The ups and downs of dining at Goldfish Pacific Kitchen
5 Comments
Karen Hamilton
August 19, 2008
When Goldfish Pacific Kitchen first came into being in Yaletown, regular Tiny Bites dining companion Bruce and I couldn’t wait to set a dinner date at this new address. This was before my husband gifted me with my Canon Rebel XTi, and even before my camera became a permanent fixture around my neck (if you can believe that). First impressions were mixed: friendly service, ultra mod lounge chairs that I wanted to take home with me…but more importantly, hit and miss dishes, sticker shock. $140 for a weeknight dinner for two seemed hefty for a restaurant where we ordered 5 à la cartes and a bottle of their shelf merlot. 5-star Atlanta restaurant Bacchanalia charges $72 per person, but you get 4 phenomenal dishes and 6 equally phenomenal amuse-bouches.
My second experience at Goldfish was not on my dime. They had a fan in my boss at work, who treated the team to lunch last Christmas. The sweet potato and pork curry from visit #1 was memorable enough to have again and delivered exactly as it had before. The à la carte-ness of some meals surprised a few, who expected sides to come naturally with the dish that was ordered. The lunch items were generally met with lukewarm reception, but the taste and presentation of the desserts that we shared made up for it to a degree. Still, most of us were glad that we weren’t footing the bill.
So when a third opportunity arose in the form of a $50 lunch gift certificate from Omar, blogger marketer on behalf of Goldfish, I was not enthusiastic about a meal-for-review exchange. For one, past visits did not exactly make me jump at the chance to dine there again. Secondly, I did not want to set a slippery slope precedent for selling my airtime for perks. It was my husband that made the decision for me in the end. He had never been; he wanted to go; and I didn’t want us to pay full price for it.
Thus began the frustrating experience of trying to book a lunch date at Goldfish. To be fair to the restaurant, I must state that Goldfish always does lunch during the work week and making a reservation during that timeframe was easy as pie. Unfortunately, I no longer worked in the Yaletown area, and Goldfish does not do weekend lunch. It was weeks (literally the last day before the certificate expired) before I found a Friday time slot that worked for both my husband and I.
We arrived for lunch that Friday: me, my husband, and my apprehensions. Scored a beautiful table on the sunny patio in the back, directly under the vined archway and adjacent to inviting white couches in the outdoor lounge. So far so good.
Drinks consisted of 2 glasses of decent Sumac Ridge rosé for the husband while I tried a couple of exotic no-alcohol concoctions: their watermelon & cucumber spritzer and the pomegranate & aloe juice. We started food off with a set of duck spring rolls, followed by lunch picks that we chose to ensure that additional sides were not needed.
What we ate knocked our socks off.
Mr. Tiny Bites had the Friday $10 “gold plates” lunch special, which was a seafood fricassée with mussels, fresh fish, thai basil, coconut, and fresh chiles. He was amazed at the bounty of seafood he got considering the price tag of his meal. Upon inquiry, it was found that the fish used in this medley was either Ocean-wise or local to BC and in season.
I opted for the short rib and Shanghai noodle dish, which was similarly massive in quantity and had me oohing and aahing throughout the duration of its consumption.
With absolutely no room for dessert, we called for the bill, which came out to $65 post-tip. We found it pricey for a weekday lunch, even at a higher-end establishment, but we did order $20 worth in drinks and an appetizer to start. The lunch items themselves were under $15 each.
The Verdict
The gold plate lunches, the Shanghai noodles, the sweet potato and pork curry, the bacon fried rice, the banana fritter dessert…these are menu highlights that deserve two thumbs up. It’s entirely possible to enjoy a tasty lunch at Goldfish for under $20. Just be mindful of which dishes come sans accoutrements (thus requiring side orders) and you should be fine.
Was this delectable lunch enough to eliminate my hesitations about dining at Goldfish again? Not quite. Considering my hit-and-miss experiences with the dishes, the bang for buck will always be a concern for me. But this third visit certainly moved me closer to the “Yes” end of the “Would you recommend to a friend?” spectrum, and much gratitude to Omar for giving me an opportunity to re-evaluate my stance on this place.
Goldfish Pacific Kitchen
1118 Mainland St | Yaletown
(604) 689-8318
www.goldfishkitchen.com
Other Goldfish blog reviews:
- Restaurant review – Goldfish Pacific Kitchen (Hummingbird604.com)
- Patio update: Goldfish Pacific Kitchen (Civilized Spice)
Categories: Downtown, Food, Restaurants, Yaletown
Comments
5 Responses to “The ups and downs of dining at Goldfish Pacific Kitchen”
Got something to say?
About Tiny Bites
Tiny Bites is a food blog that explores all things edible and imbibable in Vancouver, British Columbia. More >
Our Forum: Chefs’ Table Talk
Chat with other Tiny Bites readers and BC's restaurant pros on the province's newest food community forum.
Articles by Karen Hamilton
Read the food and non-food articles that I've contributed to sites other than Tiny Bites.
Tiny Bites on the web
You can find additional Tiny Bites contributions at these sites:
[...] topic for this post: Goldfish. Full review coming later this week, once all of us recover from this flurry of posting [...]
I’m glad you didn’t share your earlier concerns in order for me to do my own review of Goldfish. I had a great time when I went there, but I can totally see your point here. It must be REALLY frustrating when a restaurant delivers good stuff at times and bad stuff at times. I had a similar experience with other restaurants.
I can’t remember my take on the food now, but I do remember you describing the Offcutts as Jamiroquai over James Brown funk beats.
(Note: first two links are music videos, the last is James Brown teaching you how to dance, so go get your funky-chicken-on)
Raul: Yes, didn’t want to cloud your expectations with my personal experiences. For those of you that want to read Raul’s Goldfish review, check it out here. I’ll find somewhere to place his review into the post above.
Bruce: I did liken the Offcutts to Jamiroquai but not James Brown. Was simply trying to describe the funky bassline. I wonder what our server did with that sheet of Offcutts info I scribbled down for him?
oo they don’t serve lunch anymore during the week
but tonight i went there for afterwork drinks…came across your blog when i wanted to find out more about what other people thought of goldfish. thanks for the honest opinions!
Latest post for vanessa – Vancouver International Jazz Festival 2009