Goodbye Chartwell and Garden Terrace; Hello Yew, which can now be anointed as officially cool and swanky
Mia Stainsby
Sun
Executive Chef Rafael Gonzalez displays hamachi tuna nicoise at the Yew restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel. Photograph by : Stuart Davis, Vancouver Sun
So, there he was: Elvis Costello in the flesh in his trademark black rim glasses. His radius of interest stayed fixed on the gorgeous Diana Krall, immune to heart poundings and worshipping glances from passerbys such as myself.
The dining room at Vancouver‘s Four Seasons Hotel can now been anointed as officially cool. And that is a first. The swanky new digs replaces two-outdated restaurants, Chartwell and Garden Terrace, which had been paralyzed in the blue-rinse era.
Walking into this $4-million beauty was like the “reveal” in Extreme Makeover. It’s modern but warm, expansive yet intimate. Neutral earth tones, an oversized communal maple slab table, warm woods and sandstone fireplace help. The private dining room is something of a conceit. It’s smack in the middle of the room and the glass walls offer little visual privacy.
Staff seem to have taken a youth serum, shedding a couple of decades from former days; and are their orange and brown uniform a riff on A&W?
The name, Yew, is a conversational minefield. (Hostess answers the phone and it sounds like “Good evening, you!” or “Have you checked out you?” )
Not to be forgotten, the food has had an extreme makeover, too. Rafael Gonzalez, who was hired about a year ago, has overhauled the previously conservative, lacklustre menu in step with the sophisticated, contemporary room, and he’s finally strutting his stuff.
Before coming to Four Season Vancouver, he was executive sous at Four Seasons New York and a sous at Jean Georges, one of the top restaurants in New York. He’s doing The Four Season proud, attracting a new breed of CEOs and expense accounts.
But one can actually dine modestly by choosing the right dishes. Three pasta dishes (including an incredible black truffle mac and cheese) are $18 to $27. Or one might snack from the Raw Bar or appy menu in the gorgeous lounge. Meat and fish dishes are $29 to $35 and there’s a variety of sharing plates for two.
Wine lovers will be happy to learn that staff will open any bottle as long as a minimum of two glasses are ordered and that includes champagne. There’s also a half-bottle list for lone diners.
Gonzalez describes the food as “urban West Coast,” noting that West Coast diners are much more committed to local food and like to eat lighter meals than New Yorkers. The menu, however, gives only a nod to local suppliers and there’s no indication where the salmon, pork, chicken, etc. are from for concerned West Coast diners.
But my partner and I both enjoyed our meals there. Tuna tartar with tiny cubes of bosc pear was a safe but tasty starter, as were the lobster/mango roll and parsnip/coconut soup; two flat filets of cedar-smoked mackerel arrived on cedar “paper” with maple roasted onion.
Entrée highlights were a gorgeous roasted pork chop with crisp pork belly; an expensive seared Japanese red snapper (tai, $35), which is denser than local snapper, came with a smoked clam chowder; the black truffle mac-and-cheese was intoxicating but I would have appreciated a little salad or contrast on the side as relief from the creamy richness. Slow-braised lamb was fork-tender and served with a very light jus and potato/onion terrine.
For dessert, I’d highly recommend the whipped Morello cherry cheesecake, a deconstructed dessert. The Morello-soaked cherries are, I think, delivered from heaven. Warm apple doughnuts with apple sauce and hot apple cider and “cinnamon bun” ice cream was whimsical and fun.
Whether you go for a drink and a light snack in the lounge (like Costello and Krall) or a full-out meal, Yew’ll be pleasantly surprised.
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YEW
Overall: 4
Food: 4 1/2
Service: 4 1/2
Ambience: 5
Price $$$
Four Seasons Hotel, 791 West Georgia St., 604-692-4939, www.fourseasons.com/vancouver. Open daily for breakfast, lunch, dinner; brunch on Sunday.
Restaurant visits are conducted anonymously and interviews are done by phone. Restaurants are rated out of five stars.
© The Vancouver Sun 2008
