Gill Stomps on 'Shaky' Roof; Stainsby Loves Cinara; Levykh Declares Siena a Winner

Oh hello, she's back. Alexandra Gill visits the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver Roof restaurant this week and is back on knife-wielding form, railing against the 'gummy' morels, beef carpaccio "wallpapered to the plate" and a lean grilled pork chop that "was so overcooked and tough, it felt like we were chewing on a woollen sock." La Gill does recommend the bar "gentlemanly bartenders shake classic cocktails" and a lobster bisque, poured at the table "was rich and creamy with a fresh kick of tarragon" and the Caesar salad was "pleasantly sharp" but declares that the dining room "aside from the view... has all the charm of a Chinese banquet restaurant. The overhead lights blaze brightly and the decor is a bland ocean of beige." Ouch, 1/4.

Anya Levykh visits Siena on South Granville and declares it a "casual little trattoria... a simple testament to the alchemy that happens when good food and wine are aptly paired." A "fantastic" antipasti platter is "excellent value," "hearty and bright, with contrasting flavours and textures." Mains are "tightly focused" with a seasonal "pan-roasted halibut with a cauliflower-fennel puree..was a winner that will hopefully stay on the menu for the duration of the season." Overall she gives it 5/5.

Lucais Syme's Cinara scores 4/5 from Mia Stainsby this week, saying "it can trick you into thinking you're in a small neighbourhood bistro. It's not hipster terroir a few blocks away." Syme's Northern Italian menu is "short and changes frequently" but a dish that will "seduce the toughest diner is the soft polenta with nettles, a perfect poached egg, pecorino and espelette pepper atop polenta." Smoked salmon, a bitter lettuce and chicken liver salad and braised rabbit all win praise but a duck tart was "too much like a sausage roll." http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2014/05/08/my-review-of-cinara-restaurant-vancouver/
· This Roof is a Bit Shaky [Globe & Mail]
· Siena Brings Tuscan Flavours to South Granville [WE]
· Cinara Creates its Own Neighbourhood Feel [VanSun]