Ensemble

I dined here last night and sampled a good chunk of the menu, so I thought I’d better write about it. (Btw I really miss the former Corner Suite’s bright blue chairs, but I’ll try not to let that affect my judgement.)
Here’s what we ate between the two of us:
Watermelon & Tomato Gazpacho with Bacon — this was a feature item. Extremely unique combination of flavours. This would have been more successful if the tomato was lighter and not as concentrated; the tomato element tasted like tomato paste rather than fresh tomatoes, which was a bit overpowering for a supposedly light summer soup.
Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio — The most thinly sliced carpaccio I’ve ever had. Topped with crisp radish and fried crispy shallots and some type of vinaigrette with a small wedge of rosemary bannock bread on the side. I’ve never tried bannock before, but I quite liked it, however it seemed a bit heavy to accompany the delicate carpaccio. Very tasty yet not mind blowing.
Dungeness Crab — This had an interesting presentation, it was served rolled up in what I believe was a very thin slice of raw daikon with pineapple bits and a lime sauce. Refreshing and very much a summer dish. I enjoyed sampling this, but I probably would not order it again… something about the daikon diluted the crab flavour rather than showcased it.
Potato Gnocchi — Other Unilocalers have recommended this dish, and so did our server, so I was feeling good about this selection. They were all spot on! I’ve never experienced gnocchi so pillow-​y soft without being dense. Their delicate crust (from being roasted rather than fried, I believe) adds a nice texture, and they soak up the delicious tomato butter sauce perfectly. This dish is finished with kalamata olives and fresh rocket. If I were to voice any critique, it would be to make these babies a tad smaller for a better gnocchi-​to-​sauce ratio, but even still, they are a joy to bite into. #2 favourite dish of the night.
Arctic Char — This was my #1 favourite dish of the night. Simple flavours and simple presentation, the filet of char was served over French du puy lentils with hearts of palm and apple salad… and the fish was cooked so perfectly! It was truly the preparation of the fish that shone in this dish. Even if it were served plainly without the lentils, palm or apple salad, this dish would have still been delicious. I would return just for this dish. I could have eaten this all night (well, obviously I would’ve saved room for dessert. See below.)
Duck Confit Leg — Duck confit served with white cocoa beans (never heard of cocoa beans before, but they are a comparable size and texture to kidney beans) and shimeji mushrooms. I usually love duck but wasn’t a fan of this dish (good thing it was my date’s dish, and I only had a taste. He loved it, on the other hand so to each his own). Flavourful yet I found it to be a bit on the salty and dry side.
Crispy Pork Belly — Also not a fan of this dish. When I heard «crispy pork belly», I conjured up images of delicious pork crackling so perhaps I was setting myself up for disappointment. In actuality, this dish is a hefty slice of meat (it looked like a slice of chocolate layered cake, in meat form!) that I found more dry than crispy. The accompanying matchstick-​ed cucumbers and apple ginger sauce were more enjoyable, but I still only finished less than half this dish. I would have considered sending it back under different circumstances, but the kitchen had already been more than generous to us so I held my tongue and chalked it up to a learning experience for my palate.
Soufflé of the Day — The soufflé of the day was a pineapple soufflé paired with ginger ice cream and fresh pineapple. Great flavour with the requisite crusty top, good lift (it didn’t collapse either) and creamy middle. The ice cream was a delicious complement. My #3 favourite dish of the night.
Citrus Madeleines — Meh. I’m having difficulty finding words to describe why I didn’t care for these… I think it had to do with the texture, which, for lack of better words, was «coarser» than a delicate, pretty little French cookie should be. To be honest, they did not taste much different from packaged varieties.
Service:
Service was attentive but not seamless. A fantastic server will appear at your elbow at exactly the moment you need them, yet doesn’t intrude on your meal or conversation. Our server, while attentive, had a habit of approaching our table while we were deep in conversation and standing there awkwardly until we paused our conversation. However, he was friendly/​courteous, filled our glasses regularly and I liked how both he and the food runner would summarize each dish’s composition every time something new was brought out.
Overall, we had a lovely dinner experience. While the dishes were a bit hit or miss, the hits were home runs. I’ll be back for the gnocchi, arctic char and the soufflé. Possibly next weekend…

