Dine Out Vancouver Festival 2015 - The Butcher and Bollock

The Butcher and Bollock was my last restaurant during the festival, and I went with my coworkers. Located downtown on Pender St, they offered an $18 menu that was definitely worth every penny!

Scotch egg - organic egg with pork sausage.

Braised pork belly with sour cream mashed potatoes, spinach and apple cider jus.

Banana and caramel strudel with walnuts and vanilla bean ice cream. They forgot the caramel on mine :(

We had a rather large party and it was definitely a fun place to go for drinks, games and good food. Everyone was so full from the pork belly (all that fat, mmm) that we had trouble finishing the dessert!

Dine Out Vancouver Festival 2015 - Reflect Social Dining

J and I took the family to Reflect at the Hilton in Burnaby. I wasn't even aware that this dining lounge existed, but the $28 menu looked pretty tasty so I thought I would try it out!

A bread basket to start, with flatbread and baguette.

Brome lake duck confit with baby frisee, pickled radish, fingerling potato salad and pommery mustard vinaigrette.

Squash bisque with coconut kaffir lime creme.

Trio of seafood paupiette. It came wrapped up in parchment paper...

And opened to this: tiger prawn, ling cod, salmon with root vegetables

Red deer elk osso bucco with andouille sasauge, atomic baby glazed carrots, wilted kale and cranberry confiture.

White chocolate mango mousse cake with a medley of seasonal pearls.

Peanut butter chocolate crunch with Nutella and raspberry coulis.

This menu was definitely worth the $28 and my whole family thoroughly enjoyed it! (I thought dessert was the best part). Definitely check out Reflect if you're looking for some West Coast fare!

Dine Out Vancouver Festival 2015 - Cork and Fin

With the end of the Dine Out Vancouver Festival coming to an end, I thought I'd share some photos from the restaurants I went to! There was definitely some good food to be had, and I'll be looking for the 2016 festival!

The first restaurant I went to was Cork and Fin. Located in the heart of Gastown just outside the entrance of Blood Alley, this restaurant offers fresh seafood and a quaint little place to dine. For the Dine Out Festival, they offered a 3-courses of savoury dishes, for $28.

Lobster bisque - brandied apples, charred scallions.

Smoked ricotta croquette with spiced tomtato jam, leeks, potato.

Octopus and chorizo, with salsa roja, toasted brioche.

Arctic char with gnocchi and edamame.

Flank steak with confit potato, braised purple cabbage (+$3).

I thought the food was good, though some was a bit burnt. The service was a bit slow, and my friend wasn't satisfied with the portion size so we ended up going to another (two) restaurants for more food and dessert. Cork and Fin might be a good place to go for oysters during their happy hour, where they offer 2-for-1 oysters!