Nude Nu News

[kurtisk]

I think it is laudable that GMs like Leonard participate & seemingly listen to whats going on,

hear hear!!

k.

[foodiluvm]

Wow! Interesting.

I did voice my concern at the very beginning after our 1 hour wait to both the 2 lady hostesses and one gentlemen. I apologize I did not obtain any names but our server was Kelly and she was wonderful. I merely thought perhaps e-gullet is a vice for readers to voice one's opinion and dining experiences. I did not think it had to be my 99th post before it could be some kinda of gripe. At Nu, I did speak up once (only once as I fear insistence would brand me as some insolent customer) and asked if perhaps someone could approach our table for drink orders since we've been standing and waiting for over an hour even with a reservation. In addition, we were all starving at this juncture to worry about justifying anything. As the drinks came, I got more relaxed and almost $300 later for our table of 4, I was way too relaxed at that point to voice my opinion and the night was already late. Then today while surfing egullet I thought why not write something. And just to correct a previous comment, I did not Whine and Dash. We Dashed then Whined But, if I had asked for a rectification at the restaurant and it was done, would I then not be able to post a comment on egullet as I had already brought it to the attention of a manager at the restaurant and that would make it unseemly to then 'air my grievance online'?

And Leonard, thanks for writing. Your acknowledgement is sufficient enough Not that it matters, but I love what you've done with 'C'. I attended a business associate party thrown by Quinlan Abrioux recently that was totally impressive. Cheers.

[*Deborah*]

Yes, from now on just good, happy, smiley reviews!

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Just to clarify what Arne said, Sean, I think he was not objecting to posting about a negative experience, but more wondering whether the management had been given the opportunity to rectify a bad situation, or even been notified of the customer's unhappiness.

*shrug*

We all are witness to Leonard's sincere desire to give each customer the best experience possible, so it feels odd.

That aside, I must say that if I had to wait an hour for a reserved table, at any restaurant, I would be pretty cranky.

[Keith Talent]

Just back from a very early dinner (lupper? Dunch? Linner?) at Nu. Anyway, as advertised it was superb. And there was no lotion on the taps in the mens room, props to Len for hearing customer feedback. The room is gorgeous, absolutely stunning, cooler than Vancouver deserves. So cool that you look arounds the room instead of at the view outside.

Only two complaints, and only one is a fualt, the other is a minor niggling point just to be cantancerous. The chairs are gorgeous, but very uncomfortable. Fuck, maybe it's just I'm old. the other minor bitch is the pears were hard and unripe under the incredibly succulent and delicious fatty pork belly. The Prk is so good you're willing to ignore this detail however.

Killer value. Beautiful room. Good service. Amazing food. Grand slam.

[transfattyacid]

Cool that got ya all worked up ! ebandwagonism strikes again .

But really, out of all the restaurants in this city how many managers and chefs actually respond to comments made here, and how many within 5 minutes of a post being added ?.

Fair play Leonard for keeping us all in check. me included. but i still find it creepy.

[Sam Salmon]

out of all the restaurants in this city how many managers and chefs actually respond to comments made here, and how many within 5 minutes of a post being added ?.

Fair play Leonard for keeping us all in check. me included. but i still find it creepy.

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I find it very professional and impressive.

In fact a thread on the General Forum to ask if Managers in other places were as thorough crossed my mind but I'm off to work now.... maybe later.

[kontemporary]

out of all the restaurants in this city how many managers and chefs actually respond to comments made here, and how many within 5 minutes of a post being added ?.

Fair play Leonard for keeping us all in check. me included. but i still find it creepy.

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I find it very professional and impressive.

In fact a thread on the General Forum to ask if Managers in other places were as thorough crossed my mind but I'm off to work now.... maybe later.

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I too, find it a very good aspect of a restaurant if they have staff routinely checking out what people are saying about their business - and not just being silent about [constructive] criticism.

I had brunch with a friend at Nu today after the Terry Fox Run (certainly tiring, especially after Taste of the City yesterday). I was disappointed that they did not have an Interac machine - so I had to go run to make a withdrawal, as if I haven't been doing enough of that today. That didn't put me off, but I just found it surprising as the night before when I was at Diva at the Met they didn't take Interac either... bad trend?

But anyways, the food. I had a feature on their brunch menu, the double smoked bacon and cheddar cheese omelette. The omelette was sublimal - certainly the best I've had in a very long time. However the accompanying potatoes were overly dry (unripe?), and the buttered bread overtoasted (far beyond just "crunchy"). I notified my server and she offered to replace them. I didn't want to be waiting, so I stuck with it and continue eating (the omelette was good enough to make up for everything). We were asked if we wanted dessert - but being dimwited and not thinking ahead, I only made a withdrawal for twenty earlier combined with some cash I had on-hand. But as we were preparing to pay for the bill, the waitress brought a plate of her favourite dessert - the profiterole dish (we had an earlier discussion about desserts around town). Wow.

