r.tl

It seems like there has been a change in ownership. The service was disjointed and the new staff seem a bit aloof.
RTL use to have good cocktails but a change in bartendar has taking a turn for the worst. Quality has suffered. When you are paying $ 12 a drink you expect a good drink.
Price of the food was average. My date was a vegetarian and the kitcken was inflexible.
I have dined out many places and the chef are usually pretty accomodating. Their menu lack a vegetarian section.
Since the change in owners the quality and dining experience has gone down.

I had decided to give up on DOV after disappointing experiences prior to this year’s event, but thought I’d give it one more shot with r. tl’s enticing menu. Verdict: I’ll be steering clear of any restaurant participating in DOV in the future.
Many of the items on the menu had additional charges on top of the fixed price of $ 28 (why not just raise the price to $ 38?)
I ordered the tomato and burrata salad, the fessenjoon chicken, and the affogato for dessert. The salad with basalmic vinaigrette was refreshing, and the burrata cheese, which I had never tried before, was quite yummy. However, I’m not a huge fan of mesclun greens so I left most of this dish untouched. The fessenjoon chicken with walnuts was extremely dry, and the «rice pilaf» was just white rice which was not cooked properly: it was hard and dry. This dish was again served with more greens and the same vinaigrette as my first dish. The affogato was the only saving grace of the meal, but a scoop of vanilla ice cream with espresso poured over top is pretty hard to mess up.
The drinks were quite pricey, but I had a sip of my friend’s red wine sangria with ginger and it was very good, with enough ginger in it to taste it but it didn’t overpower the drink.
I also sampled some steak and crab cake from my friend’s dishes and again was not impressed. The steak was probably a cheaper cut than what was claimed on the menu.
It’s a cute restaurant, and the servers were very nice and friendly, however I probably will not be coming back to this restaurant. The only thing I wish I could’ve tried was the mushroom risotto.

3.5 stars. I’d be back if I had another Groupon, but not worth full price.
Ambiance: ³⁄₅ — Great décor, but a small place with no room between the tables. Nothing spectacular or applicable for a romantic dinner.
Service: ⁴⁄₅ — We decided to eat at the bar (which almost no one does). The bartender was amazing. Extremely helpful in recommending wines and food pairings. She had a full restaurant to make drinks for but still made time to converse with us and make sure we were happy.
Food: 3.5÷5 — Mussels were fantastic. The surf and turf was good but the steak was a bit overcooked.
Drinks: ⁴⁄₅ — Very good and large wine list and reasonable prices. Great $ 7 red blend from Italy. Cocktail list had some unique options but we did not try them.

Went last night with a groupon for $ 80 of food. We had the set menu for 2. The mushroom truffle oil risotto was really really good, best risotto I’ve ever had. The thai green mussels were also quite good, but not enough broth.
Everything else was disappointing. The AAA steak was chewy… it was cooked well, but just a cheap cut of meat. The green beans as a side were meh, not that much flavour.
For dessert it was this pistachio ice creamy thing. Two big scoops, and actually really good. I’m persian and asked the waiter about it and he said he got it from this persian guy in north van… oh the cliché.
Drinks were so good! I had a gin gin mule, it was gin and mint and ginger ale or something of the like, delicious. The wines were alright too, but could tell they were overpriced more than usual.
The waiter was amazing, really really nice guy, chatted a bit without it feeling forced, knew the menu super well, checked on us frequently.
Service: ⁵⁄₅
The food itself, given the prices: ²⁄₅
For drinks: ⁴⁄₅
Atmosphere: ⁴⁄₅

