A no messing around guide to the coolest things to eat, drink and do in Vancouver and beyond. Community. Not clickbait.

Review: Two Chefs and a Table

My review of Railtown’s Two Chefs And A Table is out in this week’s Westender. An excerpt:

There’s much to love about it, starting with the look. A communal table of eight dominates the small space, with only a handful of tables for two and four ringing it like so many planets around a star. A palette of white with black, gold and brown accents gives it a baroque, Zen-like feel that’s helped by high ceilings and an atmospheric soundtrack. Bosomworth and Gregg are front and centre in their black uniforms, cooking in a homey open kitchen that could have been transplanted from a Martha Stewart farmhouse photoshoot. The corner location gives them large windows facing both Alexander and Gore, so lighting by day is dynamic and natural. Little chandeliers do their job at night, illuminating the white walls with a cozy glow. It feels good to be here.

On the food front, they do an admirable job. The concept is straight-up comforts at lunch, like market-fresh minestrone soup ($5.75) served with quality bread (which marries nicely with $5.50 bottles of Liberty Ale); squat bowls of sharp-cheddar-encrusted macaroni with four-cheese sauce, served with mixed greens ($8); and a selection of familiar sandwiches, from a well-constructed Croque Monsieur made with brie and bacon ($8.50) to fat triple-A beef burgers crafted in-house ($8.75). Two Chefs does a brisk take-out trade at lunch, so even though the room might feel crowded, it’s partly due to the presence of worker-lurkers waiting for their boxed chow. (If it ever feels frantic, it’s an illusion.)

Dinner is comparatively posh, but not off-puttingly so. It would be a harder trade to sustain in this neighbourhood, so they keep things accessible, with duck-confit salad and an herb-treated smoked salmon plate hovering around the $10 mark, and mains like steak frites with tarragon mayo and sockeye salmon anointed with sweetened soy at $22 each. A potato croquette with herbed goat cheese and chive crème fraiche was a big winner, its presentation and flavours clean and bright, but my wife’s pasta dish (a special) was so forgettable that neither of us can remember a single detail of its make-up. Thankfully, my roasted Polderside chicken ($18) was bang on target, freshly butchered and full of juice. Be warned, however, it’s best not to get too attached to menu items, for they seem to come and go quickly.

Read the whole thing here.