Lupo Restaurant & Vinoteca

Mixed Artisian Bread $6 3/5 - nothing memorable.  I think they were 3 types of bread: plain, olives, and focaccia.  Only olive oil was provided (no vinaigrette nor butter).

Octopus carpaccio, pimento, limoncello 2.5/5 - paper thin octopus.  I could only taste the olive oil but not the lemon liquor.

Vitello tonnato 2/5 - Our server recommended this.  It was tender but it wasn't great.  The tuna sauce was not fishy at all.

Taglierini wild mushroom 4/5 - best dish of the night.  Flavourful with truffle oil.  Generous amount of mushrooms.  It was more like a sautéed pasta instead of a saucy one.

Lobster Ravioli 3.5/5 - The dough was thicker than what I could like.  Decent amount of filling but not too flavourful.  I think they were more crab than lobster.

Penna bolognese 2/5 - I could barely find any meat.  It was also too salty.  We had less than 1/3 of it.  Our server Michael was smart enough to notice that and took it of our bill.

Veal porterhouse steak, wild mushroom 3.75/5 - we ordered 2 of them but there was a lack of consistence.  One was medium rare and the other was medium.  The sides were a little too salty.

Sabelfish, grappa and orange marinade 4/5 - My second favourite.  The sabelfish and spinach were a little too salty.  I think it was because they marinated it for too long.  The fish was fresh, juicy and cooked perfectly.

Housemade gelato (pistachio, chocolate) 3.5/5 - both flavours were not as strong as I expected.  I could barely tasted the pistachio.  There was no pieces of pistachio.  I would have guessed tiramisu instead of chocolate.  It might be the cocoa powder.

Chocolate fondant, blood orange gelato 3.5/5 - I was expecting chocolate molten cake but there was no liquid.  The chocolate was too rich and too cold for the liquid chocolate.  The gelato tasted citrus but I couldn't tell it was blood orange.  It was also the most melted one.

Grand marnier, mixed berry cheesecake 3/5 - could not taste any liquor.  The cheesecake just like the only I could find at Safeway.

Housemade sorbetto 3/5 - coconut and I couldn't remember what was the other one.  The coconut didn't stand out as much as the gelato.

Service (hostess 2/5, server Michael 3.5/5) - We were there on New Year's Eve.  We received a phone call 2 days before telling us they will only serve 3 or 4 course dinner ($75 and $95 respectively).  It was kinda late to find another reservation so we decided to keep it.  At the same time, we asked if we could add 2 extra seats (making it from 4 people to 6) but the lady on the phone said no.  We asked if we could put our names on the waiting list but she said we had to call back on the day of the dinner.  We tried the day before and no luck.  She asked if we wanted to cancel our reservation instead.  3 pm on New Years New Years Eve, I called back and the hostess said they had no problem giving us a reservation for  (before I explained that I wanted 2 extra spots instead).  She said we had to be at separate tables so I said no.  They were at least 2 empty tables around us.  There was a round table for 6 right behind us.  On our way out, Michael told us that they had some last minute reservation.

Michael was really nice and attentive.  He made sure our glasses were filled and checked on our food a few times.  He also didn't charge my Bolognese after I told him it was salty.  He asked if we wanted to pack our leftovers and offered some panna cotta cake?  I think that was what he said.

Overall, everything was alright expect the hostess (or the lady on the phone).  I had high expectation for this place but nothing really told out.  I don't mind going back but nothing was significantly good that I had to go back.



Countdown at Riverrock

George Ultra Lounge

Lamb bacon salad (House cured lamb bacon, radishes, endive, bourbon vinaigrette) 3.5/5 - The lamb bacon was a little salty but fine eating with the salad.  The seasoning was something special and more than just pepper.
Local autumn squash bisque, Truffle oil, fresh micro greens 3/5 - I could not taste any truffle oil!  The bisque was fine but a little to dull without the truffle oil.  The micro greens were fresh though.

Local autumn squash bisque, Truffle oil, fresh micro greens 3/5 - I could not taste any truffle oil!  The bisque was fine but a little to dull without the truffle oil.  The micro greens were fresh though.

AAA flatiron steak (Citrus & mild chili marinated & grilled, pineapple chorizo sausage fried risotto, tomatillo puree) 2.5/5 - Our server did not ask me how I wanted my steak.  She told me the chef prepared it already when I asked her.  She said it should be between medium and medium rare but it was between medium and medium well.  She said it would be rubbery when it was undercooked for this kind of cut.  The sauce was decent.   The risotto was undercooked/quite hard.  The pineapple reminded me of Chinese pineapple fried rice.

Heirloom tomato tagliatelle (Roasted artichoke hearts, fresh basil, grana padano, sundried tomato hazelnut pesto) 3/5 - The pasta was salty.  It was cooked just right but with a weird texture.  It reminds me of the Chinese egg noodles.   (Have you seen the trend by now?  I'm wondering if there is some Chinese influences in the menu??)]

Brome lake duck breast (Maple bourbon honey glaze, freeze dried blueberries, duck confit succotash) 3.5/5 - Cooked just about right.  I could take it a little rarer but still okay.  It wasn't overly oily.  The duck confit succotash was amazing.  It was way better than the duck breast itself.  It reminded all of us of the filling of a Chinese lettuce wrap.  I hope they could put this onto their regular menu.

