Dine Out #3 at Gramercy Grill, a date night with Mr. We chose this place because they offer 4 options for appetizers and desserts, and 6 options for entrees. Some cost extra, but we like options!
Food
To start, I ordered Trio of Oysters. I thought it was a nice way to start given that it’s not another beet salad or squash soup (haha!). I got three decent size Chefs Creek Oysters, meaty with a light, clean finish.
Mr. ordered the Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio. It’s not a huge plate but just enough meat to whet your appetite. The meat itself was lacking some flavour so the aioli helped.
For entrees, I paid an extra $4 to order the Pan Seared Duck Breast. The skin was soooo crispy, one of the best duck breast skin I’ve had. That said, it was a bit too salty so I had to take points off. The meat was cooked just right with a touch of pink. The balsamic vinegar & orange reduction wasn’t rich and luscious as I originally expected, but its slight tartness and sweetness worked quite well with the duck. Found it strange to see a couple pieces of Shanghai bok choy on the plate. haha.
Mr. had to pay $6 to get his Baby Back Ribs. He was choosing between this or the Veal Milanese but the server said hands down the ribs. And there was a generous portion of ribs! They were tender, meat fell right off the bone, very nicely done. The tomato-based barbeque sauce was good but Mr. wished there was more sauce. The few bites with lots of sauce tasted really good; the rest was on the bland side for him. The blue cheese macaroni was only just OK. They didn’t want to over-power the dish with the pungent blue cheese, but then the macaroni suffered from the lack of cheese-goodness.
I didn’t go for my usual chocolate option, but ordered the Lemon Tart. I liked it. The tart, combined with the berry coulis, had the right amount of tartness that made you squint just a little bit (some would make the lemon custard sweet, go figure!).
Mr. chose the Pecan Pie. It was nice, sweet finish to his meal, with a good ratio of pie crust to filling. I found it just a bit too sweet for me, though.
Service
It wasn’t super busy on a Monday evening, despite it’s Dine Out time. Overall the service was efficient; our server was very friendly and helpful.
Final Thoughts
While there’s no major flaws in any of the dishes, we weren’t wowed by any of them either. The plates definitely lack some flare, and we weren’t sure if the entrees were worth the extra few bucks. I won’t necessarily stop you from going but I wouldn’t recommend it either.
Gramercy Grill
2685 Arbutus Street, Vancouver
www.gramercygrill.ca
604-730-5666
VanFoodies.com 