Secret Location Tasting Room - "Revealing" the Secret

So I thought it's finally the time to post after months of living the suburban life.

Since my mom and I do not visit downtown often, this time we decided to focus on the

food part.

I've heard about Secret Location since its opening in 2012.

According to their words, it is the first concept store in Vancouver, which includes a Secret Boutique (owner Carey Melnichuk's collections of designer goodies from all over the world) and a SL Tasting Room.

Unlike the other restaurants, SL does not have its name written in big fonts. It took me some time to find the blue and white label of "one water street", its real address.

When I went it was quite dark outside, so I'll leave it up to you to explore the beautiful interior designs of the restaurant ;)

 We were greeted immediately by our server of the night. There is only about 3 servers in total, but all are highly trained and knows exactly what they are doing, from introducing the ingredients used in the dish to serving techniques.

Complimentary Appetizer: Sturgeon Marrow Amuse-Bouche

Yes, it's fish bone marrow. The server listed all the ingredients in details and said that this dish was meant to "stimulate the taste buds". My mom and I both did not realize what we were  eating at first, but the three layers of sauces definitely refreshed our palates. 5 star :3

Complimentary Buns and Breadsticks dipped in Olive Oil

Usually I don't comment on the bread/complimentary stuff at a Restaurant but these carefully baked buns are simply toasted to perfection. The cornflower flavour was succesfully brought out and paired perfectly with the dipping oil. We were also allowed seconds as well.  

Chef's Creation ($32)

I can't recall the exact name of the dish (the server said it super fast and the name was super long) but the dish includes a piece of applewood-smoked pork tenderloin with edible pine wood shredding and edible mud (mud and wood? trust me, they taste a lot better than what they sound like). On the side are seven different mushroom species sautéed to magnify their taste (For fungi lovers like me, this is like a mini heaven) and fresh greens.

Forbidden Love ($12)
My mom, one who really isn't a fan of desserts and dislikes sweets, finished the whole plate (the first time I've seen her finish a whole plate of desserts). As Romantic as it sounds, this dish is simply a tonka bean rice pudding with coconut meringue, dried frozen coconut chunks, purple sticky rice, huckleberry confit and rum gelee (A coconut-centered dish that coconut crumpet  might like? ;) ) 

Fall Dessert Feature ($12)

Red pears interpreted in four ways with lemon and almond, edible cornflowers, praline ice cream and edible apple tree bark (trust me I was only a tree-eater last night) and dried pear powder.


A dessert is considered to be a "true dessert" when the flavour can be brought out to the maximum potential by the ingredients instead of  relying on using the sugar to create sweetness. SL has demonstrated the statement perfectly with  its focus on details and creativity on the uses of ingredients.

The only part I was a little disappointed about was that their infamous CRONUTS (and pastries) are only available before 5PM (and often sold out). Will definitely go back for brunch sometime.

As for portions, many may think that their food is way too overpriced for the portion, but if you're currently weight-conscious and don't feel like eating a guilty dinner while in downtown,  this is probably the perfect place to stimulate your tastebuds. Also, their food somehow has the magic to convince you that every part of it is worth the price.