801 West Georgia Street, Vancouver

Tel: 604-673-7000

Web: http://www.hawksworthrestaurant.com/

Twitter: @hawksworthrest

Advice: the restaurant is located inside the Rosewood Hotel Georgia and advance reservations are recommended.

The star attraction at Hawksworth is the cooking from notable Chef David Hawksworth whom the restaurant is named. I have savoured David`s food over the years from when he cooked at West as well as at numerous events. Chef David is a perfectionist like none other, he has a well-executed style of cooking and is passionate about food.

I dined with my friend and fellow writer Sarah Rowland last week, we were seated in the Pearl room in close proximity of the stunning wine room as well as being next to the centre piece chandelier which graces the dining room. This was my second visit but the first for a sit down meal and it was wonderful to enjoy a fine dining experience with top notch service. We began with an order of their Salted Herb Bread ($4) with olive oil that tasted so good. Curious thought as to why a restaurant of this calibre would charge guests for bread, my only thought on that rationale would be to have the guests focus on the dishes rather than filling up on the bread.

To start, we shared a few dishes including the outstanding and refreshing Apple Beet Salad ($11) chevre, walnut, dill, caramelized honey; the xo in the Seared Weathervane Scallops ($16) was the perfect spice for that dish which is also had xo, beech mushroom, edamame; and rounding out the starters the tasty Dungeness Crab Salad ($18) watermelon, mint, ver jus.

For the mains, we both had the same dish which was divine the medium well preparation was perfectly done,  Beef Tenderloin ($34), smoked marrow, wild mushroom , cauliflower and chimmichurri. Additionally we shared the house special Black and White Truffle Risotto which was outstanding. I enjoyed my Beef Tenderloin with a glass of the Foxtrot `08 Pinot Noir (BC).

For me, a creative dessert menu is an indication of a well thought out menu and the perfect ending to a meal. I had very high expectations for the desserts here at Hawksworth and even more so than the starters and mains as I knew David Hawksworth had created that part of the menu. The Pastry Chef is Wayne Kozinko he is also quite experienced having been the pastry chef at one of my other favourite restaurants YEW. The dessert selections that we ordered looked stunning, however in the end I was a tad disappointed with the flavours. We shared the Valrhona Milk Chocolate Mousse ($8) passion fruit, caramel ; the Dark Chocolate Cremeux ($8) sweet potato sorbet, and a hint of maple along with a plate of assorted Macarons ($12) .

To end our meal we were served a complimentary plate of Mignardises, another little sweet to round out a fine meal. I will be back ton continue this culinary journey and to partake in Sunday Brunch one day soon!

Review by: Richard Wolak