My parents found this place while looking up restaurants to visit while we were in Vancouver. I must say, my expectations were a little higher than normal when I heard that the chef from Top Chef Canada was actually in the kitchen.
The ambiance and service was great.
The prices in relation to proportionality and taste was not.
Foise gras sundae: Avoid. I’m a huge fan of foise gras, and thought this would be an awesome dish, but in fact it was way too rich. I ate the majority of it myself, though a few scoops were taken by my husband (he’s not a big fan of foise gras), and by the bottom of the bowl, I felt nauseous. The texture is very light since the top is air whipped. Combine this with the gelatinous texture on the bottom and intensely rich flavor, you’ve got a concoction of nastiness. One other person in our party ordered it and we all agreed it was too much. I think it’s because your brain thinks «ooh, a rich flavor…» and then «but it’s so airy and light… shouldn’t it be sweet?» I think it would have been better if the flavors were together on a plate with non-​whipped foise gras. A nice, traditional foise gras would have been less overwhelming and more enjoyable.
Char: One of the better things we ate that night. Cooked to perfection. I enjoyed it very much.
Risotto with and without lobster: It’s risotto. It wasn’t a standout, and frankly presentation wasn’t that great either. Taste was decent, though it could use a little extra something.
Beet salad: I could have put this together. Worth the money? I don’t think so, but go ahead if you’d like — this dish is hard to mess up.
Hangar steak: meh. I’ve definitely had many better hangar steaks. It was ordered medium rare but came out more medium (not expected if you’re going to a good restaurant!). There were no standout flavors and the meat was thinly sliced and lacked flavor. Although the meat was tender, I expected more flavor and a bit more meat for the price.
Braised lamb: Also one of the better dishes on the menu. It was very much tender and delicious and had probably more meat than the other dishes and thus was worth the price. However, the meat was a bit salty, possibly as a result from the braise. I usually don’t notice saltiness, so when I actually do notice it, I know that it’s too salty.
All in all, if you’re from a foodie city like SF, I would avoid this place. You will be sorely disappointed by taste/​proportion of food to price. Plus, you’re in Vancouver! It’s a city full of awesome chinese and japanese restaurants! Coming from SF with a big population of Asian immigrants here as well, nothing even compares to the food in Vancouver. I would spend your hard earned money elsewhere, preferably at Sushi Hachi (in Richmond, BC) or Sun Sui Wah or even Shanghai House (OMG delicious dumplings).
I would not come back unless they changed their dishes.
A lot of this restaurant is based on the hype of the chef being a winner on Top Chef. Don’t let it fool you!

