mindless ramblings

When summer arrives in Vancouver, one of the best things to do is find a patio and spend a couple of hours enjoying the sun, sights and of course the company! However, finding a place at 4pm on Friday afternoon is not exactly an easy task. Opentable came to the rescue and a reservation for Saltaire was made. Located next to Ambleside Beach in West Vancouver, Saltaire has 2 floors: a main dining room, and a rooftop patio which has some great views. Although we got there half an hour early, we promptly got a table up on the roof. Turns out they were having a patio party! There was live music, free food, beer and even some freebies! A lucky couple won a BBQ while we scored some free Granville Island Pale Ale, t-shirts and keychains.

The menu ranges from tapas for sharing to full on proper meals. We decided to share a california sushi caesar (or something like that), while Esther had a tiger prawn and scallop fettucine and I went for the daily special of tenderloin (can’t say no to steak!).

California Sushi Caesar Salad
Emboldened by our positive experiment with fusion caesar salads last week, this really stood out on the menu to us. It isn’t as good as the Amarosa hot chicken caesar, but its still tasty. Its tasted pretty much like what I expected, a california roll mixed with lettuce. Bonus points for using real crabmeat and the generous slices of avocado. Perfect for a summer evening (together with my beer).

Tiger Prawn and Scallop Fettucine
Our last experience with prawns wasn’t all that great, so we were hoping for something better this time. Thankfully it was! The prawns and scallops were of a good size, and the pasta was cooked right. No real complaints other than the fact that the meal was deceptively heavy. The (according to the menu) tomato vodku sauce was pretty thick and oily… I finished the final bit for Esther and it stuffed me up good.

Beef Tenderloin
The tenderloin was served with bacon wrapped around it and covered in demi glace. It also had a couple of small whole potatoes and some greens (no idea what it was, but it was fragrant). This was a disappointment to me, I ordered my steak medium rare but it was pretty much cooked all the way through. At least it was still pretty tender, if a bit dry.

Just like other patios in Vancouver (eg. Watermark), the food at Saltaire probably isn’t it strength. The view is the main selling point, and Saltaire definitely ticks the right boxes in that area.