Raincity Grill, Denman St., Vancouver

                           

Ahoy,

This past Sunday, it was time to enjoy a walk along english bay, and of course, indulge our favourite food: Fish and Chips! Raincity grill is located at a prime location right by the water on the end of Denman. Although traditionally known as an upscale restaurant with a healthy wine list, they have cleverly opened a take-out window open right to the street.


The Fish: Sustainable Halibut which was cooked perfectly. The key for a nice halibut is ensuring the naturally firm white meat of the fish can still maintain a flaky and juicy texture, allowing the mild flavours to shine. Raincity grill achieves this. A light, crisp beer batter couple with house made tartar sauce makes this fish one of the top in Vancouver. - 9.75/10

The Chips: This is a tricky result. The fries are certainly more 'restaurant' fries over 'fish and chips' style fries. I find the main difference is the skinniness, thus leading to more crisp burger style fries. In this case, they were still hand cut and I was not complaining. Beautifully fried. - 8.75/10

The Venue/Presentation: Raincity Grill has cleverly set up a take-out window, specifically for fish and chips, right onto the street where one can casually order. This is a brilliant idea as it sets up for a perfect pick up location to have a picnic right on the water at English Bay. Further, Raincity Grill has selected to use all fully bio-degradable containers and cutlery. I could not as for a more perfect setting and a more 'vancouver' thing to do. -9.75/10

The price: $12 for Halibut and Chips - an amazing deal. (note: this price goes up if eaten in the restaurant).

The overall verdict: 9.42/10 - This has always been a staple on my fish and chips rounds during the summer. It is always a great day to spend by the beach and enjoying a perfect piece of fried fish. I have no complaints on this experience and would recommend anyone to try!

- Abigail the Connoisseur (with help from Matthew)

Pajo's Fish and Chips - Gates Park, Port Coquitlam

Ahoy,

About a week ago, I had the pleasure of enjoying a beautifully sunny day with the day off of work. Lucky me, a chance to try the legendary Pajo's Fish and Chips. Pajo's has won numerous local media awards and highlights as the "best fish and chips" in the lower mainland. They have 4 locations and on this day, I ventured to their location at Gates Park in Port Coquitlam.

The fish: I had a 'small' order of Cod which includes 1.5 pieces of fish as displayed above. There is a reason this joint has year over year won local best fish and chips awards. The fish was fresh. The fish was soft and almost melted in your mouth. The batter was thin, crisp, and did not take anything away from the taste of the fresh cod. If anything, the batter somehow managed to enhance the cod flavour. With or without tartar sauce, this was an enjoyable piece of fish. - 9.5/10

The chips: The chips were exactly what they were supposed to be. A nice compliment to the fish. Hand cut. Crisp. Not an overwhelming amount where your belly gets far to full. Nothing funky. They tasted simply like a fried potato fry which is exactly what I want from my chips. - 9/10

The venue/presentation: This particular location was located nestled in the centre of a large city park with baseball diamonds, soccer fields etc... I think this is a very uniquely situated location perfect for the park and city. I am well aware the three other locations are set right by the water and will be sure the visit them as the summer gets into full swing. The food itself was just the right portion. I believe it takes away from the experience when too many fries or coleslaw is provided which makes you uncomfortably fool, or feel bad for having to throw it away. With that said, I found the paper/cardboard cone the food is provided in to be very awkward. It was near impossible to use utensils properly, which made me at times to pick up the fish like a chicken strip and eat with hands. - 8.5/10

The price: 1.5 piece cod meal - $9.99.

The overall verdict: 9/10 - Overall, the core of what Pajo's is about is their food. They had very friendly down to earth service. The food was exactly what I expected it to be - and that was very tasty! I will certainly be visiting another location of Pajo's before this years end, so consider this to be part one of their review. I know the food will be just as great.

Website: http://www.pajos.com/


- Matthew and Abigail the Connoisseur

C-Lovers Fish and Chips - Pine Tree, Coquitlam

                                                             2 piece halibut and chips

                                                             1 piece cod and chips

Ahoy,

Today was a lazy rainy sunday in Vancouver, perfect to work up an appetite and head over to a local fish and chips joint: C-Lovers fish and chips. C-Lovers is a chain restaurant which claims to have "the best fish and chips in town" on the website. I visited their Coquitlam location.

The Fish: Their menu states their fish is "thinly battered" and this could not be more true. Their batter was light, crisp, and perfect. It was as if the batter blended right into the fish and I couldn't tell where one started and the other ended. Both the cod and halibut were exceptional. I truly noticed they used fresh fish which remained juicy and tasty even after the frying. I could tell the oil was clean and fresh as they highlight this with their open concept kitchen. - 9.5/10

The Chips: Something left me unsettled with the chips. They seemed unseasoned whatsoever, they were squished and soggy, and lacked any character. Somehow, C-Lovers even managed to rob the potato of the potato flavour. - 6/10

The Venue/Presentation: This particular location is located in a plaza in the suburban Coquitlam setting. I believe these types of fish and chips joints are a staple in their industry (in addition to the classic by the water setting). There is a friendly no-frills approach to the restaurant with friendly service, and presentation as if I was being served by my mom at home. This has a nice "homey" feel to it. - 9/10

The Price: 2 piece halibut meal -$19.49, 1 piece cod meal: $9.49 (notice they gave a free piece of cod).

The overall verdict: 8.17/10 - Overall I had a very pleasant experience at C-Lovers Fish and Chips. Again, with friendly service and atmosphere, and delicious fish, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this fish and chips spot to any other striving connoisseur out there! Unfortunately, the only thing from holding C-Lovers back from being the top spot in this city is the lack of any flavour in their chips.

- Abigail the Connoisseur

Go Fish Ocean Emporium - Granville Island, Vancouver

Ahoy,

Today was a beautiful sunny day in Vancouver so I decided to head for another stroll on Granville Island. It is finally time to review the ever famous Go Fish fish and chips located in a parking lot on the wharf.

The fish: I tried both the halibut and cod fish. They have a home-made beer batter using the local Granville Island beer. The fish is also locally bought. I found the fish to be average. The cod was a little over cooked which was noticed as the juicy fishiness of it was absent, and it was actually rather dry. I had no complaint's about the halibut, it was just an enjoyable piece of fish. - 7/10.

The chips: Perfectly salted, light, crispy chips. No need to say more. - 9/10.

The venue/presentation: This unique location on a wharf just off of Granville Island is wonderful. It is a perfect setting for a stroll along false creek and afternoon lunch. There is no doubt the atmosphere contributes to the idea of the fish and chips tasting better than they actually are. Unfortunately, this pleasant back drop was horrendously balanced against a VERY long wait (20 minutes) to order the fish, and a LONGER (30+ minutes) wait to receive your fish. Further, the staff are rude and unpleasant. Yes Go Fish staff, you are running a highly successful business, but there is no need to be conceited and rude to fellow Vancouverites. - 4/10

The price: 2 piece cod, 1 piece halibut, 1 chips, 1 salmon tacone was over $30.

The overall verdict: 6.66/10 - It was a bit pricey, but I was shocked that the highly praised Go Fish could ruin a beautiful Vancouver Sunday afternoon experience with their attitudes. The food was average, but the backdrop made up for this.

- Abigail the Connoisseur