Dine Out Vancouver 2008: Chambar reviewed
3 Comments
Karen Hamilton
June 1, 2008
Since we were on the topic of Gastown, I thought it’d be a good time to re-publish my winning entry of Gastown’s Chambar, originally submitted for the Your Vancouver Dine-Out Experience contest hosted by Mealmax.com. Included are some of the helpful comments from friends that have also dined at Chambar.
Hope you share your thoughts about this place too. Overall it was good, but I need a little bit of convincing to come back.
Chambar has been at the top of my must-try list for the past 3 years. It’s in the top ten on opentable.com. Some of my friends swear by it. A mere 5 minute walk from my office and only 15 minutes away from home. But it’s so popular that you have to plan a Chambar night in advance; they are often fully booked for one or two weeks straight. We? We are not planners. We are spontaneous diners. Just ask our friends, who we normally call 30 minutes beforehand, sometimes not yet with a clue as to where to go. Thusly, Chambar cuisine has never touched my tastebuds until the first week of Dine Out Vancouver 2008.
First Impressions
With my sky-high expectations, I wish I could tell you that we loved this place from the get-go. Not the case. We arrived 5 minutes early only to wait nearly 30 minutes for our table to clear. I kept busy with shots of the bar, front hall, and exterior (here for your viewing pleasure), but my four companions were getting quite restless. After 2 incidents where we were asked to sit by the bar only to be scooted off the chairs by a different hostess, we were finally ushered, disgruntled, to our seats.
The evening got a lot more pleasant after this point. In fact, our table was worth every minute of our wait. We scored one of two pacman-shaped booths situated in the back room. The booth was upholstered in a super-funky, decadent, quilted red leather. It was a chic accent to the rest of the restaurant’s exposed brick, refurbished-warehouse look. How very Yaletown [sic; Yaletown, Gastown...brick is everywhere]. The trendy, slightly pretentious ambient music that had been blaring much too loudly at the front was buffered by the sexy leather booth, and gave the five of us an oasis in which to relax and anticipate the meal ahead.
The Food
Oh, the food. Everything sounded too good and everyone wanted to order the same dishes. I decided to take one for the team and order what the others didn’t want. But it happily didn’t turn out to be much of a sacrifice to be able to photograph and report on each dish. So here goes.
La Soupe de Mais et Crabe: Creamy corn puree with a generous toss of fresh crab chunks. Ran down the throat like velvet, with a little note of heat from the piment d’espellete. It was a mite salty for me but my husband liked it enough to resent me for the 2 spoonfuls I stole for my taste test.
La Salade d’Hiver: Passable for a salad competing with the likes of crab bisque and venison carpaccio. The endive and watercress were intriguing greens, but found the endive a little too bitter. Couldn’t get enough of the fig crostini that topped the dish. The cranberry and vanilla viniagrette was light and refreshing.
Carpaccio de Chevreuil: Everyone else at our table ordered this appetizer and wolfed it down enthusiastically. Jane donated a strip of venison for me. It was surprisingly tender…melt-in-your-mouth soft. No gamey notes whatsoever. The Yukon crisps and arugula provided colour and textural contrast while the horseradish lent it some kick.
Boeuf Braise a la Kriek: Ultra tender with a smoky, rich flavour. Jonny was not a huge fan of the cherry compote, which was too tart and didn’t complement the shortrib as well as he would have liked. He was also surprised to hear that the potato mash had hazelnut in it. Overall, he enjoyed his dish (although he kept stealing mussels from Jane).
Moules Congolaise: Chambar fans have told me to order this without question. Practically every table in the restaurant had at least a pot of mussels on it. And ours was no exception–Jane and Eileen both ordered it. They then proceeded to not talk for the duration of this course. My sample from Jane’s bowl was delicious. The flavour of the mussel itself was not the best I’ve ever had, but it was above average. The tomato coconut cream was extremely addictive and could probably be offered as a standalone soup. Jonny and I helped Jane drain the pot dry after all the mussels were gone.
