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Fuel Restaurant - CLOSED
Categories: Restaurants Seafood Restaurants Steakhouses Restaurants Canadian (New) Seafood, Steakhouses, Canadian (New) [Edit]
1944 4th Avenue WVancouver, BC V6J 1M5
Neighbourhood: Kitsilano
(604) 288-7905
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Dressy
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
14 reviews for Fuel Restaurant
14 reviews in English
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Review from Tina H.
3/14/2010 5 photos
I had a wonderful experience here and am sad to see that it's closed!
Amuse-bouche brought out courtesy of the kitchen. Some great mains. Some cute desserts. Most, if not everything, was house made. Great presentation. It's a shame this place has closed! Then again, it was a bit overpriced and it doesn't blow me away or anything. Quite delicious though. Sad to see it go, though it didn't stick in my mind long enough to want to revisit. I wouldn't say it was pretentious but it was close enough to pretentious without actually being pretentious, if that makes any sense.
Still though, very yummy! -
Review from Marc D.
Vancouver, BC
11/10/2009
* Sign of the times? *
The times I've eaten at Fuel I've always enjoyed the food.
Perhaps my favourite dish I've had there was the wild venison, which was served perfectly cooked. It came with spatzle (a favourite of mine), braised red cabbage, and roasted mushrooms. A real German feel to the whole dish.
So I'm sad to report that Fuel is closing at the end of the month. Is this a sign of the times? The owners will re-open the space in December as a casual Northwest cuisine spot with a lower price point.
Seems to be a familiar tune in the neighbourhood. Don't forget Gastropod (http://www.yelp.ca/biz...) which is right next door transformed into the more casual Maenam (http://www.yelp.ca/biz...) not that long ago.
I guess the guys from Fuel have watched carefully and decided to follow a similar path and go slightly lower cost and higher volume.
Sign of the times? Or a sign that Vancouver is really just a casual city deep down?
I wish the owners the best with the new direction and am pretty confident it will be a wonderful addition to the neighbourhood's casual dining scene.Listed in: Vancouver European Food
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Review from Brett C.
Toronto, ON
6/17/2009 ROTD 10/3/2009
I have gotten to eat at Fuel now twice, both for special occasions, and both times I have left happy that I chose Fuel as the place to celebrate. The staff is extremely nice and it has a good atmosphere.
And the food is amazing. I had five course meals both times I have eaten at Fuel and not once did I have a dish I did not enjoy. I even enjoyed the fish dishes and I typically dislike seafood.
And Fuel also deserves credit for being to do themed meals that are atypical for such a high-end restaurant. For instance my first time eating there I went during their pork week where all five meals involved pork, including desert (who knew crystallized pork grease tasted good in ice cream?). At the moment they are serving fried chicken on Fridays with a beer. I personally appreciate that a nice restaurant like Fuel is willing to serve food that some places might turn their noses up at.
If you want to have a wonderful meal and are willing to pay for it, I highly recommend eating here. -
Review from Veronica P.
5/26/2009
One of the things I noticed about Vancouver is that the restaurants are very small in size, and Fuel is no different.
Decorated in a minimalist style, it does portray a warm, friendly atmosphere. The restaurant is dimly lit. One of the good things is that the tables aren't stacked right on top of each other.
Fuel's food is in line with it's decor: SIMPLE.
Fuel takes great ingredients, cooks them simply and lets the flavor of the ingredients take center stage.
The spot prawns were simply prepared. Grilled til a nice char on the shells turned barely red. The sweet, briny flavor of the prawns shown through.
The Wild Atlantic Salmon, again simply prepared but full of flavor. The difference between wild salmon and farm raised salmon is just incredible. A dark, blood orange colors the flesh and the taste and texture are just fantastic.
The ribeye steak is again simply prepared. Dry aged for 40 days, brings out all of the flavor in the beef while also breaking down some of the connective tissue. Cooked to a perfect medium rare, the full flavor of beef shines through.
Service was great, attentive but not over bearing.
The meal was finished off with complimentary home made candy.
The best meal I had while in Vancouver. -
Review from kath r.
12/1/2009
Last call @ Fuel.
I managed to slide in for their last Friday lunch sitting.
Since moving to Vancouver I've had Fuel's Fried Chicken Fridays on my lunch 'to do' list. With my hospitality roots deeply entrenched from my days as a KFC Drive thru girl and as a connoisseur of the 'dirty bird' earned from years of living in Baltimore (where Fried Chicken is to Baltimore what sushi is to Vancouver), I was pretty pumped to try out Fuel's Fried Chicken.
And, I have to say: Fuels fried chicken was pretty darn good. The 3 chicken pieces (drumstick, wing and thigh) were plump and juicy, the batter had just the right amount of crunch, seasoning and crispiness without tasting too greasy. Where I think the dish fell short was the sides; I wasn't a fan of the slaw, it looked tired and lackluster, and I would've liked to have had a bigger and hotter biscuit. But for $20 including a non-alcoholic beverage or a boozy R&B Cream Ale or Lager, it's one of the best lunch deals around!
Fuel closed yesterday (11/29) but is reopening on Dec 2nd as ReFuel where they'll feature Fuel's famous friday chicken lunch (but not as the brew-chicken special). Now, I'm hankering to try their roasted bone marrow appy :) -
Review from Maurice G.
8/12/2008
Absolutely beautiful nuanced cuisine set in a delicate and charming notch within the Kitsilano District. My fiancee visited this quaintly scaled locale for a perfect storm of celebration; New Years Eve/ Her Birthday/ Upscale Vacation Dinner. As a man, this is a precarious situation where one wishes for the entire evening to run smoothly, appear effortless, but remain memorable forever.
Fuel achieved this in every aspect, so much so, that we still discuss this dinner and attempt to replicate it in the confines of our own kitchen.
