When I found out that The Sequel Kitchen & Bar in Coal Harbour is the sister restaurant of The Story Cafe in Richmond, I was delighted about their choice of name. You know, the sequel to the story?! Clever! Truth be told, I’ve never been to The Story Cafe before but have heard good things about it. I figured The Sequel will have to live up to its sister’s reputation, and we should have a wonderful meal there.
And that led to a date night with Mr. at The Sequel on a Tuesday night, just before Dine Out Vancouver. The Sequel opened its doors in mid-December 2024, taking over the spot where once Nox, an Italian restaurant, was. They kept a lot of the interior components, so customers of Nox may find it familiar, but it’s beautiful all the same.
Food
For starters, we shared some warm Bacon Jam. The cast iron pan was piping hot, with a layer of housemade bacon jam, a slice of melted brie and toasted baguette. You can taste bacon and onion, which was balanced with a prominent note of what I think is balsamic vinegar. I was worried the bacon jam would be very rich and greasy, but the acidity of the vinegar cut right through it. It was a rather big portion of bacon jam as a starter for one person, so I would suggest ordering this to share. And perhaps asking for extra baguette pieces because I didn’t think it was enough.
The second starter was the Foie Gras, and what a luxurious plate! Usually you get a dainty slice of foie gras, but this was a generous 3oz. The richness of the pan-seared foie was balanced by the sweetness of caramelized apples and the freshness of fig pieces. This was very enjoyable and I thought at $24 it’s reasonably priced.
For entree, we were sent the Beef Wellington and Linguine Seafood. If you follow me on Instagram, you would’ve seen my video about making a vegetarian wellington over the holidays, inspired by a Top Chef: World All-Stars episode that I recently watched, so I was quite excited to try the Beef Wellington here. The beef tenderloin was cooked to a beautiful medium rare! It was tender and flavourful. The pastry was crispy and buttery, even though the look was lacking a little bit. They even did a good job on the side vegetables (trust me, a lot of restaurants put out boring vegetables on the side). Not many Vancouver restaurants make beef wellingtons, so this was a treat. (Yes, I’m aware of THE beef wellington coming to Vancouver but its price tag is also a bit steep for most pockets.)
Seafood linguine is a staple item at a lot of west coast restaurants, and it could be quite boring, but I liked The Sequel’s version here. The Linguine Seafood had honey mussels (farmed in BC, so bonus point!), prawns, and wild salmon. I’m quite picky about getting salmon at restaurants because they could be overcooked and dry, but here it was moist and not fishy. And I really liked how the tomato sauce tasted; it had so much tomato flavour! Solid dish.
Perfect to finish the date night, our dessert was one for sharing as well. The CrĂªpes Suzette FlambĂª was a dessert and a show, because the flaming Grand Marnier was poured on table-side (and our gooseberry was lit on fire for a brief second hehe). The crepes were sandwiching sliced banana, whipped cream and vanilla ice cream. It was a great sweet finish to our dinner!
Cocktails
Usually Mr. and I order wine with our dinners, but lately we’ve been more intrigued by the cocktail menu at restaurants. And it’s the same here. Mr. was immediately sold when he saw Fawlty Sour, inspired by the 70s British sitcom Fawlty Towers, on the menu because he loves the show. It uses the Nocino from Driftwood Spirits, and you can taste a hint of basil as a nod to the hotelier in the show.
We also tried the Cucumber Castle Old Fashioned, Cabanagroni and the Diablo Noir. The Cucumber Castle Old Fashioned was a refreshing take on the classic; it’s lighter on the palate with a note of cucumber. The Cabanagroni was very smooth; I’m not usually a Negroni girl but I would drink this one. And lastly, the Diablo Noir was their take on a Moscow Mule but with tequila and spices, and I enjoyed the heat and the big pile of lime zest on top. Overall, I appreciate their own take on the classic cocktails, and I would totally order the Cucumber Castle Old Fashioned and Diablo Noir again. I heard they will launch a new food and cocktail menu in the spring so I look forward to seeing what they’re going to come up with. Hopefully some creative cocktails that are their own.
Final Thoughts
Mr. and I thoroughly enjoyed our dinner at The Sequel. There were no surprises but everything was solid and well executed. Considering they are located in Downtown Vancouver, in Coal Harbour, right on West Georgia Street, their prices are quite reasonable. And the portion size is substantial. Don’t go in expecting dainty dishes! I hope they are going to do well at this location. Their brunch menu also looks interesting, so Mr. and I were talking about coming here for brunch then taking our bikes for a ride around the seawall in the summer.
The Sequel – Kitchen & Bar
1575 W Georgia Street, Vancouver
thesequel.ca
Disclaimer: This meal was complimentary but the opinions are entirely my own.
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