The Mackenzie Room

This is one of the best new finds in the city. Great atmosphere, great service (get what ever cocktail they are featuring), and the food is incredible. I never thought I would enjoy pig tails as much as I did and I have never felt more full than when I tried to finish off the duck in a pie w/​foie gras ice cream. I’ll definitely be back to checkout their ever changing menu.

From the front of house to the back of house this group takes care of you like few Vancouver restaurants. The menu changes regularly and i’ve never had a dish I wasn’t excited to order again.

Weirdly, there’s no 7 o’clock reservations. It stops at 6:30pm and starts again at 8:30pm with a 15 minute interval. Our group had to book for the 8:30 slot since that was the only available time for all of us. We decided to go for the «I want it All» menu. For this menu, you need a minimum of 4 diners. Their menu changes on a daily basis and is posted on the blackboard which is hung at the back wall of the restaurant. With that said, the price changes according to the dishes available. The menu for the night consists of:
–Veggies from the Garden (³⁄₅) $ 8
–Showstopper Salad (⁴⁄₅) $ 13
–Filled with neglect (2.5) $ 11
–The Root of All Evil (3.5÷5) $ 12
–Meat & Bread (3.5÷5) $ 5
–Heads + Tails Terrine (⁴⁄₅) $ 14
–Bone, Tongues & Harmony (⁴⁄₅) $ 18
–Spain in December (³⁄₅) $ 28
–Family Jowls (³⁄₅) $ 29
–Turketta (⁴⁄₅) $ 25
–Don’t Forget the Gremolata (³⁄₅) $ 26
–Dirty South Pie (¹⁄₅) $ 7
–Toffee Pudding (³⁄₅) $ 9
A special request from me to add on the duck in a pie with foie gras ice cream (⁵⁄₅)-$ 25.
Since all the items was written on the chalkboard, there wasn’t much room for description and the names are pretty vague. We all identify each dish with one main ingredient or at least the ones we know.
I personally don’t think it’s worth getting the «I want it all menu». Simply because the portion size per dish equals to a single-​serving of a (n) appetizer/​main course. Essentially, this isn’t enough to share between 4 parties and definitely not if you have 5 or more (which we did that night). The concept of family style serving also didn’t work out very well. We had two small tables put together and with that many dishes, we literally had to pass each dish around and it got a bit out of hand as everyone tried to take a share of each dish before it’s gone. Also some plates were bigger than others and we couldn’t fit all on the table.
You can get a picture of what stood out and what to avoid if you’re ordering off the menu based on my ratings but here’s a quick run down. I’m a pie lover, so the duck in a pie was my favorite. Glad I reserved one of those. Sadly, due to sharing I couldn’t fully taste the ice cream. It melted by the time we divided the pie and took a share of the single scoop. The showstopper salad was indeed a showstopper. We all were surprised how good it tasted. The last highlight for the group and I was the bone, tongue & harmony. It’s basically a bone topped with bone marrow & beef tongue with a side serving of their sweet bread.
The most disappointing dishes were the desserts. Dirty south pie was a sweet yam pie with marshmallow topping. You have the option to torch it with some bourbon, which we did. Sorry no video ’cause I ran out of memory. After the flame went out all we could taste was the bourbon. Did I mention we had to pay for the theatrical effect? And no, they did not tell us of the extra charge. Though, we would have done it anyways. The second dessert wasn’t much better. Toffee pudding was a bit too sweet and there was too little ice cream to balance it out. If you’re planning to order an appetizer, you can stay away from ‘filled with neglect’. No surprise how it got its name. It’s a very small dish. There was no harmony between the ingredients. There were some greens, some harder legumes (carrots?) and an ingredient with a cottage cheese texture but doesn’t taste like it.
I would go back for the pie alone and one of the non-​alcoholic drinks. I forgot the name but it was really good.

Ingenious and delicious dishes, putting a great spin on Spanish food
cozy atmosphere, great friendly staff. This was definitely a gem

High potential. Great layout and energy, including the music. Delicious cocktails. Had some excellent vegetarian starters, but that’s where the options ended. Extremely red meat heavy, without a single fish or poultry item on the menu. Once it becomes more inclusive, could be a great spot.