Finally! I’m a huge Dale Mackay fan, I watched him dominate TCC and live 2 blocks from Ensemble, and last night was my long awaited first visit. I brought the family here for a belated Father’s Day dinner, and damn, were we ever glad I did!
I’m not sure where to begin, as we pretty much ordered everything on the menu.
The foies gras parfait was delicious, light and airy, only comment would be that it was a tiny bit sweet for a starter, and you really had to search for the foie flavor, regardless, a spectacular dish.
The Ahi Tuna tartar was very tasty as well, fresh and flavorful, a very nice start to a meal.
Let me preface this next one by saying I am really not much of a soup person, especially in the summer (can we actually call this summer?!) but the butternut squash veloutte was absolutely mind blowing! and this is a soup were talking about. It was absolutely luscious, and the depth of flavors was simply astonishing. I’ve never enjoyed a soup so much! Stunning!
One of the best dishes hands down was the Gnocci with the tomato cream sauce, it was splendid. So rich and flavorful, yet simple and to the point at the same time. A bowl of the veloutte followed by the gnocci would make the ultimate meal in the winter… wow!
I had to try the pulled pork sandwich from TCC, to be honest it was one of the weaker dishes, and I really didn’t feel it matched the rest of the menu. It’s also a very difficult dish to share; I still think hubbub makes the best pulled pork I’ve ever tried.
Now, the pork belly was another story. It was titled «crispy pork belly» though there was not much crisp to it, it was actually surprisingly fleshy and soft, but that was not at all a bad thing. I’m very used to pork belly being crispy so this was an interesting change, the flavors were spectacular, and the pickled apple and fennel salad was the perfect accompaniment.
The risotto was just OK, my stepmom is Italian so our expectations for risotto are high and quite traditional, this was nice and creamy, but in the end it was just very rich with only a bit of flavor, wouldn’t order again.
The crispy duck leg confit was also just OK. The whole dish was a little over salted and it came out with the risotto, both of which were very rich. All the element were tasty, I loved the little shimenji mushrooms, but the salt overtook most of the plate for me.
For dessert, we had the apple pie sundae and the chocolate fondant. Neither were amazing, not up to the caliber of the rest of the dishes. The chocolate fondant was a Godiva cake, so I’m not sure where the name fondant comes from. It was OK, way too sweet though, and too rich, especially after the meal we just had. The apple sundae was quite nice actually, it was a deconstruction, but when you put everything back together, it really did taste like an apple pie. It barely had any sweetness which to me is a perfect end to such a rich meal.
I’m forgetting a few dishes (Like I said, we tried everything) but almost everything we tried was delicious and very impressive. The service was great and the whole evening was just delightful. Dale, you have done it again!

4 stars for food and 3 stars for service.
I was really looking forward to the dinner at Ensembles after hearing much buzz about the place and left satisfied with the meal albeit $ 50/​person bill.
Tried most of the well known dishes, the pulled pork sandwich, potato gnocchi, risotto, eggplants, foie gras sundae, beef carpaccio, beet salads, and two desserts, lemon madeleine, and chocolate cake w. sorbet!
Loved potato gnocchi, eggplants and pulled pork sandwich the most — The foie gras sundae is a novel idea to me, but the idea of foie gras and sundae don’t seem natural to my good old traditional mind. The waffles that came with it were really puffy and soft though. Absolutely hands down the best dish was the potato gnocchi. If I had a choice of two dishes only, I would pick this and the pulled pork sandwich.
They also have a couple of Belgium beers which is a nice touch.
The service. unfortunately was not to my standard. We made reservation weeks in advance and had to wait 20mins for our table. There was a table close to the door which they initially offered to find a better table. For the next 20mins, basically we were left alone at the bar and no further acknowledgment from the server we initially talked to. They just walk pass by —? Finally the innocent bartender came and asked if we’d like anything to drink. I think for the time we had to wait for a silly table, they should have comped our drinks or offer complimentary appetizer. Once we sat down, there was no apology or «thank you for your patience». Pretending the wait never happened doesn’t work for me! :(((Also, overall I felt the service was courteous, but nothing extra or personable. Perhaps they need to have more servers covering the table to make a difference? I am not sure.
Overall, I will return for food and perhaps give it another try for their service, but as you know, first impression always lingers…

I think I would be considered a «regular» at Ensemble. I started going last summer, and have slowly worked my way up to someone who visits about once a week. Vancouver has several fantastic restaurants, but Ensemble always tops my list.
I love the bar menu. I haven’t had a cocktail I disliked and I’ve had several I love.
I watched Chef MacKay work his way through Top Chef Canada and admired his dedication and intensity. I believe he has carried that through to his restaurant. I have several «must haves» and my only trouble with the menu is narrowing down the delicious choicies.
On my last visit, I was with a friend who has dined all over the world. He proclaimed the bill very reasonable for Vancouver and was also impressed with the food. We ate the carpaccio, beet salad, eggplant, artic char, risotto, hanger steak and duck leg plus the orange pavlova. I love the way everything on the menu can be shared. I think the duck was our favourite, and, I am oft heard saying the carpaccio is the best in the city.
I like the staff here. The front of house manager seems as serious and intense as Dale, but he runs a tight ship and it’s reflected in the fact that my every need, and that of my dining companions, is always met. I find the service has steadily improved over the last year and I always experience «top notch».
In other words, go. Go often.

