fable kitchen

i’ve been following this season’s top chef canada pretty closely, so when i found out that trevor and curtis were opening a restaurant in vancouver, i knew i had to pay fable a visit. i can go on and on about how much i adore both chefs. kay, my top chef buddy, and i stalked their twitter account daily, counting down the days until their opening. so when the day finally came, i reserved a table for 6 via twitter. word got around and our party grew. i felt kind of bad for being a party of 8 in a 60-seater restaurant. as i wasn’t planning on blogging about this visit at the time, i did not take any pictures. all pictures in this post were taken by laura , who is a way better photographer than i am anyway. thanks to their openkitchenby the window, i spotted curtis before even walking into the restaurant and believe me, i was squealing so hard inside. the restaurant had a rustic decor which i loved. again, i wish i had a picture to add. we were led to a table in the back and once i sat d

great atmosphere and staff. i really liked the staff and service i received here today when i came for lunch with my friend. we didn't catch the name of our server but she was very warm, motherly and friendly... i immediately felt comfortable and at ease. she was very diligent in refilling our drinks and waters as necessary and wasn't obtrusive in any way. unfortunately at 12:30pm they were already sold out of their daily feature, so we both settled on the burger with daily soup (creamy tomato) instead. the patty was cooked medium rare which was perfect, and the bun was crispy and flavourful. the soup was so delicious, just like our server promised! i think a restaurant's atmosphere is a real deal-maker or breaker for me and fablekitchendefinitely won me over.

i truly recommend that you get down to fablekitchenand try what is sure to be one of those happy shuddering culinary moments for you!

as i have mentioned before we are so very fortunate to have a culinary disneyland unfolding more and more each day in the vancouver lower mainland. trevor bird – one of top chef canada’s top competitors opened fable in approx april 2012. the restaurant is is the perfect size and laid out in a comfortable way for you to enjoy food and drinks with friends or co-workers as well as a nice romantic dinner with your love.
if you are fortunate enough to be able to sit at the “chefs wood” then you are in for a treat.
whether you see chef trevor bird or any of his team commanding thekitchenyou will see the workings of a well oiled (olive probably)kitchenmachine.

i was wandering why i was having difficulties describing how i felt about this place and then i realized that i simply didnt have a lot of feelings for it. i visited 3 or 4 times and every time i felt the same. the food was good, a little flat on taste and flavor, but still good. for some reason i didnt feel that i would want to come back for it soon. the service was friendly but friendly is probably the only word i can find to describe it.

one thing i noticed on my every visit was that communication between the floor and thekitchenstaff was a bit indescreet and loud. we had to listen to them throwing personal remarks at each other which, i thought, was somewhat disrespectful to the people they are serving.

every time i try a different wine but never had an urge to find out more about it to, may be, pick up a bottle later at a local wine store. good sommelier cares about quality of a glass his selection is served in... these glasses are definitely not the finest.

the place was not disappointing but i never heard from my party "let's do fablekitchenagain!"

unfortunately a fairly large group (10-12?) was seated at the same time with us. 3 small children, sometimes running around and screaming. so not quite what i was expecting for a friday night dinner on 4th ave.

our server was quite honest and apologized for the delay of our service due to the large group. he comp'd an appetizer dish which was very generous. i think it took almost 35 mins to get our apps, and maybe almost an hour for our mains. by the time the mains finally came out i had already lost my appetite from the waiting. also, my duck breast was on the rare side, i'm guessing because thekitchenwas rushed to catch up on our order.

honestly i would have preferred eating somewhere else if the hostess that accepted my reso told me there wasn't any availability for my time slot because there was a large group. our server did however offer a $50 gift certificate to come back which was again very generous but i'm not sure if i would go back. alot of hype for this restaurant but weak execution.

the smoked duck breast was tender, juicy, and well seasoned. the fat portion was just right and did not leave much greasy aftertaste. the quinoa, cranberries, cauliflower, and apple purée was an interesting and refreshing combination. i quite enjoy looking at the openkitchenthat's close to the door. it's a busy restaurant with tight seating and quite loud as well. service was friendly. will be back.

it was 10:25 am on a saturday, and there was already a line up of about 15 people outside of the restaurant. nevertheless, we were still able to grab a table shortly after at 10:35. the interior of fablekitchenwas quite spacious, and the atmosphere was pretty laid back. theirkitchenwas also completely open for everyone to see.

top chef-worthy. i like everything about this restaurant. it's a lovely place with a great concept. i have been there a few times now, and every time it has been a delightful experience. the service staff are all very friendly and polite. the dishes are usually served quite quickly, and are always beautifully presented. for a bit of entertainment, you can sit at the bar and watch thekitchenstaff preparing meals right in front of your eyes. i found some of the tables to be a bit small, and as it is a small space, it can get very noisy after 7:00pm. the paper menu sheets were a little crumpled, so a little improvement could be made here.

the chickpea fritters are very delicious, served with curried mayonnaise - this is something i will order every time! the tomato soup with a mini grilled cheese is also very flavourful and comforting. the gnocchi, potato-crusted chicken and the flat-iron steak are all great choices for the entree. if you have a sweet tooth, you can't go wrong with any of their desserts, including the maple cake with vanilla ice cream. i'm really hoping they bring back the chocolate pudding!

