We had an unexpected discovery of this restaurant on a nice sunny day at lunchtime. Having enjoyed a very tasty meal of shared plates we made reservations for dinner with two foodie friends. After ordering and consuming eight plates to share among the four of us we remembered 'the Emperor's clothes' and all agreed that, while tasty, this was an unbelievably skimpy amount of food to pass off as a dinner. Furthermore with the menu items it would have been almost impossible to put together a balanced meal. We enjoyed quail, squid, sablefish, octopus, and more but all in portions too small to consider dinner had been consumed. Luckily this is right around the corner from some great dessert spots as we had spotted lovely plates with three little drops of what had been billed as 'dessert'. Won't rush back for lunch and will not likely return for dinner. read more

So sad to write this, as I love most about this place...but portion size for price is appalling. The gnocci was $15 and served in a crescent around the outside of a salad plate. $43 for an 8 oz steak. Can't go back, even though I would love to. read more

I went here for lunch today and had the beef sandwich, it was so good and the beef was beautifully cooked. The salad was very fresh and their desserts were interesting. Will definitely be back to try more. read more

Came here for my birthday dinner last week. It was okay. Some of the food they gave us was really yummy, but some of it was kind of gross. I ended up giving some of the food to my boyfriend because I couldn't eat it. For the average person, this place is ridiculously overpriced, but I guess they only serve to rich people. I just don't think it's worth $50-60 a plate because some of the food was really meh. On the other hand, I liked how all their food was in-season and local. If you're into trying new food and being adventurous and not knowing what you're gonna get, then go for it. But if you want an actual meal, probably better to go somewhere else. I was so hungry when we got there, and it was irritating to be handed small portions of food every half an hour. I know this is more of a "tasting" restaurant (where you try small portions just to taste them), but I just felt annoyed. Probably won't go back, but it was fine enough to try it once. Not my thing though. read more

Great meal. Came with a group of seven and had the tasting menu. All food was fresh, hot and flavorful. Ling Cod was soul food. Excellent service, small but fantastic wine list. Highly recommend. read more

If you have an appetite, avoid this place. I like the food here, but the portions are so small that I go away hungry.

Probably my favorite restaurant in the city right now. It is small, intimate, you can make reservations (yay!), the staff and owner/chef are all lovely and the food is amazing! The menu is always interesting and the tapas style enables you to try a several different dishes. If you are looking for quality, refined food, give it a try. If you are looking for huge portions to stuff your face and don't care about quality, go to one of the franchise restaurants. read more

Do not come here expecting large portions. Do not come here expecting it to be quiet. With these two things in mind, you will have a great experience here. That being said, come here for good tasting, locally sourced food. Our server was very courteous when seating us, and was attentive throughout my dining here. The noise level was a bit louder than I would have wanted, but with an open kitchen and such a small space I didn't blame them for it. Definitely get the bread with onion butter, so decadent and very tasty (plus it will help fill you up if you are worried about not being full). My entree was sablefish with squid ink pasta and it was very interesting and good! Dinner changes on a daily basis so you'll always have something different to expect here. read more

If you want to drink from tin cups, be treated poorly by snitty wait staff, then this is the place for you. While the food is pretty good, it is overpriced for what you get. read more

This was the kind of place I eat at on vacation that makes me sad it's not closer to me (San Francisco). Exceptional food, well prepared and graciously served. I'd put it in the league of Chez Panisse and am mystified by the mixed reviews. Highly recommend! Oh, and a good value to boot, imho. read more

Minuscule portions and totally flavourless food. So incredibly disappointing and really expensive as well. But the real kick in the arse was the humourless, pretentious service. The two people attending our table were complete downers. Nothing we said or did could even crack a smile. They were so earnest and took themselves so seriously it was almost comical. The house made bread was very good. On top of our set menus we ordered an extra cheese "course" and they brought us four tiny pieces of soft cheese. I felt like we were in a scene from Portlandia. We were all eating pho an hour later. I won't be back. read more

Good food, nice environment and great service. It's a very nice restaurant to go out in a small group as an intimate restaurant.

Not Impressed! Service was adequate; food was mediocre at best....little taste;pretty pricey. My seafood chowder had a lot of carrot chunks and little seafood except some white fish. No sign of scallop, shrimp, or crab; perhaps a tiny clam??? The liquid itself was rather tasty which was more than i could say for my sandwich. Neither my companion nor I were excited about our meal. He had a small cabbage roll swimming in a clear broth. Now at home and I have cramps and chills. Food poisoning? Maybe not, and if so relatively mild....but I will not be back. read more

Three of us ate a pre-selected suite of hors-d'oeuvres [called dinner] on Sunday December 07. I was surprised when the first dishes arrived; though tasty they, did not bode well for enjoying a satisfying evening meal. Only the lamb dish was a reasonable serving. Every other dish would have suited a child portion - if the menu offered that option. We were invited out by a dear friend, so I did not want to make an issue of it. Nonetheless, I came home and made myself some dinner. What a waste of $200. read more