The Mackenzie Room offers an «I Want It All» menu that is basically everything on the «always changing» menu — all appetizers, all mains, all desserts.
When we went last night, our menu was:
$ 8 Veggies from the Garden
$ 13 Showstopper Salad
$ 11 Filled with Neglect
$ 12 The Root of All Evil
$ 5 Meat & Bread
$ 14 Heads + Tails Terrine
$ 18 Bone, Tongues & Harmony
$ 28 Spain in December
$ 29 Family Jowls
$ 25 Turketta
$ 26 Don’t Forget the Gremolata
$ 7 Dirty South Pie
$ 9 Toffee Pudding
Total if purchased separately is $ 205.
To have «I Want It All», you must have at least four persons and it costs $ 51 per person.
For four persons, the total is therefore $ 204 — basically, no savings.
We were five persons. Our total was therefore $ 255. Ripped off.
I honestly do not believe the dishes were up-​sized for the 5^th person, after comparing our bone marrow dish with that of our neighbours, and counting the number of mussels (4) in the paella-​like «Spain in December» (?).
Since the menu changes frequently, there’s no point in really reviewing the individual dishes, although best of the bunch for me had to be the bone marrow (Bone, Tongues & Harmony $ 18) as it was more than just the fatty marrow but some beef tongue and a really sweet glaze/​sauce, and served with really decently done foccacia bread.
As for the rest, salads and veggies were good, mains were OK. Max ³⁄₅ stars for tastiness.
Price for portion is already high, but for the meaty mains it was even more so. We’re talking hotel-​restaurant pricing, minus the fancy hotel amenities and ambiance. Example: A «turketta» slice of white meat slightly bigger than pack of cigarrettes had nicely tender meat… but $ 25?
Even if you accept the price, go only in whole groups of 4 to get correct value for your money.

The Mackenzie Room has been on my list of must-​try restaurants for a long time. It’s intimate and trendy without being pretentious. The menu was interesting and full of dishes I wanted to try. So when we booked a table for my friend’s birthday, we had to get the «I Want It All» for $ 52 a person, which allowed us to try a little of everything on the menu.
Most items were good, but there were 3 stand out dishes for me:
The Showstopper: Legumes, Farmers cheese and pistachio. I love all 3 of these things and Mackenzie Room did a fantastic job of combining them together. It looks like a big pile of rabbit food on a plate, but I assure you it’s more than that.
Don’t Talk Back: Yak tartar and instead of using crostini, they used fried chicken skins! They also used clams instead of an egg in the tartar. I wish there were more skins and clam though.
Duck in a Pie: Duck pie with foie ice cream. Oh my! The pastry was flaky and the duck was flavorful. This dish sounds too rich, but by making the foie ice cream, it definitely isn’t and you’ll want to eat the entire thing yourself.

Stopped by here after wandering around Gastown trying to find bars that had room and opened late. Really enjoyed the beer selection along with the food. Had the fried smelt and those were a tasty alternative to fries.

Went there on a Saturday night and the place was packed! Food was great! Their food was like a mix of different cuisines. My favourite was the Corn, the Lamb Chops, and their Toffee Pudding.
I also really liked how they designed the place, and together with the great music, the restaurant had a nice ambience for a night out with friends. And service was also top notch! I would definitely come back next time.
There were tons of parking around the area so driving there will be no problem at all.

Definitely not your «Dad’s» restaurant. Menu is not traditional but that is the appeal. Chef is both talented and creative. He takes a variety of ingredients then prepares and presents with flair. Step out of your comfort zone to enjoy.
Service was excellent but make a reservation.

Unbelievable food and service! Most of the items on the menu are pretty adventurous. If you’re looking for something to tease your pallet and leave you wishing you could eat everything on the menu, this is THE place! Been here twice and definitely coming back. Drinks are tasty and boozey. Get the duck in a pie… If it’s not sold out. Try going a bit early as it’s usually full by 8.

Ok, the food is the best I’ve had in a while. Portions are on the smaller side but every dish we had was carefully thought through and executed, right down to the plateware. The room is understated and the design is a bit timeless and rustic. Service was excellent and everyone that worked there clearly took pride in what they were doing. Great job for a new restaurant!

