembered there was a stuffed chicken breast but didn’t bother to check and see that it had Pork in it. Emily said she may have been able to substitute chicken on the carbonera but it turned out the kitchen had pre-​stuffed the chicken. Moments later, she came back and informed us that they had ran over to the kitchen next door and brought over a regular chicken breast (extra mile!!).
We started with the mac & cheese, scallops with pork belly and mushroom bruscetta (father’ day exclusive). All the appies were great but the scallops and pork belly are in a league of their own.
My father ordered the snapper as his main, my mother had the custom carbonera and I tried the chicken breast. I really loved the pork dish last time I visited but the server had spoken highly about the chicken as well so I had to try it this time around. The chicken was incredible… and the portions are huge. It’s clear that the Portly Chef wants his customers to be as portly as he is. My dad really enjoyed his snapper and my mum loved the custom carbonera.
For dessert, we had the grilled pineapple ice cream sundae and it was amazing. Huge portion, awesome balance of flavours… and grilled pineapple. Mmmhh…
Can’t wait to come back!

Sorry I have to give a bad review, but this was my first experience. I plan to go back and order something different next time.
Friday evening, no reservation, we’re invited to stay at the bar when ²⁄₃ of the restaurant was empty. In one hour, only 1 – 2 other tables were occupied. 5 – 6 tables at least remained unoccupied.
We ordered expensive food not worth the price. One plate was some soup served in a weird recipient and some Cosco buns with cheese on top. This was the cheap plate, at around $ 12. The expensive plate was an ordinary Linguini at $ 21 you can simply find in other restaurants for $ 15.
Should I mention this looks like a very expensive restaurant, with main plates at $ 30 and more? I’m pretty sure I’ll find some value next time with one of these main plates, but question remains: it’s not overpriced? It seems to me some people simply go there because it looks… different, not necessarily special.

Delicious food, but the service was phrenetic last night. Chaotic. Were out of the trout and our wine selection. Orders got mixed up. They more than compensated with extra vino and apologies. Food was fantastic. Would definitely go back, but hope they keep the service level up. So happy to have a great little spot to eat on the North Shore, and certainly want to support it. The room is also very noisy. Concrete block wall on one side doesn’t help. Some sound-​proofing would really help.

Great neighbourhood spot! Varied menu offers something for everyone.

North Vancouver finally has a restaurant worth writing about. It is a smaller place, but nice, only two servers, but they were fast, friendly and efficient. You can see the kitchen, but what is great is the food.
We had a starter, two of the smaller dishes, and shared a main pasta. All the dishes were excellent. Well presented, good portions (not huge), and the food cooked and flavoured to perfection. Mainly French, so the pasta sauce was very rich and creamy.
It was busy, all tables were reserved, but we were seated at the bar. Make reservations if you want a table.

Awesome! The restaurant is a good size, only 2 servers but the food was absolutely amazing! We went with our family, we’re all quite the critique and everyone was thrilled with their meal. It’s pretty rare where we were are all so happy at the same time!!!
I will be returning for sure!!! Actually I’m going tonite!

Great little place in the North Shore, we showed up without making a reservation, big mistake as the place is small and popular, and the staff bent over backwards to accommodate us and give us a table.
The food is delicious and very creative, sort of like a French bistro that borrows spices and other ingredients from other cultures.
I look forward to dining there again, but will make a reservation next time!

Quickly becoming my favourite North Shore finer dining location. Terrific food and presentation at reasonable prices.
The ambiance is nice but a bit stark feeling, could use a little more intimate feel but otherwise service and food are top notch for the price

I really wanted The Portly Chef to be my first five star review. Perhaps it was this desire in my mind that had it fall short. Or it could be that I’m not refined enough or know how exquisite this is on the palate. A solid four stars; some minor issues to take away from perfection, but really excellent food that still has me thinking about my meal nearly a week later.
Came in on a Thursday night for an anniversary dinner. We came dressed up based on other reviews I’d read and the pricing of their entrees (nearly $ 30 — encroaching on Hy’s territory). I was the only one wearing a three piece suit. Damn North Van for having people wearing jeans and fleece vests while dropping heavy coin on a casual meal.
We didn’t have a reservation and were seated at a cozy table for two. Cozy is right. There wasn’t much real estate on the table to handle two glasses of water, two drinks, menus, and a purse. I knew this was going to be a tight fit since we generally order family style, but the other larger tables must be reserved.
I’m sure they’ve got a great wine selection, but the beer selection was a little meh. Nothing on draft and a limited selection of standard bottle offerings. Started with a Philips Cream Ale, which was good, but not what I was in the mood for. Ended up settling into Heineken.
We discussed the menu. I was vetoed on the Caesar Salad ($ 10), but was green lit for Scallops & Pork ($ 13) appetizer; Mac & Cheese ($ 7), Deconstructed Poutine ($ 7), and Beef Cut Onion Rings ($ 5) enhancements; and either the Lamb Two Ways ($ 29) from the regular menu or the Sirloin with Jalapeño Blue Cheese ($ 32) from the fresh sheet for an entrée.
Asked the waiter for suggestions; he was suggesting mostly seafood, but I was receiving disapproving looks from across the table. Talked to the waiter about what we were interested in and needed help to make sure it isn’t too much food. He suggested dropping the Onion Rings, but it was the Poutine that ended up hitting the chopping block. We meant no offence to our waiter, but I’m sure it must’ve been annoying that we didn’t follow any of his suggestions, save for going with the Sirloin over the Lamb.
Other tables seemed to have been getting complimentary bread, but none was offered to us. Other people came in without reservations while we were dining and parties of two were seated at larger tables for four. Yeah, I get that they want to save them in case a larger party comes in, but I would’ve been more comfortable there.
The Scallops & Pork came out first. The scallops were well seasoned and very tasty. The pork schnitzel was also delicious, but a little tough, so I think it was overcooked.
Then came the Onion Rings. Damned tasty. Panko breaded and not dripping with grease. The creamy dip with it was great, but I prefer White Spot’s Zoo Dip. We were nearly done these when everything else hit the table. A little juggling and migrating the last of the rings to another plate. We demolished the steak pretty quickly; that jalapeño blue cheese sauce was incredible and complimented the steak very nicely. We enjoyed it so much, the Mac & Cheese (also so very good) had to wait for our attention until everything else was consumed.
Service for drinks was a little slow given my pace. The waiter dropped off the bill after clearing away all the plates, but I let him know I was ready for another drink. Had a couple more and we were asked about dessert, but that was kiboshed for me, so we settled up and called it an evening.
The end result is that while this is what I would consider a fancy place, the other patrons aren’t dressed for it. The table size for two people would be nice if it was a little bigger. I’m glad the portions aren’t huge so I could try a few different things, but the pricing will keep this as a special occasion place for me. The food itself is outstanding and I will certainly be back when I don’t mind it hitting my wallet.

downtown dining on the north shore what a treat. inventive delicous flavous. cant wait to go back. best restaurant in north vancouver.