tuc craft kitchen

came here for dinner tonight with somewhat high expectations based on reading reviews here. unfortunately the food did not deliver. our waitress told us that they specialize in "comfort food" but i found that to be quite misleading given the portions were extremely small and lacking in depth and flavor. i was far from being full or "comforted". i would have .
appreciated a suggestion to order more than just 1 entree per person. i had the seafood potage ($22) and it was disappointingly small and lacked flavor and complexity. the size was extremely small for an entree with just a few pieces of fish, mussels, and clams. my hubby ordered the cornish hen confit ($24) and while it had good flavor it was extremely small. there was a half ice cream size amt of grains and only half a hen. cornish hen is super small--why only half of it for an entree?! perhaps we just ordered all the wrong dishes. our friends had some other dishes that looked a lot better- specifically the beef, bacon wrapped egg, andporkcrisp

brunch done right that won’t cost you an arm & a leg!

opens at 10 so you don’t need to wake up early & line up to secure a table. the interior is top nosh with beautiful decor.

we got a table instantly & were greeted by friendly staff. our waiter was amazing from start to finish. he was very knowledgeable of the menu.

the crispy bacon & egg was better than it sounds- soft boiled egg wrapped in bacon then battered & deep fried. creamy & crunchy deliciousness.

the spam & eggs were accompanied by a bacon parmesan biscuit & deep fried green tomatoes. the spam was pulledporksquished into a spam like shape. everything worked well together on this dish.

the chicken & waffles were well worth it & for only $17! it comes with 2 massive seasoned crispy chicken breasts & waffles galore. the sweet chilli dressing dizzled over gave the dish an extra wow factor! best chicken & waffles ever!!!!

my recommendations- the chicken & waffles. your taste buds will thank you!

nice presentation, but both entrées (snapper meunière &pork2 ways) were quite bland. sauce was good, but there wasn’t enough. disappointing given other reviews & their special 5th anniversary menu...(2.5/5)

glad to see that tod cider from vancouver island is served here (uncommon to find in vancouver).

started with theporkbelly crackling, delicious and highly recommended.

wasn’t thrilled about the sashimi appetizer, didn’t like the heat the cilantro. probably wouldn’t have it again.

the highlight of the meal was the duck confit. tasty and presented nicely. also liked the slaw that came with it.

very friendly greeting and awesome bartenders. they give good advice on beverages and meals. i asked for a good gin and tonic, got the lavender & grapefruit g&t which was a great pallet cleanser.

the interior is decorated with old warehouse knicknacks. i really like the huge gear chains holding the shelves up.

i started by ordering a main with 2 sides. the bartender gave me that "are you sure...." look as it was a lot of food. i took his advice and swapped the sides for the crispyporkbelly starter, followed by the just chicken main.

the crispy porkbelly is sweet tasting, crispy skinned and chewy on the flipside. the red wine reduction adds a little acidity to it to compliment the flavour. really nice!

the just chicken was chicken breast cooked perfectly moist and juicy. the dried pear, artichokes and sweet bbq sauce mixed and matched the flavours so well. this was a definite good replacement to the chicken and waffles i so wanted.

the service is phenomenal - really friendly, warm and welcoming. i ate by myself but never felt "alone". really recommend this place.

excellent food and quick service. we started with the mussels andporkcrackles-to die for. i managed to be full on another serving of mussels, but my friends ordered mains of surf and turf, crispyporkturado, and beef al forno, and finished with a shared chilled chocolate fondo.

i was there a while ago and never had a chance to do this review.  i thought the food there was pretty different, but different in a good way.  i had the steak and i loooooooved it!  i have had a few steaks in my life and this was one of the best ones.  it was cooked to perfection, exactly the way i wanted it.  the bacon wrapped egg and deep friedporkbelly was really good too.  i had a drink, and i don't even remember what it was, that there was so much ice and soooo watered down that i might as well ordered a glass of tap water.  although the table i had was a tad small, but the servers were quite friendly.

last weekend, i decided i wanted to actually make plans with the boyfriend, so i made reservations for brunch at tuc craft kitchen, a western/canadian establishment in the heart of gastown through opentable. since it was my boyfriend’s first time coming here, i wanted him to try their signatureporkcrackling. we figured it would be a better deal to order the elevated diner rather than theporkcrackling ($6) appetizer...

went for brunch. the deep fried egg wrapped in bacon and batter was bland. theporkbelly cracklings were cold and the hash browns looked store bought. disappointing

tuc was really good! the service was great - really nice people and warming staff. i really liked the vibe. the mussels were okay - didn't seem super fresh but the preparation was great! theporkcheeks were delicious though!

