Metro Dining

Metro Restaurant
2A-200 Burrard StreetVancouver, BC, Canada

You know when we go out to eat, we always want to try everything. And if you’re Chinese, you have absolutely no shame in reaching over and just picking something off your dinner companion’s plate! Hey…sharing is caring right? But at Metro, they make it easy for you. You get to chose how much of each portion you want of each dish and therefore, you can order as many different dishes as your hearts desire!
Metro is brought to you by Brian Fowke and Tim Keller, the same guys who brought Rare onto the scene. The whole concept of Metro is decidedly more Westcoast-from the minimalist and clean décor to the type of food they serve. On their website, they talk about how Metro is all about sustainability and ecology and what steps the restaurant is taking to be environmentally friendly. But these aren’t a bunch of tree huggers..nonono…Metro is also all about being upscale, sophisticated and classy. I guess if you think about it, Metro does embody what Vancouver stands for: classy, sophisticated, a bit snooty, granola munchers! :D And that’s not a bad thing people!
So I went to Metro with my new-to-Vancouver friend, Mike and his sister. Both of them just very recently moved to Vancouver to study (him at VFS and her at Blanche Macdonald). Well I figured that since they are from out east (Ottawa to be exact), I should take them to a place where they can really experience west coast cuisine.
I really liked the décor at Metro. Like I said, it’s minimalist and clean but not too bare. You can tell it’s a new restaurant since the kitchen is still pretty spotless. They have a huge bar and lounge on one end with wood paneling and a big screen TV and the other side is the restaurants. They have these really cool leather bucket chairs which at first glance will make you think that maybe you should have brought your own seating but once you settle in, they’re actually really comfortable. Penny really did like the chairs! While you probably won’t be getting a nice view from the restaurant for the next six months (hell you won’t get a nice view from anywhere in this city for the next 6 months!), you’re actually rite by Canada Place so there is the POTENTIAL for a nice view! :D
There has been a lot of new “west coast cuisine” style restaurants opening up in Vancouver but what makes Metro different is the way that you can order their food! Like I said, they price their items buy the ounce. It’s a really really great concept and it really allows you to get a taste of everything! For example, if you can’t decide between the striploin, tenderloin or the duck breast, you can have all 3! Basically, what you would do is order a small cut of each (say 2-3 ounces of each type of meat) and then you’ll be presented with something like a tasting menu! And the best part is that each of the meat comes with their own garnish so it’s not like you’re just getting the meat-you’re getting the accompaniments too! Think tapas but your own way! Mind you, if you know what you want, you can order that on its’ own too. Just order a larger cut, say 5-6 ounces and you’ll have a full sized main course ready to go.
The three of us started off sharing the smoked duck sausage served on a brioche hoagie round with slow cooked onion corn chutney. It’s kinda like a duck sausage hotdog! The sausage was really good but when meat is in a sausage form, you can really taste the difference I guess. But it was quite yummy and a great way to start the meal. For our main, I chose to go with a full-sized order of the sablefish with oyster mushroom risotto while Penny got bison and the pork tenderloin and his sister go the Dungeness crab and the blade steak. My sablefish was excellent (as sablefish usually is!) but I did get a bit of the fish taste with it. However, the risotto was delicious! It was cooked perfectly and even though I don’t usually eat carbs or rice, this was some good stuff. From what I heard about the other twos main courses, they seemed really happy with it. The pork was a bit dry and giant cous couse that came with the crab was a bit wet but in all, I think the meal was quite a success!
I’m defiantly going back there and trying all the other types of food. And I guess I won’t have to bring an army of people to try everything there!