farmer's apprentice

[3.5/5] i like the fact that the restaurant has switched to the tasting menu format. and the price is quite reasonable for the amount of the food and the quality of the ingredients. for our dinner, there were dishes of brilliance, such as the tomato and plum salad, the salmon, the quail and the agnolotti. but overall the meat-focused menu is much better than the vegetarian one. it seemed like they had to use the same ingredients in different courses for the vegetarian menu. portion wise, some of the meat courses could be smaller by using fewer ingredients, which could help to avoid repeating the same ingredient in different dishes. if you go with another person for dinner, it's better for both to take the same menu. we thought we wouldtastemore things if we took one meat and one veggie, but ended up having a lot of redundant components going through the 6 courses on both menus.  but overall, we enjoyed the flavours from the quality local produce.

i was hoping that the farmer's apprentice would be the highlight during my week in vancouver as it was recommended by a local friend and several food bloggers, but i was kist sp disappointed. it might went down in my "travel to eat" memoir as one of the top 10 worst set menu meals i ever had.

booking via bookenda was easy and we got an instant confirmation. i already knew there are only set menu options with "omnivore" $55 and "herbivore" $50. since there were 2 of us, we ended up ordering both to share.

all i had to say that the chef worked too hard trying to bring different flavours and elements together without any balance in taste. i really appreciate how local and seasonal ingredients are used to create each dish. but the bottom line, the food has totastegood. i think the portion was fine as a taster menu as too much mediocre food just means too much food.

during the meal, we just kept asking ourselves why? why we paying for these? why we ended up eating here? did the cheftastethe food? maybe we just not have the sophistication to understand?

the only thing we enjoyed was our dessert.... beewax ice cream, mutsu apple, milk was just so clean tasting and refreshing!

service was attentive and i love the small cozy vibe here. i just wish the foodtastebetter.

last night was my first time at farmer's apprentice for dinner and unfortunately i don't think i'll be back. 3 friends and myself all ordered the tasting menu which went from good, to underwhelming to downright bad. the highlight was the amuse bouche which would best be described as a turnip taco which was fresh and super tasty, the chanterelles with green beans and corn which was brilliant and fresh but served at a temperature that was so blazingly hot that i almost spit it out. the fish course and salad course were both perfectly prepared but they left very little impression as i could really remember them today.

the two major fails in the meal were the beef course, which was served with a "thai style" salad. if i had to sum up the course in one word it would be "disgusting". there was so much mint in the dish that it was as if i had just licked a car air freshener, even after removing all of the mint that i could find it left a terribletastein my mouth and ruined the course for me. fortunately the bread course was served directly after the meat course, the only downside to it was that it also served at a temperature so hot that i burnt my thumb picking it up off of the plate (i actually have a blister on my thumb  this morning), it also could have really benefited from some more salt and fell a little into the bland category. 

dessert was also just ok, a mint sorbet (i'ld already had my share of mint at that point) and sliver of peach (which could have benefited from having the skin removed, as it was quite difficult to eat with my teeny dessert spoon. 

the best part of the meal with the tiny bite of carrot cake that was served with the bill. it was probably one of the best things that i've ever eaten, and it was only a 1" square.

dinner with drinks came to about $100/person which is about right for that level of service but i think next time i will try someplace else.

interesting . you will have the most interesting meal ever and that's good but make sure you go with someone who has similartasteas its sharing plates ...i would recommend a visit for sure !

everything here is meant to be shared with your group and it’s recommended to order at least 2 plates for each guest. needless to say, we ordered a ton of food. from a meal including steak bites, halibut, salmon, pasta, egg and grains, prosciutto, scallops, and complementary mini cupcakes thattastelike madelines, my favourite dishes would be the seafood dishes and the pasta. the pasta comes out a chewy al dente and the noodles and kale mixed very well with the cheese and oils. the seafood was incredibly soft. it’s cooked perfectly. it melts in your mouth. the fish meat looks incredibly supple. if i could have one dish 4 times it would be the salmon.