Mmmmm,
Ensemble is really good… I am vegan and although there is not vegan items on the traditional menu, the restaurant had no problem converting the eggplant app to vegan without the yogurt, and made up a yummy lentil veggie main dish. Honestly, the eggplant was REALLY good…

I really liked ensemble. I had this cucumber & crab roll that was delicious and the pulled pork was fantastic. What’s more, they had triple karmeliet — my fave beer — for like half the price you find it at bitter tasting lounge in gastown.
The service however, leaves a lot to be desired. The décor is really dark and almost gothic, too — but, if you can shrug that off, the food is worth it.

They know how to cook, pair, and present the dish, point. Not a place for quantity, yes it’s pricey but I made good choices and was satisfied.
— Dungeness crab: Wrapped in thin rice roll, fancy idea. And perfect teaser antipasto.
— Pulled pork sandwich: I can so have two of this! What’s special is that they serve this with apple-​horseradish slaw, watermelon to give the freshness kick. The bun is just perfect, cute. I also like that they half the sandwich without being asked, I was there with my boyfriend. Not impressed with the fried pickle. I don’t know what value it adds there.
— Black cod with pork thai broth: It deserves the winning score in Top Chef. It looks simple but the taste keeps building up in every sip.
— Arctic char: Cooking time was just right. Paired with hearts of palm.
I didn’t order dessert because nothing sounded special at that time, but my boyfriend had the soufflé of the day. I tasted it, and must give it to the chef. It was one of the best soufflé I’ve ever tried.

It was perfect. Every bite of every dish — and between my mum, Aunt and I we tried 6 (they had a few more after I left.) Everything was ‘deep-​sigh, say it out loud’ good.
Duck confit — the mushrooms and slight hint of orange were amazing, but the best part was the crispy, crackly skin. Swoon.
Pork Belly — a beautiful piece of crispy belly, the fat simply melted in my mouth. It came served with some braised cucumber, all swimming in an acidic broth.
Beef shin and frites — the meat was bursting with flavour, perfectly seasoned with rosemary.
Potato gnocchi — Just order this. Just do it.
The waitress suggested 3 – 4 dishes per person, but I think that 2 – 3 is more appropriate for most people.
The best part? The bartender whipped me up a virgin cocktail using my preferences– I said «I like sour, berries and no lychee!» He made me a drink with sour plum, vanilla syrup and lemon. It was amazing.
I will be back!

Wow! My high hopes were met with our dinner at Ensemble last night. It was delicious from beginning to end. I was very pleased that when I told our server that I had to follow a gluten-​free diet she showed me all of the available options and even said that several dishes could be adapted to meet my needs.
We shared 5 dishes between us then had barely enough room to share the apple pie sundae (minus the crust) for dessert. We probably could have shared 4 dishes only, but I couldn’t narrow down my choices. I highly recommend the Sweet and Sour Eggplant (I didn’t even like eggplant until last night), the Risotto and The Roasted Beet Salad… ooh and the scallops, don’t leave out the scallops!