Strangely.. things didn't stop there... later when the tab came, my order was missing on the bill. I told her of this error, and it was mentioned that she felt that "we felt that we could not meet expectations" and it was deducted from the bill. The total bill came to .. 13? That is ridiculous! Nevertheless, percentage-wise that was probably one of the biggest tips I've ever left at restaurants.

This is five-star service at its best. Not to mention the amazing décor, view, and subtle good-vibe atmosphere of the restaurant. Two very very big thumbs up for Nu - I will return for dinner!

Edited September 19, 2005 by rêvasser (log)

[Leonard]

Sorry about the interact! With the strike at Telus, we currently only have one telephone line. The one line is used for reservations. When Telus gets back to work we will be back to normal.

Thanks,

Leonard

NU GM

[shelora]

I feel left out.

So how far in advance should I make a reservation? Four days? One week?

Like Mr. Talent, I'd opt for the Linner hour (5 - 5:30 p.m.) before things explode into full force.

Maybe I could accomplish this on a day trip?

Edited September 20, 2005 by shelora (log)

[fud]

Just to clarify, I was talking about Watermark, not Nu (which is also a great name). I doubt Mr. Kambolis could mess anything up. 

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I'm going to Nu this Wednesday I am really hoping it doesn't fall into the category of "we're on the water so we can get away with <insert item here> "

Where <items> are

- Inflated prices

- Expensive Drinks

- Average, uninspired food

- bad service

I'll update when I get back.

(yay my first post!)

Wes

[Daddy-A]

I'm going to Nu this Wednesday   I am really hoping it doesn't fall into the category of "we're on the water so we can get away with <insert item here> "

Where <items> are

- Inflated prices

- Expensive Drinks

- Average, uninspired food

- bad service

I'll update when I get back.

(yay my first post!)

Wes

Welcome Wes (was going to call you Elmer ). Looking forward to your feedback on Nu.

I think you're safe on the items you've listed

A.

[fud]

Sorry about the interact! With the strike at Telus, we currently only have one telephone line. The one line is used for reservations. When Telus gets back to work we will be back to normal.

Thanks,

Leonard

NU GM

←

Hey Leonard,

So what's the scoop on the best dishes at Nu? I'm coming tonight with my fiancee for dinner.

I also assume interac is still down so I'll bring the other plastic. Mmmmm looking forward to it.

Wes

[Leonard]

Sorry about the interact! With the strike at Telus, we currently only have one telephone line. The one line is used for reservations. When Telus gets back to work we will be back to normal.

Thanks,

Leonard

NU GM

←

Hey Leonard,

So what's the scoop on the best dishes at Nu? I'm coming tonight with my fiancee for dinner.

I also assume interac is still down so I'll bring the other plastic. Mmmmm looking forward to it.

Wes

←

Wes,

I will be there tonight so ask for me so we can meet.

Sincerely,

Leonard

NU GM

[fud]

Wes,

I will be there tonight so ask for me so we can meet.

Sincerely,

Leonard

NU GM

←

Excellent I will do!

T minus 40 minutes

[kurtisk]

Jeff, Ian and I went to Nu on Sunday night. We'd been in West Van since noon, catering at an awesome modernist dwelling for a wedding that featured (among other things) Chinese drummers and dragons. Last week had been a long push for us, the Waiterblog dinner on Monday, a solid Tuesday through Saturday, and then this wedding. When we finished up in West Van, Jeff was kind enough to take us out for dinner, and we were quite excited to a) sit down, b) have a drink, and c) dive into some food. Feeling quite spent from our week and the function, we opted to sit in the lounge- a little hidden from view and somewhere where we could have a little more elbow room. 'Twas nice to see Keith again, he made sure we were well taken care of throughout. We did the Fried Oyster/Beer Valve thing, which is always a lot of fun and quite the taste sensation. DON'T LET THIS DISH SCARE YOU, I'd even offer that it's an integral plate that should never be missed. We had the Scallop Ceviche (citrusy and delicious), the Goat Cheese Chicken Wings (again, a fun dish that rewards with intense flavour), and the Bone Marrow (nice to see on a menu, wonderfully executed, and just TRY not to steal the marrow spoon {Harry, I promise we didn't}). Drink-wise, we were boring typical restaurant-folk and quaffed some Stellas. Oooh, the Beef Dip, we had one of those too & it's really tough to go wrong in that department. The Horseradish lent some nice clean heat. The Foie Gras Croquettes were kick-ass, and the warm Cheddar-Filled-Crackers were an odd sensation (for me, at least), but delicious nonetheless. Our server, Linda, was spot-on and laughed at all our jokes (which in our opinion makes for excellent service...).

