777 Thurlow Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-669-1940

Web: www.joefortes.ca

Advice: Ask for a table upstairs or in the corner if you wish privacy. Valet your car as their isn’t much parking on Robson or nearby.

Outstanding fish selections and service made for an amazing lunch recently when I dined with local wine distributors and their Hungarian visitors from Torley wines. Not only were the visitors impressed by the great service and knowledge of our server, I was impressed on the quality of the food and presentation. To start we all had an appetizer of 2 prawns with heirloom tomatoes & mascarpone cheese, for my entrée I had the Salmon & Halibut Duo ($25) served with roasted potatoes and asparagus and for dessert I had the Chocolate Lava Cake ($8.50) the cake had a molten chocolate center, a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side, a pave of chocolate and cherries, this dessert was delicious. I finished off the meal with a Doppio Espresso. Although the restaurant welcomes many tourists from the nearby hotels, the locals who are in the know visit regularly for the top notch seafood. My dining companions ordered a dozen oysters and were impressed with the presentation and quality, since I am not an oyster lover I did not partake. Joe Fortes is known for one of the best oyster bars in the city and there is a wide selection to choose. Our server had a great understanding of their wine selection and we spent a while discussing the wines from Torley as well as the other wines on their impressive wine list.

The main dining room was impressive with 2 story ceilings and tables well situated, we dined off to the corner where it was nice and quiet and un-disturbing. Their Prix Fixe menus offer a great value and are available Mon-Fri during lunch for $13.95 and an early bird dinner special for $28.

Review by: Richard Wolak

777 Thurlow Street, Vancouver, BC