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Highly Anticipated “Au Comptoir” Eatery Nears Completion In Kits

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by Andrew Morrison | Maxime Bettili and Julien Aubin’s highly anticipated Au Comptoir is getting close – really close – to opening day. They’ve got a few more hoops to jump through as well as a couple of friends and family runs, but if there are no major hiccups their French eatery at 2287 West4th in Kitsilano will open for its first service next Friday (October 24th).

As you may recall from when Scout broke the news of Au Comptoir’s coming back in July, Bettili and Aubin are old friends. They met at hospitality school in France 17 years ago and have worked at restaurants such as Les Faux Bourgeois, Bistro Pastis, and The Acorn in the five years since they moved to Vancouver. This is their first fling with ownership, and the theme – a morning to evening Paris-style cafe – is close to their hearts. Back in the summer, I wrote of the affinity thusly:

What they have planned for the space is not like most French-themed cafe/bistros one readily comes across here across the pond. They’re going to strive for the same kind of cafe-style service that predominates in Paris, which is to say it’ll be open all day, from morning until night, with no reservations. Such establishments are liberating for customers used to New World protocols. One doesn’t feel rushed or guilty for taking up a table for an hour and a half with a good book and a beer. To French servers, refreshment has no check average, and the pace of a guest’s experience is none of their business. Whether you’re in for a bottle of wine with a steak frites or a cafe au lait with a pain au chocolate at 9am or 9pm, service is service. Of course, only time will tell if Aubin and Bettili will be able to pull off this uniquely ambivalent shoulder-shrugginess. The chasms between Canadian and French tipping traditions and our understandings of what constitutes a “living wage” are tres deep.

I did a walk-through of the space yesterday and I gotta say, I’m really excited for this one. That could be because I miss Paris a lot, but for the most part it’s on account of the look, which is pretty damn convincing, and the menu from chef Daniel McGee (ex-Pidgin), which reads like it belongs in my belly. Think omelette aux fines herbes for breakfast, hardy croque monsieur with frites for lunch, and beef bavette with pommes dauphines for supper.

Like I said, they’re on track for this Friday. Fingers crossed, it will be so. Have a look…

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  • Espresso machine | Au Comptoir
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  • Chef Daniel McGee | Au Comptoir
  • Cutlery drawers | Au Comptoir
  • Folding window frontage | Au Comptoir
  • Bar detail | Au Comptoir
  • Bar detail | Au Comptoir
  • Cutlery drawers | Au Comptoir
  • Books | Au Comptoir
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  • Long banquette | Au Comptoir
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  • Tray sleeve at service station | Au Comptoir
  • Bar detail | Au Comptoir
  • Tea storage | Au Comptoir
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  • Welcome | Au Comptoir
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  • Sidewalk | Au Comptoir
  • Exterior | Au Comptoir
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ALL ANTICIPATED OPENINGS

There are 5 comments

  1. I was graciously invited along with, my son Chef Daniel McGee’s mother, Nancy, to attend the Family and Friends pre- opening night’s festivities. We thoroughly enjoyed the beautifully designed surroundings and exquisitely prepared, artistically presented culinary delights being served. From what I can see, this restaurant is destined for greatness!! Every detail seems to have been accounted for. Every subtle nuance, has been delicately and carefully included in the formation of this fine French Cuisine establishment. From the moment you come upon it from the entrance on Fourth Avenue in Kitsilano, the beautifully scripted Au Comptoir on the awning outside and the large windows revealing the artful décor and warm ambience of its interior… just invite your heart and soul, body and appetite to enter in. Once inside, one finds themselves in the most subtly – yet immediately – comfortable dining establishments I have ever been in. The severs are warm and affectionate in their competent, yet casual approach to making certain all your needs are met, and your culinary urges are satiated with sumptuous, unforgettable delight. This place is a winner!!! Big kudos to the owners – straight from Paris, France – Julien and Maxime!! ~ Merci Beaucoup!!!

  2. Going to Au Comptoir Vancouver truly is a trip to an average bistro “au quartier” in Paris — rude waiters with an attitude problem and average food. They proudly advertise that all their waiters are French. The owners of Au Comptoir might want to rethink that marketing strategy: when Canadians learn what it’s like to be talked down to, argued with, ignored and insulted during their dining experience, they will almost certainly find other restaurants where arrogance isn’t the dish “du jour”. That adorable French accent surely won’t make your undercooked food magically become cooked to perfection either.

    After waiting an hour to get a table (understandable on a busy weekend evening where no reservations are taken), the nightmare continued with our main courses. The steak is only served one way: rare. My husband’s halibut was raw, translucent and cold in the middle. The waiter took the plate away when we pointed out this problem without an apology, and instead asked a patronizing “oh, you want it more cooked?” In the meantime, they offered a small appetizer (which we could not eat due to allergies). When the halibut returned, it was deja vu: raw, translucent and cold in the middle. At this point, we resigned to the disaster and asked the waiter to take the plate away and bring the bill.

    Of course, the manager wasn’t prepared to let us go without argument. He came over to yell at us that he didn’t appreciate us insulting his chef (note to Au Comptoir: serving undercooked food is an insult to your customers, not the other way around), that they are “passionate” about food (that’s French for “you’re not French therefore you don’t know how to eat”) and that it was our fault for everything and anything. The only way to end the horror was to let him know that when you’re used to eating at Michelin star restaurants in Paris and Manhattan, it’s a bit difficult to believe that a Vancouver bistro knows more than Eric Ripert or Daniel Boulud about how to cook fish. We had to repeatedly ask for the bill while the manager yelled at us.

    The horrendously rude service aside, the food was average. The baguette was a sad facsimile of the real French baguette; the butter was unsalted; and the only way to describe the proteins would be under-seasoned and undercooked. As for French food? Au Comptoir is like a sad tourist restaurant in Paris that relies on the ignorance of foreigners to make money.

    If you want to feel like you’re in Paris in everything but a gastronomic sense, by all means, go to Au Comptoir. I am certain that one trip will give you enough memories to last a lifetime.

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