Chambar - A Vancouver Benchmark

Chambar serves French/Belgian/North African influenced cuisine in an unpretentious environment. There are no dress requirements or restrictions like most Vancouver restaurants. Though most guest have a trendy fashionable disposition, in their late 20's to early 40's. Most people I've spoken to have been impressed by Chambar's long narrow dining room. I find it stylish but haven't found anything that makes me go, 'wow!'. However, I did find some of the seats uncomfortable. Sorry, just being honest. I like the vibe and environment plus the mix of people that gather at Chambar. As usual I like naming names of the people behind the restaurant. In particular the food. After all great food doesn't happen by itself. It's the people behind the food that makes the 'magic' happen. No two cooks cook exactly alike. Therefore if you change the cook, the end results are different. It really cannot be over emphasized, especially in finer dining restaurants. How one individual person can make a good meal - into a great meal. It really is like magic. The Chef and owner Nico Schuermans was born in Rwanda, Africa. His family moved back to his native Belgium where he apprenticed and worked at a couple of 3 star Michelin Restaurants. He started his apprenticeship in his early teens. Before opening Chambar, he worked in London, Puerto Rico and Australia. It was in Australia that he met his current wife and business partner Kari. While Nico takes care of the back of the house. Kari manages the front of house including the local art work on display, that changes every 4-6 weeks. Eleanor Chow, the pastry chef is one of the rising pastry chef in the city. She has continued to improve and refined the dessert at Chambar. And also at Chambar's baby sister Cafe Medina, where Eleanor's Belgian Waffle accompaniment of compotes, caramel and chocolates sauces are sinfully delicious. The front of house team members has changed over the last 6 years, some leaving to explore other opportunities. The current bar program is lead by Wendy McGuinness.

There are lots of love for Chambar by many people I know. Strangely I've never felt the same way. I have been here over 20 times since they first opened, 6 years ago. Mainly in the beginning when they opened and twice it the last 7 months. Most recently I was here for dine out Vancouver 2010(DOV 2010). My regular items that I order are the Congolaise mussels, poutine(with blue cheese), and their various foie gras interpretations. I used to get the cherry beer, Bel Vue Creek(?sp). They don't serve that anymore and their replacement doesn't have the same light refreshing cherry tasting light beer, unfortunately. The beer and wine selection is good, imho. But I am no expert in those department. The bar program is also good. Over the last 6 years both the kitchen and bar have been very consistent. Which is impressive. There recent addition's of Pourhouse, Diamond, Bao Bei, Keefer, Voya, Loden, etc.... mean more options for the martini's and cocktail crowd looking for a good mixologist. Chambar is quintessentially a place to gather with some friend's enjoy a beverage and good food in an unpretentious manner. Which is probably why it has been so successful. If you want a quieter dining experience and to whisper sweet nothings to your love one, dining in the back room is probably a better choice. They can also cater to a larger party crowd in their private dining area. They prefer if you partake in a set menu for larger groups
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My most recent visit was on DOV 2010. The reservation was for 9pm. Which I assume possibly meant that there were possibly two group of diners ahead of us. One at 5pm and the other at 7pm. That's super busy for a weekday night at a finer dining restaurant. Most of our group arrived promptly at 9pm. The host who normally is cheerful and smiling, ushered to our table promptly. Felt a bit rushed. Menu were placed on the table. They had the regular menu plus a 3 course DOV menu for $38. They also had a couple of add-on's at additional charge for the DOV menu. Good options for food. The initial service was prompt and acceptable. Do you ever notice how the server acts after you answer the question, "would you like a drink to start?". I always pay attention to how the behave particularly at 'finer dining' restaurants. And I like to see their reaction and how they attend to you after. I have experienced poorer service when the table orders less in general. But normally if your table drinks and spend money, the service gets better. Perhaps it is a coincidence or maybe the alcohol makes you think the service is better. He he.. well no doubt server's live off their tips/gratuities but that inconsistency really bugs me. Anyways, 3 of the 6 of us ordered a drink. It was a weeknight. After taking our initial drink and food order, our server appeared maybe three or four times the rest of the night.