great food and atmosphere, slow service though. had my birthday dinner tonight at tuc :] atmosphere was great and the restaurant wasn't that busy due to the rain. my friends and i ordered three appies/sides, 2 entrees and one dessert (which was a surprise cake of sorts for my bday). the crispy bacon and egg looked really good but...the bacon wasn't as crispy as i had imagined it to be. theporkbelly crackling was to die for - theporkbelly basically melted in your mouth and star anise red wine reduction was perfect with it. for entrees, we had the chicken for two and farmer's crop pot. the chicken was delish but the farmer's crop pot was a little on the salty side. we had the wilted kale along with our entrees and it was great as well. for the surprise, my friends had them add a candle to the chocolate mo'chocolate. there were pop rocks on top of the ice cream so it was super cool. loved the blueberry coulis - it was a nice palette cleanser to the heavy chocolate dish.

if you came to the restaurant hungry, expect a bit of a wait between dishes otherwise service was great!

hey guys! once in awhile we all need to search for some comfort food. how about some canadian fare at tuc craft kitchen . is this gastown eatery a great place for a braisedporkor should you go deeper into gastown? read on to find out. food: coming here with team dt, i ordered a braisedporkwith cranberry chutney (with double smoked bacon and roasted nugget potatoes) and split an orange glazed lamb ribs  (with jalepeno pepper). the lamb ribs here were the tender, fall-off-the-bone type delicacies. i loved the orange glaze on top that gave a good citrus boost to the flavour, and it didn’t taste like cheap chinese glaze as i had been warned. the braisedporkwas also a jy. once again, the sauce was a fruit and this time it was cranberry. this went really well with the crispy bacon and the presentation of this dish was on point. everything on this dish is meant to be scooped up in pieces and eaten together so don’t be intimidated by the half onion sitting on the plate. it tasted really well with the braised pork.  features: this is a narrow and tall restaurant that can seat about 80. the washrooms were pretty nice and akin to what you might find in a milestone’s or moxie’s. tall lamps brighten up the light wood so whatever you’re eating looks amazing. service: service was really good here. our waiter was very kind in his recommendations and had lots of patience for our more indecisive girls . water service was also very frequent in their tall glasses and splitting the bill was a cinch for a table of 7. one-liner:  hearty canadian bistro fare highlight: braisedporkwith cranberry chutney recommended for: hungryporklovers in gastown would i go back? yes. 

  if you read my last post about acme cafe, you'll know that i started a tradition (with myself lol, how lame is that?) of having brunch in gastown/downtown/chinatown on sundays!! so last week i decided to continue the tradition and go for a "proper" brunch at tuc!!   i wish i could go for brunch everyday. oh waitt, i do (in a sense) since i've been skipping breakfast lately lol... these days i've been waking up around 9:30 and by the time i get around to eating it's already 11! soo technically i eat brunch everyday. which is great for my health, i know ;)   but lately i've been eating skyflakes in the morning (does that count as breakfast?) and they're so darn addicting!!        i haven't had skyflakes in forever, they're a filipino classic! but the box is so hard to open! is there some kind of magical method of opening the box that i don't know about?! i had to literally cut open the box with a kitchen knife to get to my crackers!! (it was worth it.)  (click to enlarge) i am so coming back for their chicken and waffles hehe ;) i wanted to order their crispy bacon & egg but for my healths sake, decided against it since i was already having 2 eggs with my lamb haha!! :d their lavender latte!! lamb & eggs free run eggs, slow braised yakima valley lamb shoulder, argula, parsnips,cranberries, bc new potatoes $13 3.5/5 stars   this was pretty yummy! it was served piping hot, and the iron skillet kept it hot for a long time! the lamb was really tender, and flavourful without being aggressively salted! the parsnips and argula kept things interesting by adding texture and flavour! the potatoes were well seasoned and layered between pieces of succulent lamb. the eggs were nice and crispy, and the yolk was perfectly runny!   porkbelly crackling $4 w/ star anise red wine reduction & coarse salt 4/5 stars   omg, this was awesome!! i mean, it's friedporkbelly. with a star anise red wine reduction dipping sauce. need i say more? ;)   theporkbelly was oh so tender on the in

great comfort food.. enjoyed tuc very much. had the beef cheeks which were great. i don't like a lot of fat on my meat (yes i know it adds flavor) but just a preference. a friend had the braisedporkshoulder which had too much fat for my liking. my other friend ordered the stobhach which looked great and i will order next time. i wasn't too hungry unfortunately so i didn't try any other dishes (other than the crispy bacon and egg which was ok).

i recently ate at tuc with a group of friends and would highly recommend it. our server was very friendly and helpful and took good care of us all night. i had the beef cheeks which were flavorful and tender. we shared some appies, the lamb, meatballs, parsnip fries andporkbelly. all delicious! the atmosphere is cozy and inviting. overall a great experience.