Fuel succeeds at the Farm-to-Table trend that dots the nouveau Americana landscape, yet so many establishments fail in quality and taste-scale in an attempt to maintain crisp cuisine. Fuel does not. Although extremely fresh, Its dishes are bold and flavorful, crafted entirely by Chef Robert Belcham and complimented by a playful winelist presented by award-winning Sommelier, Tom Doughty.
If its still available, try the parsnip soup with heavy cream. Absolutely unique and delightful ... as is the free run lamb. Fuel promoted my seven-month lamb chop fever, of which I am barely starting to recover from its deliciousness. Mmmm! -
Review from ML ..
10/21/2008
Finally, Yelp is in Vancouver! i made reservations for this place for NYE 2007 thinking i was going to get some interesting food and fine service to ring in 2008. i found neither. I was visiting vancouver and wasn't going to be there long so i did some research before picking a good restaurant for NYE dinner. boy oh boy i failed -- the food was blah and just plain not good. i usually try and not waste food and so i'll usually clean house on multi course prix fixe meals...but for the first time in my life i didn't finish multiple courses for a chef's tasting menu. that's really bad cause i'm usually pretty forgiving of the food.
the service, it lacked considering the place wasn't super packed at all for NYE.
also, through out the meal, we'd see kitchen staff walking through the main dining area carrying large buckets of stock and vegetables, etc. to go to the back or vice versa. highly unprofessional for a place of this caliber. it was distracting and really... who wants to see that during fine dining service.
i knew i should've gone to Lumiere for NYE, i had one of the best dining experiences there. -
Review from Andrew S.
Langley, BC
8/2/2009
Pretty impressed....
My partner and I ate here recently for lunch. I had the Jerusalem artichoke and duck risotto, and she had the smoked chicken and romaine salad. Both were really great. My partner isn't used to organic and free range products, and couldn't get over how 'healthy', and 'clean' her meal tasted. I had a Moscow Mule to drink, the only establishment I've found to have this legendary drink. At $12 I thought too pricy, but I wasn't about to deny myself after looking for so long! (Message me if you know of other places serving this esteemed cocktail!)
Anyways, the only issue we had was the waitress was a 'quiet talker' we had a hard time hearing her. And we are in our thirties, not seniors with hearing aids! And the decor was pretty sparse....sort of like if Glen Peloso came in and spruced it up....
I will come back for a dinner absolutely. -
Review from Tri D.
4/16/2009
Call me a glutton, but I had the seared foie gras and the terrine. Both were fabulous, I did however enjoy the seared slightly more. The duck for two was only okay. A bit dry and lacking in flavor. So why 4 stars? I came here to get my foie gras fix, and they did not disappoint.
The restaurant is fairly small, and got very loud when it filled up. Definitely not the spot for a quite dinner. -
Review from Natasha L.
9/28/2009
Fuel embodies Vancouver dining experience succinctly and deliciously. Fresh ingredients prepared beautifully with minimal fanfare. The result: simply memorable.
We had the lamb that was perfectly cooked and ling cod, which was slightly sub par compared to the other dishes. Although still delicious, I personally find the dish marginally lacks depth (maybe cauliflower puree?)
The desserts were heavenly. The cheesecake has just the right savoriness to balance its sweetness. The rice pudding is rich but paired skillfully with refreshing apple shorbet.
The cookies and candies at the end of the meal make this one of the most sublime dining experiences we ever had. -
Review from Darcie A.
8/23/2009
This place is so hyped up, and unfortunately it didn't live up to the hype. Maybe coming from Portland my expectations are a bit higher? Way over priced, didn't have a bottle of the wine we wanted chilled so we had to pick something else, waitress was nice but a little inexperienced, and I was hungry when we left. I paid $35 for a plate of food so small that I couldn't even feel it in my stomach when we left. And it tasted OK.
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Review from Daphne H.
2/1/2009
Eating here was kinda slow. The service was good but a little slow for my liking. I came here with my Dad and some of his friends for dinner. The food was decent but I absolutely love the chandelier !! Ha...
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Review from Christopher S.
Vancouver, BC
7/22/2009
Celebrated a family dinner at Fuel on a Tuesday night.
The food was fantastic - great local ingredients, cooked perfectly.
Both our server and sommelier were charming, attentive, and definitely added to the experience.
We were lucky enough to try the seasonal Raspberries from a local BC farm (only available until the end of July). Definitely one of the best desserts I have tried in my life.
If there's just two of you - sit at the bar and watch the chefs at work, otherwise grab a table for a relaxed dinner with wonderful food. -
Review from Quinn M.
Vancouver, BC
10/7/2009
In terms of food, everything was a terrible disaster. I have been to so many lovely restaurants in the city and enjoy both casual and fine dining, and I've rarely been to a restaurant where so many things went wrong. I agree with Leanne's review below, that they were boring dishes that were so overpriced -- Especially considering that they weren't even prepared well! Overcooked, undercooked, too much fat, forgot the ingredients on three dishes -- from appetizer to dessert, nearly everything was bad, and there were 8 very different people at the dinner. The waitress was angry and sullen, and when I sent an e-mail that was very nicely worded to the manager and owner, he said she was just nervous and we'd misunderstood her behaviour toward us. Well, why employ a waitress who ignores you when you speak because she's so "nervous"? And then he found my friend's review on http://dinehere.ca (which I edited, granted) and wrote, "Judging by your review, we're not the restaurant for you" and left it at on that sour note. A bit creepy, and very unprofessional. I spoke to some other restaurant managers and staff and they said the owner has a well-known reputation for being rude and full of himself, which might explain the response people get when they complain. I felt so uncomfortable that I sent an e-mail thanking him for clearing everything up (to be diplomatic) and never heard back. What a nasty mess.
