The Refinery

For Vancouver Dine Out this year, my friends and I headed to the Refinery on Granville St. for their $18 dinner course. 

First up, I decided on the Beef Carpaccio as my appetizer. It was my first time trying carpaccio and I was surprised to see just how paper thin the slices of beef were. I personally enjoy beef in more substantial quantities, just sayin'.

Here, my boyfriend ordered the Tuna Tartare with sesame paste, lime and garlic chips. The chunks of tuna went pretty well with the paste and I enjoyed this more than the carpaccio that I chose for myself.

Next, the entrée! My boyfriend went with the Pork Tenderloin served with espresso and guinness jus and a side of granny smith pomme puree. I had a bite to try and found the pork to be dry and tasteless but the puree was alright.

For myself, I went with the Pan Seared Artic Char. This was also accompanied with a side of fennel and potato hash, frissee and pistachio vin. While I didn't enjoy either sides, the artic char was okay as it wasn't dry.

To finish off, I ordered the Flourless Chocolate Cake for dessert. The cake was a bit hard on the outside but overall, it was pretty yummy. I mean, who doesn't love chocolate?

My boyfriend ordered the Tartain Crumble, which consisted of granny smith apple, salted caramel and shortbread crumble. This was basically apple sauce topped with crumble. Not bad!

To sum it up, I felt like the meal was $18 for a reason. It wasn't downright terrible but I wasn't too impressed either. In any case, none of us were full yet after our dinner so we made our way to McDonald's to end the night.