All in all, wicked! Thanks to all!

k.

[fud]

Sandy and I went last night and met Leonard (nice to put a face to the name now!)

We took pictures but havn't uploaded them yet so here's the review and I'll tack on pictures later!

Decor

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The restaurant was gorgeous, I liked the green motif which is a welcome change from the standard blue I keep seeing in trendy restaurants nowdays. The neon chandelier was awesome.

They also have this funky wine rack thing. I can only describe it as a caged lazy susan where the wine resides inside and can be rotated around like a carousel. Pretty neat and I assume the wine turnover is high so there's no need to have them stored horizonally.

Quick note on bathrooms since I actually do put weight on bathrooms in restaurants. Clean and they have hand lotion! Some might think "who cares", well for those who have dry skin it's really nice!

Patio

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Wow. Awesome not only because of the view but also the design! They have these monster glass windows that serve as the patio permiter as well as a wind shield. It wasn't exactly a warm evening last night but the wind shield windows and the well placed heatlamp made for a great evening on the deck. I can see myself on the patio in the middle of a sunny February eating mmmm...

Appy's

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We sat down, ordered a Gwertz from Joie and the chicken wings stuffed with goat cheese. My god. They drum the chicken wings and then stuff cheese into them. The finished product looks like a glazed popsicle. These were wonderful. I could have ordered 2 more plates probably. But alas I needed to try other things.

I'm a little bummed I forgot to try the oyster/beer thingie that I've been reading about. There really were simply too many appy's I wanted to try. I think I'm going back to try them all and skip the main course

After the wings, we shared the Guyere Onion Soup. Think French Onion but make it sweeter and richer and in all respects BETTER. Oh man. I was ready for another bowl after this. If Sandy wasn't my fiancee I would have wrestled her for the last drops in the bowl. Amazing stuff, the onions were so sweet and carmelized, the cheese was simply superb (even had a small chunk of cheese at the bottom of the bowl which was still crunchy mmm). The bread bits in the soup were very well done. You see, normally bread goes all soggy in a soup like this and ends up blending into the general texture of the soup. But these bread bits were of a heartier nature allowing the diner to enjoy the texture of the bread while it was soaking in the soup. A perfect textural experience. Thumbs way up.

Mains

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I ordered the Braised Pork Belly and Sandy ordered the Grilled Halibut.

The braised pork belly was very tender and tasty. Simple. Good. As intended by the theme of this restaurant (good food put simply). The pork belly was finished on top of some pears and walnuts (carmelized). I liked this dish, it was solid and the skin was very crispy whilst the meat underneath was juicy and soft. You could really taste the pork flavour - they didn't overdo it with gravy or sauces.

Sandy's halibut on the other hand I found to be a little bland. It was dished on top of Chard which I think is some kind of strong Bok choy type veggie with stems that look like Rhubarb. What I found was that the Chard has a pretty strong flavour, perhaps too strong for the subtle flavour of the Halibut therefore taking away from the Halibut flavour. Sandy believes perhaps the fish was overdone and thus lost some of it's inherent flavour.

Dessert

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Sandy had the Creme Brulee. It was really really good. The flavour was so spot on and the carmelization was just perfect on top. The desserts here are wonderful because they are small enough for you to enjoy after a good dinner and they are a great value (<$4!!). I really liked the creme brulee.

Alex mentioned he had the Lemon tart last time he was there and it was phenominal. Now I need to go back for it. I had the crepes - very solid! The orange sauce was really tastey! I loved how I wasn't so full I was about to burst after it either

Service

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First rate. Waiter was top notch and Leonard even came in to check on us a couple times which was a wonderful touch. We DID tell the waiter about the halibut and he was really good about it, he told us that the restaurant is very interested in feedback.

Leanord, it was super nice of you to throw in some desserts!! Sandy was kind of shocked since it wasn't like she didn't like the fish, just that it was a bit more bland than she liked. Very nice surprise indeed.

Total Package

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- Awesome view, the whole place is on stilts on the water, you can't get much better

- Patio to die for (well designed so you don't freeze on colder days)

- Appy's are simply amazing

- Price point is well inline with what you get

- Service is top notch

Will we go back? Damn right we will, I need to go back for more soup, wings and maybe try the Guyere sandwich they have!

So much food...so little stomach....Kudos to the Nu team!

Wes

Edited September 22, 2005 by fud (log)

[lauraf]

Question for the Nu team:

Granted, my husband and I have been to Nu, oh, I'd say, seven times in the past two weeks - yes, it's that good and the parking is sweet - plus I'm reading about everyone else's experiences here. Anyway, I am feeling an overfamiliarity with the menu, which is not exactly a bad thing because everything we've had has been dreamy and I think I could eat there for the rest of my life, but wondering if daily specials will be introduced, seasonal tasting menus, a different menu for lunch vs. dinner?

