Dine Out Vancouver 2007 - Le Gavroche

Le Gavroche is a french restaurant set in the middle of downtown. Tucked amidst tall high-rise apartments and office buildings, Le Gavroche is set on a pretty two-storey Victorian house.

It used to have a sweeping view of the North Shore mountains and habour. There are high-rise now blocking the commanding view. The setting is romantic. However, I find that the tables are placed too close together.

For some reason, I came expecting very formal service. Perhaps it’s because the exterior looked so Victorian. However, the service were quite informal and yet friendly — even loud. They talk to us like we’ve been eating there everyday. I like that.

We started off with a Bloody Caesar — spicy and with vodka. Caesar is a very Canadian cocktail.

The bread was quite OK. The crust was crispy. Nothing particularly exciting to this.

Suanne’s appetizer is the Roasted Tomato Bisque with grilled scallop. There is only 1 piece of scallop in this — don’t you think that one would expect more than 1 piece? I would. The soup was bland with a bit of sourness in it — can’t even get a hint of tomato soup that I am used to. Is that how tomato soup in France tastes like?

Oh, we just love the way they say “bon appetite” … it is so … French.

I am a bit more adventrous. I had the Duck Liver Pate with onion marmalade and toast. I don’t care much for the sour leek. The pickled dill is OK. I am not a particular fan of this but at least Suanne finished it off for me.

The toast was crispy and when stacked with some liver pate and onion marmalade, it give a really nice balance of texture.

I saw the neighboring tables of Asians ordering this too. Seems like many of them left the liver pate untouched. I am OK with this, I think it’s nice but Suanne just thinks that the thought of this is yucky. Made me think that as much as Asians eat just about anything but duck liver pate (or just the way it’s prepared and look) does not appeal to them.

I really did not want to order the Eggplant Lasagna but then the other choice is another plate of fish. I had tried fish the past few days and thought, well, I should try something different instead even though I really prefer fish.

The Eggplant Lasagna is nothing exciting. It’s very … normal. I can’t taste much use of spices in this. Pretty bland in taste. Is this how French dishes are normally made?

Suanne booked the better entree: Roasted Free Range Chicken with capers, garlic, tomatoes and basil. This is served on a hot plate. The chicken is also piping hot — lots of steam once she cuts up the meat. It looks so much more better than my lasagna for sure.

The skin is crispy and thin and the leg and wing is served on mash (again bland) potatoes.

Suanne loves dark chocolate. So, her obvious choice is the Belgian Chocolate Mousse. It’s rich and bitter. Somehow, she felt healthier eating bitter chocolates than sweet chocolates. Anyway, it’s also very thick and sticky … you know, it sticks to your teeth, roof of your mouth and such.

Creme Brulee was what I got. Well, it’s a creme brulee like any other creme brulee, except it’s prettier. It has a half strawberry and the only different is that the sugar topping is thicker.

Total damage came to $93, including taxes and tips. It was an experience for sure. At least we have ate in one of the best french restaurants in Vancouver. I am sure this is great for a lot of people. It’s just that I guess we prefer more spices and flavour — it’s just us. The best part of this meal? It’s the Canadian Caesar … sigh … :-)