President of trendy mega-chain recently purchased West Vancouver’s Steamworks Village Taphouse
Mia Stainsby
Sun
Patrons enjoyu a drink in front of the fireplace at Steamworks Village Taphouse in Park Royal in West Vancouver. The Cactus Club has bought the restaurant, so it is no longer related to the Steamworks restaurant in Gastown.
Ribs served at Steamworks Village Taphouse in Park Royal in West Vancouver.
STEAMWORKS VILLAGE TAPHOUSE
Overall: 3 1/2
Food: 3 1/2
Ambience: 3 1/2
Service: 3 1/2
Price: $$
900 Main St., Village at Park Royal, West Vancouver.
604-922-8882.
www.villagetaphouse.com.
Open seven days a week, 11 a.m. to midnight.
Restaurant visits are conducted anonymously and interviews are done by phone. Restaurants are rated out of five stars.
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Cactus Club is one of the casually chic chain restaurants, a B.C. specialty. And since the 19th Cactus Club, a $6.5-million flagship, just opened at Dunsmuir and Burrard, you’d think company president Richard Jaffray would be sleepless in Vancouver.
An avid surfer, he likes his thrills. A few months ago, he added an extra something to his platter, buying out Steamworks in West Vancouver at the Village at Park Royal. Since the sign still says Steamworks, I was unaware of the ownership change until my neighbour said she’d had a couple of very nice meals there, so I went to check it out.
The new name, despite the sign, is Steamworks Village Taphouse. (I don’t understand why they didn’t completely dissociate.)
On both visits, I was impressed with the thoughtful and cheerful service for a casual, pub-style restaurant. When a mistake was made (server forgot to put in an order), they comped the late-arriving appetizer.
When I got high maintenance on them (“I don’t like these high chairs. Can we move?”), they stayed good-natured and gave us a booth for six, although that might have been passive aggressive.
When I asked too many questions, they’d ask the chef and actually returned with answers.
I was surprised at how busy it was, considering the south side of Park Royal devotes an inordinate amount of real estate to restaurants competing for a similar market — Cactus Club, Milestones, Brown’s Social House, The Keg, the White Spot.
Jaffray says it’s one of Cactus Club’s best locations, to the point where customers complain about lineups. His thinking was, if they’re turning people away, they’ll recoup them at Taphouse.
Prices are similar to Cactus Club and the menu has a similar feel. Appies are $6.75 to $17 (the latter is for nachos, which seems out-of-the-ballpark pricey, no matter how big). Categories of the main action are steaks and mains; casuals (halibut and chips, Hunan noodle bowl, mussels); burgers and sandwiches; pizzas.
These entrée-size dishes range from $11.50 to $30 for a triple-A filet mignon. Chef Darren Clay (who’s been with the Cactus Club chain for two years) has worked in Asia, so there are some Asian touches (a nice wuntun soup, for instance).
On my first visit, I had some lovely dishes. The West Coast seafood chowder featured very fresh salmon, halibut, clams, mussels and a fresh spot prawn or two. It was a great chowder with a cream base.
The salmon that my neighbour originally recommended was very good. (Cactus Club restaurants are members of the Ocean Wise sustainable seafood program and Jaffray is an adviser on the Vancouver Aquarium-sponsored program. Since wild salmon runs are iffy this year, the company uses steelhead trout, a member of the salmon family.)
A burger (with cheddar, double-smoked bacon, red pepper relish) stood tall and proud with lots of flavour.
On a subsequent visit, I tried the roast chicken with pancetta tucked under the skin, turbo-charging the meat with flavour; the chicken, I think, was brined because it was very juicy.
However, the Cortez Island mussels in stout beer (with caramelized onions, roasted garlic) drifted into bitterness, not only from the stout but the garlic as well. Devout fans of stout might see it as a positive but I didn’t think it worked. And our pizza needed character. It was flat and chewy and lacked that rustic quality.
Calamari didn’t distinguish itself and neither did Caesar salad. It seems if you order right, you get some very nice meals.
Wines are nearly all new worlds; as well, there’s a nice list of single malts and tequila.
Village Taphouse is a warmly handsome room with brown leather couches, dark woods, central fireplace. Whenever I’ve been there, it’s been busy with a healthy mix of customers — seniors, couples, families, guy tables, girly tables or tables with eyes glued to hockey.
© The Vancouver Sun 2008
