Tag Archives: tapas

El Matador

Click to add a blog post for El Matador on ZomatoSheepie surprised me with this new find in North Vancouver near Lonsdale Quay. A very small restaurant-bar but with character. Our server was very friendly and patient with our questions regarding the Spanish dishes that we were both unfamiliar with.

We started off with complimentary olives, which were firm and tasty, with a hint of spiciness.

idearabbit-elmatador9idearabbit-elmatador8idearabbit-elmatador1 idearabbit-elmatador2idearabbit-elmatador4Garbanzo Salad $5 was mostly chick peas and raw onions. The strong bitter taste of the onion took over everything else which made it a bit hard to eat it. Sheepie didn’t like it at all, so I had almost all of it to myself. I would not order this again, even though I like these kinds of dishes.

idearabbit-elmatador5Spicy Fried Potatoes $5. Wedges in spicy sauce, though I didn’t find the sauce to be spicy one bit. The sour cream and green onions on top added to the flavour.

idearabbit-elmatador3Crab Taps $7 was flavourful.

idearabbit-elmatador7Chorizo Tapa $7 Not much meat, and the flavour was unmemorable.

idearabbit-elmatador6Shallot and Crimini Stuffed Mushrooms $5 Tasty, and the mushrooms not soggy.

Service was very good and we enjoyed the food and atmosphere. Great location near the Lonsdale Quay.

 Taste: carrotcarrotcarrot    Price for Value: carrotcarrotcarrot

Atmosphere:  carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot   Service:  carrotcarrotcarrot
Location: carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot

 

Zest

Zest Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato To celebrate my birthday, I invited all my close friends to Zest – a Japanese fine dining restaurant. Indeed, with white table cloth, wine glass on the table, if was not your regular $6 for combo sushi restaurant.

I ordered the Tuna in Three Ways $18. It has 3 kinds of tuna appetizers:
-Albacore tuna& avocado w/nori soy sauce
-Big eye tuna tataki w/mizore Ponzu
-Big eye tuna carpaccio with soy mustard onion dressing

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I am usually good with understanding Japanese-English, but I couldn’t really catch what my server was saying when she explained my dish to me…The flavours were very refreshing, and some interesting. As you can see in the photo, you can probably guess that it was not enough to fill me up. It was more like an appetizer.

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One of my friend ordered some nigiri: Hotate (scallop from Hokkaido, Japan) $4 a piace and Ikura (salmon roe) $ 3.80 a piece. For some reason her order came very last, and not without asking the servers for them. The restaurant wasn’t really full nor busy, so there shouldn’t be any excuses. Everyone was done when hers finally came. Bummer.

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Other than that hiccup, the dining experience was nice. The sound ambiance wasn’t too silent that you had to whisper , nor loud in some Guu-like restaurants where you’d have to shout to those sitting next to you. The interior didn’t seem that super high end, but the food was good.
Quantity on the other hand was perhaps some of our problems. I wasn’t too hungry since we had eaten some cake and dessert before hand.

I’d like to go again and try other dishes on the menu.

Food Taste: carrotcarrotcarrot     Price for Value: carrotcarrot

Atmosphere: carrotcarrotcarrot   Service: carrotcarrotcarrot
Location: carrotcarrot