Like other Unilocalers, my employer selected RTL as the venue for our Holiday Bash. I was involved in the planning process, and I can say that the communication between us and RTL was impeccable. We opted for a raw/​sushi/​oyster bar and appetizers as opposed to a full sit down dinner as we were ensured the volume of food proposed would be plenty. The proposed menu and cocktail list was excellent, and I was quite excited to gorge on the raw bar and chocolate fountain!
Now, let’s get down to the nitty-​gritty, shall we!
As our party began to trickle in, (there was about 55 – 60 of us total) our jackets were taken by the front of house staff and to the bar we went! This is where my first critique comes in: even though RTL can seat at least 60 people during a dinner or lunch service, their bar staff WAS NOT prepared for the volume that was our party. Not saying we are alchies or anything… But they were fully aware of the size of our party and obviously not prepared. Another issue I had right off the bat was the food! There weren’t any appies ready for the group, but we were advised they would start circulating at 5pm. Hm.
Around 5:30 the appies started coming out of the kitchen, much to my displeasure, they were TINY! You’d think that they would load up the trays given the portion sizes, but nope… Each tray only had about 6 – 10 pieces on it of each item. The quality was there, but each item was barely a mouthful and definitely not enough to counter act all the booze that was going down. Not only that, the front of house girls who were taking coats as we arrived were now doubling as servers. The combination of the food coming out super slow and the inexperienced serving job meant that the tables closest to the kitchen were devouring whole trays of food before any of it made its way to the rest of the group. Minus stars here.
The raw bar was excellent as well, but my above complaints are echoed here as well. The sushi was constantly running low, while some items seemed to sit as they weren’t being eaten and the person shucking oysters was doing it AT the raw bar in the middle of our party… I know table side shucking is normal practice for a raw bar, but it was very awkward due to the size/​layout of RTL. As the night went on, we continued to nibble. The chocolate fountain and fruit was brought out as things started to mellow out, and honestly, I had one bite. By this point, my belly was too full of wine to be interested in solids. The lights were slightly lowered, the tunes were cranked and they practically had to kick us out at 1am!
In short, the food was good and the venue was the perfect size/​location for our group. I will not deny that. However, the size and volume of the edibles was not enough to sustain a large group of alcohol imbibing adults. Thank god we had taxi vouchers, that’s ALL I’m gonna say!

Wow I would hate to try and open a restaurant in Yaletown these days… so many choices.
Do you remember those old TV commercials «more bugger than bun?»
Well if this place had a commercial it would be «lots~o~plate, little food”(look at the pictures!
I know where this idea comes from. rizzy Chi-​Chi joints that charge us an arm and a leg for 50 grams of pan fried somethingalmostexstinct drizzled in something
That is not this place
We went to R. TL for Taste of Yaletown, so they were offering to «fixed priced» menu’s
My wife had the duck Con-​fit, and although we were there early (6ish) Her duck was overcooked — «duck-​jerky»
I had the lamb shank, usually a safe order but again for 6ish Friday I was expecting fresher and not overcooked/​dried out.
In Vancouver, and especially Yaletown you gotta bring your «A Game» every night even or especially charity events.
The host/​waiter did not even appear to be shocked or disappointed, that we were disappointed,
and well that is … disappointing

The food at R.T.L was pretty good but not outstanding as it should be for the price. They have very little vegetarian options but they substituted their seafood linguine for an off menu pasta with tons of fresh veggies in it which scored big points with me. Dessert was great, we had Tiramisu gelato and a very rich chocolate terrine.
We found out after ordering our coupon wasn’t valid on the set price menu and we would be charged more. After my boyfriends meal arrived cold we they decided to give us the set price without the extra cost.
All of the courses came very far apart and there was at least a half wait between when we finished one course and received the other which made it a 2 hr experience. They quickly fixed the issue with the cold meal and fairly compensated unlike most restaurants.
I was alright for the amount we paid but has be paid the $ 90 value I would not have been so impressed by the long waits, a socially awkward server and the cold meal.

We went with the Goodnews coupon for a meal that was worth $ 110. While we did get 5 courses of shared plates, we didn’t feel that they really showcased anything. There was no leeway in the menu options (thankfully we aren’t vegetarians but if we were, the only course to eat would have been dessert.) Also, the first two plates had the same mixed baby green salad on them. It was clearly the same Spring Mix I could buy at any grocery store. The main items in the plate were good but not astounding. Usually when you go to a restaurant with small servings it at least looks pretty. Nothing overly impressive.
The wines were great especially as a wine flight. And the dessert was the highlight. Very good chocolate.
Over all we didn’t come away feeling like we had experienced anything. The dumplings were ok; the bread boring (and $ 6 extra) the pâté was basically a meatloaf; and the duck was overwhelmed by the other things on the plate.
The server was good and definitely did keep our waters full but when we told her we had a coupon and that we also weren’t going to have anything else to drink other than the wine flight, the look in her face wasn’t hidden very well. Though she was very helpful when we had a question about the scallops we received.
Though we didn’t pay full price for the meals, it seems like it would be a better plan to «wow» people with the deal AND food so that they come back again and pay full price. I don’t think we will be those people.