I was very much looking forward to eating here after the wonderful reviews online. I was quite disappointed. The service was fine although they did mix up one of our orders and we had to wait along time for the last dish. The heirloom grains was the only dish we liked. We had the Halibut and it was easily the worst halibut dish I have ever had, and I have had many as it is my favourite dish usually. It was somewhat cold when it arrived late and it had a rather salty taste and overall tough and bland, really bland. Perhaps the meat dishes were better, they looked good on the other tables. All in all it is way over priced, the servers were pushy about ordering more dishes and the food was actually quite bad. I will never return... read more

This is a special place with a special concept. If you like very good food and mass produced anything turns you off, you will be very happy. The food changes all the time so there won't be the benefit of having a long term menu item that evolves with time and feedback. That is part of what makes this place special. Bring an open mind and know you are not guaranteed to like everything served. It's not geared for the masses like a big chain. Suck it up. There are so many places that deliver that and some do it well, but most do not. One star off because there were hiccups in service - a missed meal that came late after reminding (at brunch) and getting coffee after tables that had ordered it after us (coffee results in calm happiness). Hated ice in my fresh OJ. At the end off the day there are a shit ton of so-so restos who really don't give a flying anything about the quality that goes to the table. If you are not discerning about what you eat, this is not the place for you. If you expect unqualified perfection then also not the place. If you value great quality and a talent in preparation than can sometimes push the boundaries of food, chances are you will be very happy. read more

Had a delectable meal tonight -- 4 course 'demi' was delicious, and plenty for me. Accompanying wines were perfect. Loved it! Have been 3 times and this was best yet. If this is what they do with winter fare, can't wait until spring produce is available. Great service too. read more

Tried the tasting menu on a Wednesday night. There were about seven items for $55. A couple of them were literally two bites. Some of the blending of flavours were quite unique and innovative. Service was good. Not sure if I would go back. read more

We had a great experience with the 4 course and 6 course tastings menu with the wine pairings. The menu changes so it's a place you can go back to. The ambiance was cozy and interesting and the service was great. Obviously everyone who works there loves food and is knowledgeable about it. We wouldn't hesitate to go back. read more

I used to go there for brunch. It used to be so amazing. Last night we went there for dinner for my husband Birthday ( I mentioned it when I make a reservation). First I had to ask server to change the water glasses because there were many finger prints on both of ours. Then after that servers showed us no smile not a word "Thank you" till the end. She never came to as "How is your food" neither. Glass of French bubble I had was flat and sweet (server said it's dry one). Food wasn't that exciting (taste and presentation both). Anyway we won't go there again although we might want to try their bar next time there was nice Japanese Bartender there. read more

I went there last night in a group of 4 to have a special night. The food is not really good and forget about being special. Out of 6 course, I only liked one of them. It was more Asian fusion. I didn't like the soup, beef main dish and the desert. I never ever will go back and I'm not recommending the restaurant to anyone. We paid 400$ but didn't get what we expected. read more

We did the chef's tasting menu. It was a perfect portion for the evening. Everything we had was yummy. The flavors were subtle and harmonized beautifully. The menu was well chosen. We would go again. read more

The food was ok. I had the Omnivore. My quail was undercooked and bloody. Service was horrible. There was only two table inside and two tables outside that needed service. Tried it once, never again. read more

I was really looking forward to eating here but I was disappointed with my meal. There are two choices. Omnivore and herbivore. I got the omnivore. It started with some mediocre vegetables and onion dip. I liked the tomato salad. It was fresh and flavoursome. The halibut was good. My favourite part of the meal. Then there was a bread course. Not sure why bread is served at this point in the meal. But it was. The quail was tough and the carrots that accompanied it added nothing to the dish. The corn soup was my least favourite part of the meal. Very heavy and obviously a filler because up until that course I was still rather hungry. The meal finished with some nectarine and some pureed something or other. Overall, I was not happy with the delivery. read more

im writting this review as im surprised at the lowish rating yelp has for this restaurant. ive been here three times and every time its been amazing. i cannot remember what i ate (the smoked olives and bread and butter are great appetizers) but the menu changes often so call or check the website. i would recommend getting a reservation as the space is small and there is limited seating. lots of thoughtful vegetarian options and i dare say i would come here before going to the acorn or the parker if i wanted thoughtful veggie food. love this place read more

Probably the most innovative chef in Vancouver, maybe Canada. Extremely hard to get a reservation so plan ahead. No kidding, I was at NOMA in Copenhagen and one of the chefs was an admirer of David Gunawan. read more

Fantastic. They mistakenly charged us twice for the bill but I would have paid twice.

