During my research (see this post) of which restaurants to eat at during DOV, I've found quite a number of Dine Out like deals that are available after the event. With Dine Out 2010 drawing to a close, I thought I would share some of these.
Set Menus - availability, prices, and times may change
Legend:
(*) - varies from being more expensive to cheaper than dine out counterpart
(>) - more expensive than dine out counterpart
(<) - less expensive than dine out counterpart
(=) - cost the same as dine out counterpart
A Kettle of Fish (*) - three course menu varies between $35-$45
Brasserie Bistro (>) - 2 course meal for $32.00 and a 3 course meal for $38.00
Brix Restaurant & Wine Bar (<) - $29 three course "first seating menu" (between 5pm -6:30 pm)
Diva at the Met (=) - $38 dinner tasting, $28 lunch prix fixe
Mistral French Bistro (<) - $19-24 dollar lunch menus (11:30 am-2 pm Tuesday-Saturday)
Raincity Grill (<) - $3o three course early prix fixe (between 5-6 pm)
Trafalgars Bistro (>) - $35 three course menu
Entertainment Coupon Restaurants
Some restaurants that participated in DOV have 2 for 1 entree coupons, which often works out to be cheaper than DOV, with more selection. You can view the restaurants that have Entertainment coupons here (warning: huge list): http://vancouver.entertainment.com/discount/search.shtml?Ntt=Dining&submit.x=0&submit.y=0
Let me know if you find anything else!
Showing posts with label Dine Out 2010. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dine Out 2010. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
West Restaurant + Bar (Dine Out Vancouver 2010)
I was very excited to try West. I had to reschedule this multiple times and was worried from hearing about how everybody was disappointed with their meals at West during Dine Out Vancouver 2010. Oh, parking was pretty expensive. $2/hour at the meters.
West Restaurant + Bar
2881 Granville St. (Around 13th Avenue)
Vancouver, BC V6H 3J4
604-738-8938
Bread didn't seem that fresh though the server emphasized it was baked fresh in house. Having both butter and olive oil was a nice touch.
Queen Charlotte salmon tempura with smoked creme fraiche, cracked wheat and citrus. Very good, well fried and good flavour.
West Restaurant + Bar
2881 Granville St. (Around 13th Avenue)
Vancouver, BC V6H 3J4
604-738-8938
Bread didn't seem that fresh though the server emphasized it was baked fresh in house. Having both butter and olive oil was a nice touch.
Queen Charlotte salmon tempura with smoked creme fraiche, cracked wheat and citrus. Very good, well fried and good flavour.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
hidden (Dine Out Vancouver 2010)
Number 3, $18 price tier. This was a late dinner, so it was pretty dark and my hands aren't the steadiest. They had a paper fortune teller at each table that turned out to be pretty lame. It wanted to tell me what to get.
hidden (@ the Weston Grand, near the main library)
433 Robson St.
Vancouver, BC V6B 6L9
(604) 647-2521
Pacific poutine with halibut cheeks, qualicum cheese curds, crispy Yukon golds and lemon hollandaise. Halibuts were a bit salty, but great dish overall. We had a side order of fries that happened to be rather soggy, but the fries in the poutine were fine.
hidden (@ the Weston Grand, near the main library)
433 Robson St.
Vancouver, BC V6B 6L9
(604) 647-2521
Pacific poutine with halibut cheeks, qualicum cheese curds, crispy Yukon golds and lemon hollandaise. Halibuts were a bit salty, but great dish overall. We had a side order of fries that happened to be rather soggy, but the fries in the poutine were fine.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
The Observatory (Dine Out Vancouver 2010)
Numéro deux, this one's at the $38 option.
The Observatory
6400 Nancy Greene Way
North Vancouver District, BC V7R 4K9
(604) 980-9311
To take full advantage of the beautiful weather since this year's Dine Out got pushed back, I planned dinner reservations according to weather predictions from two sources as well as sunset times. I was determined to have a nice view. I seem to be cursed. The weather today was dreadful. It was overcast and snowing on the mountain, it was exactly like looking through a thick fog.
In addition to my weather woes, traffic was stalled all over Vancouver due to multiple accidents. A 15 minute car drive turned into an hour, and as a result, we had to skip the Theatre in the Sky. I will digress a bit, dinner reservations at the Observatory has a few complimentary perks. In addition to the Theatre in the Sky show, the skyride up and down the mountain is also free. In the winter, there is even a sleigh ride and free skating on the pond, weather permitting.
To make matters worse, we found out that the car was leaking engine coolant (wish I remembered to take a picture of the green fluid). On the way back, we had to resort to using water on a pinch. Wait that's not all, when I got home and started editing the photos, I realized that I forgot to turn off the High ISO settings. Hence, the pictures for the night are ridiculously grainy, so much so that I couldn't really adjust any of them without the grain becoming even more apparent. So I apologize for the poor pictures.
On with the food...
The Observatory
6400 Nancy Greene Way
North Vancouver District, BC V7R 4K9
(604) 980-9311
To take full advantage of the beautiful weather since this year's Dine Out got pushed back, I planned dinner reservations according to weather predictions from two sources as well as sunset times. I was determined to have a nice view. I seem to be cursed. The weather today was dreadful. It was overcast and snowing on the mountain, it was exactly like looking through a thick fog.
In addition to my weather woes, traffic was stalled all over Vancouver due to multiple accidents. A 15 minute car drive turned into an hour, and as a result, we had to skip the Theatre in the Sky. I will digress a bit, dinner reservations at the Observatory has a few complimentary perks. In addition to the Theatre in the Sky show, the skyride up and down the mountain is also free. In the winter, there is even a sleigh ride and free skating on the pond, weather permitting.
