Raincity Grill

A GuestLife Vancouver
Great Restaurant

Looking out to English Bay from the heart of the bustling West End neighbourhood, Raincity Grill celebrates the best of regional cuisine. Andrea Carlson, Raincity’s inimitable Chef de Cuisine, creates her imaginative dishes with heart: of the 100 chefs who may buy organic lettuce, Andrea is the one who has been to the farm and helped harvest it. “Regionality is who she is,” says Executive Chef Robert Clark. “Andrea’s own personal philosophy reflects how she cooks, close to her roots but with an understated elegance.”

As with sister restaurant C, the Raincity Grill staff takes the food system seriously. A member of the Ocean Wise program with the Vancouver Aquarium, Carlson and Clark make certain that all seafood on the menu comes from responsibly harvested sources, ensuring a variety of seafood for years to come.

“Raincity’s food is very clean, natural and fresh,” Clark promises. Treat yourself to a regional Tasting Menu, featuring multi courses dedicated to one entire area of BC ’s rich terroir, be it the Fraser Valley, the Okanagan or the Gulf Islands. Taste why Raincity Grill has been showered with awards, from Vancouver magazine’s Best Contemporary Regional Restaurant to the coveted Distinguished Restaurant of North America (DIRONA). Long-time favourites like Grilled Caesar Salad with its grilled romaine spears and asiago, or bold new dishes such as Seared Coho Salmon, paired with chard stems and kale in a roasted rhubarb broth both showcase the best of the region and the best of Raincity Grill.

Thirteen years ago owner Harry Kambolis launched Raincity, its name synonymous with Vancouver itself, to focus on wine as well as regionality — both revolutionary concepts at the time. With one of Vancouver’s largest wine-by-theglass programs featuring the choicest Pacific Northwest vintages and an eye to a broad BC selection, diners can enjoy a different wine per course or indulge in a flight of three. Here again, the awards have poured forth: including from the esteemed Wine Spectator, among others.

Raincity is a much-loved West End neighbourhood haunt, where you’ll find a vibrant, eclectic mix of local artists, professionals and businesspeople at the bistro. The result is an innovative, high-energy urban bistro, with warm, burnished wood paneling and upscale contemporary décor. On balmy evenings, the patio is bustling with guests taking in the bay’s passage of boats, freighters and cruise ships, and, on some summer nights, spectacular fireworks. Locals and tourists alike, everyone is welcome to the restaurant The New York Times called Vancouver’s hottest. Savour the best of regional wine and cuisine at friendly Raincity Grill — and get back to the earth.

Raincity Grill
1193 Denman Street
604-685-7337

Menu Highlights

pictured: AAA beef tenderloin, forest mushroom jus, sunchoke gnocchi, kale

Appetizers

Grilled “Caesar” Salad
grilled romaine spears, caesar dressing, asiago

Seared Albacore Tuna
manilla clam & minted wheat salad, eggplant, cold press organic canola oil, yogurt

Grilled Pacific Octopus
sui choy slaw, crispy onion rings, smoked paprika & preserved tomato salad, burdock aïoli

Oyama Game Sausage
roasted parsnip perogy, braised cabbage, mustard seed jus

Entrées

Roasted Fraser Valley Duck Breast
double smoked bacon & root vegetable “hash,” merridale cider reduction

Roasted Sablefish
cured cod brandade, roasted beets, rapini, pink salmon, “bonito” broth, salmon salt

Organic Ryeberry “Risotto”
roasted carrots, raclette cheese, dill & carrot reduction

Seared Pacific Halibut
confit of potato, leek & foraged fiddleheads, Shimeji mushroom, tarragon butter, salmon roe

Seared Fallow Venison
Jerusalem artichoke bread pudding, kale, forest mushroom jus

Desserts

Maple Ginger Crème Brûlée
fig biscotti

Sour Cherry Cheesecake
shortbread, cherry glaze

Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse
Valrhona chocolate & hazelnut crisps

Best of the Cellar

White Wines

BC: Burrowing Owl, Pinot Gris 2003

Sandhill “Small Lots,” Viognier 2003

Washington: Isenhower “Snapdragon” 2003

Oregon: Domaine Drouhin “Arthur,” Chardonnay 2003

California: Chalk Hill, Sauvignon Blanc 1999

Red Wines

S.L.C.,” Merlot 2002

Blue Mountain “Reserve,” Pinot Noir 1999

Kettle Valley, Syrah 2002

Washington: Leonetti, Cabernet Sauvignon 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001

Woodward Canyon “Charbonneau” 2001

Dellille Cellars “Doyenne,” Syrah 2000, 2002

Oregon: Domaine Serene “Yamhill Cuvée,” Pinot Noir 2001

Sokol Blosser, Pinot Noir 1999, 2001

California: Château Montelena, Cabernet Sauvignon 1989, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998

Ridge “Monte Bello,” Cabernet Sauvignon 1975, 1997

Turley “Hayne,” Petite Sirah 1997, 2002

Merry Edwards, Pinot Noir 1999, 2000, 2001

Viader, Syrah 2001