VanFoodies.com

Since the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver renovated the ground floor restaurant space, naming it Notch8 Restaurant, I’ve been wanting to eat there. I really like the big light fixture in the middle of the restaurant (in case you forgot, I’m often fascinated by lights!) and it just looks like a huge upgrade/improvement from what it was before. Then, without much hesitation, I made a reservation there for Dine Out.

Priced at $40, Notch8’s menu was intriguing and interesting. The menu has items or ingredient combinations that you don’t often see on a Dine Out menu, or they have some unique way of preparing the usual ingredients, so I was quite excited going into it.

Food

The dinner was off to a good start. I was immediately blown away by how pretty my appetizer was. Look at this Savoury Macaron! Caviar, smoked salmon, scallop mousse, roe…all sitting on a piece of slightly sweet, slightly chewy macaron cookie. There was a good balance of sweet and savoury, and umami flavours from the seafood. It’s so pretty!!

It was a bit puzzling to us why they would serve the Forest Mushroom Tart on such a big plate, but I guess having negative space on a plate is also a thing. The tart was not bad. It’s earthy, with a hint of sweetness from the elderberry. The tart shell was a bit too hard for our liking. It’s a celebration of winter mushrooms.

The Maple Ash Ling Cod doesn’t look appetizing but it was full of seafood wonders. The ling cod was cooked quite nicely and it was a decent portion. Nicely crusted on the outside and flaky inside. The maple ash exterior didn’t do much for me, though, as I couldn’t really taste it. The king crab bisque was rich and flavourful – you could really taste the crab. It would’ve been nice if they gave us a spoon to eat it with. The seaweed crisp added some texture contrast to the dish.

The portion size of the Braised Wagyu Shortrib was a bit more substantial as there was a bed of red wheat berries. The meat was tender, tenderer than regular beef shortrib, and the sauce was sweet and tart. Oh the slice of truffle just made it slightly bit more luxurious!

For dessert, there’s just one option. It’s a Brie Walnut Ice Cream – it’s rich and creamy, but I couldn’t taste the brie. Of course, brie itself is not a very pungent cheese so the flavour was probably quite subtle. I really liked the crunch of the nut wafer, although it became a bit too sweet after a few bites. It helped to have the black currant gelee and fingerlime curd to balance the sweetness. It’s a sweet ending to our dinner.

Final Thoughts

The portion size here wasn’t very big, but I thought it was just enough to feel full and not stuffed. Perhaps the men in your life would want to order the Beef Shortrib so it would be more filling. I thought it was good value for a $40 menu. Both Ling Cod and Beef Shortrib were solid choice for entree, and I liked that the ingredient combinations were more interesting than most other DOV menus. I would suggest getting Savoury Macaron + Maple Ash Ling Cod.

Notch8 Restaurant & Bar – The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver
900 West Georgia Street, Vancouver
604-684-3131
notch8-dining.com