Having not gotten to dine at Lumiere with Dale Mckay at the helm, my friends and I decided to check out Ensemble. We all did go in with really high hopes tough, which may have caused for a bit of a let down. We had made reservations but arrived a bit early. The restaurant about 95% empty so we didn’t think it would be much of an issue, and asked the hostess if it would be alright. She was certainly not pleased and advised us to go sit at the bar. We didn’t mind at all, it was just a bit strange considering that the restaurant was so empty.
Service:
Once we did finally get to our table though, the waitress was great. She was helpful and knew a lot about the menu. She was actually genuinely friendly and was efficient as well, our plates were cleared and cutlery was changed out quickly.
Food:
First off, the drinks were amazing! I had a few of one called «2012» and it was just perfect. I can’t remember the name of the other ones the rest of the party ordered but they were great as well.
The food was alright. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either. We ordered about 2 plates each (the waitress recommended 3 per person) as we aren’t big eaters. I got the risotto with lobster and the pulled pork sandwich. The risotto was by far the best out of the two but I’ve had a lot better at other places. As for the pulled pork sandwich, it was mediocre. Now that I think about it, it probably was a bad idea getting pulled pork at a French restaurant, but then again, Ensemble isn’t really that much of a French restaurant.
Ambiance:
The restaurant itself was beautiful, not any faults there.
Overall, Ensemble provided great drinks and a decent meal. Nothing that would really make me want to go back. It wasn’t bad, just wasn’t great either.

Okay, I had to go to Ensemble to meet Chef Dale McKay and see his resturant eye to eye. Yes I am a HUGE TV show Junkie and I had to see how creative he is since I saw Top Chef Canada. But, it was too soon, I can not part away from my Le Bistro Deluxe. QQ I still do not understand that after 3 months going to the establishment I can still taste the food. Yes, the posting date is 3 months after.
Anyways, the first thing I saw when I entered the restaurant was Mandy Tsung artwork on the left wall. I stopped in my tracks and then just adored it far away. I couldn’t stop looking at it all night. I was just in Mandy Tsung artwork trance. Anyways I shall leave a plug in here for people to know who she is…
As I sat down the hostess was very friendly, but then suggested that we move to another table as there was a reservation later when she led us there first… I was just a tad awkward by this situation as I also placed a reservation as well… I told her it’s fine I’ll stay thanks. Felt a little off putting in that situation there…
On to the menu and the food that I ordered with me and my friend. We had the waffle duck confit, and it was extremely savoury and perfect for the first dish of the night. The layers that McKay did was very well done. He perfectly placed the most sweet on the bottom, so we can work our way down to the perfect sweet spot of the night.
The 2^nd course we have obtained was the tomato Gnocchi. It was delicious. It wasn’t really a large plate, which is good, and the flavor just was perfect with each bite. The tomato sauce wasn’t heavy, good. And the taste of the fresh potato was really focused in the dish. I enjoyed it A LOT. The greens were cold though, didn’t expect that but it was delicious! :3
The 3^rd dish we ordered was the salted watermelon, deep fried pickle with pulled pork sandwich. I can say this was my favourite for the night. The small salted watermelon was really sweet. The salt adds a delicious bite and refreshing taste to the pulled pork if you ate them together. The pickle wasn’t really my taste, but I only ordered it because it was on the TV show Top Chef :3
The 4^th dish that arrived that night was cod placed on top of well broiled broth. It was very Asian inspired, but at the same time the fish was cooked fairly well. The flavors meshed perfectly together with the cod as it was deliciously made. The cod had the perfect taste of salt, and the inside was just a tad raw, which was perfect for my taste… Yummy.
I do not like their dessert menu as it is small and did not really answer my taste buds. I hope to see an improvement on that soon, maybe an additional pastry chef within the kitchen would help a lot! :P

Although the dining genre was listed as «French», Ensemble’s menu items seem to fit in more as «Westcoast Contemporary» with dishes named after specific regions including Vancouver Island Mussels, Fraser Valley Duck Confit Leg and Arctic Char. We were advised by our server that the portions are small to mid-​sized and would be best to share, which we did.
We started off with the Cornmeal Crusted Scallops. I enjoyed the contrast between textures — the soft, moist scallops paired with a subtle, grainy, breaded crunch of cornmeal. The small cauliflower accents were neutrally flavoured so it didn’t take away from the seasoning of the scallops. The 16-​Month Aged Prosciutto Salad was very spring-​like and refreshing, with crisp ingredients like strawberries and cucumber. The neutral taste of bocconcini is a good choice of cheese to pair with the salty prosciutto.

