Recently opened in the Commercial Drive neighbourhood; Vivace on the Drive comes alive with delicious food, drink and live music nightly. The 120-year-old building once housed another supper club that ran for many years, the whole inside of the building was rebuilt to modern day furnishings and the supper club has returned to create a wonderful dining experience.
With Chef Rory Byrne leading the kitchen, he has created a wonderful ala carte dinner menu along with a Chef’s Tasting Menu where you have the option of 4 courses, 5 courses or 6 courses.
I was invited and Lawrence joined me, we had the Chef’s Choice Tasting Menu 6 Courses with added wine pairings.
1st course:
☞ RADICCHIO
Grapefruit, squash, fig; paired with a BC Merlot – This was my least favourite dish; but the dishes that followed were standouts.
2nd course:
☞ CRUDO
Albacore tuna, cucumber, lemon oil; Paired with Italian Rufino; a wonderful pairing and that was the star of the dish.
3rd course:
☞ PORK BELLY
Saffron, pear, cherry; Paired with the Burrowing Owl Syrah; perfect pairing; I am not usually a fan of pork belly, however this was perfection, flavourful and the cherries added to it immensely.
4th course:
☞ GNOCCHI
Rainbow carrots, ricotta, ‘soil’; Paired with Black Sage Cab Franc; this was one of my favourite dishes of the night, outstanding in every aspect and everything is made in house including the ricotta.
5th course:
☞ SOCKEYE SALMON
Cassoulet, lemon, crème; Paired with Rose; another outstanding dish.
6th course:
☞ BANOFFEE PIE; Paired with Shafts; we ended with an outstanding dessert and I loved how this pie was served in a glass dish and it was a perfect one for sharing.
and to end the meal we were served a refreshing Olive oil gelato with lemon powder on top
We also enjoyed listening to a lively set from Incognito, a 4 piece quartet performing a great repertoire for guests to enjoy while having dinner.
Here it’s about serving contemporary European cuisine alongside live music 7 nights a week offering up different musical genres.
Vivace on the Drive is located at at 1728 Commercial Drive in Vancouver, you can follow them on Instagram @vivaceonthedrive
By: Richard Wolak