Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House — Restaurant in Vancouver

Stepping into Joe Fortes is like going back in time to meet the big man himself. Piano music fills the cavernous space, there's white and black tiling beneath your feet, and even a gold-coloured bar dominating the room. It oozes character clearly concordant with Joe himself.

Our table was well-laid, with comfortable bench seating beneath a mural on the wall. Browsing the menu, we encountered our first point of conversation for the evening. It was not the blurb on Joe Fortes on the back, with his obnoxiously large portrait. It was actually the 'Chef's Steak Doneness Guide'. This was sad. Who doesn't know what medium-rare is? Do you often serve idiots? It is indicative of a restaurant familiar with tourist-clientel. There were also large discrepancies in pricing. Why are the fries $14? The Fish and Chips is almost half the price of the cheapest steak. Why should you have to pay extra for sauce? It's $6! It's like they want you to eat the steak completely dry, and with no unification between the other components of the dish through a rich peppercorn sauce. Why would the chef want this? Just increase the price of the dish very slightly, and include the sauce to avoid any miserable experiences for any idiotic customers ordering their steak without it.

That said, the steak was delicious with the peppercorn sauce. Albeit slightly fatty, the sirloin was flavourful, and cooked as ordered. The mash potato was an interesting choice, and I would sooner have it with fries. The carrots were great, although I disliked how they were cut into such small pieces. The broccoli, as far as broccoli goes, was exceptional, but then again, this is like complementing a rubbish bin. I hate broccoli, but it was a necessary evil on the plate. My friend ordered the Fish and Chips. The Fish batter was the best I've ever encountered. Being English this says a lot. The chips very much less so. They also served it with a literal trough of ketchup, more than any sane person would ever need. This was an intriguing decision. Dessert was generously portioned. This was one of the largest slices of chocolate cake I have ever seen. Although very nice, whenever I tasted it the first word that came to my mind was 'horse'. Though not advocating the use of Rorschach-like psychological evaluation of food, I would say that there was something off about this chocolate cake.

Now onto the waiter. He was a very nice person, but, how can I put this, very cocksure and somewhat reckless. For example, upon sitting down he was bemused where the wine list was. When I said that I had it, he took one look at me and gave it to one of my fellow diners. I felt very small and insignificant in this moment. He hurt my feelings. Apparently I don't appear like a cultured man. Furthermore, he took one of our drinks away before it was finished. This is a cardinal sin in the hospitality business. He also oozed confidence in a way which we just weren't expecting off the bat. He was very good at his job though, and other than a few gripes he was ok.

If Joe Fortes was still with us I think he would love this restaurant. But then again, who wouldn't love a restaurant which is the living embodiment of themself. He doesn't strike me as the self-promoting type though. If this review were ever to reach him, I would like to think he'd be proud to be embodied by such a fine establishment. He may even have a stern word with one of...

We had a lovely time at Joe Fortes. The food overall was excellent, minor tweaks would’ve made it 5 stars (for the food rating). We had Malbec oysters which were very very good! They had nice accompaniments (horse radish + cocktail sauce, a sherry wine vinegar + shallots and lastly a soy sauce with wasabi). The oysters were shucked perfectly and they tasted very fresh. Highly recommend their oysters! We also had the New England clam chowder which was surprisingly light being cream based. Lastly for appetizers, we shared the calamari. They were breaded very nicely , fried well and the inside was very tender (not chewy at all which you sometimes get with fried calamari!). For the mains, we had the Halibut cheek which was delicious but the accompaniments were lacking and didn’t complement the fish that well. Instead of the boiled potatoes I think it would’ve been better with a white wine paste or maybe crispy potatoes. Another main was the seared scallops with a cream based pasta. (It was sort of customized , a combination of two things in their menu and it turned out well.) A great plus to this restaurant if you’re into customizing your plate to your liking. The last main was the Miso Sablefish which was marinated to perfection. It was melt in your mouth, not too overpowering with flavour, just perfect. The bed of quinoa, mushrooms and kale were good overall but at times was a bit in the salty side. (And I like salt). Lastly the kids chicken fingers and fries were great! They were a hit and nice full fries, chicken was tender and not too oily or over breaded.

Onto the service. Our server’s name was Donna and she was AMAZING! She ultimately made the experience 5 stars. She was so sweet, had a fun energy to her and was attentive, helpful with any questions we had and even had great suggestions to make our overall experience top notch. Would go back just for her!

Atmosphere was nice, has that old steak house restaurant vibe. They had a live pianist which made it even more lively. The seating is great, lots of spaced lots of tables. They’ve got two floors plus an outdoor dining area but it was closed. The only negative is that the washrooms are on the second floor which is two flights of stairs and that might not be suitable for everyone.

Overall, would definitely come back again! 🐟 🍝...

Joe Fortes has been a staple of Vancouver’s dining scene for many years, situated in the heart of the downtown shopping district, they’re well known for their fresh seafood and excellent service.

I had the opportunity to dine with them again for a birthday celebration last year and everything was perfect the way I remember. Being sister restaurants of Hy’s, Gotham and the Keg, they definitely did not disappoint.

After you order they bring you a bread basket with a plate of lobster oil and balsamic vinegar. The oil is a bright red and gives a hint of shellfish flavor. We started off with a shared Waldorf salad, which the kitchen staff kindly split onto two plates for us. Salad was dressed properly with tender cubes of chicken breast, the pungent blue cheese also matched really well with the candied walnuts.

Next we had a selection of oysters, which were super fresh. They always have a few different types of oysters on the menu so make sure you ask the server which ones to try out. We also ordered the crabcake as well as the clams. The crabcake was crispy on the outside and tender flakes of crab meat on the inside. The clams were also cooked in a tomato onion base, and was accompanied by focaccia bread for you to soak up the broth. Again, super fresh clams and quality control, we didn’t find a single shut off clam in the pot.

For our mains we ordered the miso marinated sablefish with kale and quinoa. The sablefish was done to perfection, it was tender, flaky but moist at the same time with a good crust sear on the outside. The kale quinoa complimented the saltiness of the miso and soy reduction. The other main was their daily market social, which was the lingcod with season vegetables and baby Yukon potatoes. Again great sear on the outside with tender buttery flesh on the inside.

They have an old school atmosphere on the inside with a piano player on the stairs, dim lighting and retro decor. Servers wear white and were attentive throughout the evening. When it’s your birthday they also have a special menu with a birthday message for you.

Overall a wonder spot in the city for top notch seafood and dining...