We looked up the menu and found it reasonably priced on their own website, so we finally decided to have an early dinner and try the restaurant.
The service was excellent and the food was delicious.
We were not hungry coz we started at 5.30pm, but we still order 3 entrees to share.
Crispy chicken to start with, the chicken was so juicy and smooth but not crispy as it described.
Duck Confit Leg, it was tasty and perfect. Just a bit smaller than we expected.
Arctic Char, it was so good.
Excellent desserts — Pumpkin Soufflé with gingerbread ice cream was fresh and soft.
Chocolate fondant which is lava cake, it was perfect matched with hazelnut ice cream! Must try…

Stellar food, flawless service — they know what they’re doing here and it shows.
Marketed as French tasting-​size dishes, but don’t let that scare you off. The gnocchi was a respectable size, similar to other primi portions in Italy, it was a larger appetizer size but not quite big enough to be an entrée. More importantly, the gnocchi was by far the best I’ve had in Vancouver. The gnocchi was marshmallow soft, yet with a bit of bite — perfeclty cooked accompanied by a lovely tomato butter sauce.
The beef shins (braised beef) was good but not terribly exciting unless paired with the carrot purée. However, the side of frites that it came with were amazing — beautiful batter, soft and fluffy inside and salted. Order a side of frites, you won’t regret it.
The foie gras parfait was lightly whipped and quite nicely done, it came layered with an apricot purée and something panna cotta like on the bottom. I only ate the foie gras layer, but was more than satisifed. Served with slices of waffles.
I’m docking 1 star, perhaps unfairly, because of the hostess — the restaurant website encourages walk-​ins, but I was given a harder than necessary time about it. If you’re going to offer me a table, and tell me that I need to vacate by a certain time — no problem, I can read a watch and keep my word. Don’t reluctantly seat me after you’ve made the offer.
Small point and not enough to deter me from another visit.

Something of a treat, walking into this place a few days ago there were many things I have read, both on the positive’s and negative’s to tell myself to blank my mind and go in with allowing it to be an experience. I am glad I have now had the chance to come into a place like this, and purely enjoy.
The place, which is located right next to the Guu on Thurlow is quite small in size, a nice, cozy chic setting. Filled with dark décor, and white clothed tables, it gives a very modern feel, clean and crisp, but also the lighting in here sets the mood. The service for us on this night was top notch, the servers name was Autumn, she asked us if it was our first time, gave us some tips of what the dishes were, and was able to answer our questions on each dish during ordering. Also because of the vast menu, advised on the sharing, and that it was accepted, noticed that she was very attentive to our needs for the night.
There was a choice to be made tonight, to go with the tasting menu, or to order and to share, we did the latter, and this is what we had!
The starting dish was the 16-​Month Aged Prosciutto Salad, an interesting dish as it is filled with meat, so get the image of greens away from your head, and the prosciutto was very tender and marbled. As per the menu, there were bits of strawberries, two sticks of cut cucumber, and bocconcini that stayed close to the strawberries on the plate. It was a tasty treat to start things off.
The next dish was the highlight of me and my partners night and that was the Potato Gnocchi. The gnocchi were plump in presentation, and done just right, with a firm softness that held right together, paired with the creamy tomato butter based sauce, and it was as comfort food should be, wanting to take each individual gnocchi, and trying to savour each bit by carefully cutting them into at least 3 pieces.
The Black Cod with Thai Broth was an interesting dish, as the soup was like having some real good phở, except usually you would be eating beef, but then there was the cod. I can say the fish does go well with the soup. Asian inspired, without a doubt, a nice light palate of a dish.
Poached and Crispy Chicken was the last of the savoury dishes before headin for dessert, and I wish I had the pieces of crispy chicken last, and the poached first, as it would have been so much better. The poached pieces were very tender and moist, but compared to the taste of hte cripsy, was just not there, in terms of bland.
The dessert was a baked soufflé served with a side of rasperry purée and hazelnut ice cream with the baked main dish. The ice cream was absolutely amazing, a little scoop of this stuff on the side, and the flavours just popped in your mouth. The term, «there’s a party happening in your mouth» can only describe this sensation. The soufflé itself was a mixed bag, very strong on the egg flavour that I was not too accoustomed to, it was not my piece of cake as they say.
This is a special place, and the food, service, setting make this a complete package. The noise level of this place can be right up there, as it was hard to hear at times what my partner was saying, but I guess people like to talk, and in a setting like this which is very modern, dark, and close to other tables, why would you not want to talk about the food that is being presented in front of your faces ever waiting to be devoured.

