The SD Bistro

My gf bought a Groupon for the SD Bistro. It was for two people, any food (not drinks) up to $ 90.
The first negative was that $ 90 was a lot of food for two people, more than we wanted to eat. There are only a couple of expensive items on the menu and the one we wanted, the rack of lamb, was sold out — kind of odd at 6pm in an empty restaurant.
So we ended up ordering 4 entrees, mostly pasta dishes. All were okay, but nothing special. The service was not that attentive. Given the mediocre service we were a bit annoyed that they added a mandatory 15% tip on the full price of all items, $ 20 for service.
Overall, I consider this place to be a slightly upscale White Spot. We don’t intend to return, there are so many better places in Vancouver.

This is my first time to buy a restaurant voucher via Groupon. I was doubt about it when I found the rating was low and some poor reviews on Unilocal.
I went there with my friend and made the rsvn via opentable. I got call to confirm our rsvn and asked if we would use Groupon. If so, they couldn’t do both for opentable and groupon promotion.
When we first walked in, we thought the ambience was really good. It gave off a nice and intimate feel and had soft music playing in the background. It’s good for small talk and conversations.
We ordered the caser salad and crab cake to start with. It’s great! However, it took over 45 mins to get our main dishes! Even though our waitress kept apologies, we felt like left off a bit.
Our entrees were scallops and tenderloin. Both of it cooked perfectly right, but the presentation needed a bit more work and side dishes needed more variety when it came to the scallops and steak! The tiramisu was below average!
If you need to go for 2.5 hours casual dining, this is a right place to go!
May be this is Groupon offer! What you pay and what you get!

Came with a Groupon. Though we were a bit hesitant to try them out at first due to the low ratings and negative reviews, we were pleasantly surprised!
This restaurant was really amazing — great customer service and food! I called and originally, they were fully booked, but a server managed to squeeze us in — though the table we got was next to a door and it was chilly, but it’s understandable since we came last minute.
When we first walked in, we thought the ambience was really good. It gave off a nice and intimate feel and had soft music playing in the background. Great for small talk and conversations.
The food was amazing. We ordered the scallops, rack of lamb, french onion soup, and stuffed chicken. Every dish was cooked perfectly right, though in some instances, presentation needed a bit more work and side dishes needed more variety when it came to the scallops and chicken. On a busy night, they managed to cook the scallops perfectly and not overcooked (really easy to do). We asked for medium for the rack of lamb and they got it spot on. As well, we ordered wine — Three Rivers wine and they gave us a generous amount.
When it came to service, though the restaurant was full, the server managed to take photos for us and was right there when we needed him.
Amazing experience, I wish more people would know about them!

Wow, How is this place even open.
We arrived a little after 9, there were TWO other people there.
The waitress left us standing in the entrance for about three minutes after jovially greeting her. She then sauntered over, and while appearing slightly playful as she hung around the corner of the admittedly beautiful pillars in the entry way; she coldly asked «Can I help you», as if we had no business there.
Benefit of a doubt and ignoring my spidey senses regarding bad restaurants, I politely said «table for two please»,
«We’re closed» she said, coldly.
«Oh, it didn’t say anything on the web page about closing early, and I though you were open until 11?»
«Well, we closed after they sat down an hour ago, because that’s when the chef felt like closing».
I continued to politely pry, and the gist was that they close when they feel like it. So closing a restaurant on a Thursday in a busy area shortly after 8, and rude staff is their thing.
Also apparently the menu is piss too.
Don’t bother.

We had dinner the other night and we hadn’t been in for a while. Food was amazing… the appetiser pâté was beautifully made and so tasty. Everything is made in house and the pickled vegetables that accompanied this starter were perfect. My husband had the mushroom risotto that was just delicious, really, really good. I had the chicken pappardelle. When was the last time you were presented with a chicken dish that you could taste the chicken? It was a total pleasure. The sommelier was really knowledgable and lovely to talk to… we just had the best night here! Definitely not going to be as long till we go again…

