The Victor

39 Smithe Street
Vancouver, BC

Once upon a time, the Dine Out Vancouver event was a much anticipated foodie festival for cash-strapped diners after the winter holiday season. However, from a price point of $15, $25, and $35 for a 3-course meal, it has now become $20, $30 and $40.

A couple years ago, before the prices became what they are now, I visited 3 or 4 different restaurants during the festival! Now, I've reduced to one restaurant. If it wasn't due to the inclusion of some hot new restaurants, I don't think I would have attended any DOV restaurants this year!

The lone DOV restaurant that I visited for 2018 was The Victor. Located on Parq's 6th floor roof top terrace, this new kid on the block features a contemporary menu inspired by West Coast seasonal ingredients like fresh seafood and specialty steaks.

Complimentary bread with creamed butter

Armed with my dining partners, W and K-chan, we ordered off the DOV menu with the intention to share. We were first presented with a complimentary platter of freshly baked bread with creamy butter.

 Belgian and Red Endive - apples, medjool dates, marcona almonds, goat cheese, sherry-tarragon vinaigrette

Even though I'm allergic to apples, I wanted to try the salad as one of our starters. Aside from the sliced apples, which I did not eat, everything else was really good! I especially liked the medjool dates because they were sweet and sticky, contrasting well with the crisp and slightly bitter endive greens.

 Lobster and Crab Bisque - crab salad, gruyere toast

W and K-chan both opted for the soup for the first course. It was presented to our table with a bit of flair and also a bit of disappointment. Why? Well, the 2 soup bowls were placed on the table empty, save for a few pieces of lobster and crab meat. The server then came by with 1 small glass pitcher filled with the hot bisque (think the size of a small 8 oz. wine carafe). We thought that 1 tiny pitcher would be for 1 bowl....turns out, that 1 pitcher was split between the 2 bowls!!! I think our mouths kind of gaped open when the server finished pouring LOL... Don't get me wrong, the bisque was silky smooth and rich, one of the best seafood bisques I've sipped on. We would have loved the serving size to be a tad more substantial?

Saffron Risotto - arborio rice, foraged mushrooms, truffle oil, parmesan reggiano, pickled vegetables

The saffron risotto was one of the three entrees we ordered. Thick, creamy, savoury, fragrant, al dente...these were the words that popped into my head as I spooned the rice into my mouth. Once in a while, the pieces of pickled carrots would brighten my palate and refresh my taste buds, readying my mouth for another spoonful of the delectable rice!! So so good!

West Coast Salmon - jamon iberico crust, roasted cipollini onions, kale, peruvian aji amarillo chili sauce

 

Our second entree was the salmon crusted with iberico ham "crumbs". Salmon can be pretty difficult to cook well since the meatier side of the fillet can be cooked just right while the thinner side is over cooked. This was the case here but the salty and crispy crust made up for its shortcomings.

Sirloin Cap - mashed potatoes, peppercorn sauce

Last entree of the night - the sirloin cap steak. I think this was my least favourite dish as I thought the meat was not as tender as I thought it would be. However, overall, the pungent peppercorn sauce, the creamy mashed potatoes and the sweet roasted root veggies rounded out the plate nicely.

 Eton Mess - raspberry, banana, vanilla, custard, sponge cake, cream & meringue

 

Taking one for the team, I ordered the Eton (written as "Eaten" on their menu) Mess for some variety on the dessert front. Both W and K-chan were not interested in this option. Since it's named "mess", it really was a jumble of ingredients in the bowl. The "mess" came across as a bit dry (perhaps not enough custard for my liking) and light in flavour so I wasn't very fond of this dessert.

 Chocolate Mousse - dark chocolate cake crumble

The chocolate mousse, on the other hand, was rich, thick and creamy. While K-chan thought the mousse was great, I found the chocolatey-ness of the mousse kind of monotonous. The bottom of the cup had some dark chocolate brownie-like cake to provide some textural respite from the abundant mousse. However, it was just the same flavour profile again. There needed to be something to contrast all that chocolate!

For $40, the quality of food and service at The Victor was pretty worth it. Even though prices have gone up over the years, I still like taking the opportunity to try restaurants that I normally would not consider. At this location, we even got to take in the views from the awesome roof top terrace and experience the new Parq casino! A good end to the night!