After I read some of the reviews about Ensemble and their smaller portions, I was a bit sceptical about the value of this restaurant. I even thought about cancelling my reservation. What a grave mistake that might have been! :) Ensemble means «together» in French, and this place has certainly proved to me that it has taken the time to make EVERY dish come together with perfection.
After last night’s exceptional service, value and food, I am excited to write about one of the top new restaurants in Vancouver. Vancouver transplant and ex-NY’er Dale Mackay’s new restaurant has succeeded in putting a smile on my face for the rest of the weekend.
I don’t want to make this review too long, but I hope that if you’ve read this far, then you’ve already attempted too book your reservation for tonight.
Rather than to languish over your meal selection, simply order both tasting menus, enjoy a few glasses of wine and be prepared to experience a meal that compares with some of the top restaurants in SF, NY, Chicago and LA. That’s right, everyone a five star Canadian chef, right in our own city. Be sure to add lobster to the veggie risotto if you are a seafood fan) and then skip lunch today as you and your partner will be more than satisfied with every single dish.
I am still thinking about the delicious crab melon soup and the wonderful chocolate fondant dessert, in addition to the flatbread, the perfectly cooked prawns, and every single thing that I tried there! The beet salad was one of the best that I’ve ever experienced in this city (including the ones that I’ve tried at 5 star places) and the beef shin with potato purée was literally to die for. My partner and I were almost fighting over it.
I wrote a previous thread about the lack of superb Thai food in Vancouver; Dale’s black cod in Thai broth blew us out of the water, literally. His gnocchi, which was a bit larger than we would have liked was still extremely tasty and I couldn’t help but finish every last bite.
Then, upon receiving your bill for a five star meal, be prepared to pay the same as you would have after ordering your food at Earl’s or Joey’s, with a generous tip for the exceptional service, of course.
There are only a handful of five star restaurants in this city, but as we all know, we don’t always feel like paying those five star prices.
Dale’s restaurant is extremely affordable. His food, ambiance, quality and price are a definite five stars. If you don’t usually order the tasting menu, make an exception for this place and you won’t be disappointed. The only caveat is that you will be extremely satisfied and full upon your departure!
Ensemble’s service, from every single member of waitstaff deserves a six out of five stars. The hostess was pleasant and accommodating, even when I had made a mistake with the reservation; the waiter, although extremely busy was pleasant and funny with movie-​staresque qualities. Dale himself was much sweeter and personable than his is portrayed as on Top Chef, and every single bit of his food emanated the same talent, uniqueness, and high standards that we see in his show. Do I really have to wait until Monday to watch the next episode?
If you are tired of visiting two and three star type of restaurants then go to Dale’s for what we hope that every local restaurant and chef is capable of achieving in Vancouver. You won’t be disappointed. If my review seems overly gushy (which is not my usual style) it is only due to the fact that I am still on a high from last night’s special treat, a night which will not soon be forgotten.

