Blue Water Cafe reservations

[viaChgo]

A group of us are coming to Vancouver in May for the weekend & have 1 night for a great dinner. We're looking for something local (seafood), nice atmosphere but not stuffy, great food but not too food-focused, good drinks/wine list. So I made a reservation at Blue Water. We'll be 5-6 guys & out for a fun night on the town & want to start things right with a great dinner. This should fit the bill nicely, right?

[Hest88]

Personally, I was underwhelmed with Blue Water. Food was decent, but service was appalling--which naturally made me feel as if the meal were overpriced. If you're having a casual dinner where you'll be more focused on each other than how inept the service might be, it should be fine, I guess.

[Fat Guy]

In that local, casual, seafood restaurant-bar category, there's no restaurant I know of in Vancouver that's better than Blue Water. It's owned by the same restaurant group that owns West, and the product and level of cooking have been at a high standard the three times I've eaten there. Sounds like Hest had a bad service experience, so there's a risk there, but with Brian Fowke gone from Joe Fortes I'm not sure there's a strong alternative in that category anymore.

[Jeffy Boy]

I think Blue Water is a good choice based on the description of what you're looking for. I've had very good experiences both times I've been there. If the weather cooperates, and in May your chances start improving dramatically, they have outdoor seating as well that is quite pleasant. The location (Yaletown) is within easy walking distance of endless sources of trouble to get into.

I highly recommend the miso crusted sablefish!

[Coop]

Does anyone know where Brian Fowke is? Did the dream of the super restaurant die?

[viaChgo]

Thanks for the input! Blue Water it is!

[Foodie in Vancouver]

Gee - hate to rain on the parade but I have eaten twice at Blue Water. The first time was so-so and the second time was one of my worst dining experiences ever. Incredibly rude service, meals came out one at a time from the kitchen with long waits in between so that it was about 10 minutes from the first plate until all of us had our meal. I had skate with all the bones in - once I had the meat off the bones there was almost nothing to eat. And I had probably the best food of all of us.

For seafood and guys - what about Rodney's Oyster Bar if what you want is more casual. If you really want extraordinary seafood you can't go wrong with C. And from my perspective, any of the better restaurants in town do great seafood. And there is always sushi. I just think for the money, go to a really great restaurant and order seafood. I think you would get better food and a better experience.

[viaChgo]

Got back from our weekend in Vancouver & thought I'd report on Blue Water. It was a hit with our group.

We showed up about 15 minutes late (in 2 waves) & let them know that there would be 5 of us dining instead of 6. They told us to wait at the bar until wave 2 of our party arrived & they'd set the table for 5 instead of 6. So we cozied up to the bar & ordered some cocktails. After a short wait, the last 2 guys showed up & our table was ready. It was assumed that they would transfer our bar tab. Nice. I hate it when restaurants require the bar tab to be closed first.

After perusing the menu, we decided on oysters to start, followed by sushi & then entrees. We had a selection of excellent BC oysters with our various cocktails. The sushi was really great. Although, I was dissapointed that there was no toro. My favorite was the local scallop nigiri...nice, fresh, sweet.

2 guys ordered the dungeness crab, I ordered the wild grilled salmon w/braised fennel & the other 2 ordered the miso sablefish. My salmon was good not great. The sablefish was delicious...I had a bite. Reminiscent of Nobu's miso black cod. We went with a Stag's Leap Sauvignon Blanc w/dinner.

We skipped dessert & opted for a round of Scotch instead...nice selection of single malts.

Service was great...friendly & attentive. We had a great time.