i've heard enough hype about farmer's apprentice that it was time to check it out. tucked on west 6th in a quiet area, it may take you a while to find it. once you do, you may question whether to go in given how small the place and its menu are. it does not help that their servers are not necessarily the warmest. but please do step in. the menu is limited, the prices are not cheap given the size of plates. the chef is creative, but again many creative chefs are popping up throughout the city. where farmer's apprentice stands out is thetasteof the food. you cantastethe freshness andtastewhat you are actually eating as opposed to having all covered with salt and pepper. and they do use delicious salts and peppers but those bring the flavour of the food out as opposed to masking non-fresh produce and food. and don't miss on the cheese platter. the brunch menu looks fascinating and so are the sunday series which i don't understand how they work, but are very intriguing. farmer's appr

several weeks ago i was invited to gastropost vancouver’s  screening of chef . the idea of watching a movie all about food put us in the mood for something tasty and visually appealing. we decided on farmer’s apprentice because its been touted as one of the best new restaurants in vancouver and it was just a block away from the movie theater! (i apologize that i can’t remember all of these dishes in perfect detail – there were a lot of garnishes and sauces and the menu varies daily!) what we ate risotto with asparagus and english peas extremely rich and creamy without being overly heavy. the serving size was just right. used “biodynamic aged” rice, which i wasn’t sure if it affected thetasteat all? the risotto was surprisingly full of vegetables which was nice! the pistachios used to garnish gave a distinct crunch poached salmon with gnocchi in brown butter the salmon was amazing.  it was the most tender piece of fish i’ve ever had. perfectly cooked and seasoned and i need to learn t

smoked chicken hash, root vegetables, escarole, salsa verde, 63c poached eggs $13 4.5/5 - i wasn't planning to order this but then our server recommended this. it was better than what i expected. very tasty hash.
smoked steelhead trout benedict, biscuits, spring greens, 63c poached eggs, dill hollandaise $13 4/5 - the smoked steelhead was too salty. not sure if it was smoked in-house.
angus beef bavette, red fingerling potatoes, flowering kale, fried eggs, mushroom jus $15 4/5- i googled bavette and i thought it was going to be a pasta. more like a flat iron steak. not sure if they used the flowering kale on purpose but it was a little too old and harder to chew.
omelette, red wine braised oxtail, spring onions, walnut pesto $13 3.5/5 - my least favourite. the red wine sauce was a little to strong for brunch. the person ordered this enjoy it.

we were planning to go to cafe salade but there was a 20 mins wait. this place just got broken into fri night but they are still opening for business on sat! crazy! the brunch was as good as dinner. portions were on the smaller size. i guess coz i could order more sides for dinner. all of our eggs had a darker yolk, so they are defintely free range farm egg. yum! my friend complained that the tables were too close. it might be a little hard to go to the washroom but i didn't find it too close for conversation. they only have an espresso machine so no regular coffee. there were people waiting in line when we left (~1:30pm). so try to come here earlier.


-----24 feb, 2014-----

creative and cozy dinner. smoked castelvetrano olive olives $4 5/5! - i normally find olives too salty but these ones tasted like meat! i got a jar home too ($6.5).
bread, onion butter, olive oil $4 3.5/5 - i thought it was free. half loaf of warm bread wrapped in a napkin. the onion butter looked and tasted like hummus. the onion was not too strong. some friends enjoyed this more than i did.
40 minutes poached oysters, fermented grape juice, horseradish snow $10 4.5/5 - one of us does not eat raw oysters. i would still considered them as raw oysters. the powdered horseradish was interesting. be careful with the sea salt below the oysters. they were quite rich.
coffee roasted carrots, celeriac panna cotta, goats milk sorbet $10 4/5 - i could nottasteany coffee in the carrots. the sorbet was a little too strong fro me but still acceptable. i enjoyed the panna cotta the best!
kale, leek emulsion, farm house cheese $11 3.5/5 - the kale salad was another less interesting item on the menu. it was good but nothing really stood out.
beet, roasted beet puree, lemon emulsion, roasted malt $10 4.5/5 - different forms of beets on a plate. the roasted malt tasted like coffee grind. very interesting
roasted sunchokes, orange marmalade, buckwheat tea $9 4.5/5 - the orange marmalade tasted like yuzu for me. the same as the one you get from yuzu tea. the suncokes had a very nice texture (not too hard nor too soft). the texture of the buckwheat tea was similar to pomegranate.

