Goldfish Kitchen in Yaletown

[D90]

On Monday night my cousin and I decided to check out Goldfish in Yaletown, after hearing mixed reviews from a couple friends.

The room was very inviting and functional, flowing nicely throughout with a mix of cold and warm tones; even the large lcd screen was strategically tucked away to not intrude on the design. I am a little curious what the unprotected wooden table tops are going to look like after a couple months of use. Other then that it’s defiantly a nice looking space.

I have a feeling Goldfish will be extremely successful in Yaletown; last night, I noticed everything from shorts and flip flops to 3-piece suits and cocktail dresses. It carters to everyone and no one looked out of place.

We arrived just before 8 without reservations and were seated within a couple minutes; the service was friendly and professional, even though it did take almost 10min after being seated to be acknowledged.

The food was good with the exception of a couple items: the Salmon Sashimi, which I felt was lacking something even with the faint presence of ginger, and the Crispy Calamari, which was soggy rather than crispy, oily, thick, and chewy, which could be the result of kettle fish being used, but I could be wrong. I was looking forward to try Ducky spring rolls which we did order and never received, but it was fine since we did order plenty of food.

Now for why I will defiantly be returning to Goldfish: the Crab Salad, a large portion, nicely dressed with a prefect amount of spiciness, the grilled short ribs, perfectly cooked, and the hand cut potato chips with ginger aioli, such a simple item done flawlessly. The desserts where the highlight of the meal, I can’t do them justice so all I am going to say is order the warm banana spring rolls and toasted coconut tart. Order two you wont regret it.

Wild BC Salmon Sashimi, lemongrass, galangal crust.

Crispy Squid, fresh scallions, thai bird chiles.

Grilled Short Ribs, chili oil, roasted peanuts.

Dungeness Crab Salad, cellppane noodles, fresh mint.

Hand Cut Potato Chips, ginger aioli.

Mussels, lemongrass, ginger (forgot to take a picture)

Steamed Jasmine Rice

Warm Banana Spring Rolls, cashew butter, caramel sauce, lychee mint salad.

Toasted Coconut Tart, vanilla yogurt, star anise poached pineapples.

[PaoPao]

Thanks for the great pictures and review! We tried to get in to try the place last week but it was past last call, it's definetly on my short list of places to go.

[D90]

Any other goldfish reviews?

[Andrew Morrison]

In the Westender this week...

Goldfish swims Yaletown’s stylish currents

By Andrew Morrison | Jul 12 2007

Although it’s famed for attracting an upwardly mobile, trendy, shallow crowd, Yaletown’s restaurant community has stabilized into a respectable mixed bag over the last couple of years. There are cool little sandwich spots, specialty shops, charming hideaways, and fine-dining joints galore. But there are just two true reflections of the neighbourhood’s broader reputation. The first, Glowbal, is like a gorgeous and rudderless divorcee of means who can still pass for 40 in tight slacks. Loving life and digging the attentions of servers that can smell money from blocks away, it continues to do its utmost to make doubly sure it never grows old (and let’s hope it doesn’t). The second, George Ultra Lounge, is like a delinquent dilettante: a stunning combination of beauty-borne swagger, smarts, and so much hubris that it hurts, man.

With the addition of restaurateur Bud Kanke’s brand new $3 million Goldfish Pacific Kitchen, there’s now a third swinger on the boob-job leaderboard.

My first impression? It was only a matter of time before someone tried to out-swank Yaletown. But, arguably, none could have predicted that Kanke would be the one to try to pull it off. An old soldier of the game (he launched the Fish House, the Cannery, and Joe Fortes), Kanke is best known for his eateries coming highly recommended by hotel concierges (ka-ching!); the hiring of talented, good-looking people who stay exceptionally loyal; and running a margin-driven ship. He has not, as his past restaurants will attest, shown himself to be any more tuned in to the new fashionista hegemony of Yaletown than the legendary Umberto Menghi (Umberto’s, Il Giardino). So, when news broke last fall that Kanke was opening a new restaurant in Menghi’s failed Circolo spot, most industry observers thought it looked like the area was taking three steps back instead of one step forward.

