My Dinner @ Nu w/ Pictures =)

[D90]

After a couple cancelled reservations I finally made it out to Nu on Monday for dinner. I decided on taking out my friend from LA, his gf (1 day early bday present) and a friend (9days late bday present) for nice dinner. After working all day rushing home to get ready, driving around and then sitting down to a 3hr dinner.

The restaurant was a little difficult to find even though I had been to the building once a month for a couple of years when I was younger for brunch at Anderson’s, which in now occupied by Stone Grill. On a side note I truly miss the brunch buffet at Andersons before they change ownership, then closed down. I have yet to find breakfast brunch that compares in quality and selection from their fresh towers of seafood, egg station and fresh squeezed fruit juices they even had a harp player. Anyone remember this place or know of somewhere similar?

Now my first impression of Nu was modern but cosy the only thing we all mentioned as it got Increasingly distracting over the evening was the bright green neon sculpture hanging from the ceiling. The chairs that most people have commented on were not as annoying as I expected, unless you plan on lounging all the way back, they reminded us of an egg carton.

The two live flower arrangements on both sides of the bar, were beautiful.

The service was friendly, BUT there were a few things that bothered me and one continues to do so.

-First we were not given the drink menu, our waiter proceeded to ask if we would like some distilled or sparkling water, he then brought us two bottles of VOSS Sparkling water (I guess this is the only kind of sparkling water they offer, since he didn’t give us a choice) and he said he would be right back with the drink menu. He brought back the drink menu 5min before our entrees came and didn’t even apologizes. We decided to pass on the drinks, even though I was originally was looking forward to trying some of their concoctions.

-The food was extremely good but was horribly slow to arrive especially for a Monday night and they didn’t seem slammed. He did apologies and made sure to bring out our last 3 of 5 appetizers at the same time.

-And last but not least was when ordering our entrées and side dishes, he recommend the onion tart as well. I thanked him for his suggestion but said I would pass. We had ordered a fair bit of food and I felt like we would try it next time, he persistently recommend it 3 more times until I told him abruptly no thank you I rather not!! Now guess what shows up with our entrée’s?!?!?! The onion tart, he said he took it upon him-self to order it for me and walked away. My guest already were a bit shocked at my abrupt “No Thank You“ the 3rd time after politely declining the dish so I decided not to make a big deal of it. And to top it off he charged us for it!!! Mind you it was only $4, which is nothing considering we had just spent $20 on water, but its still the principle and we didn’t even finish it. How would you have dealt with such a situation? Its still bothers me a little, I asked a family member who works In the industry he said he would of called over the manager and sent it back, but that’s him. Even though I have to compliment the waiter for being positive/enthusiastic about all the dishes we order and that he recommended.

The food was the star of the evening even more then the view of the cities glimmering lights reflecting off false creek. The deserts at 3.90 each were small but good for a few bites, a nice finish to a wonderful good meal. The price's were fair, justifiable, and comparable to other similar restaurant in Vancouver. I definitely recommend the food at Nu, and I will be back.

-Crispy Fired Oyster with Granville Island Lager (x4): This item has three-dimensions; the nice clean crispy layer when you first bite down immediately followed by the warm soft oyster mixed with the bitterness of the beer. A nice bite before digging into some real food and a must try at least once.

-Fried Olives, Chilli Mint, Orange Zest: Our waiter suggested it would be another good lead into our appetizers and he was right everyone enjoyed it. The orange zest is very subtle but still present, but I do wish they had more then one fried hot pepper in the dish which I ended splitting with Jane.

-Liquid Cheddar Filled Crackers, Crispy Bacon: Sadly the one dish I would not order again. The cheddar was extremely weak, it may worked better with a stronger cheese.

-Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Wings, espelette chilli gastrique: My favourite appetizer, I believe the term which I heard numerous times from another table that would best describe this dish was “Orgasmic”. The crisp chicken the soft goats cheese and sauce (if anyone knows what’s in that sauce please let me know). The only thing I would ask for is five more wings per dish.

-C’s Signature Salmon Candy. Black Sesame: Very similar to the “Indian Candy” you can buy from a place on Robson near the old ice cream shop that had the cow out in front; I cant remember it off the top of my head right now. A nice snack.

