Michelle Hopkins
Sun
Tapenade Mediterranean Bistro owner Vincent Morlet (left), chef Alex Tung and head server Tina Merces. Photograph by : Peter Battistoni, Vancouver Sun
From the outside, the low-key, understated awning belies what is awaiting within. Tapenade Mediterranean Bistro offers many dishes on par with the haute cuisine of any high-end Vancouver restaurants — but at neighbourhood prices.
Walk through the doors of this Steveston establishment and most likely owner Vincent Morlet will greet you.
Not only is the service welcoming, but the room has a soothing ambience with European-style decor. Sporting an appealing redesigned interior, the chic bar has been painted a wonderfully warm raspberry wine colour and the walls are adorned with photography of everyday life by local artist David Crocker.
Executive chef Alex Tung blends together French techniques with typically West Coast, fresh, seasonal ingredients, and the results are far more stunning than is normally mustered by your average neighbourhood bistro.
The winter menu consists of hot and cold small plates with some new, innovative entrees. If tapas is all you desire, you can choose from five mouth-watering dishes such as the salmon and halibut rillette, in a medley of sweet lemon coulis, olive oil and sea salt crostini or the baby artichoke hearts in saffron and grainy mustard vinaigrette.
My partner, Dennis, and I went for the full meal. I started off with a strip loin salad, carpaccio style. It was an organic green salad with artichokes and gorgeous, silky beef marinated in a Burgandy vinegar caramel sauce. Dennis went for the mouthwatering Alaskan sea scallops swimming in a Chablis and tomato broth.
While sharing a fabulous bottle of B.C. VQA Kettle Valley 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon, I savoured every morsel of my escalope of pork tenderloin sauteed in chevre cheese and lemon pan sauce that sat on a bed of mashed potatoes.
Dennis chose one of the restaurant’s signature dishes, the braised beef short ribs with a celeriac and apple puree, Bordeaux and juniper berry jus. A stand out, the meat simply fell off the bone — a wonderful exercise in flavour and texture.
The portions are small, but so intensely flavourful that a larger serving might have been overkill.
Tung, who whipped together ideas for a winter-inspired menu, has received only accolades for his creations.
“The feedback has been great; it’s comfort food,” Morlet says. “We are doing it in an upscale way but it evokes the thoughts of the season.”
Think of the classic French elements like the Coq Au Vine — a real palate pleaser — but the chef adds his own creative twist to it.
“Alex still approaches it using Burgundy wine and spices from the region, but what he does is debone the leg and wrap it with pancetta,” says Morley.
Tung’s philosophy towards food involves preparing simple, elegant food cooked with honed technique and passion.
For you wine aficionados, delight in the well-thought-out wine list featuring a 100-plus selection with a strong focus on California, B.C. and France. Morlet and his head server Sarah Hansby, who is well versed in fine wine, put it together.
The cozy, warm elegant restaurant seats 72 inside and during the summer visit the heated patio, which seats 70. Reservations are recommended.
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TAPENADE MEDITERRANEAN BISTRO
3711 Bayview St., Steveston
604-275-5188, www.tapenade.ca
Winter hours: Tuesday-Friday lunch 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dinner from 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday lunch/brunch from 11 a.m., dinner from 5 p.m.
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
