PiDGiN

What a amazing dine out experience in PINGIN that I have never had before! Every single dish has fully new concept of cooking. Also they have great services, comfortable interiors design make me want to come back again!

Dine out Vancouver brought me to this spot. The ambiance is vibrant, service was ok, and the place was packed. However, it was so loud, it was really hard to hear what the servers were saying and maintain an undistracted conversation. Often, I wasn’t quite sure what I was eating had it not been for keeping an extra menu with us.
Anyways, in addition to the Dine out Vancouver preset menu, I also got a flight of sake to go with my meal. However, for $ 15, I was expecting to receive more than a sip of each. They were nice flavor profiles, but I personally think a cocktail would be a better value and way to go.
The best dish of this entire experience was the first one. Grilled bread with some nori purée, ramen egg, and taramasalata. Eaten together this was pretty tasty.
Blistered green beans with almonds and salmon roe: The beans were nice, but the roe in this dish was waaaaay too fishy … Kind of tasted like the smell of old roe used for fishing so we finished the beans, but left the roe.
Cauliflower with uni: Strange to say, but this was my first taste of uni. My friend who came with me loves it though and she just could not bring herself to eat much of it — she actually had to wash her small taste down with a few glasses of water. I don’t have anything to compare it to, but felt the texture was a little odd and flavor tasted off, at least to me. All that to say, we finished the cauliflower, but sadly left the uni. I know… An expensive leave huh? Sigh.
Grilled squid with fennel kimchi and blood sausage paste was a bit too salty for my taste and didn’t have any distinctive flavor besides that to make anything else stand out.
The steak with smoked beet and miso gorgonzola was very good. The meat was a little more well done then we would have liked, but it was still tender and cooked relatively medium rare. Flavor was nice and miso gorgonzola was an interesting combination.
For dessert, we both felt the chocolate mousse with fennel gelee was very strange. It came with a few grains of oatmeal and a sprig of something… but we just didn’t care for this either.
All in all, I was bummed that I didn’t like the food here. I was really looking forward to it, especially because of all the great Unilocal and friend reviews, but in the end, it just felt like this attempt at «fusion» was more confusion than my taste buds could handle at least this time.

My initial review: I can’t recommend Pidgin enough. My wife and I had the tasting menu, which was graciously tailored to her complex dietary restrictions, and every dish was beyond excellent. The cocktail menu was creative and diverse, and the sake that the waitress suggested to go with dessert was delightful, even though neither of us is a big sake fan.
I’d give Pidgin six stars or more if I could — I can’t wait to return.
My new review: After our third visit to Pidgin, each meal has been better than the one before. My wife and I traveled from Seattle to Vancouver for our 20^th wedding anniversary, and dinner at Pidgin was the showcase of the trip. The highlights of the evening were the octopus with feta cheese (which we never would have thought to pair together in a dish with Asian flavors, but it was beyond delicious) and the incredible service. Pidgin is one of those rare finds where you tell yourself «that couldn’t t really be as good as I remember it» but which surprises and delights every time, surpassing recollections and expectations.
I’d give Pidgin six stars or more if I could — I can’t wait to return. ;-)

My partner took me here for my birthday dinner, and our experience was great.
PiDGiN has the best Negroni I’ve ever had in Vancouver — and during happy hour (5 – 630, 1030-​late), the price is very reasonable. Their ice was also of excellent quality — long lasting! If you think there’s just one kind of ice for drinks, think again!

I will definitely be back.

I fell in love with everything I ate! And the ume whiskey sour was To Die For!!! Coming back again!!!

So much gentrification it hurts. That aside this place has the most beautiful modern interior; one of my favourite places in Vancouver. Love the bar style seating and wall décor and bathroom and everything bout this place aesthetically. Food is the most delicious marriage of asian (korean, chinese, and japaense) and western cuisine. From kimchi pork hot stone bowls of rice to sashimi and raw egg to dan dan noodles. Cocktails are also really really good, even the virgin ones. Will be coming back many many more times.
Tl;dr Fusion food and interior decoration so charming it makes you want to come back and spend another $ 60 on dinner.

I love every aspect of this place. It’s clean and neat. The ambience is very casual yet chic.
Catails are all made from scratch as far as I know and they are very enjoyable. It’s a tapas style place but portions are not too shabby and they are amazingly delicious. I have tried at least two third of their menu including happy hour menu and they melt my heart.
Their happy hours are very unique and price is impressive. If I can, I would go there at least once a week. I am addicted! !
Their friendly service is no question.