-Caramelized Garlic; Fresh Ricotta Ravioli, Fennel, Peas: It was nice seeing more the three piece of ravioli on a main dish, perfectly cooked. The fennel and garlic complement the Ravioli.

-Flat Iron Steak, Watercress, Tomatoes, Béarnaise: Exactly what I would of expected from a flat iron steak cooked as requested smothered in just the right amount of rich béarnaise sauce, but sadly it was over shadowed by the fact that it was barley warm. Jon said he would defiantly order it again as long as it wasn’t cold.

-Seared Mosaic of Wild Salmon, Asparagus, Shallot Butter: The only dish I didn’t try since I was already getting full.

-Chicken Ballottine, Potato Puree, Sage: This was my entrée, and the largest portion of the 4 we had. Leaving the skin on was a nice touch, and the chicken was moist throughout. Another dish I would defiantly re-order, but I would ask if they could accommodate adding garlic to the potato pure.

-Dungeness Crab Gratin: Another dish that came to the table barley warm. I Imagined what it may have tasted hot, and because of that I will order it again.

-Onion Tart: Great little side dish flaky with a nice deep flavour, but I didn’t order it. (see above).

-Chocolate Tart

-Crème Brule

-Lemon Tart

-Crêpes with Orange Chiboust

-Distracting Green Neon Sculpture.

Edited January 5, 2006 by D90 (log)

[bigdaddy]

Was there Monday as well...took my staff in for our Xmas party. (We were the boisterous big group by the window!). Our waiter (Doug) was very professional & knowledgeable. I really can't imagine a situation where it would be ok for a server to charge you for an item you (specifically) didn't order! The value of the item is irrelevant...you shouldn't have paid and the waiter should have been reprimanded.

Edited January 5, 2006 by bigdaddy (log)

[Vancitygirl]

Why is this post too wide for my screen? What happened here?

[D90]

Was there Monday as well...took my staff in for our Xmas party. (We were the boisterous big group by the window!). Our waiter (Doug) was very professional & knowledgeable. I really can't imagine a situation where it would be ok for a server to charge you for an item you (specifically) didn't order! The value of the item is irrelevant...you shouldn't have paid and the waiter should have been reprimanded.

←

lol bigdaddy I am pretty sure you were the group I heard use the word "Orgasmic", and seemed to be having a great time it was entertaining. You were the second last table to leave I believe after us, we were two white guys and two asian girls by the window near the kitchen.

I didn’t want to make a big deal in front of my guest but it did bother me, how would you have dealt with it? As for the bill I didn’t want to draw any attention to it in case my friend had any ideas of picking up the check. I just glanced at it and paid it quickly, I didn’t find out that I was charged for the item until the next day when I requested a copy of my bill, I also was charged for an extra coke that we never received.

Why is this post too wide for my screen?  What happened here?

←

You have to scroll right because my pictures are a little to big even after I resized them sorry.

Edited January 5, 2006 by D90 (log)

[bigdaddy]

lol bigdaddy I am pretty sure you were the group I heard use the word "Orgasmic", and seemed to be having a great time it was entertaining. You were the second last table to leave I believe after us, we were two white guys and two asian girls by the window near the kitchen. 

We definitely had fun (and were no doubt fairly conspicuous). I believe I saw your table, as I always like to survey the clientele.

I didn’t want to make a big deal in front of my guest but it did bother me, how would you have dealt with it? As for the bill I didn’t want to draw any attention to it in case my friend had any ideas of picking up the check. I just glanced at it and paid it quickly, I didn’t find out that I was charged for the item until the next day when I requested a copy of my bill, I also was charged for an extra coke that we never received.

The waiter should not have charged you for the tart. I personally would have asked for clarification when the item was served..."is this complimentary since we did not order it?" Such a question does not imply that you are looking for a freebie, but that as a customer you reserve the right to make your own decisions.

Sometimes a server can mistakenly believe that they have the sort of rapport with a customer that would allow them to take certain liberties.

Asking for a refund at this point would, of course, seem petty. However, you might feel better if you give the manager a call and let him/her know that you didn't appreciate the way you were treated. Most likely the waiter has used that "I know what you should order better than you do" schtick before, and the management needs to know if someone is being pissed off!

