UPDATED – BUSINESS HAS CLOSED

1079 Mainland Street, Vancouver

Tel: (604) 428-9211

Web: http://wildtale.ca/

Twitter: @wildtalevan

Advice: Reservations suggested.

Coastal ingredients are the focus of this new Yaletown eatery run by co-owners/chefs John Crook and Erik Heck.  The dining room seats 100 inside and 50 seats on its outside patio where I dined. There is also a semi-private space on its mezzanine level for groups of up to 18 and there is a private dining wine room for 34 seats in the back that comes with it’s own bar area.

My friend and I shared some dishes including the flavourful Hawaiian Ahi Poke ($10) with it’s tortilla chip crunch! The Quadra Island Honey Mussels ($14) could have been plated in a larger and deeper pot with more of their tasty broth to give the mussels a touch more flavour. The Maui Wowie Salad ($12) is wow in flavour with pepper-crusted ahi tuna, avocado, fingerling potatoes, tortilla chips and a mango coulis!

The Lobster Poutine ($18) is indulgent and a stellar dish that is filled with big pieces of lobster, fries, cheese curds and a delicious lobster bisque hollandaise.  I enjoyed the perfectly cooked Haida Gwaii Halibut ($18) with an assortment of vegetables, puttanesca pasta and a bier blanc sauce; my friend had the Simply Grilled Fish selection and her choice was the Salmon that came with fresh local asparagus and a selection of potatoes.

For dessert the stand out is the delicious and heavenly Banana Creme Pie a flakey crust, with toasted coconut, pastry Creme, and caramelized banana. We had a couple of cocktails rounding out our fine meal, with top notch service taking great care of us. I am looking forward to trying their weekend brunch one day soon, and more dining visits on their great patio.

Review by: Richard Wolak

Vancouver, BC V6B, Canada