Bar Gobo — Restaurant in Vancouver

Summary: Classic and innovative dishes using the best local ingredients, presented simply to emphasize their quality and freshness. Outstanding service from Peter, who is warm and willing to share his abundant knowledge.

Food: Three course prix-fixe menu consisting of a choice between two each of appies, mains, and desserts. We were able to sample everything by ordering two. Highlight was the seemingly-simple charred broccoli smothered in a shio koji beurre blanc - this dish disappeared FAST. The ling cod was also excellent, cooked just to the point of flakiness, enhancing the natural butteriness of the fish. Also added-on the burratta and anchovy toast x 2 - we had to order two as my son loves it (and so do we). The desserts, a panna cotta and a sponge cake, were both lovely and light.

Drink: We had one wine pairing, which is normally three wines, and Peter was kind enough to split it into half-pours so we could have a wine appropriately paired to each of the very different dishes. Needless to say, the pairings were flawless and even introduced us to one that we would've dismissed out of hand if we had sample it without food. I'm still missing Upstairs years after its closure, so I consoled myself with the three cocktails Peter had on the menu (one at a time, I'm not a savage). His Black Manhattan with the Bearface Matsutake Whisky was incredibly silky and tasty.

Service: Peter has been doing this a long time, and genuine hospitality is second nature to him. He's helpful without being obtrusive; he'll engage with you exactly as much as you want him to. He's also very knowledgeable - though he freely admits when he doesn't know something as he sees it as an opportunity to learn. Somehow, he balances his duties as server, sommelier, and bartender seamlessly, while maintaining his cheerful and unruffled demeanour.

Space: A small 'wine bar' with a few seats at the bar and a half-dozen tables inside. The lone outside table is well-suited to people-watching and lazing as the sun sets and late afternoon turns into night. Concrete floors, high ceiling, and exposed duct work. A single, accessible washroom. A well-thought-out space where you don't feel crowded or hurried. Simple, but...

We went to the restaurant for date night and loved it. The restaurant was small but well ventilated with high ceilings and the tables were distanced. The food was amazing from start to finish. The star of the night was the delicata squash which was honestly a flavour bomb, sweet, a little tangy and finished with a bit of a spicy kick. We also loved their tuna tartare special and the tofu dish. We found the wine list to be extremely interesting and intriguing. They had wines that you don't normally find in restaurants. I don't necessarily mean they are rare, they are just not what I would consider mainstream. It's a lot of wines made of grape varietals not normally associated with a certain region. Thankfully, the servers were very knowledgeable about the wines so we received great suggestions which helped with pairing. I'm happy to say that this is the best restaurant I've been to this year. A new favourite for sure!

UPDATE: returned to the restaurant with some girl friends 2 months later and was very disappointed by the food the 2nd time around and removed 2 stars from my review. They changed the format of the menu from a la carte with an option to do a set menu, to only making a set menu available with 5 or 6 options for add-on. The add ons were mostly cold or starter type dishes. Tried the set menu and a few of the add ons and the only dish that was of the same quality of my first visit was the Ling cod. Everything else felt very uninspired and bland, or flavours were otherwise not harmonious - nothing sang. Not sure what happened with their executive chef. Sadly, I will not...

I was really excited to visit this restaurant since it’s in the Michelin Guide, but unfortunately, it didn’t live up to expectations.

When we arrived for our reservation, our table wasn’t ready, and we had to wait outside for about 15 minutes. The server kindly offered us a free glass of wine to make up for it, which was a nice touch. However, when we were finally seated, we were given bar seats instead of a table.

Another disappointment was the menu—it was much smaller and completely different from what was shown online. As a vegetarian, my options were already limited, and to make things worse, they had run out of three major dishes.

That said, the cabbage salad we ordered as a starter was delicious and packed with flavor. For our mains, we got the steelhead, but it was raw in the middle. We sent it back, and they replaced it with a new one plus an extra piece of fish. The other main was tasty but overly salty.

To make up for the steelhead issue, they gave us a free dessert, which we appreciated. Throughout the meal, the service was great, and the staff did their best to make up for the inconveniences. However, between the menu limitations, food inconsistencies, and seating situation, I wouldn’t return, especially considering how...