Chambar is well know for their Moule Frites. Which is a great pairing with the mussels. Chambar serves the largest sized fresh mussels in the city. Seriously!. You will never find one this big in your neighbourhood markets. Nico certainly has cornered the market for large mussels. Bloody chef's and their connections with food suppliers, always getting all the prized seafood. Leaving us the leftovers for our home cooked suppers. :-D . The mussels here are probably the best in town. And the $22 regular serving will fill most bellies. I normally order the mussel as a share item with others. And always upgrade to poutine. Since you can get similar quality fries at a few places but not similar type of poutine anywhere else.

There was 3 options for the DOV menu and the foie de canard for an $8 add-on. I have always liked the foie gras at Chambar and this one didn't disappoint. Because of my 'caring' nature, I think I only ate 1/4 of the foie gras, as everyone else seem to like it too. :-) . The black trumpet, truffle, king oyster mushroom and curried got cheese soup had a very nice earthy tone. And the curry added a nice kick of flavor to the pureed, lightly creamed soup. There was a lot of contrasting flavors and texture and I wasnt able to fully understand based on a couple of spoonful. I found it to be interesting and unique. The yelowfin tuna carpaccio was sliced paper thin and had a delicate, sweet flavor. It was nicely complimented with a fresh and slighty tart vegetable and citrus brunoise. I think I like this dish, but was too busy fending off invaders to the Foie De Canard. :-D

On to the main courses. Again three options or either the beef tangine, halibut, mussels(done either vin blanc or congolaise). The add on option was a AAA rib eye steak for an extra $10. The rib eye had a nice presentation as far as rib eye steak presentation goes. But it bewildered me why the steak was served pre-cut. I guess they were willing to risk releasing the flavor of the nice meat juices in favor of a nicer presentation. Or I look really old and they thought I needed my food cut up. Which would have been a nice gesture. Except I really love my meat juices. As caring as a friend  can be, I love the flavor of meat jus, and that is something I don't share. When it comes to meat juices and flavor, I am selfish and not caring. :-D Whilst the additional cost was reasonable, I didn't particularly think the cut of rib eye I received was particularly well aged and I found it too sinewy. Under the poor lighting conditions, and based on the texture of the meat, it seemed like I was eating a very well prepared flank or side skirt steak. Truly far off the best rib eye steak I've had. But not bad value considering it would have been $48 with an appy and dessert. The rib-eye could have been better handled and prepared. The halibut was OK but cooked till a tad dry for my preference. And the risotto wasnt much to talk up or rave about. It was decent. I had higher expectation for the short rib tangine. I have had the regular tangine at Chambar and find it a tad too sweet for my liking. Short rib seems like a good cut to do a tangine with. I was a little disappointed when I tasted the short rib and the accompaniment. The short rib was neither tender nor flavorful to my taste buds. It was like eating poached lean brisket in some gravy slurry. The accompaniment was better but a tad boring compared to the regular tangine. I actually liked the rib eye steak better. The frites and poutine was good. The last time I was here, the poutine was a tad cold by the time it got to the table. Today it was hot. I like the blue cheese instead of cheese curd and the 'gravy' is yummy and could have used more gravy on the side for me personally. And I prefer my french fries crispier, that is a personal preference.

For dessert there was two options OR a cheese plate. The dessert were solid. I think the winner was the chocolate pecan torte. Which was rich and decadent without being overtly sweet. And the passion fruit parfait was just nicely sweet and tart. It was a nice ending to the meal. Both presentation of the dessert looked good offered contrasting flavors. It gave diners options and the addition of a cheese plate is brilliant. Not everyone loves dessert. Not everyone love chocolate. Unbelievable as it may sound, some people just don't have a sweet tooth. I don't remember the cheese that was offered nor the option to choose what was offered. Sorry!. One was creamy and rich, maybe a goats milk camenbert-ish, the other was a more robust and stronger flavor profile. Good contrasting choice of cheese. I preferred one cheese and one of my dining companion preferred the other cheese. The bread was OK and probably great with the cheese. But I cant recall the flavor. Maybe a tad sweet. It was getting dry and crusty-ish by the time I got to try them. The bread was acceptable.