And question to the masses: is it necessary for restaurants to offer specials/seasonal menus/frequent changes to keep regulars coming back?

[nwyles]

Question for the Nu team:

Granted, my husband and I have been to Nu, oh, I'd say, seven times in the past two weeks - yes, it's that good and the parking is sweet - plus I'm reading about everyone else's experiences here.  Anyway, I am feeling an overfamiliarity with the menu, which is not exactly a bad thing because everything we've had has been dreamy and I think I could eat there for the rest of my life, but wondering if daily specials will be introduced, seasonal tasting menus, a different menu for lunch vs. dinner?

And question to the masses: is it necessary for restaurants to offer specials/seasonal menus/frequent changes to keep regulars coming back?

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When every other meal is at the same restaurant, they better introduce something to keep the streak alive.

I recall on my opening night a customer asked if we had a special sheet !

My response was it was his first visit and my first night so everything was special !

[lauraf]

Question for the Nu team:

Granted, my husband and I have been to Nu, oh, I'd say, seven times in the past two weeks - yes, it's that good and the parking is sweet - plus I'm reading about everyone else's experiences here.  Anyway, I am feeling an overfamiliarity with the menu, which is not exactly a bad thing because everything we've had has been dreamy and I think I could eat there for the rest of my life, but wondering if daily specials will be introduced, seasonal tasting menus, a different menu for lunch vs. dinner?

And question to the masses: is it necessary for restaurants to offer specials/seasonal menus/frequent changes to keep regulars coming back?

←

When every other meal is at the same restaurant, they better introduce something to keep the streak alive.

I recall on my opening night a customer asked if we had a special sheet !

My response was it was his first visit and my first night so everything was special !

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Well, we likely won't maintain our recent dining habits as we are running out of money! But while keeping favourites on a menu is great - damn you Sean Sherwood, for eliminating the roast turkey sandwich! - and certainly if Nu got rid of their Gruyere soup, the marrow bones, or 'signature' items like the chicken wings I'd be disappointed, but new items to keep a menu fresh is something I welcome at our regular haunts.

[fud]

Well, we likely won't maintain our recent dining habits as we are running out of money!  But while keeping favourites on a menu is great - damn you Sean Sherwood, for eliminating the roast turkey sandwich! - and certainly if Nu got rid of their Gruyere soup, the marrow bones, or 'signature' items like the chicken wings I'd be disappointed, but new items to keep a menu fresh is something I welcome at our regular haunts.

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If they got rid of the Guyere soup, the world would suddenly become a more dismal place.

But I agree that having specials is good! Right now I'm still working through the menu so I don't mind not having them just yet

[lauraf]

Well, we likely won't maintain our recent dining habits as we are running out of money!  But while keeping favourites on a menu is great - damn you Sean Sherwood, for eliminating the roast turkey sandwich! - and certainly if Nu got rid of their Gruyere soup, the marrow bones, or 'signature' items like the chicken wings I'd be disappointed, but new items to keep a menu fresh is something I welcome at our regular haunts.

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If they got rid of the Guyere soup, the world would suddenly become a more dismal place.

But I agree that having specials is good! Right now I'm still working through the menu so I don't mind not having them just yet

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And likely the rest of the normal people in the city are also working their way through the very lovely menu of a brand new place, unlike us who are clearly obsessive-compulsive freaks with addictive tendencies. I doubt many people are lobbying for specials already! Ignore me, Leonard, really.

[*Deborah*]

I have to say, Laura, I hardly even eat at home seven times in two weeks...

[lauraf]

Well to be honest, once was for drinks and light snacks, once for brunch, once a late night nosh after the football game. So really we only had a real dinner there four times in two weeks. That sounds better, doesn't it? Doesn't it?

[*Deborah*]

Well to be honest, once was for drinks and light snacks, once for brunch, once a late night nosh after the football game.  So really we only had a real dinner there four times in two weeks.  That sounds better, doesn't it?  Doesn't it? 

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I predict, Laura F. will be the founding member of Nu-Addicts Anonymous.

Dude, it could be so much worse...someone could be making you eat at McPuke's that often!

[Vancouver]

Patio

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Wow.  Awesome not only because of the view but also the design!  They have these monster glass windows that serve as the patio permiter as well as a wind shield.  It wasn't exactly a warm evening last night but the wind shield windows and the well placed heatlamp made for a great evening on the deck.  I can see myself on the patio in the middle of a sunny February eating mmmm...

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I repeat my question from earlier in this thread which has gone unanswered - I wonder what the plans are once it starts raining? There is no cover over the outer tables on the patio. Are there plans to somehow cover it? Seems a waste of lovely heaters and wind guards if there isn't a way to keep it dry.

Cheers!