L'abattoir was only a short walk down the road from Guu, located right in the heart of Gastown. The six of us made our way down, a bit slow and slightly discombobulated due to the level of intoxication at this point. I make it sound worse then it was, and we did find our way fairly easily, and once we arrived we waited no more then five minutes to be set up at a very nice table in the back of the restaurant.
217 Carrall Street, Gastown, Vancouver, Canada
1 bottle sparkling wine + 5 cocktails + 6 appetizer < $250CAD
My communication with Shaun had cooled down a bit due to the fact that there were now six people in a semi-inebriated state, with several conversations going on at once. Although he did have a few instructions to follow at L'abattoir and our texting started to pick up again. He insisted on starting with the poached egg and then moving on the foie gras with a Pear Williams.
Our server at L'abattoir was excellent, she had an extensive knowledge of the menu and what to pair with it. I explained to Lyndon that this is something that separates the real thing from the pretenders, front of the house staff that know the menu just as well as the cooks and who have probably tasted everything on it.
We ordered a bottle of sparkling wine for the table to enjoy while we looked over the menus and discussed what to order. After chatting with our server about any of her recommendation I ordered the poached egg, the foie, the sweetbreads, and the tuna for Lyndon, Mackell, and I to share. Alysse and Jordan ordered the beet salad, and the scallops. I tasted them both and they were very good but unfortunately I did not get photos of either so I will just be talking about the four things I ordered.
Pan fried veal sweetbreads on toast - Sauce gribiche with veal tongue
These were excellent sweetbreads, cooked perfectly, nice texture, and the reduction on the plate was rich and beautiful. May have been the best I have had.
Terrine of duck foie gras - Toasted brioche, quince, yogurt
Lyndon and I both agreed that we enjoyed the foie at Hawksworth earlier in the evening better. With that said, this was still very good. It was a bit lighter then I expected, but paired very nicely with all the components on the plate.
Confit of albacore tuna - Smoked pork fat, egg, crispy bits
This dish was a bit of a miss for me. The smoked pork fat was nice, and crispy bread was good too but it felt like it was missing something.
Poached egg and black truffle - Potato gnocchi, leeks, pecorino
Everything about the poached egg was right. The texture of the egg, the subtleness of the black truffle, smoothness of the gnocchi, and the sharpness of the pecorino all complemented each other superbly.
By the end of the meal I think most of the people I was with were in a bit of a food coma and being a little drunk on food and liquor at this point I don't know if they fully appreciated L'abattoir for what it truly is.
I loved L'abattoir, and I would absolutely love to go back and enjoy a full dinner there. Although a little pricier then some, it was well worth it. The detail and care that is taken in ever aspect of the restaurant is what set them apart for me. It is that last ten percent that is one hundred percent harder to achieve that makes the difference.
At this point we were done with eating. My cell phone was on the verge of dyeing, and the night was definitely on the decline. We decided to go and check out The Alibi Room for a pint of beer before calling it a night.
Not bad for my first night in Vancouver, covered an extraordinary amount of ground, and had an excellent evening with some new and old friends. Couldn't have asked for anything more, I went to bed that night completely satisfied.
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