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The Smoking Dog
Category: Restaurants French French [Edit]
1889 1st Ave WVancouver, BC V6J 5B8
Neighbourhood: Kitsilano
(604) 732-8811
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 11:30 am - 1 am
Sat 1 pm - 1 am
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$$$
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Very Loud
15 reviews for The Smoking Dog
15 reviews in English
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Review from Grace C.
Burnaby, BC
2/23/2012
We checked out Dine Out Vancouver and hit up Smoking Dog Bistro. We actually checked it out on Chinese New Years, avoiding the usual rush at Chinese restaurants. Their 3-course menu was just $28 and had a very interesting bacon dessert.
One of the appetizers offered was the Sliced Flank Steak with Ratatouille. I was pleasantly surprised by the portion, because after all, this was just an appetizer. The steak was done medium rare, with loads of ratatouille. Ratatouille is a toss-up mixture of tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, peppers and flavoured with garlic and onions. It's healthy as it is yummy!
Another of the appetizers we tried was the Grilled Portobello with Mixed Greens, Cherve and Pine Nuts. The mixed greens were a blend of grilled red peppers, beets, arugula, and a shaving of carrots on top. The balsamic reduction was rich and plentiful, so I loved this dish. Not sure how the portobello was prepared, but it kept it's juices and made a nice serving tray for the greens.
If you love, lamb, the you should really try the Braised Lamb Shank. Although not a big fan of polenta, it's not really a large part of the dish, and you've got to have some greens, so the 5/6 haricots verts was just enough. The star of this dish was definitely the lamb. If you fear lamb because it's gamey, you should try this one. The meat was ultra tender and the knife they supply is merely perfunctory. The meat falls off the bone so easily, but it's not mushy. The meat is good and there is a lot of it!
We also tried their Moules Frites, which I don't think was on their Dine Out menu. Using Salt Spring Island mussels, they were steamed with some garlic, lemon butter and a bit of white wine. It did come with Frites, but I missed taking a picture! The portion was generous, about 20+ for the order. The broth was yummy and I'm glad we saved some of the bread so we could soak up every last drop.
Another menu item that we ordered off the Dine Out menu was their Steak Frites. It's supposed to be a Striploin but I think they substituted for a different cut. Not necessarily a cheaper cut, just a different one. Bordelaise sauce is supposed to be made with red wine, marrow and butter. This was a good sauce, I just wish there was more of it. My steak was cooked to a medium rare, as requested, and was definitely enough for an entree portion. I didn't like my cabbage and celeriac slaw served in a separate container. Somehow, that screams diner, not bistro. However, the dressing was good and I did finish the whole thing. And yes, pommes frites were good...crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside...not as crispy as you get to the bottom, but still good.
This was the much anticipated Candied Bacon Chocolate Fudge Cake. We expected crisp bits of bacon sprinkled amongst rich dark chocolate fudge. Unfortunately, we were a touch disappointed (having anticipation can cause that) with the cake that arrived. The bacon was mixed into the cake and the fudge was the topping. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't as good as we had hoped.
As a fan of tart desserts, I was delighted to see the French Lemon Tart with Raspberry Coulis. The crust was surprisingly light, and the lemon curb was nice and dense, just the way I like it. The fresh whipped cream and mint were a nice touch, as was the coulis, but I was all about the lemon tart!
I noticed that many of the Dine Out dishes are not on the regular menu, and this baffles me. Why would you introduce people to your restaurant with dishes that they might fall in love with, only to never serve it again. Shockingly, the lamb shank isn't on their regular menu (at least it's not on their online menu). I just don't get it. -
Review from Elisa A.
North Vancouver, BC
2/4/2012
Came here with other 2 gfs or the dine out menu,the dine out menu was small,we had the Flank steak as appetizer ,it was amazing!!!
and the Lamb shank for entree was really awesome,the sauce is very delicious and so as the vegi comes with..and the lamb itself was made perfectly done!!! It was an awesome experience for us!! we had a good evening dining there !! and the best dishes we had so far for dine out 2012!! -
Review from Nikki N.
Vancouver, BC
2/11/2012
My friends and I had dinner here for dine out. We wanted to pick an authentic French cuisine and the "smoking dog" (vs. places that had French names ) was probably last on our list until we saw their menu. We chose it just based on the menu and it was a perfect choice.
The food was amazing! I had the ratatouille and the beef and steak was so tender. The crispy skin salmon was to die for and my friends had the lamb leg and the polenta was soooo good. The dessert on the menu was a lemon creme brule but we found out when we got there it wasn't being offered, so that was disappointing. However, the server was pretty observant as I was talking with my friends and how I was sad they didn't have the creme brule, and despite me ordering a different dessert he surprised me with what I wanted and it was delicious. My friends had the bacon cake and it sounds a bit weird but was actually pretty good.
Now even better than the food, the service was so great! Perfect. It wasn't a busy restaurant, there weren't that many people in the restaurant with us so our server Dane gave us a lot f attention. He was very attentive and checked is us frequently. He made sure we were getting everything we wanted and needed. The fact that he changed my dessert and surprised me with what I really wanted was so niceof him. My friend ordered a dessert and she didn't really like it, and he came out and gave her a whole new dessert and didn't charge her for it.
