Bon Essen

La Brasserie
French-German Cuisine
1091 Davie Street
Vancouver, BC V6E 1M5
Canada
ph:(604) 568-6399

Located in the heart of Davie Village stands a sleek cozy little restaurant called La Brassiere. Having to pass by this quaint French/German bistro and seeing the diners sip their tall pints of beer while happily enjoying their meal, I was drawn. I read the menu posted outside and made a mental check list: good menu – check (the suckling pig, onion tart and the pork schnitzel caught my attention), reasonable price – check, good beer/wine selection – check and of course the ambiance – check.

I’m not surprised seeing the long queue outside the restaurant, there’s just something so charming about this little bistro that seems to lure you in. Of course, in a few weeks time, I found myself joining the – thank God - a very short line-up for La Brassiere.

We got there just in the nick of time before more people started arriving. The host was very accommodating and told us that there was a 30 minute waiting time so we said we were gonna come back. Unfortunately, if you wanna dine, you have to stay by the bar but luckily enough, the bar table was free for a party of three and looking at the roomy space, we didn’t mind taking the spot.

Inside, the restaurant was just as cozy as it looked from the outside. The walls were adorned with mirrors making it look more spacious and the small space was very well designed that it didn’t feel cramped or cluttered. Modern, sleek tables contrasted the homey vibe and gave an overall pleasant appeal.

Our server immediately gave us the menus and my friend and I ordered two pints of the German beer while making our culinary choice. We decided to share three entrees, an appetizer and maybe some desserts but making our choices seem to be a bit difficult because being seated right in front of the hard working chefs and watching the dishes leave the kitchen was just making us salivate. Everything they were serving looked so appetizing and seemed to be cooked to perfection. Some dishes we have to play a guessing game what they were since there are some dishes that seem to be unknown to us – the culinary amateurs. Dishes such as the Coq au Vin and the Saurbratten with the kase spatzle were a little bit new to us and of course our taste buds.

With a little help from her server, we opted for the Alsatian Onion Tart to start, the Suckling Pig, Mussels and Frites and the “Fresh Catch of the Day” which made my friend's salivatory glands work overtime when she saw the dish being served. As we ordered, our tall pints of German beer arrived as well as some bread with butter and chicken spread, which was very delicious. While we were munching, sipping, chatting and of course, waiting for our food, we actually got entertained watching the chefs create the dishes. We even got more excited when the savory aromas touched our noses. We just knew that it will be good.

Our tart arrived and it was a good size mainly because it was cheesily rich. There was a sweetness in the crust that made onion and the cheese blend so well together. I would definitely order it again. Slowly, our dishes were starting to arrive. The “Fresh Catch of the Day” dish came first. It was scallops and fresh fish strips on a bed of what seemed to be yogurt, cucumber and tomato salad. We evenly divided it into three and tasted our first entrée. It was yum-my. The salad gave a nice tang to the seafood which made the taste stand out. While were finishing up, the Suckling pig came and the meat was still steaming. Once again we all got our share of the tender pork meat with the light the crispy skin. The saurkraut, and the schupfnudel condiments complimented this dish very well and made us very happy.

Finally, our last dish arrived, the mussels and frites with a side of home made mayonnaise. My other friend ordered more bread to dip in the mussel broth while I focused on dipping my frites in the mayo and broth. The mussels were very well flavoured and very fresh. Once again, it was delicious. Everything was delicious and we tried to polish our plates as much as we could but eventhough our bellies thoroughly expanded, we cannot pass on dessert.

That glutton part of us always wins us over but we can not possibly say no to their creme brulee since all the dishes were beyond delectable and we got to watch one of the chefs torching this creamy delight. All the other sweets sounded good as well and tempting especially the rich chocolate desserts but our server recommended the lemon tart so we opted for that and of course the crème brulee.

The crème brulee was a great end to an amazing meal, light and surely hit the spot. We don’t know if we were way too full to enjoy the lemon tart but we wished to have gone for the more chocolatey dessert but overall, we had a great time. Although we obviously over-ate and were way to full that we made promises to ourselves to go on starvation mode the next day, we exited La Brassiere with a very satisfied smile on our faces.

* picture stolen from www.labrasserievancouver.com