The BEAR Bierhaus Restaurant — Restaurant in Tofino

10 minutes before our reservation we found ourselves lost in a Tofino art gallery. Apparently this is their lobby, and we were rescued by a waitress who kindly took us to our seats. I say seats, but they were actually benches, for this had the aesthetic very much of a German beer house, with long tables and sociable seating arrangements. Except it wasn't a beer house in the traditional sense at all. It had low ceilings painted matte black, chic white wooden tables, and huge French windows flooding the room with light. I loved the decor.

Browsing the menu, there was a wide range of dishes for all tastes, including vegetarian ones. Some did sound more appetising than others, however. One was titled 'charred carrot'. This is the worst name for a dish I've ever encountered. 'Grilled broccolini' is a close second. Even the burger, 'MAQ Burger', is unaccountably baffling. Researching the meaning of the acronym 'MAQ', according to the National Fire Protection Association, this refers to the Maximum Acceptable Quantity of a hazardous, flammable material. I'm perplexed as to what the chef means here.

It did taste very nice though, but with a caveat. The cheese was omnipresent, omnipotent, and omnicidal. It saddened me to the core to see another great burger get dragged down by cheese. This was the same for the Schnitzel Sandwich, which, by the way, was the only Hommage to Germany I noticed on their menu (apart from the beer). This is not an issue for me though, as German cuisine is unremarkable anyway. This was a very effective dish, with the chicken tender and flavourful. Fries were perfect. The lasagne, which took 30 minutes to cook, was incredibly rich, and triggered bloating. It was a masterpiece in food craftsmanship though, and I appreciated the effort.

As you can see then, the food was not what got this restaurant five stars. The strongest element of this restaurant was it's aesthetic - unique all-round. To find a place like this with such character in Tofino is like finding a dog in outer space. All that it needs now is a proper name. Get 'BEAR' out of it. This name is catered only to tourists, and presents a risk of major aura-loss, due to the capitalisation of 'BEAR'. Bearing this in mind, nothing can detract from what is ultimately a fine quality establishment, and I will look back fondly on...

The Bear describes itself as an "elevated sports bar". What this translates to is a laid back and upbeat but classy vibe and a menu of sophisticated but approachable dishes. And of course there are TV’s. They were a little busy when I visited on a Monday night but you didn't need a reservation to be seated right away. The service was good. My waitress was very friendly. While the food wasn't lightning fast, it took less time than I expected to get my entree after ordering given that they seemed busy, and my dessert came out very quickly. I had: Foragers martini: This tasted exactly as you would expect from the name. Spruce-flavoured anything was not actually in the ingredient list, but I would describe the flavour of the cocktail as "sprucey". It was pleasantly strong. Grilled wild sockeye salmon: My first thought was that this was a small portion for the price, but the huge plate was deceiving and this was actually a very satisfying serving with a large cut of salmon and a healthy heaping of farro salad. The salmon was cooked perfectly - I loved how the skin got crispy and flaky. The farro salad was hearty and delicious on its own or with the salmon, and the pickled fennel and the orange coulis were interesting compliments to enhance the dish. Chocolate basque cheesecake: I was going to choose this anyway, but my waitress also recommended it. This was a great basque cheesecake - rich with a slightly burnt crust. The candied hazelnut brittle totally elevated it. The slice was big enough to share, but it was really good and surprisingly not too heavy, so I finished it by myself easily. It was so expensive though... I was staying at the hotel so I got 10% off food, and even then I spent $80 after tip! I knew it was going to be expensive and decided to treat myself since it was my last night in Tofino, but I think without the 10% I would've gone somewhere else anyway. Even with the whole "elevated" thing and acknowledging that the food and drink was not at all what I would consider typical sports bar food, it felt so bad to spend $80 on one person at a place calling itself as...

I was pretty disappointed with our experience. I haven't been moved enough to write a negative review before which is unfortunate however I feel like potential future customers should be made aware of our time there tonight. For context a group of buddies and I came into Tofino from out of town and were told this was the best spot to watch the hockey game so we decided to check it out. Upon arrival the group of us was only looking to have a couple drinks each and watch the game; which we told the server and asked to make sure we could sit and watch for the full time of which she said yes. By the second period she had asked a handful of times while we were still sipping if we wanted more, which is okay, however when we asked to finish the period(and with that our drinks) to order more she got frustrated and told us we had to order more because we were in a restaurant. I understand where this feeling could have arose from if the restaurant was busy and groups of people were waiting to be seated, however there were multiple other open tables and a decent number of the other people in the space were also simply drinking while watching the game. Regardless, out of respect for the establishment we ordered more drinks (still weren't finished the first round) and watched the rest of the game. Given our disappointment in the confrontation I personally tipped accordingly(less than usual but still approx. 10%), paying in cash asking for change. Then the most unfortunate part of all was that while coming back to our table before heading out, the waiter threw the bills (change) over my shoulder onto the table and walked away without saying anything. The atmosphere was great - lots of hockey fans. We also all greatly enjoyed our drinks. Although the rest of the staff seemed to be super great I felt that this should be brought...