Despite my initial reluctance to come here, considering the branding of the restaurant, I ultimately succumbed to my twin weaknesses for new restaurants and Chinese food. So, a friend and I braved the Saturday night snow, even though the hostess who answered the phone an hour before we arrived had said the restaurant was fully booked and they would not accept walk-ins. Takeaway: if you get a similar response via phone, it might be worthwhile to come anyway, and if you aren't as lucky as we were, you can always dine in the adjacent Champagne Lounge (they have real food and equally outstanding service, too!).
Although there is plenty of metered street parking in front of the restaurant, we parked at the back entrance to avoid getting snowed on. Valet is $28, but the valet offered us the best spot right at the entrance for free (we said we'd only be an hour or two). He also informed us that there's a self-park lot slightly further past the back entrance (it's metered). This particular valet, and every single Trump hotel/restaurant staff member we encountered subsequently, was the epitome of good service. As soon as I stepped out of the car, I forgot I was in Vancouver, as the staff seemed more on par with what one expects from luxury resorts or what you might find in high-end establishments in Asia. Kudos to whoever trains the staff here.
Valet explained every step of our journey from our parking spot to the restaurant (I kept thinking he was just walking us to the door, but then he ushered us into the elevator, and proceeded to get in with us, and then walked with us to the front entrance, and ultimately to the restaurant, where he passed us off to the hostess, who continued the "tour," taking our coats, instructing us where we could sit, and explaining that yes, we were in luck as a table had just paid and would be ready soon.
We decided to sit at the bar first, since we were pretty hungry and wanted to place our order before our table was ready. Bar tenders were equally friendly and knowledgeable, and again, any location-related request was met with an offer to "usher" us there (yes, one of the bartenders walked me the whole two steps to the unisex bathroom, and explained how to flush the motion-sensor toilets). This is clearly part of their training protocol, and I can't say I was mad about it.
Restaurant interiors are nice but nothing too special. Mott 32 is quite small and dark, but there was noticeable attention to detail, from the fresh flowers, to the open kitchen, to the table settings. The music was loud enough that my friend and I were lowkey shouting to hear each other at points, so if you're looking for a more intimate place to talk, you might consider booking a private room (minimum spend of $800 for the smaller room that seats 6-8, or $1200 for the larger room that seats 10-12), or dining in the Champagne Lounge instead.
Food was so-so, but I didn't really mind. They were sold out of our top three choices, and a couple of the other items were pre-order only, so we ordered a selection of dishes, some recommended by the bartender, others just randomly:
-cucumber with crushed garlic (good)
-hot and sour soup (whatever)
-lamb shank (whatever)
-string beans with Wagyu beef (good)
-hot and spicy dumplings (their take on XLB - disappointed, we couldn't even finish 4; nowhere near as good as Din Tai Fung)
-smoky cod (pretty presentation but salty, smoky [they weren't lying], and no fish taste whatsoever)
-flat noodles with beef
-cheesecake (delicious!)
Total came to $228 before tip, not including drinks (got moved to our table mid-drink order at the bar and forgot to follow up - but the cocktails both alcoholic and non looked really good), and not including tips along the way for all the people who escorted us from one place to another. So, expect to pay about $150 per person, maybe more if you're ordering drinks, perhaps less if you're not hungry (we were hungry).
Definitely will be back to try the pre-order duck and pork belly. If those are decent, I will probably up my rating to 5 stars, everything else considered. The only reason the experience fell short a star of perfect was I was really looking forward to eating delicious Chinese food, and my friend and I looked at each other after the first few bites in tacit agreement that Mott 32 only confirmed the conventional wisdom that for good Chinese food, Richmond is the place to go, and that the closer one gets to downtown, the bigger the disappointment. Sure, there are exceptions, but Mott 32 isn't one of them. read more