The Fish Shack

The Fish Shack in Downtown Vancouver

It's been too long since I've had a proper brunch; time to drag my family out to Downtown for some runny poached egg goodness!

Lunch and Brunch menus + fresh sheet

After an immense amount of time spent looking through essentially every single brunch menu in the Downtown-y side of Greater Vancouver, I settled on The Fish Shack. It's cheap, the menu items are unique, and it just so happens to be a walkable distance from where all my relatives live (I got to visit my cousin's new baby boy!! Gaahhhh~~~) I actually called the restaurant about an hour or two before my visit to make a reservation, but that wasn't necessary. Even on a Saturday at noon, the restaurant was only about, say, a quarter full? Enough people to convince me that it's a safe place to eat, but with no wait. 

Interior of The Fish Shack facing Granville Street

To begin, I really like the interior of this restaurant. It's casual, chill, yet still put together. There is half a second level that I think would be an awesome place to hang out with some friends. The decor has a very suitable fisherman-esque theme. There is a tiny area for outdoor seating where there are heaters for the chiller days, like when I visited. There wasn't any loud, annoying music blaring through the restaurant. It's a very family friendly spot too. So far, so good.

Water in mason jars

We were seated promptly and provided with menus and water in mason jars. My parents giggled at the fact their water cups resembled mini versions of the cups at Hong Kong-style cafes. The menus can be viewed on their website; I really appreciate it when restaurants have their full menu (with prices and updated items) online.

The waiters and waitresses here are very casual, like the joking type. Our waiter was very efficient and provided us with good advice on the menu and delivered swiftly. The only small complaint I have about the service here is when I called in, the girl that answered the phone spoke too casually. Instead of politely being asked to repeat my phone number, all I got was a rude "What?" So I was taken aback by the sudden harsh tone.

Fish & Chips lunch box with Manhattan (top) and New England (bottom) Clam Chowder

On to the food. My dad and brother ordered a fish and chips lunch box each. It comes with one large piece of fish (probably cod), some fries, coleslaw, and their choice of chowder. The red chowder is Manhattan and the white chowder is New England. The Manhattan was too watery and not flavourful. The New England was creamier but still not as thick as we prefer our chowders. However, there was a good amount of whole clams in the soup. The fries were soft and almost soggy; my dad did not finish his. The coleslaw is typical and tastes good. The fish is fried very crispy and golden, but I would rather the piece of fish be thicker but shorter in length. That way each bite is more meaty instead of just tasting fried batter. For a restaurant that pride's itself in their fish, this fish and chips dish was not phenomenal enough to blow me away. It was rather...average.

Fish and Chips Benedict

My mom got the fish and chips benny from the brunch menu. Their benedicts are really unconventional, and I like 'em! The fish pieces were fried beautifully and the eggs poached soft and runny. The potatoes on the side are AMAZING; crispy on the outside, soft and mushy on the inside. Perfectly seasoned. Gotta bring my best friend here just for the potatoes. The side of fruit is a nice touch and a clean way to end a heavy meal. The benedicts are probably the best items on the brunch menu. Can't go wrong.

Corn Bread Hash

Sorry about the blurry photo, evidently I was too hungry at this point to have any more patience.

I ordered the Corn Bread Hash, which sounded very different and I was attracted to the corn bread part, because I have a love for corn bread, specially Sweet Tomatoes'. When this came, no joke, my jaw just dropped to the floor. It was massive. Served in a medium sauce pan (yeah, not even a small sauce pan), this was pure carbohydrate overload. There were cut up pieces of prawn (not those measly baby shrimp) and slices of sausage mixed in with the cubes of corn bread. Chopped tomato was present too, except I don't think it did much to the dish besides release all its water and make everything soggy. Not visible in the photo, but the same roasted potatoes that accompanied the benedict lines the entire bottom of this cast iron pot. As if there wasn't already cups and cups and cups of corn bread to fill me up. The two small eggs were poached soft, although slightly on the more well done side of runny. When served, the corn bread still had some crunch to it, but by the end of my devouring, everything had begun to get soft and mushy. This was a fun dish, but I don't think I'll be ordering it again anytime soon as it was just way too much food and it wasn't super "WOW".

Time to dig into brunch!

The brunch items at The Fish Shack are a really good deal. For under $10 a entree, the food is prepared well, creatively planned, and taste is good. I would come for brunch again and order the benedicts. Thumbs up for brunch! 

For Twitter users, tweet #hookitandcookit plus your table number (which to be honest, I couldn't find) and see what surprise you get! I didn't have data service on my phone so I couldn't test this out... boohoo!

Why I don't have a boyfriend

Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

Twisted Fork Bistro

Twisted Fork Bistro on Granville Street

While vising my aunt in Downtown Vancouver, she took us on a private walking tour around Burrard and Davie street. As it was almost noon, it made sense to also find some place to eat lunch. Twisted Fork Bistro was a lot closer than I thought so I suggested to try their brunch. It's been on my wishlist for a looong time!
 
Currently, Twisted Fork Bistro serves brunch every day of the week instead of lunch. I have no complaints as breakfast is the best meal of the day. Since the restaurant doesn't take reservations and I hear there are often long line ups, I prepared my mind to wait a for food. However, there was no line up trailing out the door and we were seated within five minutes. I guess because it's a Monday and many business people are at work. The man that greeted us was very enthusiastic, smile-y, and chatty; I love it when people's personalities lightens the atmosphere. 

Brunch Menu

After being handed the menu and the waitress serving us drinks, we decided to share three dishes among four people. At first I wasn't sure if the servings were that large but let's just say I'm so glad we only ordered three. The menu isn't extremely vast but everything sounds really good! Most look like a very balanced meal with lots of wholesome foods like eggs and vegetables. The 'twisted fork' that decorates the clipboard is really cute too~ 

Seating and Wall of Canned Goods

If you're looking for a quick lunch, this is not the place to go. The food took a really long time to come. I didn't time exactly how long but even while chatting with my family and examining the interior, it felt like a long time. This isn't too big of a bad thing for me since I do appreciate having some time to really enjoy being at the restaurant.

We were seated at the very last table. There are roughly ten or so tables in the entire restaurant, which, in addition with the long wait for food, creates long wait times (if there is one). The restaurant has dim lighting, it was only bright when we were there due to the natural sunlight coming in from the opposite side of the restaurant. During dinner the dark lighting probably creates a 'expensive French restaurant' type feel.

The wall of canned goods is right outside the bathroom near our table. Some of the jams are sold for $8 a jar while others were labeled for restaurant use such as "for cheese platter" or "for scallops". It's very neat that they can their own ingredients!

Bacon Fritatta

When the food finally arrived, it arrived all at once. Heated plates of large portions.