Food was great. My wife and I split 6 plates for our anniversary. I’ll rank them all to help anyone who’s got Unilocal in one hand, and the menu in the other.
Oak Barrel Smoked Duck
— Great, very smoky and moist, looks like small strips of brown un-​cooked bacon (flavour — 8.5)
Parisian Gnocchi
— a nice crispy change to the more meaty, saucy dishes we had. Good for dipping into the other dishes sauces as well. (flavour — 6.5)
Mushroom & truffle risotto
— Super awesome. Truffle oil? How can you go wrong. It’s a pretty filling dish too. (flavour — 9.5)
Mococcan Stewed Quail
— imagine 4 little tiny chicken thighs, served in a jus with some diced fig. (flavour — 7)
Prawns piri piri
— Nice and spicy. I’d say 6 of them. I was a fan but it was a little hot for my wife (flavour –8)
Cajun Crab & Prawn Fritters
— Ennh… the 2 crab cakes were decent and crispy, but flavour wise nothing compared to the other dishes we had. (flavour — 6)
We also had a couple of cocktails. Some gin, gingerbeer, lime juice and mint concoction. It was very good. I recommend it too.

is one of those places I really really want to like but cant see myself return to. That’s a shame.
We ordered the pre-​fix that allowed us to share an appy and a desert, and an entrée each.
Got the mussels in a spicy chipotle broth — the mussels were excellent, however the broth was very ordinary. They said it came with cilantro — but all we tasted was basil — and I do not like to be conned of my herbs!
For the entrée we got the Osso Buco and the striploin steak. The Osso Buco was excellent and I highly recommend it. It came with some pasta and was really falling off the bone. So Good.
The steak was a little chewy and not something I would order again.
Shared the crème brûlée — which was actually very good.
Have to give props to our waitress — she was knowledgeable and very attentive.
Really like the ambiance here — it is quite, romantic and probably a good place to grab a bottle of wine and an appy. But with so many choices not sure I am inclined to return.

It was so quiet in
coz Canucks game 7 tonight. It wasn’t my choice coz I read the most reviews were below ok. however, my girl friend picked and wanted to try it out.
I found the menu selection was not much and the food we had not really worth it. The worst thing was we waited for 45 mins to get our appetizers and another 30 mins to get the steak!
We ordered 2 appetizers to share and had same entrée.
Mushroom and truffle risotto — it was good but not impressed at all.
Crab cake — ok too.
5oz Beef striploin — it was quite chewy and tasted like marinated.
We didn’t bother to get the dessert coz we might need to wait for awhile.

Not impressed for the price we paid. Though the placehad a nice trendy ambience and our server was sweet and nice, these couldn’t make up for what the food lacked.
The wine guys knew his stuff, I’ll give him that. I asked for certain characteristics and was made a recommendation that was great.
But the food wasn’t anything special and really lacked consistency! Let’s start off with the following comments from our table:
Mussels — a couple of us ordered this and it looked good the first go around. But the next one came out with ¼ the broth. When we asked for more broth cuz the mussels were all dry and in fact cold, we got a tiiiiny little bowl and needed to ask that they make more. A couple of excuses we got was they didn’t make enough broth, followed by they ran out of mussels. Don’t they typically make orders by the order and not in bulk???
Crab cakes — small and bland for $ 15 and salad wirh browning leaves with barely a hint of dressing… not worth it.
Lobster bisque– needed more pepper. But strangely there was no salt/​pepper shakers in sight! Maybe a touch of basil could have made it something more. The lobster may not have been cut right cuz of fibers that kept getting stuck in the teeth.
Steak — with potatos and brussels sprouts. Decent taste but poor preso! The sauce was sloppy and the veggie looked like it was plopped on like a greasy spoon cafeteria
Dumplings — nothing special for $ 11. Better to get them at any dim sum place
Crème brûlée — was so watery, drippy and even slight cold. I’m a big dessert person, but I was giving it a no-​go!
I don’t know if I“d give this place another chance. ONLY maybe if i’m ever in the area again and wanted to test out other wines but I’ll still try other places first and dis-​recommend this joint.

