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The Beach House At Dundarave Pier
Category: Restaurants Seafood Seafood [Edit]
150 25th StWest Vancouver, BC V7V 4H8
Neighbourhood: Dundarave
(604) 922-1414
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Dressy
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Very Loud
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
18 reviews for The Beach House At Dundarave Pier
18 reviews in English
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Review from Sunshine M.
Coquitlam, BC
12/12/2011
I really like the Beach House, and my best experiences have been intimate dinners with friends where we are in the mood for great food, a gorgeous view and a fun night of catching up. I prefer not to come here with large groups. It is a great place to show off the city if you have one or two friends visiting!
The menu has changed and some of my favorite dishes have disappeared. I think the kitchen is still great and I will give the new menu a chance to grow on me. I have had some incredible duck and beef dishes and one of my most memorable mussel dishes was at the Beach House.
The servers and valet attendents are usually great fun, but not overly attentive when you require privacy-a nice balance. The way the restaurant is designed, most seats provide beautiful views.
My one complaint is that I find the restaurant gets unbelievably dark as the night progresses. On one occasion I actually thought that the lights were malfunctioning as I could no longer see my flatware or dish (I am WAY too young to be losing my eyesight ;) I love candle-lit tables but that amount of darkness is a bit excessive for this diner. Not a deal-breaker when I factor in the food and setting tho. -
Review from Trude H.
Vancouver, BC
12/6/2011
First, I would not bring visitors here. The food is just not worth it. Eat somewhere else and sit for free in the public park which adjoins the restaurant. The pier walk is gorgeous at night.
We had a good variety of mains at our table, so we got to taste a lot - the fish taco was okay - small for the price - but fresh tasting. The Lychee Lemonade cocktail was fruity and refreshing - although had a slight "mix" aftertaste.
What was totally outstanding was the creme brulee. Although tiny in size (so actually overpriced, in comparison to other establishments) it was smooth and creamy, and the biscotti was a lovely touch.
The Dragon sushi was fair, well presented, and best to order as a "share" plate.
Fish and chips were, well, a disappointment. The oil needs to be changed more frequently, kitchen; the odour wafted along our table. The size of the fish was ample, and certainly tasty, once the coating was peeled off. Served on a wooden platter with a generous bowl of coleslaw perched on the edge, this entree looked great, but ... well, the deep fry oil odour was noticed by all of us.
The linguine was good - the parmesan freshly grated, soft, fragrant aromas were tantalizing, and it was an enjoyable dish. But Vancouver is graced with such good Italian restaurants, it would be better to visit them.
Pros: good view, coat check at reception, wood and glass decor, located in a fabulous neighbourhood with great shopping.
Cons: overpriced, view from some tables totally blocked by wood panels, missing slats in women's washroom cubicle doors a bit disconcerting, food is fair, but not outstanding or anything to write home about.
Parking - is free on Bellevue, which is just before the entry into the restaurant. -
Review from Cathy S.
4/3/2011
A lot of flash but no substance.
This was our first time at this restaurant and we were immediately taken by the amazing location and view. This was the beginning and end of awesomeness and the only justification for even a 2 star.
We stood cooling our heels in the lobby for a half hour past our reservation without anything other than a cursory "we're waiting for a party to leave" comment. Our server was competent but not outstanding, and became less popular when he announced that the kitchen had already run out of all of the specials as well as mussels. Also, as the proclaimed dd for the group I don't think it was reasonable to have an empty water glass sitting in front of me for half the evening when a great effort was put into topping off wine glasses. Geez, after the second time of having to ask for more water you would think that they might get a clue.
Foodwise it was hit and miss. Our ahi tuna taco appetizer was quite good although the tuna was overcooked. Our friends calimari and oyster appetizers were very good. The pacing of the delivery of our main courses was terrible. There was more than a 5 minute interval between services of the mains so the first plates delivered had cooled significantly before everyone got their food at the table. My seafood trio salad was overdressed and the salmon and prawn was overcooked but the halibut was done perfectly. My husband's sable fish was absolutely delicious but the portion size was very small relative to the $30 price tag. Not once did the server come to ask us about our food satisfaction.
The Beach House charges the prices of a fine dining establishment but delivers mediocre food and service. If I want that view I guess I will do take out from somewhere else and sit on a bench outside near the
pier.Listed in: Train Wrecks
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Review from Katie F.
3/5/2011
3.5 stars - 3 star food and 4 star venue/location!