All right, I got an axe to grind. :-D . Chambar took a full page ad($$$$) out in the Georgia Straits last year to announce that they were not going to be part off DOV 2009. So it was surprising they took part this year:
http://scoutmagazine.ca/2009/01/10/chambar-totally-shines-dine-out-in-new-georgia-straight-ad/
Kari add's a comment below, quote:

 ¦Karri on January 12th, 2009 1:16 am
        "We know that it’s attractive during times of economic uncertainty to get a $25 or $35 meal, however the dining experience is also important.
         Experienced Dine Out patrons know that the two-week event means limited menu choices, surly service staff, and quick turns on the tables. We don’t feel right about shuffling people through Chambar to eat the same 3 options for two weeks. There is a reason we dine out, it’s to be in an atmosphere where we can escape for an evening to enjoy great food and service.
If you haven’t had a chance to dine at Chambar for a while, you’ll notice something different when you walk into the back dining room. Where there was once a solid wall is now a narrow antique door from Egypt. Through this door is the restaurant’s new cozy dining room, which holds about 40 people. With its massive windows looking out to the Vancouver skyline, this new room is the perfect place to warm up with some moules frites and ask to sample our other new addition – Chambar Ale, it’s brilliant.


        p.s. If you’re looking for value for money, we’re still cheaper than Earls." end quote.

I haven't been to Earl's in a few years, so I can't comment on her last statement. I do agree there are many better value and tastier dining option in the city at that price point than Earl's. FYI, Chambar's main courses are around the $30 mark and the famous mussels are $22. The appies are $13-18 range. Which is reasonable. But what she said she didn't want to do, was exactly what she did do this year. They did have add-on and other dining options. But the service was off the mark by a lot. The staff didn't enjoy catering to the 'culinary tourist' and were visible worn down, and it showed. For what it's worth, the service at Earl's the last time I was there was better than at Chambar tonight. That was a night me and a friend polished a bottle of Patron at Earl's. Wait!... I think I understand now. Sorry Kari, maybe the poor service was my fault, not because of DOV. Perhaps there is a correlation between how much one spend on booze = good service. Note to self: when want good service, drink till mildly inebirated. :-D

Overall my food experiences in Chambar has been very consistent.The service was off the mark prob due to dine out. Felt bad for the server and some staff, but should I be? I am still a paying customer. Shouldn't that be the manager's and owner's obligation to deal with that so I can enjoy my experience. Kari had it right last year. Too bad she caved in this year and did do DOV 2010. Should have stuck to her guns. Either ways she exposed her restaurant to some new potential customers and made some $$ while at it. Good for you Kari!

Pros:
Can cater to individual diners(grab a sit by the bar), to groups of 40(the standard auto gratis 18% for large groups)
The mussels are really big, probably cant get this big ones anywhere else
The atmosphere is relaxed and unpretentious
Great location for pre-concert, opera and games at GM place, Playhouse .... (there is another reason I go to Chambar, sent me a comment and maybe I'll share)
Menu and food has been pretty consistent the last 6 years

Cons:
The menu and food has pretty much stayed the same for 6 years.
The service can be spotty at times.

Food : 7
Experience : 6.5
Value : 6.5



I will probably begrudgingly return to Chambar. It would not be my first choice in any circumstance. Whilst it is a solid destination in every category and fulfills most elements in dining out. It does not have any outstanding areas(except best mussels) that makes it a must go for me personally. Plus, I know at some point, someone will want to have dinner at Chambar, and I can use this conveniently to dine at Chambar, without admitting that Kari and Nico have done a tremendous job making Chambar a success. :-D Happy eating y'all!