The GOODS from ensemble

Vancouver, BC | Just one month plus one day after opening ensemble, his first restaurant as Chef/Owner, Top Chef Canada contender Chef Dale MacKay will add weekend brunch service to his Tuesday through Sunday dinner service offering. Commencing Saturday, June 11th, ensemble will be open for brunch from 11am through 2pm every Saturday and Sunday, including holidays.  To celebrate his first month in business and to honour his father Ross and his son Ayden, Chef will add his favourite father-son breakfast of Bourbon-glazed ham, three farm eggs done any style, house potatoes, toast, and a side salad to the Father’s Day brunch menu, all for just $14.

From the new ensemble brunch menu expect a modern French twist on much-loved brunch plates like brandy-cinnamon French toast with apples and lemon crème fraiche ($12) and waffles with fresh fruit compote and maple syrup ($11), plus new favourites like a braised beef, egg, arugula and fresh cheese breakfast sandwich ($12); mushroom and bacon potted egg with sourdough soldiers and mixed greens ($12); poached black cod with asparagus, poached eggs, orange and hollandaise ($16); and Chef MacKay’s Dungeness crab and spiced melon soup with basil and mint ($9 – as seen on Top Chef Canada). The full brunch menu can be viewed on the ensemble website.

“I am so grateful to my team for their amazing commitment and hard work, and to our customers and the industry for the unbelievable support and enthusiasm we have received during these opening weeks,” says Chef MacKay. “It’s hard to get everything just so when you first open a restaurant, but we are working hard to deliver a fabulous culinary and overall dining experience every time, to everyone who visits. Brunch will be great too, I know. It’s a different vibe during a city brunch service – slightly more relaxed, intimate even.  We look forward to seeing our customers more often.”

About ensemble

Details

850 Thurlow St., Vancouver, BC | V6E 1W2
Telephone: 604.569.1770 | Fax: 604.569.1786
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.ensemblerestaurant.com | Twitter

Gallery

The People

Chef/Owner: Dale Mackay
Sous Chef: Bradley Hendrickson
General Manager: Kevin Van Hullebush
Bar Manager: Christopher Cho

About The Food

ensemble is an entirely new and exciting dining concept for Vancouver, and for award-winning Executive Chef Dale MacKay. Combining the classic French techniques and precision execution that earned Dale his Five Diamond reputation, with the casual, cosmopolitan vibe of Vancouver – ensemble promises an extraordinary culinary experience in a fun and approachable environment.

‘We are combining classic French techniques with modern influences and flavour profiles from around the world – promising a large menu and wide variety of tastes and textures in generous tasting size dishes, affordably priced from $8 to $24.” – Executive Chef Dale MacKay

About The Room

At the recessed corner of Smith and Thurlow, where Vancouver’s hippest shopping street meets its original city neighborhood, ensemble sits wrapped in floor to ceiling windows on culinary adventure.

ensemble’s interior design mirrors Chef MacKay’s fresh, clean and modern culinary vision. An open concept space features an elevated cocktail bar/lounge with 30 comfortable seats and plenty of standing room for busy times like date nights, game nights and live music weekends.

The 80 seat dining room, separate from but flowing seamlessly into the lounge area, is at once intimate and social – what Dale describes as a reflection of Vancouver’s contemporary dining scene. Signature plexi lamps over the sleek black glass-fronted bar, a glacial glass wall sculpture conceived by interior designer Rob Blaney, and ethereal organic art by local artist Mandy Tsung, highlight the space.

Looking up at the bar from the dining floor, the feeling is dark, warm and tufted, punctuated by soft bounces of light from the coolest feature lamps in the city. The bar is long and deep, set with upholstered stool of generous proportions – by design the perfect eat-at, stay-a-while, watch-the-game kind of arrangement.

Looking down, the articulated palette of glass and chalk grey walls garnished with colour is authentic, modern and sexy – foreshadowing Chef MacKay’s culinary style and the dining experience ahead.

Reserve a space now, or drop in next time you are just off Robson. Street parking is plentiful.