Location, location, location!
I don't get up to West Van often but was excited to try out this venue for a private function. Lovely views of the water and you can go for a nice stroll along the beach before/after dinner.
The private room is very nice - it's upstairs with its own bathroom and the service is pretty good, with the coordinator watching for noise coming up the stairs. The service is not that refined but they're friendly. Minor mix-up with my appetizer order, but they were a little slow in getting things out, so I decided just to eat the salad instead of the crab cake I actually ordered.
Food quality overall is average. My Caesar salad was decent, although I really wish I got my crab cake! I had the tenderloin as my main, and steaks are not their speciality... the medium rare was overcooked, but the meat was nicely flavored. Very good sides. Desserts were very good - I was trying to be healthy since I'd been eating out all week, so I went with the gelato trio - very good!
The Beach House reminds me of Seasons in the Park... great views, but only OK food. It's a good place to take guests for the view. -
Review from Roanna Z.
8/31/2010 3 photos
We brought our California friend to this Beautiful location, looking out at the Centennial Sea Wall, the Dundarave pier and southeast back toward the Lion's Gate Bridge. You could easily spend an hour just staring at the view of the water and mountains in the distance. Bring your tourists here!
After all that tiring work of taking in the views and drinking cocktails on the patio, you might want to order some food, eh?
We had the Blackened Snapper Tacos; mini fish tacos, delicately flavoured and drizzled with creme fresh. I had requested the creme on the side, but our lovely looking, young waitress made an oops, so I just scraped it off a bit.
We also ordered the "Wok Tossed Calamari" with Cilantro and Green Onion flakes, but due to my wheat allergies, it was served overly slathered only in a hot chili oil and lime. The red pepper flakes made it painfully (!) hot for my delicate constitution ;-) perhaps when it's breaded the chili oil isn't so over powering.
Afterward, using an upcoming birthday as an excuse, we ordered a dark chocolate mousse. This being pure torture to me with a dairy allergy! It was SO mouth-wateringly tempting! -but I'm amazingly self disciplined. I'll tell you simply that the sounds made by the parties indulging in said dessert, might have alerted nearby patrons.
I would recommend for anyone to come here for a birthday celebration lunch or drink but maybe if you have food allergies, you may want to call ahead and order something specially made for you.
Over all though, I'm glad we had the chance to eat there. -
Review from Monti S.
Vancouver, BC
8/20/2009
I am torn or wish I could tear one of these stars as The Beach House at Dundarave would sit firmly at 3.5 stars for a solid but inconsistent restaurant. Lovely setting, food a tad spotty on days and service always a conundrum.
Let me pontificate.
I have been dining and drinking at The Beach House for several years, I've been there for my birthday, to meet friends, to grab a drink, family for brunch, I am Beach House seasoned, which would lead one to think "if she's been there so much she must love this place".
Truth is, if I didn't live in West Van a mere 5 minute drive away would I make the effort?
On a beautiful day, nestled into the heart of Dundarave, overlooking the dock and boardwalk, couples strolling, families playing, the ocean and Point Grey vistas going for miles and the sun dipping into the horizon, you could drink moonshine and fried shoes and love it.
The food is good, it's just boring. I spend myself boring holes into the menu hoping upon hope that the seared salmon, halibut in broth, grilled chicken breast, sablefish in soy would undergo a What Not To Season episode and get a new taste wardrobe. I am wanting to choose between appetizers not wish I had appetizers to choose from, take a cue from the Fish Market with their fun and fresh appies all day.
But it's not bad, its good, not rave about good, not ho hum good, just a solid good, like getting a B on your report card or being that middle child.
Service is a mixed bag, like the food never bad but a tad scattered. You have the flirty waiters (like I did last night) that think if they work the I am a cute boyish thing we may fall over ourselves salivating and heaving tips down the front of his pants (not). Then we have nights where the manager is in and he is courteous, professional and a charm, other nights servers that may have just walked off the street that forget you, and every now and then a lovely breath of server fresh air where you get what you want, when you want without nary a look around.
Solid, good, wish they could spiffy up a little but good. The prawn linguine is good, the ammatriciana used to be a tick salty but I haven't had it in a while, halibut in broth is a pass, salmon always solid, mussels uninspiring (don't go there), wine list has NO PINOT NOIRS (hello?? BC does not count) and only Bordeauxs by the bottle (hello???).