when i graduated my sister treated me to dinner at fable. i was really happy and grateful about it. it was delicious.

the name fable comes for the words “farm” and “table.” the idea is that the restaurant would source out local ingredients and bring them from the farm to your table. this is a restaurant by chef trevor bird who is on top chef canada season 2. my sister lives in the neighbourhood and she told me sometimes she would walk pass the fable and see chef trevor in thekitchenprepping the food. it is less likely to see him cooking during the service hours. anyways, because fable source local ingredients for their food, their menu would change from time to time according to the season. i apologize if this not as updated as it should be to their menu sin

i found the winter tomato soup and presskopf grilled cheese (with tarragon, crème fraîche, farm house cheeses, and smoked appletree cheddar) from fablekitchenchef trevor bird quite impressive.

fablekitchenis another one of those farm-to-table restaurants which offer fresh ingredients sourced locally. we started off their famous canned tuna , which is fresh albacore tuna cooked sous vide-style in a small jar with potatoes, grape tomato and olive oil. we were told to throw in the salt and mix and chop it up thoroughly. it came with enough bread to scoop the tuna on. the tuna was definitely creamy, but i wouldn’t personally consider it “the best canned tuna”. after mixing it up, it looks like this. doesn’t exactly look that appetizing. the mush are the potatoes. m had the featured entree, which was grilled pork chop . it definitely looked very pleasing, but the meat was average. i find that pork is usually overcooked or a bit too tough. the sides, however, were extremely delicious. the baked potatoes were addicting! the way that they were seasoned and the crispiness of the outer skin was spot on. it also came with carrot puree, some beets, and fried pork rind. as for myself, i had the parmesan crusted chicken . i loved the chicken, as the top was super cheesy and crispy! the chicken was also cooked to moist. the zucchini noodles were also really interesting. a good change from your typical pasta noodles. however, i did find that the cashew tomato sauce was a little bit too sour for my liking. lots of flavour though. lastly, we finished off with the milk chocolate panna cotta , which was just alright. it had cocoa crumbles on the top and raspberries on the top. i found it too rich af

now i’ve been to fablekitchentwice so i think it’s safe to say that they consistently nail everything. i love their “farm-to-table” concept and sourcing from locals. after hearing wonderful reviews, i couldn’t wait to go try them out so i’ll just briefly talk about my two experiences with them here! this summer when i had relatives visit from abroad, i decided it would be a great chance to go. i gave them quite a challenge and booked a table for 16 adults. i knew they were small and their reservations fill up quickly, seeing the large party that i had, i made reservations almost a month in advance. they told me that normally their maximum party size is 14, but if i didn’t mind the seating being a bit cozy, they would love to accommodate me. i knew that fable did set menus for large parties and for parties over 11, they did the family style menu where they give you an assortment of their most popular appetizers, followed with your choice of main (i went with the whole roast duck), and

fablekitchenrecognizes their cuisine as canadian, so before embarking on this canadian food adventure i had to imagine what i could possibly be getting myself into. would i be seeing everyone dressed in plaid, saying eh, and having everything covered in maple syrup i can assure you no to all my three assumptions (to my relief). although, it did seem like all the men who were dining at the restaurant were wearing plaid… i never got the memo! upon entering fablekitcheni was greeted by the cooks (as they have an open concept kitchen… score! no microwaving here!), and waiters. upon the 5 seconds of sitting down i had already received water and met the waitress… talk about speedy service! now, let’s also keep in mind i went to this restaurant on a tuesday and had to make a reservation… because this place was packed! (although the waitress said, they do keep some seats and the bar open for walk-ins). the menu was one page, but they have features for the night… so the menu doesn’t exactly

lisa ray was half the reason… and the awesome cooking was the other half as to why i watched top chef canada. ever since season 2 finished, i wanted to try out trevor bird’s fablekitchen, a restaurant concept that was developed for restaurant wars! located along the main vein of kitsilano, west 4th, fable strives to cook from farm to table. whenever i walk by fable, it’s usually packed. luckily for my friends and i, we didn’t have to wait. by the way, that’s a pretty sharp-looking chandelier. i wanted something indulgent so i ordered the grilled cheese ($12) and added pulled pork ( $4). aside from the obvious cheddar cheese, there was also onion jam and spinach. admittedly, after having hogshack’s pulled pork (post coming up) , it’s been tough to find a close rival. even so, i found that fable’s lacked smokiness and flavour. the star of the sandwich was definitely onion jam, which was quite yummy. thus, it felt more of an onion jam sandwich, rather than a grilled cheese because the c

the food isn’t unlike what you’ll find here in toronto. i like how fablekitchendoes their own take on classic favourites—and does them well. sharing wasn’t a problem at all (except for the lemon meringue parfait) and while the dining room was packed as expected, we could still hold a conversation without having to raise our voices. the food was a bit pricier than i’d expected but it was good. i’ll definitely come back next time i’m in vancouver, which cross my fingers will be soon! :d