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 arestaurantin 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 open kitchen by the window, i spotted curtis before even walking into therestaurantand believe me, i was squealing so hard inside. therestauranthad 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

this ain't no story~ you walk along west 4th and a largerestaurantwindow filled with quick moving bodies catches your eye. this is "fable", a newrestaurantbuilt where "fuel" and "refuel" use to live. much has changed in the last two years. you are free to stand on the sidewalk and watch as masterful chefs bring organic and local proteins and vegetables together, or you can come in and experience their vibrant as whimsical dishes in person.   "from farm to table" is their slogan, and they take their theme seriously. this idea is the brain child of trevor bird, a contestant on "top chef canada", season 2. (i am a food network junkie). the idea came on an episode where contestants had to come up with arestaurantconcept to wow the judges. farm fresh "fable" was trevor's. he returned home, and by the looks of it was able to successfully turn this idea into reality.   they offer top quality foods without any pretentions that may accompany it. you are made to feel right at home with a g

i truly recommend that you get down to fable kitchen and 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. therestaurantis 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 the kitchen you will see the workings of a well oiled (olive probably) kitchen machine.

birthday dinner with close friends and boyfriend.restaurantwas full when we got there. waitress was very attentive and friendly! i shared a spaghetti with duck meatball, gnocchi, and of course lemon meringue parfait with girlfriend 😊. i stole some of boyfriend's smoked duck breast. the lemon meringue was sweeter than i imagined and girlfriend complained about the little amount of ice cream in the parfait 😂. overall was a good dinner :)

each and every menu item we ate was unique and delicious. the chickpea fritters were the best and the sides were really good too. even my husband who doesn’t love adventurous vegetables loved our zucchini flower and oyster mushroom side dishes.

we were on vacation and visited thisrestauranton the recommendation of a local. it’s outside of the downtown area and we were quite happy we gave it a try. it was well worth the short cab ride.

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 the kitchen was 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 thisrestaurantbut weak execution.

the food here is really good. love the atmosphere in the restaurant. the only downside in my opinion would be how pretentious therestaurantmakes the staff. when they tell you the specials and serve your food they basically recite some poetry for you.. which makes it a bit awkward at the table.

i loved everything about this restaurant.

the staff were really friendly, very informative and great with suggestions and recommendations.

the food was absolutely delicious. everything was so good. we ordered everything they suggested and then some.

chickpea fritters: yummy. the crispy deep fried goodness paired nicely with the creamy curry mayo and pickled red onion.

best canned tuna: i didn't know what to expect but this was surprisingly good.

spaghetti and meatball: so good. duck meatball with the juices bursting out tasted great with the tagliatelle and creamy sauce.

gnocchi with braised beef: i didn't get it with the pulled pork. i got it with the special of the day i forgot what it was... some sort of braised beef. this was my favourite dish. i could eat it all day. i often find gnocchi are small, doughy and chewy. their gnocchi is like no other. it's big pillowy soft, sticky and delicious. everything about this dish was perfect. braised beef and the sauce was on point!!

my friends ordered the salmon dish, butcher's cut, and the duck breast. they all enjoyed their dishes too!

desserts: smores was our favourite! perfect combo chocolate, marshmallows and ice cream. lemon meringue parfait was good but a little too sweet for me.

i tried their cocktail "a kiss from a rose" because you know. seal. and that was a great song. the drink was really good. almost too good. like a fruitier and juicier version of a vodka mojito/pink lemonade. very refreshing! probably my new summer drink! summer hasn't started but you get my point. the drink was a bit small but i still loved it. i would have ordered more if it was a tad bigger.

what i also liked about thisrestaurantis who supplies some of their meat. my friend is muslim and is familiar with fable's beef supplier and knows they are halal. so he got to order their beef dishes which was so awesome! he always has to order seafood or vegetarian dishes when we go out. it was a nice change that's for sure.

i emailed to make a reservation, they were fast with responses and very accommodating. they also asked if we were celebrating an occasion and i told them we're celebrating a birthday and promotion. i thought they were going to do something special but they didn't. what was the point of asking?

besides that small confusion. i throughly enjoyed my experience at fable. i will definitely be back soon! brunch?

this is one of two restaurants in vancouver i've given a 5.0. fable is truly spectacular. it's really honestly incredible on all fronts without being pretentious. the food was prepared with so much love. i had the tagliatelle with chorizo. it was perfectly balanced and bursting with flavor. the service was incredible. this is hands down my favoriterestaurantin kitsilano now. i'm going to try everything on their menu!