I feel I may have wandered along a meandering path, I will go back, always will as long as I live on the North Shore. If you are coming across a bridge and want good food, La Regalade hands down. For view- The Beach House. -
Review from Erin J.
9/7/2009
I grew up on the North Shore and went to the Beach House a lot with my family when I was younger. I returned there last night for the first time in maybe 10-15 years and realized how much I had been missing for not going in such a long time.
The food is AMAZING here. We decided to share a pasta entree for our appetizer which was really great. I think they should work on the appetizers on their menu though because none of them appealed to me and my husband, which is why we decided to share a pasta entree. I then had the Arctir Char for my main, and it was sooo delicious, along with the potato croquette it came with.
Somebody had previously commented on the prices being high here, but I think they are very reasonable. Our mains were $27 and $28, which would have easily cost $35+ at the same sort of restaurant downtown.
Overall, I was very impressed and looking forward to going again soon (not in 10-15 years!) -
Review from Allison G.
Vancouver, BC
4/10/2011
We had our wedding here, 50 people (plus 6 kids). Some parts were *very* well done, and others were absolute shit. We were in the party room upstairs, which is very very lovely! We were not crazy brides. We had very clear instructions and expectations, they were not unreasonable or even close to being "over the top".
Good:
-The *amazing* view. Covered patio (with heaters), the party room, which are all built to showcase the amazing backdrop (a complete view from the Lion's Gate Bridge to Lighthouse Park, with everything in between).
-The staff (minus the event co-ordinator, but we'll get to him in a minute) were lovely
-The food. Delicious!! Our guests commented several times on how delicious it was.
-The price point. $500 deposit, which goes towards your bill at the end, $55-60 plate with lots of flexibility. 50% off the bill if you come in to do a tasting menu. They charge for drinks consumed and don't require a minimum (ie they'll charge you for bottles opened, not how many bottles you actually ordered, unless it's a special one they have to bring in).
-The sommelier, Brooke, is fantastic. When we came in for our tasting, she spent a lot of time with us and opened many bottles and let us try different things (my wife is a total wino, so she and Brooke got along like peas in a pod).
-The team of staff upstairs were attentive and sweet. I think we had our own server, but I honestly wasn't paying too much attention. Questions or requests were dealt with quickly and efficiently.
-Set-up and take down, as well as rearranging tables was done quickly and quietly, without any fuss.
-The kids in attendance really enjoyed their food, which was really important (we organized a lot for the kids at our wedding, to ensure the parents had a good time too, and it paid off!).
Bad:
-The event co-ordinator is disorganized and cannot follow through. We fought for a MONTH to get a contract, while he kept saying we didn't need one (my now wife is an event co-ordinator, so this line is utter BS). We were promised a lot of things, some of which never happened. When screw ups happened during the wedding, he CAME TO US. Seriously, who does that? The previous 3 months he was difficult to get a hold of (a 2 week e-mail response turn around... which is unacceptable), and we had to contact the General Manager on 2 occasions in order to get a response. When we did hear from him, we got excuses about why he hadn't gotten back to us (cleaning out his garage, "been really busy"). Not professional.
-I am celiac, and cannot digest gluten very well, so I had requested special food 3 months in advance (with a list of appropriate substitutions). It never happened, I ate it anyways (drunk and hungry are never good combination), and have spent my wedding morning staying close to the bathroom. Romantic.
-Our cake was made by a good friend, who is a pastry chef. We insisted that she be the one who cut the cake, and the restaurant chef took it as a personal offense. Grow up.
-Set up was not done when it was supposed to be. Our rehearsal on Friday afternoon was a gong-show, because there was still crap everywhere from a party the previous night. This made it really difficult to navigate around things.
-The day of our wedding, we had a group of friends go in at 11 (ceremony was at 3) to do set-up, and they had to absolutely HOUND Ken to get anything done. Two of them were in tears out of sheer frustration from dealing with him all evening by the end of the night. I'm really upset about this, because these friends worked their assess off to make it beautiful (and they did a fantastic job, it was PERFECT!).
-The outside patio is supposed to have clear plastic panels so that we had some wind/weather protection. We were assured on 2 separate occasions that the patio would be sealed and heated for us. Imagine our surprise when 4 of the 6 panels were not in place, and repeated requests to have them put up went unanswered. We had to move the dinner inside, and everyone froze during the ceremony. Not happy about that.
-Every time we saw the patio pre-wedding, it was a disaster. I gave them slack the first 2 times, because it was January and I thought they were moving stuff around, but now I realize that they don't bother to put any of their equipment away and store it properly, they just put it out on the deck.
