It's Dine Out Vancouver season in Vancouver! The event runs from January 16 - February 1. For those of you who don't know what it is, I don't think there is anyone who doesn't, BUT, it's an event in Vancouver where participating restaurants prepare a three course menu at tiered pricing. There is an $18 tier, $28 tier, and $38 tier. There are lots of restaurants that participate and you really get to try places they you wouldn't normally eat at because normal prices are usually a lot more.
My coworkers and I decided to try one out after work yesterday, we had omitted all Asian cuisines and anywhere that was too inconvenient to reach. In the end, we opted for Cork and Fin. Which Dine Out Vancouver had categorized as a seafood cuisine restaurant. The restaurant is situated just on the edge of gastown in downtown Vancouver. We made a reservation for 5:15 and arrived shortly after. The restaurant had a nice exterior look to it and the interior was elegant in its own nature. Definitely towards the finer dining class. There was only one other table seated then. We were told that we were originally reserved to seat upstairs but he had us down by the window on the first floor. It provided us with a nice view of the outside.
The restaurant had a $28 menu for the Dine Out Vancouver event. but instead of a appetizer, an entree and a dessert, they had what looks to be more like two appetizers followed by an entree. For the first course there were three options to choose from. 3 pieces of fresh oysters, or half a dozen or more at an added cost, arugula and Parmesan salad and lobster bisque.
One of my co-workers had the salad while the other co-work and I had the lobster bisque. The portions were very small. The salad came on a full plate but they only filled half the plate. Presentation-wise, they could have done it on a smaller plate to make it look fuller. The bisque was the same. It was a very small portion. My co-worker and I both found the soup to be extremely salty while the lobster itself was actually quite good. When the waiter came to ask us how the food was, we explained that it was too salty and my co-worker had explained she couldn't finish it (it was that salty), with more than half the bowl still remaining. The waiter asked me as well and I agreed. No alternatives were offered. For me I was okay with that because as bad as it was, I finished mine.
For the second course, the choices were Pate Breton, Octopus and Chorizo, and Smoked Ricotta Croquette. Again, one co-worker opted for the Octopus and Chorizo and the other co-worker and myself had the smoked ricotta croquette. The Octopus and Chorizo looked great and was definitely of better taste, according to my friend. I wish I could have said the same for the smoke ricotta croquette. It was very bland. No taste to it. the croquette was cooked well though, and had good texture, but it really lacked flavor. I had to keep applying what miniscule sauce there was on the plate to the croquette to make it taste better.
The final course, the main course had a selection of Wild Mushroom Cavatelli, Sous Vide Flank Steak, and an Arctic Char with Gnocchi. We opted for the Wild Mushroom Cavatelli and the arctic char. The arctic char was cooked well and had a nice crisp to the skin, unfortunately not what I ordered. I had the cavatelli. I was severely disappointed. The cream sauce was nice, but there wasn't enough mushrooms. maybe two or three pieces tops. The cavatelli itself was far from perfect. Like the chef didn't even try it. It tasted like it was really under-cooked and the more I ate of it, the harder it became. I didn't end up finishing the plate and didn't even want to bother with taking the rest home.
Our disappointment was complete. While service wasn't horrible, the food really failed to impress. For the money, it really wasn't worth it. We didn't even want to stay around for dessert. After we'd paid for the meal, we set off to Organic Tree which was a few blocks away and well know for their cheesecakes. We all had a cheesecake. Which we all thought was more worth the money than dinner was.
Lesson of the day: Read up on yelp the reviews of any restaurant before you go.
Cork and Fin
221 Carrall Street
Vancouver BC