I’ve seen some pretty negative reviews for the smoking dog in the past but since it’s a block from where I live and a groupon showed up for it, I decided to give it a shot.
Overall I’d say the experience was quite good. The groupon was a four course meal for two, for $ 65 (110 value). Upon arrival they have options for each course except dessert. I opted for the soup of the day (a broccoli cheddar), roasted beet salad, steak with pomme frites and the dessert was pistachio ice cream.
The soup was good, not great. I’m not a huge soup fan but it was certainly tasty.
The beet root salad was very tasty. There was a small deep fried ball of goat cheese that complemented the rest of the salad wonderfully.
Steak was cooked nicely, although the cut of meat was slightly below what you might find at a good steakhouse.
The ice cream was also quite tasty. I don’t normally love ice cream but looked down after a minute and noticed I’d polished it off pretty quickly.
Overall, it was a good experience. I don’t think the place deserves the bad reviews it’s gotten as they seem to have turned things around quite a bit. That being said, The meal, with drinks, would have cost ~140 without the groupon. This is fairly steep although we did get four courses.

I had a mussels and a halibut pre set menue ohhh… That was so very good! I really enjoyed it.

Wonderful neighbourhood bistro with new chef. My partner and I have been here twice, since the latest chef started and split the prix fixe both times. This is a gem Vancouver restaurant AND it has a patio. The service is great. The atmosphere is low key and the food has been great. The price for the quality is better than most restaurants on Granville Island or 1^st.

Overall, slightly odd. The menu selection and prices aspire to be fine dining; the food almost delivers on the promise but doesn’t quite manage greatness; the service is friendly but lacks polish; and the patio décor is decidedly basic. Food took forever and it wasn’t busy. Three mains, one mixed drink and water seems a bit steep at $ 100. Not that I’m unwilling to spend that, but the food has to be worth the price. This wasn’t.
They’d be better off abandoning the fine dining pretense and adopting a basic traditional bistro menu at a better price point. And pick up the service.

This may be a case of picking the one bad egg in the carton (if thats a saying?)
Right around the corner from me and came here for a late dinner in the winter. We were the only people in the entire restaurant at 8pm. Granted it was a week day but still, the only people?
The food was uninspiring, so uninspiring that I dont remember it. Well I do remember the mussels and they were dull. Dull mussels. Also had a salad, equally on the boring side. It seems from the reviews most people had steak, which I have not had, so it may be the one good thing on the menu.
Our waitress was cute, a bit on the slow side, wasn’t catching on to any subtleties or jokes.
It was an excruciating dinner, could not wait to leave. Dull mussels, lacklustre server, boring food, empty atmosphere.
I would only recommend The Smoking Dog for a drink in the sun in the summer.
#30daysofyelp
⁹⁄₃₀