From the outside façade, coupled with the general feel/​reputation of Yaletown, I expected this restaurant to be decorated with very modern, clean lines; A very posh lounge. Past that sliding door, however, you’re treated to a very intimate den. About 60% rustic, 40% Yaletown Modern, if that makes sense. A mixture of books, bricks and furniture that looks like it’s from Nood. The low ceiling and dim lighting made it feel like an underground/​basement lounge.
It was a rather quiet night, as our reservations were fairly early (7:30pm on a Monday night), and the service was amazing. Our server was friendly, attentive, without being overbearing. I asked her what she would suggest as a fresh and sweet cocktail and she brought me their «Coco Caipiroska», which was a deliciously sweet coconut, lime juice & vodka drink.
As for the rest of the meal, collectively, we had the wedge salad, mushroom risotto, pork terrine, surf & turf, chocolate terrine and cheese platter.
To be very blunt, the dishes were decent. They were cooked well, plated nicely and obviously tasted delicious. However, I felt they lacked a lot of originality. I don’t feel that any of the dishes we had, we couldn’t get elsewhere. In fact, the «turf» portion of my meal, was largely distracting. The green peppercorn sauce tasted a tad bizarre and overpowered everything else on the plate. But perhaps that’s more my personal prefences, and not the folly of the chef. I think there was a Hollandaise on my lobster and that, too, was distracting.
The desserts were okay as well. The chocolate terrine was bold and decadent, however my «cheese selection» was not anything special. A wedge of brie, some crostini, and some dried apricots, raisins and walnuts. Something I could have ziplock bagged for a picnic. Disappointing.
It’s a lovely venue, with great service and decent food, but I’m not so sure I’d go back. I’m certain that what we experienced last night was not worth the $ 100+ bill, and this was for Dine-​Out!

A review of r. tl’s Dine-​out menu:
The quinoa salad was a great combination of the grain and some vegetables that gave the dish a crunch and some colour for the palette. The mix of peppers with the creamy avocado was delightful.
The lambchops at medium rare were cooked to perfection. Ever so soft and delicious, for any meat fans, this dish is a must have. The jerk chicken looked amazing in its description and in its presentation, but as someone who does not like spicy food this one was a no-​go.
The dessert was just the right size — a small baked chocolate mousse type. Just small enough to give me a hint of sweetness without too many calories.
I found the staff to be attentive and courteous;sometimes this can be a concern when attending prix fixe dinners because the staff knows the bill is limited and so is the tip. I believe we were waited on by the proprietor at times, making sure our water glasses were filled and answering all our questions about the meal.

This really deserves 3.5 stars.
Ambiance: Really nice, warm vibe. Something you’d expect to be Yaletown. Cool Mirrors on the the walls, and fire lighting in the window display.
Service: Attentive wait staff and sommelier.
Food: Pretty good but then again, we got a voucher from a friend so we only paid tax and tip. The wine was amazing but other than that, the food was tasty but forgettable. For our appetizer, we had the chipotle mussels which were good but the wine reduction was quite strong. My bf had the trout as his main but when it arrived, the fish selection was salmon. We didn’t complain since he likes salmon better anyway but it would have been nice to hear that there had been a change in the menu. With potatoes and capers, it was a solid tasting dish but nothing overly creative. I had the veal sambucco and while the meat was excellently cooked, the accompanying pasta was bland and incredibly boring. For dessert we had the baked apple crisp which was also quite delicious but nothing creative or unique.
All in all, not a bad dining experience and the food was alright but

RTL is cozy and intimate and serves up some good food. Have to agree, avoids the pretentiousness of some other Yaletown spots.
Went here on a Saturday night and had a great 2 hour dinner with my boyfriend. We started out with drinks, and my cocktail was great — some sort of gin/​chai concoction. I would probably go back just for the drink. The appetizer of chesse and eggplant was delicious even though I don’t usually go for eggplant. For my main I went with the trout, which was melt in mouth. Dessert was baked apple which was good, but nothing to write home about. Service was very nice, and the owner was very nice to give us some of his cooking secrets!
We sat at the window which was right by the outdoor flame décor they have, very entertaining to watch people stiick their hands in the flames.
Overall a delightful evening, and I would go back.

Missed the Elite event here a while back, but heard good things so decided to check it out. So glad I did!
Service was excellent. Knowledgeable about the wine as well as the menu, gracious, friendly, accommodating and not overbearing; more restaurants in Vancouver should take note and follow suit. The servers and staff made a good experience even better.
On to the food… mmmmmmmm. The chef’s share plate is a helluva deal! Salmon ceviche, smoked duck, warm olives, greens, panko breaded prawns and braised pork belly; all excellently executed in generous portions on a plate for two (or more) and at a steal of a price point. I am still full and already craving more of the braeburn apple gastrique served with the pork.
Normal shares/​entrees are priced typical for Yaletown. You know what you are getting into the moment you step in the neighbourhood (so no whining!). The chef’s share plate and the shellfish bowl *are* good deals though, and you definitely get your money’s worth.
Decent wine list (lots of selections available by the glass as well as flights) and a fun cocktail list. Sadly did not get to try the infamous pisco sour, but will CERTAINLY be going back to try it and sample the rotating menu.