Overall:
Love this place. It’s like finding a gem in the mist of a sketchy area. The concept and passion for the food speaks for itself. You’ll also see some celebrities or directors visiting this place.
Drinks:
Are well done. They have sweet drinks and those who like their scotch and bourbons.
Food:
Don’t talk back $ 18: great way to start an appy. Yak tartar and fried chicken skins… need I say more? The unique thing about this dish is that instead of using egg in the tartar they used clams. Wish I tasted more of the clam though.
Duck in a pie $ 27: Foie ice cream! The pastry/​crust is definitely worth the cheat. Normally I like Asian style of duck and this didn’t disappoint. I also like how they put edible flowers on it. Well presented dish.
Like a sturgeon $ 26: I would recommend eating this dish first as it’s more clean and not as rich tasting as their other dishes.
A girl and her goat $ 9: so between the two desserts after asking people around us we had to get this dessert. It was well worth the calories. The cornmeal cake was a tad too sweet for me but the jam was amazing and it helped. I wish there was more of the jam. The goat cheese crumble was unique to have in a dessert dish. The lavender ice cream made from goats milk and honey was wonderful. You don’t even taste the gaminess of the goats milk.
Ambience: this place has a nice charm to it. CoZy and eclectic.
Service: the staff was friendly and on top of things. For a place that’s only been open for 2 months they have their groove on.
Parking: lots of street parking.
I would definitely come back to this place and bring 2 more people so we can do the I want it all!!!

This place is awesome. The staff are friendly, the drinks are well made and the food is unbelievable. I was recommended the «show stopper» and it did not disappoint. I was skeptical that a plate of vegetables could be so tasty, but now I’m a believer. The neighborhood is a little sketchy but for the most part it’s harmless. This place is going places.

really like this place. finally a place that has good servers who are proud of what they are trying to achieve. Great atmosphere, we happily chilled there for over 2 hours with no pressure to leave or hurry up. and it was a busy Saturday night.
great bc wine selection not overly pricey either. The local rotating beer selection was good too.
food was over all tasty.
we had
Ocean fries [fried smelt] with aloi was super tasty tasted like the ocean, it reminded me of being a kid and growing up in coastal Australia.
The everything salad, i forget what it was called. it was not bad, a spinach salad with legumes and farmers cheese, it was way to saucy and wet for me but still tasty.
Meat a bread, super tasty cured meat butter and house made focaccia. I will get this every time i come back.
Fried pigs tail. was awesome just my type of snack. with a sticky sweet and spicy dipping sauce and siraccha chills. dig in and use your fingers, its the only way to eat pork tails. they even provide a warm water finger bowl.
Rodger rabbit was super tasty, but a little under sized, it could have done with some pickled beets and smoked pearl onions. it was a rabbit leg with a turnip purée and a very small amount of ratatouille. not really worth the $ 24
deserts looked interesting but we are not sweet people.
WISH THEY HAD CHEESE BOARD. ;)
for a place that has only been open a few weeks they are killing it. WE WILL BE BACK we are hoping this will become our new go to place.

We had a pretty good time here the service was excellent. What we ordered was delicious but we left hungry as I am not super adventurous when it came to their dishes. Not a big drinker either, however they made a custom fruity vodka girl drink for me. Again, really tasty. I’ll check the menu before I come next time to be sure there is more that I can eat. We ordered the Lamb and shared it and there were not enough vegetables for my liking, trying to share it didn’t really work. Anyway, don’t let my review spook you. I want this place to succeed.

It a great place with good ambiance and service. Some of the food feels a bit «try hard», in the sense that in some of the dishes less would be more. This being said the menu changes quite often so it should be given a second try. The value for money does not seem right to me/​keep it simple.$ 26 for a tiny piece surgeon seems a bit high, but definitely worth a try and I greatly encourage initiatives like this!

Hip, delicious, and super friendly. We had custom cocktails and apps, and both were outstanding. If I lived here, it would be a fixture.

Our visit to the Mackenzie Room was all we expected and more.
The restaurant has been decorated in a charming west coast style making you feel right at home. We were very well taken care of by the friendly and knowledgeable servers. They informed us in detail about the items on the menu, which is listed as a rotating chalkboard style to include ingredients that are as fresh and local as possible. The food exceeded our expectations, as each dish boasted creative new takes on west coast dishes, showcasing fresh bold flavours. The Show Stopper salad and the Parke Place Pie are a must!
The charming décor, friendly staff and fresh menu made our experience very memorable, we can’t wait to come back!

Definitely worth checking out The Mackenzie Room! Amazing food, amazing drinks and an amazing vibe. Great addition to the Vancouver food scene, providing a casual fine dining experience in a very cool setting. Clearly a creative chef with a unique vision and a service team that is loving what the do. I’ll be back soon… Then again… And again…