Dinner at Blue Water Cafe

The day trip to Victoria, even with the aid of a point-to-point sea plane, was a lot to tackle in under 12 hours. By the time I arrived back at my room, I only had a few moments to wash up and head to dinner at the Blue Water Cafe.

The Blue Water Cafe - located in Vancouver's Yaletown neighborhood - has a reputation as one of Vancouver's greats for fresh seafood. This made its choice for my trip a no-brainer, as I was looking for restaurants that leveraged the local abundance in their cooking. Upon arriving, I was greeted by a vibrant restaurant with a lively outdoor cafe-like seating area. Entering the establishment, I was somewhat surprised to find a rather large open dining area with show kitchen, impressive aquarium-accented bar, and complete sushi and raw bar.

My table wasn't ready, so they sent me over to the bar for a drink while the people were finishing up. What I didn't know was that the hostess assumed I was going to be dining at the bar. After the 2nd craft cocktail (which was exceptional by the way), it seemed obvious that either the staff forgot about me, or there was some mix-up in the seating expectations. I managed to flag down the hostess, explained my desire for a legit table befit of my reservation, and within moments I was seated at my own two-top in the middle of the dining room.

After a peek at the menu, I order the following:

• 8 fresh oysters (2 Kusshi, Read Island, Miyagi, and Sawmill - all from the Pacific)
• Baked Bay Scallops with Parmesan Crust
• Char fillet
• Warm dark chocolate cake

With all the seafood, I ordered a bottle of white Burgundy to round out the meal. As a special treat, I also ordered a shot of Grey Goose to go with the oysters. The only thing missing to make this meal pure decadence was a tin of beluga caviar!

A selection of Pacific oysters
2016 Blue Water Cafe. Vancouver, BC

I was first treated to a crushed ice filled platter of delectable oysters from the Pacific. In the center filled a little cup of home-made vinaigrette, while in an unused shell at the top was filled with a mountain of fresh horseradish. I took turns sampling the four varieties of oysters. The Kusshi were buttery with just the right amount of saline notes. The Read Island were small with a light amount of fish notes. The Miyagi had a fresh, clean oyster taste. Finally - and my favorite - the Sawmill were meaty and full-bodied oyster flavor. By happenstance, their varied flavor profiles complimented each-other nicely. The vinaigrette and horseradish were also a nice touches to add a little variety to the flavor profile.

Baked bay scallop with Parmesan crust
2016 Blue Water Cafe. Vancouver, BC

 The next course was the baked bay scallop with Parmesan crust. This was served with a tomato caper relish, spinach, lemon butter and fresh thyme. This dish was quite rich, though surprisingly the buttery notes of the scallop were not overshadowed by the Parmesan crust. That being said, I would have liked for either the tomato caper relish to provide more contrast to the buttery notes, or the scallop to lend more seafood notes. It was still a worthwhile dish, but I would have preferred more flavor complexity.

Char with braised leeks, seaweed, dungeness crab,
trout caviar and pearl couscous
2016 Blue Water Cafe. Vancouver, BC

The final entrée for the evening was a char fillet, with braised leeks, seaweed, dungeness crab, trout caviar and pearl couscous. This plate was absolutely fantastic. The char had its customary flavorful fish notes that were accented by the buttery goodness of braised leeks and crab, which was also captured by the couscous. The caviar gave subtle saline subtext, rounding out the dish's flavor profile.

Warm dark chocolate cake
2016 Blue Water Cafe. Vancouver, BC

With the last dinner course served, a brief reprieve was then followed by a delightful warm dark chocolate cake with a molten brandy truffle center, and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The cake was perfectly prepared: moist, yet firm enough to hold its shape and keep treasured molten center confined. The center had rich chocolate flavor, with subtle notes of the brandy to balance the desert.

Overall, an excellent meal that highlighted the local seafood that people have come to expect from Vancouver and British Columbia. While the scallop starter was a bit ordinary, the char was absolutely fabulous. The oysters provided an excellent jump-start to the evening, while truly conveying the culinary treasures of the Pacific Northwest.