A Tango-​style Unilocal event was hosted here. Service was friendly. The wine from Desert Hills was good (the 2005 Bordeau especially). The shrimp with a white sauce on it was delicious. Crab cakes weren’t bad. Beef was cooked properly. The highlight was definitely the feautured drink, Pisco, made from a South American brandy. There were tango lessons and a show! It was fun and a great experience overall. I can see myself going here again. Though I wouldn’t recommend the tango lessons, the show is definitely worth a watch!

Taste of Yaletown gave me a good opportunity to try restaurants along the area which I wouldn’t think of going anytime soon.
was a hit and a miss.
The name of the restaurant brilliantly explains it’s structure — regional tasting lounge — which tries to enhance repeat interest in patronizing the place by offering dishes from any 3 regions around the world at a time in minute sampling size.
That night it was Basque, Morocco and Coastal BC cuisine.
HIT:
1. Appie:
— «Pan Seared Chermoula Prawns» which had a good underlying sweet taste coupled with a refreshing cucumber mint salad.
— «Bacalhau Cod Fritters» were perfectly fried with it’s crispy outer texture and tender codfish. The dipping sauce could have been more creative than your regular pepper aioli.
— «Spicy Baque Style Beef Meatballs» was covered with a tomato-​pepper sauce known as piperade. Again, the beef meatballs were soft and tender. But the sauce didn’t really give much more taste than simply throw me back into thinking they were, well, just another meatball dish.
2. Main:
— «6oz Flat Iron Steak». The highlight of this dish were the sides. I liked the smoothly whipped potato bacon mash. The single confit shallot was yummy and was just a fleeting memory.
— «Oat Crusted Arctic Char». Perfectly cooked! Sadly, not much taste to rave about.
3. Dessert:
— They have their aptly titled «House-​made Smores ‘taste like more’» which were a few small rectangular marshmallows covered with finely crushed Graham crackers then placed on toothpicks served with a side of dark chocolate sauce courtesy of a miniature ramekin.
It was a cute reinvention, but it did nothing to my taste buds. I would rather at this point just be served a pair of whole crackers, marshmallows and chocolate and let me do my own labour in assembling it myself than spend my money to pay them to present it this way.
— The «Braeburn Apple Crumble» was finally presented in a normal sized ramekin, but then it was forgettable. The vanilla ice cream was supposed to be fennel scented. That’s what I read. It’s not what I tasted.
MISS:
— You know how small the dishes will be the entire night when the wine you order comes in a small amount that I had to check with our server what size what served as they had the regular «glass» portion and a «fleet» offering. But it was quickly affirmed that what I had was their regular glass size order.
— Then came the dishes which all came in tiny sampler size which was way smaller than the tapas size in other places that it looks painfully expensive and more laborious in down-​sizing the dish that way.
BOTTOMLINE:
A small «lounge» with equally small sampler portions from start to end. Perfectly cooked. Great ingredients. Good taste. Nicely presented. But once you walk out, the dishes became forgettable and your pocket now lighter.
If you want to take advantage of Yaletown’s tasting event I would recommend Provence. If you want to sample tapas-​style world cuisine in really decent portions, it be Sanafir.
And for that I left with a 2.5 star rating. I definitely experienced better. I just wish I experienced it here a well.

3.5 stars
Kudos to Alyna H. for inspiring a dilemma in our Unilocal group as to whether or not we would look crazy if we all ordered the meatballs appy at Taste of Yaletown this year!
Thankfully we didn’t and there was a nice variety in our group. The owner was very nice and treated our group to an additional salted sliced duck tapas type dish with greens on the side — mmmm. The duck was heavenly! It’s one of their regular menu items and huge thumbs up from me!
Having my +1 there came in handy to sample extra dishes :) Hubby had the meatballs which were good, but I must admit that I loved my cod fritters even better! The spicy aioli sauce with it was excellent!
My main was okay. Presentation was very nice and I loved the couscous tabouli… mmmm! The seared tuna itself was so-​so. Hubby tells me his steak was quite good.
Desserts were also good. The smores were adorable — little marshmallows coated in graham crumbs on a toothpick with chcolate sauce. My only thought is that I missed the «crunch» of a real smore graham cracker. The apple crumble with ice cream was excellent!
All in all, I was happy and nicely full. Great value for $ 25 and looking forward to coming back for their regular tapas style menu! The owner tells me that they go through some country themes and rotate the items about every 3 months.
Ditto the bathroom comments — my pet peeve is a nice resto with an icky bathroom (i.e. Boneta for example), but this one is all good!