There is something that continually and regularly draws me back to O'Sullivans Restaurant and Bar at noon. It's a strange thing, as I have many restaurant choices during the day, including going downtown, to a myriad of second rate establishments to eat. So what makes me choose O'Sullivans?
Quite frankly, it's the cosy, unpretentious atmosphere, and the exceptional food that appeals to me. There is no fake or fraudulent fusion food here! No pretentious or phoney nouvelle offerings! Just authentic, genuine and wholesome food, prepared in the best home-style cooking manner. Solid, savory, scrumptious, tasty and mouth-watering meals.
I suspect that is really why I come back all the time. It reminds me of the spirit and incarnation of the neighbourhood petit bistros of Paris, where I spent many congenial hours over lunch, haggling with my French business colleagues, lubricated with copious amounts of Beaujolais, years ago. And yes, there is a comfortable old world ambiance, with a four sided brick fireplace, dark painted wood wainscoting, and some well-known French art prints and Homesense artwork on the walls.
So, while O"Sullivan's does not offer Beaujolais, they do offer a small, but great value for money, selection of wine, by the glass, or the bottle. How can you go wrong, drinking a glass of Fish Hoek (usually described as the "art of simple excellence" - but then I'm biased as a former South African) from the Western Cape, in South Africa? Again, nothing pretentious, nothing outrageous, and no need for a cellar of 2000 vintage bottles! While there is no coquille saint-jacques, no sole grenobloise on the menu, who really cares, when their chicken quesadillas, shepard's pie and chicken pot pies are exceptional.
O'Sullivan's market themselves as "genuine food and drink". I believe that they do just that! Go and visit the restaurant and bar. It's the real thing. With a real and genuine owner, constantly checking on the customers, and with real and genuine buxom waitresses making you feel at home. Chaucer would have written about O'Sullivan's in his Canterbury Tales, had he lived in this Century.
There are no phony and false smiles greeting you at the front door, no teetering self-conscious juvenile hostesses on 6 inch pumps, practicing to become waitresses at Cowboys, and no need to wait for someone to stupidly lead you to a table. Just open the doors, read the "plats du jour" on the black board, find a table and you are set to experience O'Sullivan's!
The restaurant is in a strip mall just north of Chinook Centre. I don't even know if the strip mall has a name. However, it's easy to get to, and there's lots of parking. I highly recommend this neighbourhood restaurant for business or pleasure, particularly if you are not trying to impress anyone! read more