dungeness crab, avocado, fennel, lemon, radishes $17 3/5 - this was a like a california roll without the rice. it came in 3 pieces and we had trouble dividing them.
steelhead trout, roasted artichokes, smoked olives, grapefruit emulsion $14 5/5 - perfect degree of cooking (rare to medium rare). same olives as our starter. i wish there were more vegetables on the side.
10oz dry aged rib eye or strip loin, beet preserve, roasted beets, mushroom marmalade, natural jus $43 3/5 - not sure if the beef was not fat enough or just that the cut was too thick. i had quite a bit of hard time. it wasn't flavourful and interesting compared to the other dishes.
beet chips, white chocolate mousse, yogurt sorbet, hazelnuts $7 4.5/5 - the yogurt sorbet reminds me of the mascapone sorbet they had in wildebeest. i liked the mascapone sorbet better because it was sweeter (and probably coz it was my first time too).
nectarine sorbet, elderflower milk, marmalade, scones $7 4/5 - the sorbet was very refreshing. the elderflower milk was flavourful too. i would be happier if they added something fruit or flavours to the scones.

$35/pp for a 10 course meal! great presentation, tastes, and creativity. we noticed a few of our dishes had beets in them. we were told that just because they were in season. it might a problem if you are not a beet lover. great service. our server said they have 2-4 new dishes on their menu everyday. all of us had so many questions since we had no idea what was on the menu. our server refilled our water very frequently. they did not charge for vivreau water too! nothing to complain on the food but this place is hot. i didn't notice that my clothes smelled smoked until i left. too bad they only open on sat not sun for brunch.

we had to wash our clothes after dinner. it was prophetic when we walked in and commented to the host about the smoky smell of food and he said that his clothes smell like that all the time. my goodness...they need a hood fan! we had to wash our clothes and hang our coats out on the patio overnight to get rid of the smoky/fishy smell. next time, we'll eat on their patio outside - or leave our coats in the car.

a mixed experience for the food. our drinks did not wow (one cocktail, one apple spice mocktail), the bread was half-burnt with yummy onion butter. the beet tartare had an odd artificial quality and none of the earthy beettastewe love. the burrata/onion/leek dish was a homerun, for me....absolutely loved it! the whole roasted fish (cod?) was much bigger than expected and it was very good...sadly, the pea shoots overpowered the parsley sauce. the prime rib was wonderful and we both loved it, especially loved that it was served with kale and onions...as a lover of onions, i loved how many were in these dishes.

overall? a mixed bag, for sure.

unhappy portion but delight taste. unlike many other fusion cuisines, the food here has a good balance oftasteand flavor.the chef is very skilled and bold. at least for me, i have never seen lamb, meso and cucumber in the same dish. the lamb dish we tried was accompanied with charcoal roasted cucumber and sided with meso reduction. the unique meso flavor went nicely with the perfectly seared lamb while the charcoal roasted cucumber refreshes the taste. this way, one experiences the whole rhythm of flavor for every single bite.

the mushroom course was nicely designed as well. it was a nice combination of 5 different mushrooms, but i feel that it was a bit heavy since i believe all of them were done in butter. would be even nicer if a light reduction of fruit based vinaigrette was also in the dish. overall a very nice dish.

the sweetbread was almost perfect. it was fried nicely so that it has the integraty and the softness. the dish also had the essential sides to counter the richness of the sweetbread. one little thing is that i think it is a bit short on thetasteside. just a little bit, not very much. again, a well executed dish.

this is a very nice restaurant overall. what is even better is that they change their menu according to the availability of the ingredient. i would go back again during october/november time frame and see what kind magic they are able to show.