$40 set menu on Sunday 2014/8/25. No other menu can be chose. Not worth to try. Fist three course were all vegetable and very less. The main course was 1/3 size of the iPhone 5 rockfish and 2 tiny mussel. Even the desserts have nothing good to say. prepare to go for burgers after in other place. Service was so bad. read more

LOVED this place. The seating is 'intimate' so if you want to have a little elbow room and space to chat, do make a reservation and ask for a table at the back. The food is fresh, locally sourced, in-season, perfectly executed and beautifully presented. read more

REALLY DISAPPOINTING. Small portions, bland flavours, half the eggplant in our order was not fully cooked. We wanted medium poached eggs and the server said that the poached eggs could only be made soft. The menu stated egg"s" and the order only came with one egg. We ordered coffee. The regular coffee was not available. We were only told this when we received our bill and noticed we had been charged for 3 Americanos. It also felt like we were being rushed out and not welcome to continue sitting. read more

Food was excellent. As others have said, they are small plates designed to be shared. We ordered 4 dishes for 2 people and were not disappointed. Ambiance is cozy and comfortable, with a bit of an east-coast seaside vibe. Service is friendly but not fawning. read more

I just came back from a 6 course fixed menu for $65 pp. I ordered the herbivore option and my husband ordered the omnivore. The portion sizes were ridiculously small... So much so we went out afterwards to another restaurant to eat more. This should not be the case after six courses! Although a nice atmosphere and fun to try something new and out of the ordinary both my husband and I have no intention of returning nor will we recommend it to others. For all the rave reviews this was definitely disappointing. The cost to portion ratio was outrageous, especially because I had no meat/fish. $200 later and we left with our wallets and stomachs empty. read more

I really, really want to like this place, but... We tried it twice for brunch, here is the verdict: Nice look, good location. Plates are very small, even for brunch. We had both poached eggs in our meal, very runny. We asked for bread to mop up the eggs, twice. We were sitting outside, I went in to inquire after our bread. Instead of checking in the kitchen, the young woman consulted the computer and said: yes, the bread is in the oven. We waited, and waited, and finally ate our by then cold food, without bread. Bread arrived after we were don. We sent it back, since they would have charged 3$ for it, and we had no more eggs to go with it. Food tasted fine, but not so good to justify the price. read more

Came here with a couple of friends for dinner. Good space, small but homey and casual. Food was really good. Had the cheese board to start, it was small but tasted great came with some apple slices, house-made fruit compote, and nuts in honey. Continued with a beet salad, which is what you could expect, light and fresh. 20 hour poached oysters (not a fan of oysters in general. And finished with the quail in jus which was the best of the night. You can really taste the depth of quail flavours, not overcooked (like a lot of quail is), and the rich without being heavy. Will probably come back just to taste the rotating/seasonal menus. read more

I don't even think those guys know what cooking is all about. Creative cooking does not mean you can do what you like.

Had the tasting menu this time, with paired wines. Was OK - but rather lackluster compared to the previously amazing "regular" menu. Will wait a while before going back. read more

We had such a wonderful brunch experience here. The service was super fast, attentive and friendly. The food was simple and delicious, and it was difficult not to order everything on the menu. It seems to be the only quality brunch spot in Vancouver that isn't packed on the weekend, presumably because of it's location. read more

I went to Farmer's Apprentice to celebrate Anniversary night. First I did not like the fact that the restaurant gave no choice but to eat course menu for the dinner. They might have more options and good foods in Lunch or Brunch, but dinner was definitely not satisfying at all. Second, I do not mind paying a lot for food, but it only applies when I get as decent quality of food as the amount of Money I will spen on that food. The cost of the set menu was way too expensive because the taste of the food, especially the Herbivore menu, were not meeting the expectation at all though chefs did great job on the display. Some of the foods from the set menu were not bad. however I could not get away with my thoughts that the taste of those of food are not bad only becasue I had very disappointing dishes before I got those dishes. Lastly, I was aware that it was course menu and it would take a bit longer time to finish the set than regular non -course food I order from other restaurant, but it took way longer than it needed when the first dish was just vegetables with dips and second one was another veggies with dressing and so on and so forth till the almost end. Our patiencr dropped and had to ask waitress to deliver the dishes as fast as they could. I am seeing great pictures and few great comments for Lunch and brunch menus, but the Dinner menu was a solid "No" for us. I was ok with Omnivore menu, but still it was not worth $55 because I could simply get food with that quality from some pther restaurant with much more reasonable price. read more

very good food. interesting. but service was rather more than rushed. plates were removed before other diner had finished eating and new courses and wine arrived before previous course was finished. shame because the food is good. read more

I've been looking forward to going to this restaurant for years. What a disappointment. Great philosophy, great ambience but the food falls terribly short. I had the herbivore tasting menu. The fennel-horseradish was bland, the potatoes in potato froth was bland. The bread was inedible. It's like the chefs are afraid to use salt to bump up flavour. On the other hand, the spelt risotto with mushrooms was very tasty as was the cauliflower with egg yolk. But half my dinner was flavourless. Then came dessert and this is an area of real weakness. No one at the table was taken with their desserts - not even the little meringues with plum sauce that came with the bill had flavour - they were not sweet at all. How do you make sweets that are not sweet?. My dessert was also visually very unappealing: concord grapes (not the nicest grape to start with) lying in a ginger broth. Barely sweet. Sorry guys - your service was great. Really, really nice people. But you need to jack up the food. read more