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Last week, prix fixe menus of Dine Out Vancouver 2019 were revealed. With that, I was invited to a menu preview at a few restaurants on Granville Island. One of which was The Sandbar Seafood Restaurant.

Sandbar offers a $35 Dine Out menu, with a couple of entree options that you can upgrade with $10 extra. For the menu preview tasting, we were shown a full-size portion for photos, and then canape-size for tasting. Therefore, what you see below is what you will get, but what I tasted may not be the best representation of the dish as I only had a small portion of it.

Food

There are three appetizers to choose from:
Sablefish Croquette – The croquette was mostly potato with some flakes of sablefish. The miso ailoi had a hint of lemon. The pickled fennel on top brought a good amount of acidity.

Beet & Arugula Salad – A classic combination of beet, arugula and goat cheese, with a fig balsamic vinaigrette. You can’t go wrong with that.

Clam Chowder – My favourite appetizer here. It was creamy, it was rich, and it was hearty.

The little portion I had had a lot of clams – but I suspect the amount of clams varies from bowl to bowl.

The $35 menu comes with the following entree options:
Cioppino – To my disappointment, we didn’t get to try this. It should have prawns, mussels, clams, cod and snow crab. If the chowder was any indication, this should be a tasty dish.

7 oz Prime New York Striploin – The meat was tender and flavourful. The seasoning on the outside seemed simple but it was effective.

Sapa Rau Bowl – Vegetarian entree option on the menu. Unfortunately we also didn’t get to try this.

As mentioned, for $10 extra, you could substitute your entree with one of the following:
Crab Crusted BC Lingcod – The crab meat crust was crispy at the top. The lingcod was meaty yet flaky. I would consider upgrading to this entree.

Sesame Crusted Albacore Tuna – The tuna was seared to a perfect temperature. However, I thought this plate was lacking some carbs and was too little for $10 extra.

For desserts, there are also three options.
Seasonal Sorbet – This was not available for tasting, but the other two options are much more appealing. This would be a good dairy-free option.
Chocolate Truffle Cake – This was rich, decadent. There’s raspberry sauce to cut through the richness.

Buttermilk Panna Cotta – There’s a tang in the panna cotta. It’s also lighter than cream-based panna cotta. I really like the berry compote at the top, as well as the crumble for some texture.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the menu wasn’t super inspiring, but the dishes were well executed. The plating was also basic. Based on what I tried, I would suggest to order Clam Chowder + New York Striploin + Chocolate Truffle Cake. If you are not a chocolate fan, the Panna Cotta was also a good choice. And if you feel like spending some more, you should consider getting the Lingcod.

Disclosure: This tasting was provided to me complimentary of the restaurant. However, the views and opinions are my own.

The Sandbar Seafood Restaurant
1535 Johnston Street, Vancouver
604-669-9030
vancouverdine.com/sandbar