Oakwood Canadian Bistro (Kitslano)

A while ago, R brought this place to my attention as one of the brunch choices. Since then, I’ve been keeping an eye on Oakwood. Coincidentally, it’s part of Dine Out Vancouver so I knew we would definitely have to come.

Located on W. 4^th at Kitslano, it’s just right opposite to the popular Naam restaurant. Apparently it was a busy night for them as we were only able to secure an early evening spot on a Saturday. The entire restaurant was a bit cozier than I thought. Right after we sat down, our server came and went over the dine out menu with us. Everything looked delicious and I was glad I came with a group of people!

Albacore Tuna with Charred Crostini

The albacore tuna was topped with white bean puree and placed in a jar. It has a very refreshing taste where mint and lemon were involved. The crispiness of crostini was a simple yet direct contrast of the tuna and white bean puree. It was a good portion where we still got quite a bit of tuna despite we finished all three pieces of crostini.

Pork Ravioli

The pork ravioli was larger than we thought. Served with apple wasabi butter and radish sprout, it has a rather light taste and dense texture.

Smoked Cheddar and Cauliflower Soup

This was my appy – a perfect match with the cold weather outside. The tomato foam added in a little acidity into the soup, which was a welcome depth. And the thyme croutons were quite a compliment for the soup itself. I thought it was a tad salty but Greeny really enjoyed it.

Sous Vide Lamb Shank

The lamb shank was nicely garnished with tomato nage, honey roast carrots and a bed of confit garlic mash. It seemed to me that the mash potato was baked after it was mashed. The lamb shank was very flavourful and super tender.

Maple Smoked Sable Fish

Alongside the sable fish were cod brandade croquettes, pea puree, and patty pans. At first, I thought there were two types of pea puree. In fact, it was the patty pans right beside the pea puree. The sable fish was very soft and juicy whereas the croquette gave a different level of texture – crispy and dense.

16oz Ribeye Steak

The 16oz ribeye steak was an additional $10 with the dine out menu. However, we all thought it was totally worth it. We had the steak done to medium and it was pretty much like that even toward the bone. The parsnip puree gave out sweet taste which was in contrast with the steak. It felt like the steak was grilled on charcoal as the outside had a pleasant grilled taste. The inside was juicy, tender and flavour – really nothing much to complain about. Oh – and did I mention it came with fried sprout and chanterelles? Just delish!

Apple Crumple

This apply crumple consists of gala and granny smith, crumble, and vanilla Bavarian. We thought the vanilla Bavarian could be a little bigger as the apple crumble was quite sweet without it. Still, I liked how the cinnamon taste wasn’t too overwhelming in this. Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t be able to finish it.

Nanaimo Bar Custard

This was completely out of my expectation in many ways. At least, I thought it was just your regular Nanaimo bar with a bit more garnishment. Completely not the case! It was vanilla custard in a jar, topped with coconut walnut ganache – simulating what would have been a Nanaimo bar. The custard itself was extremely smooth yet not overly rich. The coconut walnut ganache gave a good balance to the custard, and also a different depth offered by the crunchiness of walnut. Very well one~

Honestly, it was quite a dine out experience. All the items we had were splendid – whether it is the executive, presentation, or taste. Despite having to add $10 for the steak, it was completely worth the value. Greeny had personally complemented the steak being his favourite in Vancouver so far, and I agree. We also received great service from our server, which made the whole dining experience complete. I would highly recommend putting it as one of your dine out options to check out. And I’m sure we will be back again.