We checked out Dine Out Vancouver and hit up Smoking Dog Bistro. We actually checked it out on Chinese New Years, avoiding the usual rush at Chinese restaurants. Their 3-​course menu was just $ 28 and had a very interesting bacon dessert.
One of the appetizers offered was the Sliced Flank Steak with Ratatouille. I was pleasantly surprised by the portion, because after all, this was just an appetizer. The steak was done medium rare, with loads of ratatouille. Ratatouille is a toss-​up mixture of tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, peppers and flavoured with garlic and onions. It’s healthy as it is yummy!
Another of the appetizers we tried was the Grilled Portobello with Mixed Greens, Cherve and Pine Nuts. The mixed greens were a blend of grilled red peppers, beets, arugula, and a shaving of carrots on top. The balsamic reduction was rich and plentiful, so I loved this dish. Not sure how the portobello was prepared, but it kept it’s juices and made a nice serving tray for the greens.
If you love, lamb, the you should really try the Braised Lamb Shank. Although not a big fan of polenta, it’s not really a large part of the dish, and you’ve got to have some greens, so the ⁵⁄₆ haricots verts was just enough. The star of this dish was definitely the lamb. If you fear lamb because it’s gamey, you should try this one. The meat was ultra tender and the knife they supply is merely perfunctory. The meat falls off the bone so easily, but it’s not mushy. The meat is good and there is a lot of it!
We also tried their Moules Frites, which I don’t think was on their Dine Out menu. Using Salt Spring Island mussels, they were steamed with some garlic, lemon butter and a bit of white wine. It did come with Frites, but I missed taking a picture! The portion was generous, about 20+ for the order. The broth was yummy and I’m glad we saved some of the bread so we could soak up every last drop.
Another menu item that we ordered off the Dine Out menu was their Steak Frites. It’s supposed to be a Striploin but I think they substituted for a different cut. Not necessarily a cheaper cut, just a different one. Bordelaise sauce is supposed to be made with red wine, marrow and butter. This was a good sauce, I just wish there was more of it. My steak was cooked to a medium rare, as requested, and was definitely enough for an entrée portion. I didn’t like my cabbage and celeriac slaw served in a separate container. Somehow, that screams diner, not bistro. However, the dressing was good and I did finish the whole thing. And yes, pommes frites were good… crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside… not as crispy as you get to the bottom, but still good.
This was the much anticipated Candied Bacon Chocolate Fudge Cake. We expected crisp bits of bacon sprinkled amongst rich dark chocolate fudge. Unfortunately, we were a touch disappointed (having anticipation can cause that) with the cake that arrived. The bacon was mixed into the cake and the fudge was the topping. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t as good as we had hoped.
As a fan of tart desserts, I was delighted to see the French Lemon Tart with Raspberry Coulis. The crust was surprisingly light, and the lemon curb was nice and dense, just the way I like it. The fresh whipped cream and mint were a nice touch, as was the coulis, but I was all about the lemon tart!
I noticed that many of the Dine Out dishes are not on the regular menu, and this baffles me. Why would you introduce people to your restaurant with dishes that they might fall in love with, only to never serve it again. Shockingly, the lamb shank isn’t on their regular menu (at least it’s not on their online menu). I just don’t get it.

My friends and I had dinner here for dine out. We wanted to pick an authentic French cuisine and the «smoking dog» (vs. places that had French names) was probably last on our list until we saw their menu. We chose it just based on the menu and it was a perfect choice.
The food was amazing! I had the ratatouille and the beef and steak was so tender. The crispy skin salmon was to die for and my friends had the lamb leg and the polenta was soooo good. The dessert on the menu was a lemon crème brule but we found out when we got there it wasn’t being offered, so that was disappointing. However, the server was pretty observant as I was talking with my friends and how I was sad they didn’t have the crème brule, and despite me ordering a different dessert he surprised me with what I wanted and it was delicious. My friends had the bacon cake and it sounds a bit weird but was actually pretty good.
Now even better than the food, the service was so great! Perfect. It wasn’t a busy restaurant, there weren’t that many people in the restaurant with us so our server Dane gave us a lot f attention. He was very attentive and checked is us frequently. He made sure we were getting everything we wanted and needed. The fact that he changed my dessert and surprised me with what I really wanted was so niceof him. My friend ordered a dessert and she didn’t really like it, and he came out and gave her a whole new dessert and didn’t charge her for it.
Some of the reviews said the food took a while, but I didn’t notice because my friends and I were having a good time. Bonus points for playing the Canucks game!
Overall, great place for a group, great service and good food! Definitely coming back to try the rest of the menu.

Came here with other 2 gfs or the dine out menu, the dine out menu was small, we had the Flank steak as appetizer, it was amazing!!!
and the Lamb shank for entrée was really awesome, the sauce is very delicious and so as the vegi comes with. and the lamb itself was made perfectly done!!! It was an awesome experience for us! we had a good evening dining there !! and the best dishes we had so far for dine out 2012!