In short, this is a really great place to go for dinner (good food, nice atmosphere, I love all the wood carvings everywhere), but don't get married there. Just don't do it. I can't speak about smaller group dinners, but I imagine that a less complicated event would be much less stressful than anything else. The Beach House needs to look carefully at the skill level of their event coordinator, as this is unfortunately not a place we will be recommending for events in the future.
We are making a formal complaint to the GM, so I will update the review if anything good comes out of it. -
Review from Nadine N.
Vancouver, BC
8/6/2008 4 photos
I recently had my wedding reception at the Beach House. We rented out the top floor and could not be happier with the quality of food and service that we received. The restaurant's event coordinator, Tania Frydrysek, had lots of good ideas and was always prompt to respond to my email inquiries as we planned the event. One thing that really impressed me about the Beach House was that I never felt that they were pressuring us to spend more. In fact, they gave us lots of suggestions on how to save money even at the risk of us not meeting our minimum spend.
The Beach House is an ideal place for a small wedding reception (50 guests) with it's waterfront location and views of Stanley Park. The decor on the second floor is reminiscent of a Pottery Barn catalog so you certainly don't need to waste your money on decorating. We all sat outside on the tented deck, which gave us a spectacular view of the rising moon over the Lion's Gate Bridge.
However, the location and the decor, as lovely as they are, get eclipsed by the amazing food! Guests are still thanking us for the delicious meal. The crab cake, sable fish and beef tenderloin were all big hits. All of our guests cleaned their plates.
I've eaten at the Beach House on two other occasions, once for dinner and once for lunch. Dinner was excellent with stellar service, however lunch on the patio was marred by disappointing service. I recommend that you visit the Beach House for dinner to maximize your enjoyment.
A tip on parking: While they do have valet service, there is also ample free parking in the evening on Bellevue Avenue off of 25th Street. -
Review from Joe L.
Vancouver, BC
Good food and great view. I went there for lunch with my parents today. We had halibut & chips, seafood hot pot and seafood BLT. I had the BLT - tons of crab meat and shrimps loaded between pieces of toasted white bread :) The other 2 dishes look good and respectable, too. The lunch menu has good selections of appetizers, salads, and main dishes (for some reasons they call them entrees).
I'm glad that they only have tables for 2 along the window so big parties don't crowd up along the windows blocking the view overlooking Burrard Inlet, Kits, and Stanley Park.
If you are like me and don't like strangers sitting in the driver's seat of your car and touching your steering wheel (i.e. valet), there's ample 4-hour free parking along Bellevue just outside the restaurant. -
Review from Sarah O.
11/17/2009 3 Check-ins Here
Yes. This is the place to go when you want to impress your date. Great location, great view, great atmosphere and service and most importantly, great food! Mmm.. from the bread basket to the Cesar salad to wine, it was spectacular.. then came the cornish hen.. oh wow, it was divine. Loved every moment I had with that splendid thing. And after dinner if you feel too full or feel romantical, just stroll along the seawall and enjoy the marvelous view of Stanley Park and downtown. Boy, what a treat!
Listed in: Dream Team 2009, Food with a View, Where to go on a first date
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Review from NOrthshoreMama M.
North Vancouver, BC
10/12/2010
Went here for the first time a few weekends ago. It was a lovely day, and we sat outside, the heat lamps were great, and really worked! (Sometimes I'm still freezing) but they seem to have the right formula... windows to block the wind, and heat lamps. I also appreciated the comfortable out door chairs. So many restaurants have terrible patio seating.
The waitress was good, maybe not as refined as I'd expect in a high end restaurant, but she was good. I appreciate it when one can get good food and not have to put with pomp and circumstance just to get it. So that was fine. We ordered a BC Shiraz from the wine list and when it arrived it smelled like horse manure... we asked the waitress to smell it and she agreed, so she went and got the sommelier... who explained that it was supposed to smell "earthy"... she decanted it, and it still smelled awful. HA! Earthy I like, robust... not manure smelling ! Well you learn something new everyday. I suppose my palate is simply not refined enough for such "earthy" wine! Thankfully though she was very gracious and said "If you are not enjoying the wine, let me change it for you" and so she did.
I thought that was excellent service since we were paying $75 for the bottle... we were expecting to just have to drink our manure wine, being labelled by the sommelier as ignoramuses, but no, she got us a BC Cabernet that smelled and tasted like wine after that! Thank goodness!
