Disclaimer: This review is for Bistro Sakana's Taste of Yaletown 2017 menu.
I've tried Bistro Sakana's Taste of Yaletown and Dine Out Vancouver menus in the past and have always had a good experience, so I decided to bring my fiancé here to try this year's Taste of Yaletown menu. Unfortunately, we left very disappointed.
I had heard that Bistro Sakana recently had a change of ownership (not sure if it's true), but their Taste of Yaletown menu looked enticing enough that I chose them as my only Taste of Yaletown meal this year. It definitely seemed like they were providing the best value for money (bluefin tuna, wagyu, lobster, etc. for $45).
When we first walked into the restaurant, it was quite warm inside so we asked if we could sit outside. We were told the patio was full, but we had the option of moving outside if there was any availability later. With that, we decided to sit at the sushi bar while we waited. We ordered a large bottle of Kirin to share (and ordered another one later in our meal), and we both ordered their Taste of Yaletown menu with the Surf & Turf as our main.
Our first course was the Crispy Ahi Tart with creamy truffle sauce (topped with arugula). This was tasty, but I wouldn't call it a tart... it was really a thin sheet of crispy pastry crust. Overall, this was quite tasty, though I would've appreciated a slightly thicker slice of ahi on the "tart". The creamy truffle sauce was good but I tasted a little shiso in the mix - not my favourite - but this is just personal preference. These are just minor things though, so this first course gets a 4/5 from me.
Next course was their Super Premium Nigiri Set. There were 7 pieces, including blue fin akami, blue fin chu toro aburi, ora king salmon, wagyu aburi, madai (red seabream), and 2 pieces of wild sockeye jalapeno aburi "hakozushi".
When we got our food, our server was telling us what each piece was but she paused when she got to the madai (red seabream). We could tell that she had forgotten what it was, but instead of going back to the chef to double check, she just told us it was hamachi (which it clearly wasn't). Anyway, back to the food. We enjoyed the three pieces of traditional nigiri the most (king salmon, madai, and blue fin akami), but the fish, while fresh, was sliced very, very thin.
Sitting at the sushi bar, we saw that all of the fish were pre-cut. Usually, I wouldn't be upset about this, but considering the price we're paying and how premium the ingredients were, it just seemed like a waste. The sushi rice was also very cold and hard (we watched the sushi chef squish each piece of sushi rice in his hand with a lot of force). This premium nigiri set had a lot of potential, but due to poor execution, I'm giving them a 2/5.
At this point, I noticed there was a table available on the patio (a party of two just left), but instead of offering the table to us, they immediately seated the couple waiting by the door. Not a big deal, but just an observation.
For our main course, we chose the Surf & Turf: lobster and pork belly. Before I can even begin to comment on the taste, the presentation of this dish was all over the place and very confusing. On the top of the plate, there is an empty lobster tail shell. The actual lobster tail is actually separated into two preparations: half poached, and half in an avocado salad. The poached lobster tail was good, but the lobster in the avocado salad got lost in the poorly seasoned avocado salad. The Kurobuta pork belly confit, however, was delicious. It was braised in a sweet, salty and slightly spicy sauce, topped with crispy potato shreds. The pork belly could've been more tender, but flavour-wise, it was really good.
Now, let's talk about the sides. We have some steamed bok choy underneath the pork belly (bland), and then a mixed green salad with apple cider vinaigrette (very acidic) that's spread across the plate. On top of that, there are additional garnishes such as crispy lotus chips, mango sauce, small slivers of grapefruit, and spiralized beets placed randomly on the plate. If it sounds confusing, well, it tasted that way too. While I really enjoyed certain elements of this dish, this Surf & Turf only gets a 3/5 from me.
Last but not least, the dessert was a Green Tea Tart with mixed berries. This was actually quite tasty and I have nothing bad to say about it. The green tea tart gets a solid 4/5.
Overall, the food quality was decent but the execution was poor. Service was passable but not great. At this price point, I expected a lot more. I will not be back.
TLDR; Taste of Yaletown 2017 menu was bad. Quite expensive. Sashimi is pre-cut and sushi rice is cold and hard. Don't come here. read more