Local Ling Cod, Saltspring mussels, tiger prawns, autumn vegetables, coconut red curry

Vanilla bean panna cotta, Sour cherry compote 3/5 - Creamy, lots of vanilla bean in the bottom.  The sour cherry reminded me of umeboshi (Japanese dried plums).  The gooseberry was one of the sweetest one I had for a while.  Someone commented it was the best dish of the night.

Passionfruit tart, Lemon Chantilly, meringue, raspberry coulis 3.75/5 - better than my expectation.  The passionfruit was strong and the tart was nice.  The coulis matched perfectly with the tart too.

Service 2.5/5 - There were 20-30 minutes between each course and another 20 minutes waiting for our bill.  I felt bad reminding her about this again since she was one of the two servers running around.  She had to run to the back, the bar, and the patio.  Our server was not really nice answering our questions on the menu.  She expected us to understand the Italian words on the menu.  Our bread and drinks came after our appetizers but the others got their drinks right away at the bar.

Homer St Cafe and Bar

Eggs Benedict, cured ham, roasted tomato, hollandaise sauce $16 4/5 - I really like the eggs!  The eggs were more flavourful than normal eggs.  I thought they might be organic eggs.  Maybe that's why the hollandaise sauce was rich and creamy too!

Baked steelhead trout kafteji, chorizo, fresh herbs, fried egg $14 3.5/5 - It was served on an iron cast.  There was less kafeji (vegetables) than expected.  The edge of the fried egg was cripsy and dashed with pepper and spices.

pork sausage and pork belly, 2 eggs, potatoes, choice of rye or sourdough $14 3.5/5 - Juicy sausage and crispy pork belly.  I thought the eggs were organics.  They were darker than regular eggs.  Potatoes were flavourful and they went well with ketchup.

Service 2.5/5 - We got there about 2pm and they ran out of the maple chicken and beef brisket.  We asked to take a look at the menu while waiting for our seat.  The server asked us to walk up there to see the hostess instead of just giving us a copy.  We asked for a different table when we got one next to the kitchen (it was very hot).  It took some time before we got another table when it wasn't packed at all.  Waited another 10 minutes for taking orders...Service was a little slow.  We saw our food sitting at the counter but nobody went and served us.

Morocco West

Zaalouk (Eggplant spread with house-made bread) $7 3/5 - very salty.  You will need more bread for this (+$2).

Bouillabaisse (Seafood medley with house-made rouille) $13 4.5/5 - very creamy.  I w

Moroccan-braised chickpeas (slow-braised with raw-el-hanout) $5 3/5 - nothing special.  Chickpeas in tomato sauce.

Merguez Sausage Samosa (Moroccan-style with smoked tomato chutney) $11 4.5/5 - very good and tender.  Matched with the tomato chutney sauce.   My only complaint was too little meat.

Chicken Bastilla with Moroccan raisin demo-glaze $12 4/5 - chicken baklava with cinnamon and icing.

Chicken Bastilla with Moroccan raison demi-glaze $12 4/5 - chicken baklava with cinnamon and icing sugar.

Duck a l'Orange with red wine braised cabbage $15 4/5 - tender, not gamey at all.  The orange jus soaked right into the duck breast.  Red cable was good.  Not salty at all like the other red cabbage.

Chicken Kebab, saffron rice, sweet pepper coulis $11 2.5/5 - Juicy but nothing special.  I could taste the saffron in the rice.

Seafood Sampler $16
Emrozia Cod with chermoula lava beans 4/5 - I like the texture of the cod.  It was not overcooked and mushy at all.
Chermoula Prawns with cilantro pesto butter 3.5/5 - All I could taste was sour because it was sitting on a slice of lemon.
Pipita-crusted Wild Salmon with basil tomato pilaff 3/5 - the salmon was a little overcooked.  Nothing memorable.  The spices were not very strong neither

Beef Kefta with parsley pesto and olive jus $10 4/5 - juicy and tender with Afghanistan spices.

Award-Winning Lab Couscous (Ras-el-hanout braised lamb, root vegetables, chickpeas, onion confit, raisins, Moroccan jus) $24 4/5 (very high for a lamb dish for me) - tender and not gamey at all.  Fluffy couscous.  The vegetables were a little undercooked.

Meat Sampler (Beef Kefta, Ribs, Quail) $15
Ribs 3/5 - tender but nothing remarkable
Quail 5/5 - reminds e of crispy chicken.  Not gamey at all!

Moroccan Salade a l'orange, orange blossom, rosewater, honey, cinnamon, mint $7 3.5/5 - Someone said it tasted like soap water but it was fine by me.  The orange blossom was stronger than the rosewater.

Honey Lavender Panna Cotta (wildflower honey, lavender, fresh fruit) $8 4.5/5 - Light but could not taste any lavender.

Chocolate Pumpkin Pie $9 3.5/5 - creamy, not overly sweet.  The chocolate covered most of the pumpkin flavour.

Cherry and Ricotta Strudel, Cointreau, fresh cherries, mixed berry coulis $9 3/5 - nothing memorable at all.  It is the most boring dessert of the night. 

Couscous Brûlée, Apricots, prunes, raisins, cinnamon, creme anglaise $8 3.5/5 - I had high expectations for this.  Couscous texture with a layer of brûlée.

Automatic 18% gratuity for 8+.  Food was a little slow but still acceptable for a big group.  Music was not ethnical.  One thing I really like about this place was that most of the meat were not gamey at all.