Atmosphere: It’s a classy feel with the colors of dark rich browns and maroons working well with the wine displays in glass. The only problem with the décor is that it’s not neutral enough for the area to make one feel welcome for breakfast, brunch or lunch. It tries way too hard to be upscale while unintentionally missing the mark of the core location daytime audience. In other words there was no neutral ambience. The bathroom was less desirable at only 1 stall which seems like a pain in the ass on a busy night. My culinary partner in crime noticed in the men’s washroom pink rim stains in the toilet which is a clear indication that there is no regular up keep in the bathroom department.
Service: The service was very very slow. It took 10 minutes just to get my tea, 25 minutes just to get the meal. No one refilled our water until the very end of our meal and I think that was only ’cause my date was bitching about how no one came by to refill the water and the host possibly overheard us. It was too little too late. The restaurant only had less than 16 people, not busy for a west end brunch at all and yet on top of the slow service the table next to us hadn’t been cleaned. There were dirty dishes at the bar as well and no one cared to attend to those until 30 minutes into our seating. We later got an apology for the dirty dishes and the lack of cleanliness but only ’cause I am sure that the waitress recognized my disgust over the dirty tables that were left unattended for so long as patrons kept coming in. I understand that there were only two people working, however, considering the patron to host ratio, I’ve seen and experienced better service in similar circumstances. When I went to the washroom I overheard two tables complaining about the slow service accompanied by annoyed looks, therefore, I was relieved that it just wasn’t me.
Food: Part of the reason I selected this Groupon in the first place was ’cause of the menu which by the way, isn’t very French. I have had French food and although the menu is French inspired, don’t be fooled. We came for brunch and there were a few items that I really wanted to try out. It all looked good on paper, however, when we were served both my culinary partner in crime and I weren’t pleased. I ordered the omelet with herbed tomatoes and potatoes on the side. I don’t understand how an omelet can take 25 minutes to prepare. When it came out they overloaded the omelet with black pepper. It was as though someone either knocked over the canister and didn’t bother to make a replacement or someone just over shook the jar. To add insult to injury over the black pepper, it was the whole spice version and not even real cracked pepper. As for the tomatoes, those were very sparse. I can tell that the tomatoes and the fresh herbs were well intended, however, the over powering of the black pepper just over shadowed the greatness that this dish could’ve been. As for the potatoes they were nicely spiced and probably the only saving grace of the afternoon, however, there were odd flavors that indicated that the potatoes were deep fried in oil that hadn’t been changed in a while. Speaking of potatoes, my date and I each received approx 1 C of potatoes which for the price, isn’t a lot. To add insult to injury the waiter gave us a small half full shot glass of ketchup to share amongst each other for 2 ½ cups of potatoes. How cheap is the restaurant that they couldn’t give us a side of ketchup each? One shot glass was good for only dipping 5 nuggets at the most. Ketchup isn’t even expensive to begin with. As for my date’s meal he was a bit upset ’cause the hollandaise sauce on his eggs benny was supposed to be bacon infused, which wasn’t present. The sauce looked dry rather than nice, runny and shinny as in other establishments. Both our meals arrived cold, however, we were hungry. Of course ’cause they took so fucking long to serve us in the first place, my date had to leave in the middle of the meal just to put more money in the parking meter which meant that he had an even colder meal experience.
Price: I had a Groupon, however, for the price and the meal experience, $ 12 for a breakfast plate isn’t worth it. You will get better service and food at Denny’s for half that. We didn’t end up spending all $ 40, however, the waitress included our Groupon value which included tax and tip which rarely happens with Groupons as taxes and tip are extra. Perhaps the hosts got a clue that we weren’t satisfied with the experience. We didn’t bother tipping due to the experience and just l

Went for lunch: Warning. be ready to spend an extra long lunch hour. as it takes quite a while to get your food.
French Food: Tried a staple of their moules & frites. Disappointed with their mussels. Broth was bland, and it didn’t even come out steaming hot. The fries was good (thats cause i’m a fan of many arrays of fries) but same thing. not fresh or hot. Which boggles my mind, since it takes a while for you to get your food!
Also tried their Scallops appie: Wasn’t empressed. Half seared or grilled. but same problem. Wasn’t hot. Seemed like a lot of the food has just been sitting there.
The only thing that I actually enjoyed was their seafood crêpe. Lots of salmon, scallops, crab meat, shrimp. i believe. And it came out actually hot. Choice of side of salad or potatoes. Go for the salad :)
All in all. i was a bit disappointed with my experience there. But. it helped a little that I had a groupon. But still ended up spending $ 40 more than intended. And not quite the French cuisine I expected to have.
For that price, I’d rather wait for dinner, and go to their neighbour restaurant: Kitsilano’s Daily Kitchen.