Enter Kanke’s greatest investment: his well-connected army of protégés. Several of his new partners and employees at Goldfish are former Joe Fortes staff (hence the restaurant’s immediate and perfect nickname: “Gold Fortes”). The maitre’d stylings of Albert Chee, for example, are in full effect, filling the already busy room with an everything’s-under-control vibe via a nicely tailored suit and a well-coiffed lid. Darren Gates (managing partner) and Jennifer Hennessey (general manager) are there, too, as are fellow Joe Fortes alumni Nessa Van Bergen (sommelier), Chelsea Bunderson (bar manager), and William Tse (executive chef). Happily — and I mean this with the greatest respect — it’s much more their restaurant than it is Kanke’s. I don’t doubt his spryness or his savvy with the new kids (they are all the sons and daughters of long-time Joe Fortes customers), but it’s time the next generation of “Buddites” got their turn.

Fresh from the plastic surgeon, the recently unveiled Goldfish space is a stunning meat market for mid-life-crisis survivors, millionaire retirees, and legions of Sex and the City-type ladies of all ages, who fill the room with air kisses between sips of designer cocktails. I played along and found the Kaffir Lime Mojito ($9) to be nice and stiff, and the Ruby Sour ($9) to be bang on. But the Piña Colada “Deconstructed” ($9.50) was an absolute bomb – think spiked pineapple-and-coconut tapioca for gummy geriatrics, then throw it up in a stemless martini glass, and you’ll have an idea as to how bad it was. Still, the marble-backed walnut bar is very comfortable, as is the adjacent lounge.

Beyond the lounge and its colourful Philippe Starck-designed chairs (“They’re made with pairs of Fran Drescher’s pants,” remarked one wit I know) is the main dining area. It makes up the majority of the square footage, and sports lazy-Susan tables and several booths. It’s delightfully open and shiny, but with the lounge scene clearly the main draw, I worried for its relevance, not to mention that of the Pacific Rim-inspired food.

The spicy sugarcane-skewered prawns ($18) and the prawn-and-chicken gyozas ($9) were tasty, if typical, starters; ideal for sharing, and much better than the flaccid blocks of pricey ahi tuna I suffered through ($16). All three, however, were about as inspired as a Ford Taurus.

My main dishes were a little better. The hoisin-glazed wild sockeye salmon ($20) was prepared simply and perfectly, accompanied by fresh asparagus; and the quickly-seared Arctic char came deliciously dressed in a tropical sauce of lime and coconut (superbly delicate, and fairly priced at $20). My cubed beef ($15), however, was of questionable pedigree and tasted weakly of sugary soy; the meat was so tough, one would think it had been slow-boiled instead of “wok-seared” as the menu advertised (thin slices of Korean-style Galbi beef would have been more appropriate). A coconut-crusted vanilla-yogurt tart and a savoury side of quail’s-egg-and-bacon fried rice were the best and most unique things I tried (and two of the cheapest at $8 each). It’s early still, but we should be allowed to expect better.

I was happy to see that Goldfish is into pleasing people as much as it’s keen to attract them (it’s an endangered philosophy). With just a little menu tweaking here and there, we might see equal measures of style and substance yet. With a commendable list of wines and beers; a summery, light-as-air feel; and a talented service team rounding out a room that’s just as beautiful as the people in it, Kanke and Co.’s newest venture certainly has the potential to be a great restaurant. Let’s just hope that they find a way to make it happen.

There's video of it on Urban Diner here.

Edited July 15, 2007 by Andrew Morrison (log)

[Daddy-A]

Thanks for the article Andrew ... saves me from having to actually read the rest of that rag

All three, however, were about as inspired as a Ford Taurus.

Best line this year!

A.