[Leonard]

Dear D90,

Thank you for taking the time to let me know of your experience. As you may know, I take all customer feedback seriously as it is the only way for us as managers to really know where improvement lies in the training and developing of our staff.

I am very disturbed by your accounts of the night, and would like to apologize for failing to deliver the proper level of service that we are trying to achieve in this restaurant. Our goal is to ensure you have a fantastic evening, and that clearly did not happen.

I have officially discussed your concerns with the server and he is deeply regretful of his poor service and extends his personal apologies also. I am holding a general staff meeting this weekend and will be discussing the issues that you have brought to my attention.

Please let me know when you decide to come back to NU. You can reach me directly at 604-646-4668 or via email at leonard@whatisnu.com.

P.S.

I have re-imbursed your onion tart to your credit card.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Leonard

NU GM

Edited January 5, 2006 by Leonard (log)

[kontemporary]

^^^

I wish all restaurants had great managers like that. Thumbs up for nu.

[CanadianBakin']

D90, thanks for taking the time to post all the pictures! It looks like a fantastic place to eat.

[chef koo]

what's that thing sticking out of the fried oyster at the top?

[kontemporary]

what's that thing sticking out of the fried oyster at the top?

←

a squirt of beer - granville island lager if i remember right

[D90]

I just was reading over my post and I have to apologize for the number of grammatical and spelling mistakes. I have edited the pictures making them easier to see and added a few more comments.

The waiter should not have charged you for the tart. I personally would have asked for clarification when the item was served..."is this complimentary since we did not order it?" Such a question does not imply that you are looking for a freebie, but that as a customer you reserve the right to make your own decisions.

Sometimes a server can mistakenly believe that they have the sort of rapport with a customer that would allow them to take certain liberties.

←

Big Daddy, thanks for the advice I will keep this in mind for next time. You are right and I personally think it might be fine once you have a “good” rapport with the customer but this isn’t achieved from the first or second visit and it also depends on the person you are serving. Actually this may sound dumb but I used to always go to Safeway for a quick lunch and have them make me a sandwich; it came to the point where they would see me walking up and already start preparing a sandwich for me without even asking what I felt like they would just surprise me, but mind you I have now ordered over a 100 Safeway sandwiches and I have my card to prove it.

what's that thing sticking out of the fried oyster at the top?

←

It’s a soft plastic syringe filled with Grandville Island Honey Lager.

[D90]

Dear D90,

Thank you for taking the time to let me know of your experience. As you may know, I take all customer feedback seriously as it is the only way for us as managers to really know where improvement lies in the training and developing of our staff.

I am very disturbed by your accounts of the night, and would like to apologize for failing to deliver the proper level of service that we are trying to achieve in this restaurant. Our goal is to ensure you have a fantastic evening, and that clearly did not happen.

I have officially discussed your concerns with Dylan, who was your server that evening, and he is deeply regretful of his poor service and extends his personal apologies also. I am holding a general staff meeting this weekend and will be discussing the issues that you have brought to my attention.

Please let me know when you decide to come back to NU. You can reach me directly at 604-646-4668 or via email at leonard@whatisnu.com. 

P.S.

I have re-imbursed your onion tart to your credit card.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Leonard

NU GM

←

Dear Leonard

Thank you for your reply and concern.

Yes there was a few concerns I had about the night, but please don’t let it over shadow the fact that my guests did have a great evening and that is what was most important to me, so you guys did succeed. No matter what not every evening is going to prefect even though we all stride for perfection. Food arriving slowly and drink menu, happens sometimes, we all forget and not everything can be rushed.

For the most part the food was a treat, a must try; and that is what I will continue to tell my peers that ask for advice on new places to try.

Please let the waiter know I said thank you. His enthusiasm towards the restaurant and food was good to see; you want to have people serving you that enjoy their job. For me what he did was a little over the top but it may not of been for some others everyone is different.

I for sure will be returning to Nu in the future and I hope it’s found a permanent home hanging over false creek as both it and C improves the area.

Thanks

Donald

Edited January 6, 2006 by D90 (log)

[prasantrin]

You have to scroll right because my pictures are a little to big even after I resized them sorry.

←

Post two pictures in a row rather than three, and they'll fit the screen without having to scroll to the right. (i.e. put the third picture on a new line, rather than immediately after the second picture.)