As I recalled, my dinner companion and I went to PIDGIN in the spring. We heard rave reviews about the restaurant and the controversy of gentrification in Gastown. Anyways, for those who don’t know, they have a pre-​fix menu, which is fine as we always love to spoil ourselves. Good was good, casual atmosphere however a bit too noisy for my companions liking. I really enjoyed the water melon infused cocktail. The wasabi oyster shot was interesting nonetheless.

SO DELICIOUS
This place is on the more pricer side, and yes it is in a ghetto part of town. However, the flavour of the food really makes up for it. For some of the dishes, the sauce tasted so good we actually ordered a side of rice to soak it up because we didn’t want any of it to go to waste. The drinks are really great too, very delicious, classy with a modern twist. I would say this restaurant is a great date spot if you are feeling fancy dancy.

Pidgin is a foodie haven, for those who are avoiding pretentious ambiance for a restaurant where the food is the focus. Based on share plates its a really great restaurant for 3 – 4 people to explore 8 – 10 dishes. Some highlights:
— The Oyster shoot was refreshing and tasted like summer
— Brussel Sprouts — perfectly charred complemented with a miso aioli type sauce
— Pork Belly Rice Bowl –I would go in just to have one of these myself. Comfort food
— Duck — crispy and lovely flavour
— Shishito Peppers — salty, crispy, soft, a little burnt — amazing textures
— And lovely cocktails and selection of sake.
A great food date restaurant.

I’ve been to Pidgin 2 other times since my birthday and still LOVE it! The service is great and food is amazing!

we visited pidgin for a lady’s 30^th birthday and the service was so slow, the dinner lasted 4.5 hours (we weren’t late)!
our server was pretty spectacular, until i asked for some dishes that never arrived on our table. he said, «i have no control over that. i just bring out the dishes the chefs give me.» couple that with the long dinner service, and constant forgetfulness of who ordered what drink dropped major review stars. it doesn’t make any sense for 1 table to receive oyster shots, but the other table does not get them until 15 minutes later. this inconsistent delivery of dishes went throughout the night.
we went with the prix fixe menu, but our 2^nd table never received the mackerel, or 2 substitute dishes, but they paid just the same. our bavette steak tasted like the entire kitchen gave up by then and went out to smoke some crack. i know bavette isn’t a top cut, but it was executed so poorly that nobody finished it. the menu is revamped by a former alain ducasse chef but nothing really stood out overall except the original oyster shot. i personally enjoyed the sturgeon and mackerel though.
one attendee actually sat down the next day and calculated all the dishes served vs the prix fixe total, and guess what? we were way overcharged compared to just ordering those items separately. add the autogratuity and now we know the owners are just laughing to the bank (*insert 50 cent — piggy bank song).
pidgin, you were the birthday girl’s favorite restaurant in the city. unfortunately, to all the birthday attendees, this restaurant is pretty crappy.

Omg this place was amazing! I love good food and this may have been one of the best dinners I have ever had. We had wonderful service, loved the vibe and enjoyed the drinks. We ordered:
— pickles– very good, unqiue
— oyster shots– I am still thinking about them days later, served chilled in a shot glass with horseradish. Yumm!!!
— gnochhi– the only thing on the menu we didn’t love. I’d skip this.
— pork belly bowl– very good
— kale– absolutely delicious
— tuna poke– Holy cow. The best thing I have probably ever eaten. Insanely fresh and well-​seasoned. An absolute must!

Been to this place twice. Good food but UNATTENTIVE service
Food is very good — interesting mix of french, korean and japanese fusion.
But service seems to need some improvement. We had to wait «LONG» time to order — trying to make eye contact but two servers were too busy chatting with kitchen staff.
Also during the meal I tried to ask for a spoon and still had to make extra effort to get them to my table — obviously disturbed the conversation on the table because I had to turn my body around to see if they even check the hall.

Came here while on a work trip in the middle of the week so give it a pass in terms of «buzz». Overall I thought it was good value for money. We had the set menu which worked out well. Definitely the most appetizing kale that i have ever had.
Pros:
Interesting dishes
Very friendly staff
Quick service
Cons:
Smallish menu
Weird area (its close to down town but on the dodgier end of the street)
interesting but weak drinks

