For four weeks only, there is a pop-up cocktail bar tucked away at Hotel Belmont in Downtown Vancouver. Until March 1, you will find the Frost & Fable Pop-up on Fridays and Saturdays. Inspired by an ice cave bar experience, this pop-up serves up unique, interesting cocktails that are paired with an elevated bar bite menu. I had the pleasure to preview this pop-up with Mr., so let me tell you more about it.
First of all, the space is actually quite intimate, dimly lit with an ice motif along the walls and roughly 20 seats around the bar. The overall black and blue interior adds a layer of cool, mysterious vibe to it.
In terms of food, the menu is headed by Chef William Lew, who’s the Director, Food & Beverage Division, of Pacific Reach, the company that manages Hotel Belmont and a few other properties in Vancouver. Chef Lew is also an ambassador for Ocean Wise and Chinese Restaurant Awards, and is often seen collaborating with local food makers. Case in point, I learned that the bite menu here uses the MAMAintheKitchen chili oil, and we saw owner Sharon help out at the preview as well.
The cocktail menu is divided into three sections: Refreshing, Bold, and Indulgent. Refreshing for light, crisp, perhaps citrusy notes; Bold with deep, complex, spiced flavours; and Indulgent in creamy, decadent texture and taste. The bar team created these cocktails specifically for the dishes featured in this pop-up bite menu.
At this preview, we sampled six items on the menu. Pictured here is of tasting size, but we were told the Tuna Tartare and Calamari are pretty close to the actual portion size, just for your reference.
For the cold dishes, I really liked the combination of flavours on the Oysters. The fresh oysters were dressed with pomelo, honey yuja citrus mignonette, kumquats and ginger, plus ikura. The presentation was fun and elegant, and the bite was refreshing and had a lot of texture. Next, it was the Prawn Cocktail. It’s simple but done well. The use of wasabi in the cocktail sauce gave it a subtle punch.
Then, it was the Tuna Tartare. To Mr., it was the best tuna tartare he’s ever had. And it’s definitely up there for me as well. It’s creamy and well seasoned, and I loved the hint of Asian flavour in the chili oil and the use of taro chips.
These cold bites were perfectly paired with the Hatsukari cocktail (Botanist Gin, Luxardo Maraschino, Kumquat, Toasted Rice Syrup, Japanese Plum Wine, Fresh Lemon, Burnt Pomelo). I’m a sucker for citrusy cocktails and this was very good and easy drinking. It’s refreshing, with plenty of citrus notes from the kumquat and charred pomelo peel (also bonus point for using kumquat because of my company name).
Onto the warm dishes, we had Fire Torched Fried Chicken. On the menu it’s listed as table-side fire torched, but it wasn’t the case at this preview. We only got to sample a couple of pieces of the fried chicken, but let me tell you, they were juicy and flavourful, and I liked the duck fat chili caramel glaze. The other warm dish was Calamari. Thin strips of calamari were crispy, not overly dressed by the aioli. I would’ve liked a bit less batter to squid, but it’s a good dish overall.
With the two warm bites, we got to try the Firebrand Marg (Cabbage-Infused Mezcal, Grand Marnier, Black Tea Agave Syrup, Fresh Lime, Smoked Salt). It’s their smokey take on a margarita and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
They have sweet bites on the menu, but we had liquid dessert instead. The Viridis Velvet (Matcha + Irish Whiskey Infused Cream, Licor 43, Lavender Bitters, Strawberries, Rose Petals) was essentially a boozy matcha strawberry latte. It’s rich and creamy, definitely an indulgence and perfect as a sweet finish to our tasting.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I liked the presentation and the taste of the food and they have Chef Lew’s stamp all over it. The cocktails were fun and tasty, and I liked all the various glassware. In chatting with Chef Lew, this is meant to be one of the many exciting changes to Hotel Belmont and The Living Room. With the limited seating, if you are interested in checking out Frost & Fable, you should reserve your time slot soon so you won’t miss out!
Frost & Fable at Hotel Belmont
654 Nelson Street, Vancouver
https://www.the-livingroom.ca/
VanFoodies.com 
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