coast restaurant

great meal and service. started out with a nice cocktail and then had a wonderful crab cake appetizer. for the main course we had the halibut and salmon entrees with a great tasting fried brussels sprouts side , and a scallops addition. finished with the " to die for" coconut pie , and an americano. great vibe at coast , the servers are friendly and attentive and the background music is hip but not too loud. sitting upstairs with a view of the bar area below was a great spot to sit.

coast restaurant in downtown is another proud sister restaurant to blue + blue  next door. instead of wagyu and reserved angus, coast is all about seafood. the atmosphere is sophisticated yet relaxed.

the specialty here is seafood (if you couldn’t tell). they are rated #18 best restaurant in vancouver on tripadvisor. walking in, it was very busy and seemed promising. i definitely liked the setting, but sadly the food didn’t meet up with expectations. i guess i was just hoping for more. everything on the menu sounded amazing! i couldn’t decide what to order. here’s what i ended up sharing with alyssa:

as a nova scotian i have strong opinions on seafood. coast does it right and i was very pleased with everything i ordered. no deep fry or odd sauces or bizarre spices. my sea scallops were cooked perfectly and above all very fresh. the room is too noisy for me but i loved the food. service was very good.

i joined tiff at coast for lunch on a weekday since they had some fairly decent lunch deals. i ordered the wrap box, with shrimp wrap, tuna sashimi, new england clam chowder ($13.95). the chowder seemed a bit different from the one i had for dinner here previously, without the bacon bits. regardless, i did enjoy the soup which was quite hearty.

been here four times in my travels. the service has been generally good. the food was very good. their mojitos are hit and miss. seafood platter for two is a great photo op to send to your friends you want to make jealous. i recommend sitting at the seafood bar. staff will often offer a few free tasters if you are sitting in the right spot.

get over yourselves. i see you over there doting on the cougars, mr. waiter. i see you topping up the suit's wine while i can't seem to get your attention to order another glass.

nothing makes me angrier than getting crappy service because i'm young relative to the majority of patrons. and this is what i get every time i come here. check the purse, bro. i can afford a decent tip! not that you deserve it.

news flash. i don't consider this place fine dining so the snobbish attitude is way overkill. if the food were amazing, i might overlook the faults in the service. but it's not.

there are so many other seafood restaurants (fortes & blue water are two of my faves) at similar price points where you get a better product and better service. i flat out refuse to go here anymore.

overall the food isn’t worth the price with its average taste. it was nice to dine in a fancier restaurant though...

one of my favourite things at coast is their caesars. they have the best ones in town. with just the right amount of a spicy kick, and actually comes with a jumbo prawn as a garnish! it’s like a meal in a glass. we started off with the seafood tower , which included jumbo prawns, shucked local oysters, dungeness crab, marinated mussels

the lobster on butter lettuce salad was mind-blowing. the lettuce was creamy; almonds added crunch; lobster was fresh and sweet. the remaining dishes were vibrant and delicious as well. however, my heart was with the absolutely amazing salad for the rest of the night.

loud music and...... the loud music was annoying techno meant to be enjoyed in a night club. when our table asked the maitre d' to adjsut the volume he explained that the loud music was part of their "image".... had he looked around the restaurant common sense would have kicked in - it was full of older couples trying to enjoy a meal rather than yell at each other over the thumping bass. to top things off we noticed about 20 flies on the wall behind our table. yummy.

bad gluten free options. they were unhelpful when it came to gluten free requests and after talking with my server for a bit i discovered not everything on thegluten free menu was actually gluten free. they put flour in their clam chowder but then put it on the gluten free menu. no understanding of celiac disease.
what i did end up getting what quite good - oysters and fries but also ended up paying more than i intended for lunch.

not so great. it's interesting how polarised the reviews of coast are. we went there for an anniversary dinner, so pushed the boat out and ordered the most expensive cold seafood platter. like others, we found the restaurant noisy to the point of disco, but when we asked to be moved somewhere quieter, the staff was very accommodating.

i like seafood a lot, and order it whenever i can. good seafood doesn't need much fuss - a bit of lemon and butter, fresh to the point where it is virtually still swimming, and i'm happy. i went for the cold seafood platter partly because it seemed among the most simple presentations on the menu. this was good seafood, but oddly poorly done. the food came out sitting on ice with dry ice pouring out of a central bowl. ice is good for serving oysters, and worked well with the sashimi because it was sitting on a leaf. but for crab and lobster and prawns, it meant the food was so cold that it was virtually tasteless. again, i don't think this was about the quality of the raw ingredients, but the style of presentation.

the fish ceviche was really not very good at all - we didn't finish it (too many spices, not enough lime, not sure what fish they used but it didn't shine). and the sauces offered with the tower ranged from good (home made cocktail sauce) to strange (ketchup?). no butter, and no lemon, though there was a lemon dressing included with the sauces.

the service was very pleasant but again a little off-key at times. i finished my share ahead of my husband, so they cleared my plate and then the central tower and finally my wine glass, all before he was done. we ended up giggling at the whole experience, and remembering other, better, seafood we had eaten. if you love seafood and steak, i would frankly go to gotham and have their lobster and filet mignon - better done, for about the same price.

sorry coast, but you really didn't wow this seafood lover.

good splurge spot, best for 4-6+ ppl. been to coast a few times now and i like it a lot. delicious and wide-ranging seafood options (the share cold and hot platters are great), with great side order options. i've never really even explored the individual entree options, but they look enticing (if expensive). i will say that this place is very loud and boisterous (feels like a big american restaurant at times), with some tables pretty close together, and i don't recommend it for a relaxing, intimate date. better suited for 4-6 people having an evening out, or even a work or business get-together dinner/party.
special mention to the circular "oyster bar" in the main floor room, which looks great and is functional, too.
recommended (especially on an expense account!) and i hope to return soon.

a quick 'toast to coast'. so i went here over the weekend with a few buddies of mine, and this restaurant was so delicious, i figured id even write a review and give my 2 cents about it (literally considering i never paid).. we went here on a saturday night me and 2 others and we had heard good things about, celebs and sports stars when there in the city they like to attend a nice seafood restaurant as this.. so we thought wed give it a shot.. i thought this restuarant had fairily sized portions and well priced for quality food.

the food was delicious let me tell ya, but doesnt it always when your buddy picks up the cheque for loosing to you at poker.. we went there for dinner and me and the guys had calamari to start with some fried cauliflower and the 'seafood platter for 3 as our main course', the calamari is something to die for and will defiently go back. i also had a glass of red wine, since the bill was looking after by my friend i figured why not try some of their house wine also, so i did, and for someone like me who tends to try alot of different wines at restaurants, i wouldnt consider their house red spectacular, but it was average.

appreciate you reading my review and for anyone out there that would like to play me poker for a meal at a restuarant, we can set something up and im sure after i can give my 2cents about that restaurant whichever it maybe on urbanspoon so people can see, im eating gooooood...

#shotsfired #headsupbauss @bh @mh