The acclaimed, award-​winning, and previously controversial PiDGiN restaurant last month welcomed new Executive Chef Shin Suzuki into the fold.
Suzuki has kept a handful of Pidgin’s signature dishes while refining and tweaking a few others. I recommend the smoked boulevardier, monkfish liver, and raw scallops. The smaller plates are as satisfyingly edible as they are well presented.
Pidgin offers a good mix of small plates and meaty entrées best enjoyed shared or family style in a sort of Asian fusion smörgåsbord.
For starters, the spring salmon (with apple pistachio purée, ikura, and mustard tosazu) was dynamite. Its flavouring brought out and heightened all of the fish’s natural tastes and then some.
The well-​cooked bavette steak (with miso mustard and wakame bok choy compote) was absolutely delicious and filling. Another indulgent dish was the lamb belly (with ume-​rosemary vinaigrette and marinated eggplant) served messy and dripping in fatty tenderness.
Finally, the table fawned over the duck (with spiced hazelnut, hibiscus glaze, and goat cheese) and its delectable marinate. It was a highlight among all the rich, substantial mains.
Pidgin continues to innovate its global menu firmly placed at the intersection of the local dining scene. The eatery combines diverse culinary influences together splendidly in a casual meets fine dining experience now with Suzuki at the helm and behind the kitchen.

Good food. Beautiful décor. Nice service. Hip clientele. Sketchy location but hey, it’s by pigeon park in the downtown eastside of Vancouver, the bowels of canada. The residents don’t bite. Just be gracious in your visit to the neighborhood as your ability to afford the price tag of this restaurant is miles above the abilities of the homeless who wander the surrounding streets.
Asian inspired flavours. Tasty and well executed. But hard for me to say that they are outstanding since I grew up with the originals of some of the dishes, at much lower prices over in Chinatown. Pidgin is definitely worth trying however.
I really enjoyed the:
1) braised pork belly on rice
2) foie gras rice bowl with daikon
3) roast duck done 2 ways
4) crispy chicken wings with hoisin sauce
5) warm kale and mushroom salad
Everything is a small plate. So be prepared to order a lot of dishes to share amongst your group. We had ~ 12 dishes for 5 people so were able to leave with full stomachs.
Give it a try! Be prepared for the prices however.

We chose this place for the after party of a friend’s party and have to say I was quite impressed with the drinks and late night food menu but the service was rather disastrous.
The décor is minimalist and the lighting adds a special character to this place. The paintings on the glass which mask what is going out in the neighborhood where definitely a hit with our party and a conversation starter for sure!
Our first server, who seemed to be the manager, was very friendly and gave us one of the best tables and started taking our drink and food orders right away. Our second server however was a different story!
I started off with Pigindale, which was a refreshing lemonade make with Soju. Then I ordered a few Oyster shots that were just amazing, right amount of horseradish and taste. Then I tried their duck Ramen, which was hands down one of the best in the city… the broth was great and not full of salt.
The only reason I’m not giving this place 4 stars was the fact that the server couldn’t separate our bill… how hard is that? Seriously!
One of my friend’s had to teach the server how to number the items on the bill so that we could each pay for what we had… I thought that was very unprofessional and didn’t deserve a tip but with a large group it’s already added.

Due to white folk, real Pigeon (aka Squab) was removed from the menu. Boo to that I say.
I’ve now been a few times over the past year and PiDGiN remains consistent. on both food and service.
Yes the area is still sketchy but they don’t bite. Just don’t make eye contact.
I usually make reservations but I’ve never seen it packed so walk-​ins should be easy.
The menu stays fairly fixed with some seasonal changes. I wished they had more daily experiments featured. Here are the standouts:
Half duck — signature. Done two ways the skin is crispy. Carrot cake ‘sauce’ is good pair
Mushrooms with ramen egg and brown butter — Mushroom haters will change their mind
Cured salmon (seasonal) — Never had salmon done this way, delicious
Halibut (seasonal) — One of best preparations I’ve had
Tuna w/​smoked yolk purée — Another display of well executed texture and balance
Every server we had was genuinely personable and well experienced. Our 2^nd visit we lucked out and got the chef’s table.
I haven’t tried any cocktails but have heard good things. The only areas of improvement I see is to expand their craft beer offering besides P49 and to create better desserts.
Otherwise, this is one of the very few ‘fine’ dining places I’d recommend.

Happy hour Vancouver– Pidgin
So happy that Vancouver finally jumped on the HH train!
From 5−7pm weekdays Pidgin offers classic cocktails for $ 6.50 and the duck confit or pork belly bao for $ 5 each.
We also had oyster shooters. Lamb belly, veal carpaccio with tuna, and dessert. The meal with 3 cocktails came to about $ 100 including tip.
Been meaning to try this Asian fusion restaurant that has gotten attention do to picketers outside for months when they first opened near pidgin park where all the homeless hang out. They were upset that they were being forced out but it’s so nice to see the neighbourhood changing with amazing unique shops and restaurants opening each month.
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