Truite et Ravioli: My husband and I both had this. Beautifully plated with multicoloured layers of goat cheese ravioli, roasted pepper, and shaved fennel. It cemented trout as my new fish du jour. Kurt even thinks it rivals the trout we ordered at the famed Bouchon Bistro in Napa Valley (sister to Thomas Keller’s French Laundry). I will not make such bold claims about this dish, but every bite was indeed delectable, and I was sorry to not be able to finish everything on my plate.
Gaufre Liegoise: Belgian waffle with ice cream and chocolate sauce. I didn’t want to go near this one as it sounded mundane, like a deconstructed waffle cone. Those who ordered it enjoyed it, but it was not extraordinary.
Le Fromage: The daily cheese was a French blue, accompanied by quince jam and fig bread. It was mild for a blue cheese, and paired decently with the quince and bread. We have visited the fantabulous Salt much too recently for Jonny or I to be wowed by it. Jonny also expected to get multiple cheeses, and was therefore disappointed by the lack of selection and the smallness of the wedge.
Pot de creme: Silky smooth custard with a hint of green tea, served with a dollop of blueberry compote and a lemon sable biscuit. I love custards so this was my favourite of the desserts by a country mile. Would order this again without hesitation.
Final Thoughts
Maybe I’ve hyped it up too much in my mind, but personally, Chambar was a bit of a let-down. The service was courteous and friendly; the red leather booth was kick-ass; the food was above par and the drinks went well with everything. But for a restaurant this popular and this solidly booked every week, I expected more than “above par”. I expected spectacular. To be fair, this was a Dine Out Vancouver menu, and I am a tremendous food snob. Chambar is still worth a go, and we plan to give it a second shot long before the year is up.
Hope this review and the photos help you decide what your next meal is in the [Gastown] area.
Bonus! Comments from Others
My friend Grover has some additional tips and said it was okay to share them with you:
“Chambar is my favorite place. Little tip on Chambar to bypass reservations and enjoy the ambience – I never really do the entrée menu, I usually stroll in with a couple of peeps around 10:30ish and crash the front area (comfy couch) and pick from the appy menu (which includes the mussels) and the nice Belgian beer menu, and of course the dessert menu.
Late night recommendations from me:
- Mussels plus the bread roll for dipping with that special butter they have
- Cheese plate – 3 types of cheese (usually a brie, a blue, and a hard) with fig crackers
- Pommes Frites
- Beer – Duchesse du bourgogne if they have it in stock, It think Kurt might like the Kwak, Bellevue kriek if ur feeling sweet. Don’t know if they’ll ever have it, but ask for Gulden Draak – the best Belgian beer I’ve ever had (13% if I remember, smooooth tho), I keep asking for it when I go there hoping they’ll add it
- Martini – Blue Fig or Pear
- Dessert – Whatever the one is with the chocolate sauce – very well made. Just drink the stuff. “
These thoughts from Tien:
“If you want to get Gulden Draak, there’s a fantastic Imported Beer and Wine store not too far from where you live (actually I think it’s at the end of your block) across from Staples. I forget what it’s called, but the hotel it’s connected to is Modo?
[Tiny Bites note: the hotel is Moda and the store is Viti; they along with UVA wine bar comprise the hospitality trifecta that has further gentrified the Seymour & Smithe intersection. And yes, Viti is excellent for its selection of imported beers.]
I do have to agree with your thoughts on Chambar. I had gone there for a triple date and while we found the food to be above average, once you walk out of the restaurant, that’s really the end of the experience. It just didn’t seem very memorable. I would have to say, if I do go back to Chambar, it would be for the mussels. We got one of each pot and shared it amongst the 5 of us (there was 6 but one was vegetarian).”
Your turn: what do you think of Chambar?
Chambar
562 Beatty Street
Gastown, Vancouver
(604) 879-7119
Categories: Downtown, Food, Gastown, Restaurants
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It’s a great little Belgium for Vancouverites but it is definitely not world class. Menu has not changed much since day 1 and that’s the lack of innovation I desire from a 3-Michellin star chef want-to-be.
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