To make matters worse, we found out that the car was leaking engine coolant (wish I remembered to take a picture of the green fluid). On the way back, we had to resort to using water on a pinch. Wait that's not all, when I got home and started editing the photos, I realized that I forgot to turn off the High ISO settings. Hence, the pictures for the night are ridiculously grainy, so much so that I couldn't really adjust any of them without the grain becoming even more apparent. So I apologize for the poor pictures.
On with the food...
Friday, April 30, 2010
Monk McQueens (Dine Out Vancouver 2010)
This is my first dine out of the year and it's one of the $28 options. I did not initially want to come here since I noticed that they do have a 2 for -1 entree entertainment book coupon. However, a friend wanted to come here and the menu looked decent enough. Street parking was difficult to find in the area, but there is pay parking somewhere along Moberly Road ($1/hour).
Monk McQueens
601 Stamps Lndg
Vancouver, BC V5Z 3Z1
604-877-1351
The first thing I noticed was that the restaurant smelled a bit funky. If you get seated in the middle of the dining room, ask to be moved because you'll get a way better view by the windows. The second thing I noticed is that they added a third option to their Dine Out Menu, some of the options may have been vegetarian. We stuck with what was on the website, though.
The bread was good, but the butter was too hard and difficult to spread.
The Bloody Mary Spirited Mussels (Sky vodka, tomato broth,dill, garlic & shallots) looked great and tasted great. The broth was a tad salty though, perhaps from the mussels themselves, which impaired the other flavours from really acknowledging their presence.
Monk McQueens
601 Stamps Lndg
Vancouver, BC V5Z 3Z1
604-877-1351
The first thing I noticed was that the restaurant smelled a bit funky. If you get seated in the middle of the dining room, ask to be moved because you'll get a way better view by the windows. The second thing I noticed is that they added a third option to their Dine Out Menu, some of the options may have been vegetarian. We stuck with what was on the website, though.
The bread was good, but the butter was too hard and difficult to spread.
The Bloody Mary Spirited Mussels (Sky vodka, tomato broth,dill, garlic & shallots) looked great and tasted great. The broth was a tad salty though, perhaps from the mussels themselves, which impaired the other flavours from really acknowledging their presence.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Choosing restaurants for Dine Out Vancouver
Something that I've learned is that you can't assume you're getting a good deal with Dine Out. I'm not saying that Dine Out isn't worth it, you just have to know where to go and pick carefully in order to get the most value out of the event.
Here's how I choose:
1. Compare the prices between the Dine Out menu and the Regular menu
At times, DOV will be more expensive than if you ordered à la carte. Although, they toughened up on this by removing some of the culprit restaurants this year, especially in the $18 tier. More often, Dine Out sometimes only works out to be free dessert or free appetizer. Think about if it's really worth it to have to book in advance and deal with how busy the restaurants are, particularly if you don't normally order appetizers or desserts (like me).
2. Check if the restaurant has a prix fixe or early dining menu.
Some restaurants have deals that are on par or even better than Dine Out. One drawback is that these taster menus often have less selection than during DOV, but not always!
3. Check if the restaurant has entertainment coupons (or even coupons from the Georgia Straight).
Many restaurants often have 2-for-1 entree coupons in the entertainment book. So if you already have one, the coupons are often cheaper or equal to the discount from Dine Out, plus you get more selection. You can view the restaurants that have Entertainment coupons here (warning: huge list): http://vancouver.entertainment.com/discount/search.shtml?Ntt=Dining&submit.x=0&submit.y=0
4. If you absolutely adore a menu that a restaurant has during Dine Out, #1-3 can be ignored. This particularly applies to restaurants that have items not normally found à la carte.
Here's how I choose:
1. Compare the prices between the Dine Out menu and the Regular menu
At times, DOV will be more expensive than if you ordered à la carte. Although, they toughened up on this by removing some of the culprit restaurants this year, especially in the $18 tier. More often, Dine Out sometimes only works out to be free dessert or free appetizer. Think about if it's really worth it to have to book in advance and deal with how busy the restaurants are, particularly if you don't normally order appetizers or desserts (like me).
2. Check if the restaurant has a prix fixe or early dining menu.
Some restaurants have deals that are on par or even better than Dine Out. One drawback is that these taster menus often have less selection than during DOV, but not always!
3. Check if the restaurant has entertainment coupons (or even coupons from the Georgia Straight).
Many restaurants often have 2-for-1 entree coupons in the entertainment book. So if you already have one, the coupons are often cheaper or equal to the discount from Dine Out, plus you get more selection. You can view the restaurants that have Entertainment coupons here (warning: huge list): http://vancouver.entertainment.com/discount/search.shtml?Ntt=Dining&submit.x=0&submit.y=0
4. If you absolutely adore a menu that a restaurant has during Dine Out, #1-3 can be ignored. This particularly applies to restaurants that have items not normally found à la carte.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Dine Out Vancouver 2010
Reservations have been open as of around 12 am, still lots of dates available. I noticed Blue Water Cafe isn't participating this year though.
http://www.tourismvancouver.com/visitors/dining/dineout.php
April 26 - May 6, 2010
$18
Ashiana Tandoori Restaurant
Au Petit Chavignol
http://www.tourismvancouver.com/visitors/dining/dineout.php
April 26 - May 6, 2010
$18
Ashiana Tandoori Restaurant
Au Petit Chavignol
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