A surprise win for a small little restaurant. Husband and I were looking to celebrate some random milestone I made up with a nice dinner out. This place is rubbing elbows with the Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co and Kits Daily, so I knew it had big shoes to fill. We got there at 6pm for a Sunday reservation, and there were only 2 other tables in use, so it was definitely a quiet restaurant.
Our server was extremely nice and had the cutest French accent (for some reason he kept saying «prime ribe») and he seemed truly sad to inform us that they were out of the moules frites and the pork chop dishes. Boo urns, at 6pm?! I raised an eyebrow to that, but anyways.
Instead, we opted for the wild salmon and the «prime ribe» (not on the menu, but a special for the evening). The salmon ($ 19) was superb. It was perfectly cooked and topped with maple-​glazed onions. The potato fingers on the side were some of the best I’ve ever had (who knew potato fingers could taste so good?), and the vegetables were cooked and seasoned just right. The prime rib ($ 25) was a LARGE portion of meat with jus on the side, sitting on top of a heap of mashed potatoes and the same side vegetables. It was honestly a really large plate of food, that it kind of looked scary next to the salmon. The meat was cooked right at medium and seared in on both sides so nothing dripped out.
Overall, the food was delicious and well-​priced. The menu has a large variety of food, and some French classics (onion soup, steak frites) and a lovely dessert menu. I was far too full from my main to order a dessert, but it’s a must-​try for next time. Great place for casual French dining. :)

Came here with a Groupon and had a nice dinner here :)
Food: We tried the terrine (we’ve never had that before) as an appetizer and both of us liked the terrine itself. I liked the candied walnuts too but my boyfriend found them a little too sweet. Meh, more for me! For entrees we had the ricotta gnocchi and the bouilliabaise. The gnocchi were pillowy soft and very creamy and rich. The bouillabaise had perfectly cooked seafood in it, and a rich saffron broth, which was tasty but a little bit on the salty side. For dessert we had the crème caramel, which was dense sort of a flan but not too sweet; we enjoyed it.
Service was very polite and everything came out quite quickly. The ambiance also had a nice soft glow to things.
Glad we came here!

Food amazing, couldnt gave imagined this place was french by the name. Went here for brunch. Great quiche. Good kronenbourg (sp?)
Will return for a dinner to decide…

Had a decent Sunday brunch yesterday with a few girlfriends. The food was pretty good, then eggs Benedict and omelets aren’t too hard to make, So I need to go for dinner to see for sure if the food is truly decent. It took a pretty long time before they brought out the food eventhough it wasn’t busy at all. When it finally came, either I was too hungry or it was really good, I quickly finished it before my girlfriends. I actually tasted citrus flavours in the Hollandaise sauce as indicated on the menu.
Service on the other hand was a different matter. The server didn’t bother to refill our waters until we asked for the bill.
Need another meal before I can truly decide if it should stay 3 stars or move to 4 stars.

Maybe I had high hopes, I don’t know, but it just didn’t live up to my expectations. But this is where I wish there were more obvious ways to break out a rating. I get that Unilocal is simple and in many ways, that is its beauty, but this 3 star rating is in many ways misleading.
The service was excellent. I would give it 4 or 4.5 stars. Our waiter was very helpful and funny and though the food came a little slowly this was acceptable as it was a busy Friday night.
The appetizers were excellent. Probably 5 stars. We shared a poutine and the soup du jour and both were quite spectacular. I believe the soup was cauliflower with truffle oil. Just great. And probably the best poutine I’ve had in Vancouver to date, though I’m hearing that Corduroy’s might be better. I will be checking on that soon.
The mains however were not that great. 3 stars max. I had the beef bourginon and it was quite a disappointment. The meat was tender but very plain and the flavour just wasn’t there. The other dish was some kind of seared pork loin and it was borderline over done. You could really taste the char and this overpowered the rest of the flavours.
Desert was pretty good, probably 4 stars — clafoutis with berries.
Value — not great. If you’re going for a beer and poutine, that is great idea as it is a nice place and that will run you like $ 20. I saw they have burger + beer specials on Tuesdays and I will be checking that out. If that wins me over this might go to 4 stars overall, but given my overall first impression I can only give 3 for now.