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Out on the West Coast, we have some of the finest fish swimming in the sea, just waiting to be caught and devoured by seafood connoisseurs. OK, maybe not waiting to be caught — more like trying to get away. But either way, we have some great fish. The Sandbar Restaurant in Granville Island is known for their fresh seafood and the beautiful patio that perches over the waterfront overlooking False Creek and the shores of the West End.

After grabbing some local fruits and veggies from Granville Island, Tre was in the mood for seafood. The Sandbar was a natural choice. I was a bit hesitant at first, thinking The Sandbar was a tourist trap, but was interested in the patio. Tre and I are greeted by the friendly hostess who seats us upstairs in the patio. It was busy, but lucky for us we got a table near the front overlooking the water. I am loving the view and thinking — I don’t ever want to leave.

Our server was friendly and gave us the low down on the daily catch and his recommendations. Tre knew what he wanted, so we ordered some dishes to share. For starters, we had the warm beet salad with toasted walnuts, champagne vinaigrette and crumbled goat cheese. We also had Tuscan flat bread with goat cheese, caramelized onions and cracked pepper. And for the main dish, The Sand Barge for two: chilled prawns, raw oysters and crab served on a platter of ice.

(Clockwise: 1. Warm Beet Salad. 2. Tuscan Flatbread, 3. Oysters and Shrimp chilling in an ice bath.)

Our warm beet salad arrived first, and it was awesome! I can’t express how good this salad was: fresh, crisp greens with earthy red and yellow beets, tossed with toasted walnuts with generous chunks of goat cheese and a light, tasty vinaigrette. Our waiter had warned us the salad was going to be huge, and he wasn’t kidding. Next, the Tuscan flat bread, which was more like a pizza with toppings of sweet caramelized onions, goat cheese and garlic. The flat bread was thin, fluffy and really delicious. Finally, our seafood platter: four large fresh chilled prawns, four raw oysters and half a crab. The prawns were good and firm in texture. The oysters were good as well, although I prefer the smaller, Japanese oysters like those from Guu. The crab was refreshingly tasty, slightly sweet and ridiculously messy to eat.

Our meal was excellent, so good in fact, that we weren’t quite done. We surprised our server by continuing to order two coffees and a dessert. I suppose he wasn’t expecting two little people to polish off all those dishes and then order more. For dessert we went by our server’s recommendation — The Belgian chocolate pudding. The gooey pudding was topped with toffee cream and a crunchy pistachio praline. Our dessert was good — light and airy and went well with our warm cups of coffee.

(Top to bottom: 1. Coffee. 2. Belgian Chocolate Pudding with Toffee Cream and Pistachio Praline.)

The Sandbar was surprisingly enjoyable. We spent almost three hours kicking back on the patio, enjoying good food, great service and watching some poor guys sink in their homemade boats made out of plywood. The meal set us back just under $100 bucks including a beer, tax and tips — well worth it.

Perfect for: Fresh seafood and a knockout view.

The Details

Granville Island
1535 Johnston St, Vancouver
604.669.9030
vancouverdine.com/sandbar/home.html

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