The Oakwood is a small little restaurant on West 4th Ave. and Macdonald Street. It appears to be a relatively new place since Google's street view did not show the updated sign yet. The exterior was dark and very easy to miss.
The interior was dark but quite spacious if you look closely. An assortment of booths and tables with high bar stools. We had a little reservation confusion for a moment but quickly sat down at the row of sofa seats at the left side of the restaurant.
Our party organizer knew the owner of the place and the owner had very kindly prepared a prix fixe menu just for us. We had a party of about 10 people and people trickled in slowly over 40 minutes. After almost everyone arrived, we were still waiting for one more person. By this time, the waitress was getting impatient and asked us multiple times if we were ready to order. Finally the last person arrived and we placed our orders for all three courses.
We were also given three drink tickets each, and I got a beer and gave my other two tickets away. Their drinks menu did not have any eye-catching cocktails that appealed to me and they did not have Granville Island Honey Lager on tap so I just went with Molson Canadian.
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Our food arrived after about 10 minutes, not a very long wait at all. Here are the assortment of appetizers our table ordered.
Appetizer #1: Green salad with balsamic pickled shallot and poppyseed vinaigrette. Karen had this and she found the dressing too sweet and she could not finish it. I tried a little and it was indeed sweet and tasted like raspberry. I'm not such a big fan of salads so I don't have any opinions about it.
Appetizer #2: Beet salad with roast beets and goat cheese. A couple people had this and I did not taste it because they were sitting too far away and I'm not such a big fan of beets either. It turned out fancier looking than I had expected.
Appetizer #3: Maple pork belly with apple puree, pork crackling and jicama salad. Erika had this and I tried a bite. The pork belly was moist and tender, the pork crackling was sinfully crunchy with the taste of lard (if you are a fan of meat). I did not get to try any of the salad. Personally, I found it strange to serve such a large slab of meat as an appetizer.
Appetizer #4: All-Canadian poutine with house brisket, cheese curds and gravy. A couple of us (including myself) had this because, who doesn't like fries? This was a generous helping of fries topped with an equally generous mountain of shaved beef brisket. I took five bites and saved the rest so I could have room for the rest of the meal.
I loved how they served it in a mini skillet even though the serving is about the size of fries that you would get with a main course. It was a pity that the gravy was concentrated at the bottom of the dish, otherwise the brisket would have been more moist and flavourful. The cheese curds were stringy and the whole fries/cheese/gravy combination was amazing. My only complaint was the gravy was too salty. Vanessa did not think so; she liked her salt.
I guess their appetizers are meant for sharing and that could be fun if you're going with a couple of friends.
Too bad the lighting of the restaurant was too dark for me to see what I was eating. At some point later in the evening, someone turned up the lights a little so it was much better.
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Now, let's move on to the main courses!
Main course #1: Mussels in white wine garlic broth with grilled crostini and frites. Vanessa had this and there were about 30 to 40 mussels which came in an enormous bowl! I had a taste of the mussels and they tasted quite fresh and mild; the broth was not overpowering. The crostini had a strange herb taste to it which did not roll off my tongue very well. The frites were, well, just FRIES. When she served our food, the waitress said she forgot to mention this main course came with fries, since Vanessa already had the poutine as an appetizer.
Of course, I just LOVE how they served the fries in the miniature fryer basket. A little too much fries if you ask me, but I was SO tempted to take that cute little basket home!
Main course #2: Striploin steak with dijon hollandaise sauce and hash. Karen and a few others got this, and I was privileged to have a bite. When the dish arrived, I was absolutely taken aback by the size and the presentation. Beautifully sliced pieces of medium-rare steak laid on a bed of potatoes topped with bright hollandaise sauce. 10 points for the presentation!
The medium-rare steak was tender and juicy and the sauce had some sort of salty miso taste to it. I could not tell what it was. The hash was just a cubed up version of the fries we had earlier with the poutine. Karen was very satisfied with her steak, except it was so huge she had trouble finishing it.
Main course #3: Burger with a beef patty, fried onion, smoked cheddar and sprouts on a sesame bun. This was one of the more popular main courses and about half our table had that. So much to say about this amazing burger!
Firstly, you could tell them how you like your beef patty just as if you were having a steak. I had mine medium-well since I do not like any pink in my meat. The bottom of the bun had sweet relish, the fried onion and perhaps some mozzarella. At the top of the beef patty was a perfectly melted slice of cheddar and topped with alfalfa sprouts. I used to always be afraid of those little stringy sprouts but I have now gotten over my fear! They tasted really creamy with the heat of the meat and cheese.
The sesame bun was very fresh and had a homemade, rustic taste that was hearty and warm. That was my favourite part of the whole burger. Chewy and soft bread mmm... I had a little less than half of the burger -- there must have been about half a pound of beef in there.
They served a homemade "ketchup" which had the taste of raspeberries and apples and the consistency of apple sauce. It was a bright red colour and honestly, when I tasted it, I was confused if it was supposed to be a fruit puree or ketchup. Vanessa did not like it but Dianne loved it. Oh well, to each his (her?) own!
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At this point, we were all just REALLY stuffed to the brim, but who can pass on dessert?
Dessert #1: Beet and carrot cake with blue cheese cream and candied walnuts. Dave was brave to try this beet cake while most of us scrunched up our faces at the words "beet" and "cake" placed next to each other. It looked better than I expected and Dave liked it. I love how all their dishes are so intricately presented.
Dessert #2: Nanaimo bar custard -- vanilla custard with chocolate ganache, coconut and pecans. I had this because I LOVE chocolate. However, I did not anticipate this to appear in a jar like baby food. I was thinking of more like an actual Nanaimo bar but this surprised me. The chilled chocolate was smooth but had little chunks of coconut and pecans which gave it a nice crunch. The vanilla custard took me by surprise. I don't really like custard by itself but this one won me over. It was not overly rich but velvety enough that it kept me digging my spoon in for more.
Dessert #3: Baked apple dumpling with vanilla ice cream in a shot glass. What can I say? This has got to be the winner of the night. Apple pie done up in a different way: apple filling wrapped up in crust like a little parcel, baked to perfection and topped with cinnamon sugar. Can it get any better? And we all know stone-cold vanilla ice cream is the perfect companion to fresh, warm apple pie.
I was jealous of those who got this for dessert and almost sent back my Nanaimo bar custard in exchange for this apple pie goodness. Thankfully, Karen and Vanessa were stuffed and kindly offered me some of their pies. The flaky crust was buttery and crisp, the apple filling was not too sweet and it was all just a wonderful medley in my mouth.
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It was a great dinner with fellow colleagues over drinks and good food. The food portions were generous, but the service fell a little short. I felt rushed the whole time whenever we had food on the table.
The waitress came by every 10 minutes and asked if we were done with our food. In a setting like this, I thought she could have been more considerate and let us savour and enjoy our food while chatting. I believe we would have been able to finish more of the food if she had let us take our time. Sadly, a lot of food was wasted that night simply due to the large portions and lack of time.
I would definitely come back again to The Oakwood for their poutine and apple dumpling! Definitely my top two favourites for the night!
The Oakwood Canadian Bistro is located at 2741 West 4th Ave., Vancouver, B.C.
♥ Nikki
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