A la Mode — Local services in Vancouver

Iconic pie shop located in Granville Island public market, that's been around for 25+ years. 3 dine-in tables available, or have your pies outside (beware of seagulls stealing your food). Staff is very attentive and friendly, feel free to ask them for recommendations.

My order:

Clam Chowder: My all time favourite savoury dish here. There's a perfectly flaky puff pastry on top of a creamy and chunky soup. Baked fresh, and tastes very good while it's hot. It's quite filling, and comes with a personal sized salad of the day with house-made salad dressing/vinegrette on the side.

Chicken Pot Pie: Also served with their brilliant puff pastry, hearty soup that is also great as a full meal. Chunks of chicken. Comes with a personal salad as well.

Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie: classic apple pie, and I have to highlight that their crust is absolutely amazing (for all their pies). It's very thick and buttery, with a very nice light crumbly/flaky texture. Strong apple and cinnamon taste. Also topped with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Bumble Berry Tart: Super fresh and generous portion of blueberry's (glazed). Great crust as usual.

Spinach Quiche: I had this to-go, and reheated it in my oven that night, and it still tasted great. Cheesy and pairs great with the buttery crust.

Pecan Pie: Pecans were fresh, and crunchy. Overall it was on the slightly sweeter side, but the toasted pecans were addicting.

Coffee Latte: Beautiful latte art, smooth tasting coffee.

Frozen Cappuccino: Not too sweet, perfect to sip on. Coffee flavour is light. Whipped cream on toap, and stir well.

Iced Latte: Milky and served with whipped cream. They use paper straws which is better for the environment too. I'd opt for a regular latte if you prefer a strong coffee drink.

Overall, highly recommend their puff pastry soups, and their house-made pie crusts are thick...

A la Mode

Location: Granville Island Public Market Address: 1689 Johnson St #575, Vancouver, BC V6H 3R9

During a visit to Granville Island Public Market, I opted for a quick meal at A la Mode, a vendor known for its pot pies.

Corn Chowder Pot Pie

The Corn Chowder Pot Pie offered sweet corn, While the flavor profile was pleasant, the soup's consistency was disappointingly thin, lacking the richness one might expect. However, the pie crust was a standout—beautifully golden and flaky. Overall, this dish was satisfactory but fell short of being memorable.

Rating: 6/10

Clam Chowder Pot Pie

Rating: 3/10

As someone with high expectations for clam chowder, I found this dish particularly disappointing. The soup was excessively watery, and the portion of clams and other ingredients was minimal, resulting in a dish that felt incomplete. The pastry was well-seasoned, but given the premium pricing, the dish did not deliver in terms of substance or satisfaction.

Service: 5/10

The service was prompt, but it was just okay overall, lacking the attentiveness or warmth that could have made the experience more memorable.

Ambiance:

Located within the bustling market, the atmosphere was understandably busy, making it difficult to find seating. For a more comfortable dining experience, I would recommend securing a table outside the market.

Pricing:

The prices were on the higher side, especially considering the portion sizes and the quality of the food.

Conclusion:

While A la Mode offers a convenient option for a quick bite, the quality and value of the dishes sampled did not meet expectations. It may be some time before I consider returning, given the current...

Edit: The following has been resolved to our satisfaction. The owner provided us with consideration for future purchase, which made us happy. As a result I have upgraded this review from 2 to 4 stars.

A couple of years ago we used to order pies here on a regular basis, and never had a bad experience. So, when my wife suggested getting a raspberry pie here, we were both looking forward to it. We ordered our pie cooked, so we went down later in the day.

Unfortunately, when we dug into the pie, something was obviously wrong. The crust is salty, smells of onion, and vaguely of meat. I suspect that they have a different recipe for savoury and sweet pies, and got the crusts mixed up. Whatever happened, the pie is most unpleasant.

I phoned them the next day and said that our raspberry pie seemed to have a savoury pie crust, and described the taste. It took two or three tries to get the lady on the other end of the phone to understand that something was wrong with the pie. Her only response: "We don't do that." That was it.

This is most unfortunate, because we really did enjoy their pies. Fortunately, "That's It Café" at First and Fir has very good frozen pies, so we picked one up there instead.

Response to response: Just to be clear, we picked up this pie on Sunday, November 8th...