Some friends and I needed to make reservations for a group to celebrate two birthdays in one shot. As we all live within spitting distance and have longed for a new dining hang out we can stumble home from we tried the West End’s newest establishment, Ensemble. And we liked it, we really liked it.
Before dinner we cracked the cocktail list. I enjoyed a ginger gimlet, made with house made ginger lime, and it was a tart, frosty dream in a glass.
Between the dozen of us we sampled almost everything on the menu. The sweet and sour eggplant was a favourite among the group, as was the foie gras sundae, beef shin, gnocchi (strangely called potato gnocchi, even though gnocchi is often made from potatoes), oysters and cod. This is just what I’m remembering through the haze of good times, full mouth and sips of wine.
Again, we were able to taste every dessert on the menu, all of which were delicious. The Pavlova was perfect, served with luscious citrus fruits and a dollop of citrus sorbet. The daily soufflé, raspberry was sweet, light and plentiful. Dusted in sugar, the warm citrus madelines made their way around the table to happy moans.
For a large, boisterous group to enjoy excellent food and service at a week old neighbourhood restaurant of which we had high expectations was refreshing and exciting and might have caused excessive high fives on the walk home. And my dizzy food hangover the next morning was a testament to my pleasure.

The best description I can think of for this is not French, but Franco-​American tapas. The staff all made it very clear that the dishes were to share, but also were quite small. It did make ordering a little challenging and I’m not sure the sharing experience really works with many of the dishes I saw — unless you’re with very close friends.
The menu read as a very varied and imaginative selection of cold and warm dishes. It featured takes on european classics like risotto, along with west coast staples like sablefish.
I ordered a venison terrine to start. It was delicately flavoured although it lacked a richness that I had expected. It was served with a small selection of pickles and a couple of corners of sourdough toast.
I followed this with black cod in a thai scented pork broth. The fish was perfectly cooked, but it really was extremely miniature — no more than a two-​inch cube. The broth was good but a little over-​seasoned and not as aromatic as the menu suggested.
I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older, or because I don’t get out as much as I’d like, but I do have high expectations when I feel like I’m paying top dollar. Ensemble is very pleasant, but the dishes I chose lacked the wow factor that would make me an instant fan.
One thing that seemed particularly confusing was the wide range of prices for the dishes. Ranging from $ 8 to over $ 30, they seem to suggest a potential variation in size. However, the most substantial dish at our table was beef shin with fries at, if memory serves, $ 8 whereas the $ 24 lamb plate required the aid of binoculars.

It might be too soon to like Ensemble already, but alas, I’m quick to fall in like (even while I still miss the Tiffany blue chairs and the eggs benny of Corner Suite which stood in it’s place for a small moment in time). Ensemble’s lively atmosphere, balanced cocktail list and well meaning dishes have me digging on them.
Sitting at the bar, we had a front row view of the magic chemistry between our two barkeeps. The cocktail list is small, but right off the bat, I can recommend the «one night stand» and the «in fashion,» a twist on the old fashioned.
The food? I just wish there was more of it. While the Vegetarian 4 course meal (for $ 31) was a rainbow of variety, I yearned for more. More gnocchi, more risotto, more pavlova. The beet salad, though, that was a brilliant size. And homemade cheese — tops! Onto the spot prawn cocktail (yeah that’s how we roll). Divine. The spicy cocktail sauce, the avocado and of course the barely cooked prawn was solid. Again, I could have used one more morsel. And the black cod with thai basil broth? Magnificent. The complicated broth just kept leaving me wanting more… and more… and more. Just don’t go hangry, and don’t say I didn’t warn you! Between the 2 of us we shared 6 dishes and both agreed we could have used more sustenance. I’d still dine here for the flavour, but if you’re looking for a sizable portion, I’d say, this ain’t your place.
The manager was on his A game, making the rounds, the kitchen staff looked like they were humming along and the space was pretty packed at 730 on a Wednesday. I’m sure that there will be mistakes along the way, but for night #2, I have nothing but respect and likes for you!