The meal was expensive, ($200 with the wine/dessert and dinner for 2 people) but I thought, very good, and sunset was fabulous, and it was definitely worth the money to spend such an enjoyable evening. -
Review from Ryan A.
North Vancouver, BC
8/23/2010
not as great as it used to be, but still pretty amazing. the view, as others have said, is the real gem here, but I have to recommend the french onion soup. It has port in it, and is by far the best french onion soup I have tasted. (I do try it at most places if its on the menu).
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Review from Lucinda C.
Vancouver, BC
1/31/2010
My favourite restaurant in the lower mainland. Great veiw of downtown Vancouver, fresh seafood, wonderful staff, and it's not a chain!
Listed in: Best Seafood
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Review from Richard J.
North Vancouver, BC
4/7/2009
Although the location is pretty ideal and the food is decent, this place is over priced and the service can be iffy. Some of the menu is pretty uninspired. I find the Beach House at Dundarave Pier to be over-rated. It's mostly popular with locals.
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Review from Donald C.
7/21/2010
Wow, I don't know where to begin. My husband and I first went to the Beach House a couple of years ago and had a fantastic meal served by a very professional and caring waiter. The waiter had a brother who also on their wait staff. Anyway he was very helpful and informative and made our dining experience good enough that we certainly wanted to go back.
My husband and I got married in Canada a year ago last May and we had our wedding dinner at the Beach House. There were six of us. We had the same waiter who went out of his way to be sure we had, again, another wonderful dining experience. They had the tables in front of the fireplace reserved for our party giving us our own space to celebrate. It was truly a dinner to remember for all of us.
Now... last weekend hubby and I took Amtrak to Vancouver (from Vancouver, WA) for a four day weekend. We made reservations at the Beach House for what we were hoping for - another wonderful dining experience. Our reservation was for 7:30 and we were promptly seated. The view, if I didn't mention it earlier is really wonderful and we were going to have a beautiful sunset to look forward to seeing. Well, call me picky or finicky but the windows were filthy! Streaks, smears and runny things that the sun picked up on and really highlighted... not a pretty picture! Then we noticed that the wait staff had changed. Our professional waiter who was very happy to assist us was replaced by a young girl who really didn't give a crap. About the only thing she had going for her was that she was young and cute. I looked around the restaurant hoping that our old waiter was working a different station and found only a crew of young girls like the one we had. Don't get me wrong, we've had great service in better restaurants by young girls but this wasn't what was happening this particular evening.
Our cocktails were mediocre, watered down. Salads were OK. I had the seven ounce fillet with a reduction of some kind and mushrooms which was OK. and the veggies were a bit over cooked. Hubby's meal was about the same. So we had gone from truly wonderful meals to one that was simply OK. with less than good service.
When we left we decided that there were many, many good to great restaurants in Vancouver, B.C. to experience and that we would not be going back to The Beach House. It was an incredibly disappointing experience. -
Review from Jay Rand B.
3/30/2010
The setting is breathtaking. The food was good and almost great. I had the feeling that this establishment was resting on it's laurels a bit as far the the food quality and presentation went.
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Review from Malcolm M.
Vancouver, BC
5/3/2010
A friend took me to the Beach House for my birthday. It was during the dine out Vancouver event, so we ordered from that menu, although there wasn't much of a discount.
We both ordered the same items - garlic prawns as appetizers, which were good.
For entrees we ordered the sockeye salmon. That's where things started to go downhill. Both our dishes came with very undercooked salmon, well over half the salmon was completely raw. I've ordered the same dish numerous times in the recent past, I've never it so undercooked. We asked the waiter to have it cooked some more - which he did although he claimed that this is the way everyone cooks salmon. When we got our dishes back, the salmon was better cooked, although now it was dry. The vegtables - mashed potato and asparagus were now cold and very plain tasting.
The desert had a fancy name, and was elaborately presented. It consisted of a tiny bit of chocolate ice cream, which was nice, a equally tiny piece of tasteless chocolate cake, and a multi layed square. The square had a couple of layers of very low quality chocolate slices and a couple of layers of tasteless filling.
On the positive side, the view is fantastic. The service was fine, although I didn't appreciate the suggestion that my companion and I were at fault for not liking the undercooked salmon.
Overall, this dining experience would have been very disappointing regardless of the price. Given that the meals were pretty pricey, I cannot recommend this restaurant.
