Vancouver Dining: A Tale of Two Restaurants

You know the kind of restaurant you just can't wait to tell your friends about?  On our second visit to Granville Island, we discovered one of them.  Unfortunately, we also "discovered" another, the kind you tell your friends to avoid.  Read on, and I'll help you plan a lovely meal in Vancouver.

I had awakened craving fish and chips, so I knew that would dictate our evening's dinner plans.  The wonderful concierge at our hotel, The Wedgewood Inn skirt.com/shetravelsnearandfar/blog/wonderful-wedgewood-hotel-spa-vancouver-0, told us his favorite seafood restaurant on the Island was The Sandbar.  He even called them to make sure they had fish and chips on the menu.  They did, and he booked us a table.

You enter The Sandbar* www.vancouverdine.com/theSandbar0experience.aspx downstairs, passing large lobster tanks.  As you head up to the dining room, you enter a space that is all high ceilings, huge wooden beams, walls of windows overlooking the False River, clubby chairs and ships' flags everywhere- very nautical.  The place was busy and happening.

In a nod to the maritime theme, instead of getting a beeper to let us know when our table was ready, we were given a flyer with signal flags, one circled for us.  When our table was ready, they'd hoist our flag over the bar.  Kitschy for sure, but fun.

We settled into a high table and chairs by the bar, next to a huge stone fireplace.  I decided to start with a cider.  My husband is a Brit, and on one of my first trips to his homeland, I got hooked on the stuff- Strongbow, Woodpecker, you name it.  If you know these drinks, they're a dark yellow color, mildly carbonated, and served like beer in a pint glass.  What I got here was an entirely different affair.  Crystal clear and bubbly, the Okanagan cider was served in a large glass over ice.  Well, when in Canada.... I loved this cider so much I tried to find it back in Atlanta, but to no avail.  So when you're in the land of the Maple Leaf, take advantage of the chance to try this refreshing little drink. 

We decided to look over the menu while waiting for our table.  To my chagrin, I didn't see fish and chips.  The waitress let us know that they only serve them on the weekend.  Mark wanted to stay, but I was a woman on a mission, and I was not to be denied.  The hostess said our best bet to find them was at The Bridges** www.bridgesrestaurant.com.  We'd avoided this reputed tourist trap deliberately, but the siren call of fish and chips was too strong to deny.

To steal a line from Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, "Big mistake, huge."  We were in tourist hell.  The large cafeteria-like room was grubby and soulless, filled with sweaty, hungry people trying to flag down a waiter, any waiter.  We should have just left, but I had committed us to this line of action, so we ordered.  The food was fine, but the overall experience was depressing, especially given the contrast to the beautiful Sandbar.  Mark, justifiably, still hasn't let me live this down...

Lucky for us, we had another great night at the "Theater Sports" improv at the New Revue Theater.  Mark had scored us a pair of free tickets the night before skirt.com/shetravelsnearandfar/blog/discover-vancouver%E2%80%99s-granville-island.  With each chuckle and belly-laugh we shook off the evening's dining fiasco.  In the end, it was another great night on Granville Island. 

Next time, I'll share my final secrets for making your visit to Vancouver fabulous and fun...

*The Sandbar has a beautiful outdoor patio on the roof.  If it's a nice day, try to grab a table outside.  Also, the restaurant has three sisters.  Though we didn't get to try any of them, we passed a few, and they looked very nice:  www.vancouverdine.com.  If you've been to any of these and would like to share your experience, please make a post in Comments.

**On a positive note, The Bridges does have a big outdoor patio right on the False River.  Though not as plush as the one at the Sandbar, I could see having a drink out here.  Also, the website currently says that The Bridges is the 2009 Open Table Diner's Choice, so others clearly have a different view of this restaurant than we did.  Been there yourself?  Tell us about it in Comments.