Blue Water Cafe
Vancouver, the capital of the Canadian province of British Columbia, is most definitely a city for foodies. From street food to fine dining, there is something delicious, and often local or at least from the “Pacific Northwest”, to meet most everyone’s taste and budget.
Our dinner at Blue Water Cafe located in Vancouver’s historic Yaletown was perhaps the best seafood dining experience we’ve ever had, even better than the best bouillabaise we’ve eaten in Marseilles or Villefranche-sur-Mer, or the best fish we’ve had in the coastal European cities we’ve visited where cooking fresh fish is an art passed down from generation to generation.
The restaurant’s impressive cookbook, authored by its Executive Chef Frank Pabst, defines Blue Water Cafe’s mission as “multi-dimensional … a celebration of seafood representing both East and West in a historic and vibrant environment”. A perfect definition for a restaurant which clearly strives for perfection. But after tenures in a variety of Michelin-starred restaurants in both France and Germany, one would expect no less from either Chef Frank Pabst, nor his Restaurant Director Stephane Cachard who, himself, is an alumnus of Michelin-starred restaurants in France and England.
Award-winning Executive Chef Frank Pabst – Blue Water Cafe, Vancouver
The attention to detail, all details including ambience, staff levels, teamwork, service, and efficiency as well as utmost quality of purveyors, with a focus on freshness and sustainability of their products, are hallmarks of Blue Water Cafe. Another equally important dimension of the restaurant is its vibrant Raw Bar under the direction of Yoshi Tabo, an iconic figure in Vancouver who brings his 30+ years of experience in the art of traditional Japanese Cooking to this restaurant which strives for “the best”.
Our memorable menu from the evening …
Chef’s Creek, Komo Gway, Kusshi and Read Island Oysters – Blue Water Cafe, Vancouver
Denis preferred the “plump and meaty” Read Island oysters while I especially loved the lovely sweetness of the Chef’s Creek. We next shared the following two main courses and and the following two desserts.
House-baked Bread by Pastry Chef Jean-Pierre Sanchez – Blue Water Cafe, Vancouver
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Arctic Char with braised leeks, wakame seaweed, Dungeness crab, trout caviar and pearl couscous – Blue Water Cafe, Vancouver
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Sablefish with miso sake glaze, baby bok choy, edamame, quinoa, shitake mushrooms, and yuzu – Blue Water Cafe, Vancouver
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Warm dark Cuban Chocolate with brandy truffle center, vanilla bean ice cream and Lemon Cream Bar with poppy seed almond biscuit, roasted strawberries and strawberry sorbet – Blue Water Cafe, Vancouver
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If you go to Vancouver and you enjoy seafood, make sure to reserve at Blue Water Cafe for what will be, for my money, your best souvenir possible … the memories of an utterly superb dining experience with, in Chef Pabst’s words, “the stomach and the heart satisfied”. And for the ultimate dining experience, ask Wine Director Andrea Vescovi to select the perfect wine pairings for your meal.
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Every bit of this looks fabulously delicious to me. Thanks for sharing these pictures, even the pastry looks incredible.
Vancouver is quite possibly the best city in the world. What I would give to afford a house there!