It’s all about Westcoast cuisine and inventive cocktails and zero-proof drinks inside a room inspired by nature and the area around UBC.
A celebration of West Coast culture and cuisine, Wildlight Kitchen + Bar opened in February 2023 and is the first restaurant for B.C.-based Pattison Food Group. The approachable, premium-casual concept highlights ethically sourced, seasonal ingredients in modern all-day dishes by homegrown culinary talent, Chef Warren Chow. His menu is matched by select regional wines and handcrafted cocktails, all served in a warmly welcoming and stylish dining space.
French-trained Chef Chow, who is fresh off a gold medal win with Community Catering Team Canada at the ExpoGast 2022 Culinary World Cup, has crafted dishes for the University Boulevard location that reflect the bounty of beautiful British Columbia.
Wildlight’s all-day menu is paired with a beverage program that features B.C. craft beer and cider, an extensive selection of top B.C. wines by the glass or bottle, and creative cocktails. The drinks program showcases regional spirits and ingredients, and includes a pair of cocktails on tap, handcrafted libations like the Almond Joy (with Odd Society Wallflower Gin, house-made orgeat, and The Woods Amaro), and thoughtful zero-proof creations. The restaurant also offers daily happy hours, and will soon be introducing weekend brunch, all with an aim of becoming a staple go-to no matter the day or time.
We visited for dinner and enjoyed some Zero Proof cocktails and a selection of dishes.
We both had the Responsible Negroni made with the Lumetti spirits. Later in the meal we had the Rumless Pom Daiquiri’s.
I loved the Wildlight Pescatarian charcuterie Board that featured Housemade salmon pastrami, beet cured ling cod, marinated Salt Spring Island Mussels, smoked albacore tataki, cod rillette, pickled sea asparagus, warm olives, rye, poppadom and nori crackers. The UBC Farms Harvest Greens was a tasty salad.
The Seared Hokkaido Scallops with lobster & truffle risotto were outstanding as was the Celeriac Agnolotti.
The Miso Koju Gindara Sablefish was a standout as was the BC Duck with the dijon spaetzle.
For dessert, my favourite of the two was the Coconut Cannoli with mascarpone & lime filling, chocolate soil, pistachio, passionfruit sorbet; we also tried the Caramelized Honey Cheesecake.
Wildlight Kitchen + Bar is located at 107-5380 University Blvd in Vancouver. Reservations can be made by phone at 604-915-0722 or online at wildlightrestaurant.ca follow @wildlightrestaurant on Instagram.
By: Richard Wolak