Cobre is golden: pan Latin in Gastown still a winning combination

[grayelf]

It's been 2 maybe 3 years since we tried Cobre -- no idea why so long as it was great the first time. So many restos... anyway, I was treated to dinner for my birthday the third week of March. I found out they had added flat screen TVs for watching Olympics/Canucks and called back to request a non-TV-adjacent table. We ended up in the window above the sign which is a fine spot.

Service was attentive and helpful (we had a gluten-free requirement). We started with some beverages (a draft beer, a caipirinha and a bourbon sour), all successful. In a calvacade of tastiness, there followed (I'm cutting and pasting from the online menu so excuse the cutesy mix of Spanish and English -- it's one thing I don't love about Cobre; the other is the tendency to misspell both English and Spanish food words which I've corrected): Ecuadorian quinoa y Brazil nut ensalada with naranja dressed baby organic greens ($12), wild Mexican sea prawn ceviche
Honduran coconut ginger mojo ($13), tacos of grilled Chilean pork loin, ham hock red lentils, fresh jalapeño (3 for $12), white corn free range chicken taquitos
fresh house garlic guac, cholula ($15 -- that last item turned out to be about 1/2 tsp of bottled Cholula hot sauce, a bit cheeky if you ask me), char grilled Pemberton Meadows flat iron steak
Tijuana baby caesar y chorizo buttermilk mashed papas ($15) and Argentinian sardo pupusa y chili tomato jam ($5). We also had two very lovely desserts the details of which escape me, but whipped cream, churros and panna cotta were involved.

This is not a place for a cheap bite but the ingredients are high quality, the execution is spot on and the flavours are distinctive. Mosey on by for a taste if you haven't been (be sure to get a reso on the weekends).

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Cobre Restaurants
52 Powell St, Vancouver, BC V6A 1E7, CA

[grayelf]

Here are some very dark, grainy pix of the drinks, the pupusa, the taquitos, the ceviche, the tacos, the beef and the two desserts.

[Sam Salmon]

One thing they do have right-Caesar Salads were invented in Tijuana.

[jcolvin]

Went there yesterday for the first time for a light supper and loved the place. Started with a prawn ceviche with walnut and apple(!) on top of tart blood orange slices with a pesto oil drizzled over. Lovely. Then seared qualicum scallops with palm hearts on a coconut sauce. Really very good. Then venison on a mole demi with risotto , venison was beautifully rare. Desert was a dulce con leche with carmelized pineapple and tamarind, which was a nice capper. With a couple glasses of wine came to $70 for two, not unreasonable. Will definitely be back.

[grayelf]

Good to hear they are still serving it up nearly a year on, jcolvin, thanks for the report. I have been encountering walnuts in odd places and loving them lately too.