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 open kitchen that's close to the door. it's a busyrestaurantwith tight seating and quite loud as well. service was friendly. will be back.

fable, probably the best casual dining experience i've had in a while. i went with a date and managed to scoop the last walk in table. i ordered many things, the special: baguette with i think it was chili mayo... canned tuna, cauliflower, duck meatball and tagliatelle, gnocchi with pulled pork, duck and special: halibut. for dessert we ordered the "oops! i dropped the dessert"

baguette: twas the bomb... freshly baked bread is always awesome!

canned tuna: pretty solid dish. i would order it again

duck meatball: best! best! best dish in the restaurant. the meatball had a great crust and was very nice and juicy on the inside. the sauce was pretty on point too. if you synergized the baguette with the meatballs... wow, what an amazing sandwich youd have!

cauliflower: mediocre, it tasted okay but its only worth having once.

gnocchi with pulled pork: the sleeper hold of a dish. eating this will put you to bed...

duck: macadamia nuts.. interesting... the dish needed a jus or a sauce to go with the duck. duck itself was well cooked

halibut: lots of green. it was okay all together but it wasnt the outstanding star

oops i dropped the dessert: great dessert! the waffle cone, the ice cream... it was a creative, whimsical dish. i loved it.

chef trevor is doing a great job at fable. it is definitely a must go to, destinationrestaurantin vancity. it is the epitome of casual, home style cooking. i recall tipping 40%...definitely worth the experience!

was randomly walking past therestaurantand decided to go in. the food is savoury and rich in favour, yet well balanced. for some dishes, the simple description on the menu actually doesn't help you visualise the experience you would have when eating in fable kitchen.

the best dish we has was the octopus salad - on par with the best roast potato i've ever had. sometimes it's through the simplest things that you could appreciate the chef's attention to detail. the roasted potato is crispy on the outside and so soft when you bite into it. the octopus is grilled to the right timings, preserving it's freshness yet giving that roasted taste. overall every bite is a challenge to your taste buds. it's full of flavour - sour, sweet, salty, fresh, yet it's all very well balanced.

brunch is one of vancouver's national past times. just scroll through your weekend ig feeds and you'll see. therefore, a post about brunch is a must. there are quite a few places: catch 122, cafe medina, sophie's cosmic cafe. however, my favorite has got to be fable, a farm to tablerestaurantat the heart of kits. 

i first went here with k for a dinner service last summer, and we both loved it. so, we decided to come back for brunch to see if it was as good. and it was. i have since been there a couple more times and it's such a solid, consistent place. 

food/drink: dinner: i would recommend the spaghetti and meatballs, just because it's interesting. it's served as a small serving of tagliatelle on a bed of cream sauce with a duck meat ball at the center of the dish. when you break it open, sauce oozes out and infuses the whole dish. mix it with the cream sauce and boom: taste buds come alive. (plus, it's fun.) the canned tuna, which is one of fable's more popular dishes for is not too bad, but a bit too fishy for me. (it's fun though. they ask you to mix it up in its tiny mason jar) 

for brunch, we had the french toast, which had the perfect consistency. it was not too soggy so you can still feel the crunch of the toast. it's topped with candied walnuts and the mascarpone adds a nice savoury taste to compliment the sweetness. #sogood. 

ambience: the walls are laid with interesting quotes and photos. there's some chalkboard action too. it's a great casual dining place. chill enough to not be intimidating, fancy enough to impress. 

bonus: a 3 minute walk from rain or shine, if you want a post-dinner treat. 

service: very personable servers. they take the time to explain what the specials and the regular menu items are. no rush as you order. they top your drink off regularly. 

transport: from ubc, take the 84 vcc-clark bus and get down on burrard. walk about 4-5 minutes and you'll hit it.

great value for lunch. i had lunch here with many people and we've always had consistent great food and service for lunch, and that's challenging for therestaurantteam. never dissapointed. good value for what your getting at lunch.

wonderfulrestaurantby chef/owner trevor bird. terrific daily menu and brunch menu (look out for boozey brunch which happens once a month). food taste great here and staff are very friendly. if you have a chance try their homemade jams, they are excellent! (you can buy the jams)