Romantic / Special Occasion Dinner Vancouver this Saturday night

[Billy Bob]

Vancouver Hounds,

I am a Seattle hound by way of Phoenix and me and my sweetie are coming up to Vancouver this weekend for a romantic getaway.

B&B on the water in Deep Cove: Check
Couples Pedicure at Spa Utopia: Check
Romantic Dinner Saturday night: Still need reservations.

After surfing this board, Jules French Bistro was leading the pack. Will this fit the bill? We love all kinds of food. Are there better suggestions?

Let me know what you think

Billy Bob

[FakeName]

Have a look at the Teahouse in Stanley Park. They may not be rated quite as high as some of the other suggestions but if you time the sunset the view can be spectacualar. Nice area for a stroll before dinner too. Cab ride can be quite expensive so I would drive.

[Billy Bob]

The innkeepers recommended a new place in West Vancouver called Fraiche. Anyone have any experience with it?

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Fraiche Restaurant
2-2240 Chippendale Road, West Vancouver, BC V7S 3J5, CA

[Tinfoilhat]

For me it is Bishop's. Local legend, absolutely the finest local ingredients and a West Coast menu. Outstanding service from everyone and John Bishop will introduce himself to you at some point. He is a gracious host. Your meal is always special there.

Restaurants come and go. Each year there is some new flavour that gets chosen as the best restaurant in Vancouver. Bishop is not the new boy, but his restaurant is always in the top 5 year after year after year.

[tangentdesign]

What about les faux bourgois?
http://www.lesfauxbourgeois.com/

you'll need advance reservations...

[grayelf]

Good call on Bishop's, Tfh. The service and ambiance is very nice and the food is so consistent. I've never been when John B was there himself, more's the pity, as I have a serious Chow Crush on him, though I did manage to shake his hand at Feast of Fields (sigh).

Is Fauxbo romantic, tangentdesign? We've never been able to get resos there when we've tried but writeups on it I've read don't make it sound like the ideal place for a tete a tete, and peering through the window it looks more like a pub to me...

[Tinfoilhat]

Here's a quick recap of a couple of things that happened the last time I was there. We were served an amuse bouche of oyster stew in espresso cups. Unfortunately, about 1 minute before they arrived, She Who Must Be Obeyed went off to the washroom. I wasn't sure what had been placed in front of us so I asked the waiter if it was hot or cold. When he said it was hot, I told him that SWMBO was gone for a few minutes. In 15 seconds he was back with covers for the cups.

The oyster stew was fantastic and just after we finished John Bishop came over and introduced himself. I told him that the stew was great and that I was absolutely going to steal the recipe. We talked for a minute, and then he left us. 30 seconds after he was gone another round of oyster stew magically appeared. All this before we even ordered.

Can you have a better restaurant experience?

[betterthanbourdain]

for a moment i thought u were talkins about le faux beau..
Bishop's service is legendary good point.
you cant fake sincerity! it's nice when someone is genuinely care about how you ae enjoying yourself.

Been to LFB 3 times in the last 4 months. imho, the food is a bit hit and miss. more hits I believe, but the service and ambiance certainly not at par with the other suggestions above. However the price pointis lower if that matters.

[Billy Bob]

Thanks to all who replied and providing me with a lot of good suggestions. I will let you know what we decided on and report back. Thanks again.

[betterthanbourdain]

Just cause you asked for suggestions:

Market by Jean George the food was very solid was there Friday night , the slow cooked artic char with truffle mash was great.
Lumiere was there last night, service was excellent!!
Lastly Latro Buca last week before new ownership and they extended their dine out menu till Sunday!!! so ur best value and best bet IMHO. $38 for a 3 course . Current owners also own Pied E terre..

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Lumiere
2551 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC V6K2E9, CA

[Cancuk]

If you're going for French and romantic, I think there are a couple of choices that are better than Jules:

Le Gavroche
Pied a Terre
Le Crocodile
The Corner Suite Bistro de Luxe

If you want to spend more, Lumiere and West would definitely fit the bill.

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Le Gavroche Restaurant
1616 Alberni St, Vancouver, BC V6G1A6, CA

Lumiere
2551 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC V6K2E9, CA

West Restaurant + Bar
2881 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC V6H 3J4, CA

Le Crocodile Restaurant
909 Burrard St, Vancouver, BC V6Z2N2, CA

Le Crocodile Restaurant
909 Burrard St, Vancouver, BC V6Z2N2, CA

[betterthanbourdain]

all good choices Lupo, Le Croc, Pied a Terre.
if you're still in the north shore at spa utopia and wanna stay there rather than cross the bridge.
consider the beach house at dundarave pier. believe they changed chefs recently. fmed can confirm this... .
not familiar with jules to comment, but Pied e Terre is good value/good review.

my recent visit to ciooppino's was very good. but lupo is a better setting as per selena's suggestion.

staying closer to B&B and the Spa, Le Gavroche is a romantic setting. But the food at Le Crocodile is better..

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Le Gavroche Restaurant
1616 Alberni St, Vancouver, BC V6G1A6, CA

Le Crocodile Restaurant
909 Burrard St, Vancouver, BC V6Z2N2, CA

[grayelf]

I think the food at Pied a Terre is more romantic, if that makes any sense (we had our anniversary dinner there this year). The room at Jules is darker but it is quite cramped and does not lend itself to lingering, and the food feels more rustic than PAT's. Neither is super romantic, with the tables being a bit too close together for sweet nothings not to be overheard :-). And both book up quickly for weekend nights as they are small. PAT is not downtown and Jules is (Gastown, actually) if going out after is at all in the mix. Le Croc would be a good choice if you are okay paying that premium. I wish I had been to the new Lupo but it sure sounds like a good bet from selena's posts and the setting (a refurbished old house) is the quaintest of the places named so far.

I love Cioppino's food but it is in no way romantic to my taste. Just a big room with an open kitchen, albeit with nice Mediterranean colours. Someone said it is more business-y which I sort of concur with -- like family businessy (good for special meals with the inlaws or a family group).

[clutterer]

If you're looking for something akin to Jules, I would side with Pied a Terre on Cambie, which, in my opinion, has better food in an enviro that is equally intimate.

[Billy Bob]

Thanks Clutterer. Appreciate it.

Intimate is an important adjective for this evening.

[islandgirl]

Just to mention, Pied a Terre is intimate but the tables are quite close together so if privacy is important I wouldn't recommend it. You'll definately catch yourself eavesdropping on the tables around you :)

I haven't been but, if French is what you're looking for and you don't want to leave the North Shore, Le Regalade is supposed to be lovely for good bistro style French cooking.
If you're looking for a casual option while in Deep Cove, the Arms Reach Bistro has surprisingly good casual food (sandwiches, pastas, salads, etc) in a lovely setting.

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Arms Reach Bistro
4390 Gallant Ave, North Vancouver, BC V7G1L2, CA

[grayelf]

Concur re PAT tables, islandgirl, per my post below. I'd still pick it over Jules for the food though.

[Billy Bob]

Not so much set on any one type of cuisine. We are very adventurous eaters, but more looking for quality, service and intimate/romantic setting.

[bdachow]

I'd second the below recommendation for Bishop's. Service and food are impeccable and the room is quite lovely, warm and inviting. And afterwards, if you need to walk off dinner and the weather is nice, you could always stroll about 5 minutes and take a walk on Kitsilano Beach.

[selena03]

I would go with Le Crocodile or Lupo if you are looking for something romantic downtown. Here is a link to a review of Lupo I posted recently: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/6993...

I am not very tech savvy so I hope that works:)!

Cioppino's would also be special spots to celebrate your anniversary......

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Le Crocodile Restaurant
909 Burrard St, Vancouver, BC V6Z2N2, CA

[Billy Bob]

Selena,

You are savvier then you think and nice write up. Thanks for the leads.

Billy Bob