Some of the reviews said the food took a while, but I didn't notice because my friends and I were having a good time. Bonus points for playing the Canucks game!
Overall, great place for a group, great service and good food! Definitely coming back to try the rest of the menu. -
Review from Jacqueline T.
10/21/2011 1 Check-in Here
Went for lunch: Warning.. be ready to spend an extra long lunch hour.. as it takes quite a while to get your food.
French Food: Tried a staple of their moules & frites. Disappointed with their mussels. Broth was bland, and it didn't even come out steaming hot. The fries was good (thats cause i'm a fan of many arrays of fries) but same thing.. not fresh or hot. Which boggles my mind, since it takes a while for you to get your food!
Also tried their Scallops appie: Wasn't empressed. Half seared or grilled.. but same problem. Wasn't hot. Seemed like a lot of the food has just been sitting there.
The only thing that I actually enjoyed was their seafood crepe. Lots of salmon, scallops, crab meat, shrimp.. i believe. And it came out actually hot. Choice of side of salad or potatoes. Go for the salad :)
All in all.. i was a bit disappointed with my experience there. But.. it helped a little that I had a groupon. But still ended up spending $40 more than intended. And not quite the French cuisine I expected to have.
For that price, I'd rather wait for dinner, and go to their neighbour restaurant: Kitsilano's Daily Kitchen. -
Review from Theresa W.
Vancouver, BC
10/3/2011 1 Check-in Here
A surprise win for a small little restaurant. Husband and I were looking to celebrate some random milestone I made up with a nice dinner out. This place is rubbing elbows with the Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co and Kits Daily, so I knew it had big shoes to fill. We got there at 6pm for a Sunday reservation, and there were only 2 other tables in use, so it was definitely a quiet restaurant.
Our server was extremely nice and had the cutest French accent (for some reason he kept saying "prime ribe") and he seemed truly sad to inform us that they were out of the moules frites and the pork chop dishes. Boo urns, at 6pm?! I raised an eyebrow to that, but anyways.
Instead, we opted for the wild salmon and the "prime ribe" (not on the menu, but a special for the evening). The salmon ($19) was superb. It was perfectly cooked and topped with maple-glazed onions. The potato fingers on the side were some of the best I've ever had (who knew potato fingers could taste so good?), and the vegetables were cooked and seasoned just right. The prime rib ($25) was a LARGE portion of meat with jus on the side, sitting on top of a heap of mashed potatoes and the same side vegetables. It was honestly a really large plate of food, that it kind of looked scary next to the salmon. The meat was cooked right at medium and seared in on both sides so nothing dripped out.
Overall, the food was delicious and well-priced. The menu has a large variety of food, and some French classics (onion soup, steak frites) and a lovely dessert menu. I was far too full from my main to order a dessert, but it's a must-try for next time. Great place for casual French dining. :) -
Review from Alison S.
8/29/2011
Came here with a Groupon and had a nice dinner here :)
Food: We tried the terrine (we've never had that before) as an appetizer and both of us liked the terrine itself. I liked the candied walnuts too but my boyfriend found them a little too sweet. Meh, more for me! For entrees we had the ricotta gnocchi and the bouilliabaise. The gnocchi were pillowy soft and very creamy and rich. The bouillabaise had perfectly cooked seafood in it, and a rich saffron broth, which was tasty but a little bit on the salty side. For dessert we had the creme caramel, which was dense sort of a flan but not too sweet; we enjoyed it.
Service was very polite and everything came out quite quickly. The ambiance also had a nice soft glow to things.
Glad we came here! -
Review from Betty L.
8/15/2011
Had a decent Sunday brunch yesterday with a few girlfriends. The food was pretty good, then eggs Benedict and omelets aren't too hard to make, So I need to go for dinner to see for sure if the food is truly decent. It took a pretty long time before they brought out the food eventhough it wasn't busy at all. When it finally came, either I was too hungry or it was really good, I quickly finished it before my girlfriends. I actually tasted citrus flavours in the Hollandaise sauce as indicated on the menu.
Service on the other hand was a different matter. The server didn't bother to refill our waters until we asked for the bill.
Need another meal before I can truly decide if it should stay 3 stars or move to 4 stars. -
Review from Ryan G.
8/15/2011
Food amazing, couldnt gave imagined this place was french by the name. Went here for brunch. Great quiche. Good kronenbourg (sp?)
Will return for a dinner to decide.... -
Review from Jarin H.
Vancouver, BC
10/11/2011 1 Check-in Here
The boyfriend and I went here for brunch yesterday with a groupon that I had. I had the Croque Monsieur and he had the Eggs Benedict. The service was great, if perhaps a bit too attentive, but there were only a couple other tables and it was pouring outside, so I will forgive them! The food was excellent and comforting, perfect for a gloomy day. Just had Perrier with lime and Earl grey so no specific comments on their beverages, but their creme brûlée and chocolate mousse (a holiday special) were both delicious! Would definitely head back, at least for dessert, and they have some classic drinks I wouldn't mind imbibing! Great atmosphere and pleasant staff.
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Review from Isabelle G.
Vancouver, BC
10/23/2011
Atmosphere: It's a classy feel with the colors of dark rich browns and maroons working well with the wine displays in glass. The only problem with the décor is that it's not neutral enough for the area to make one feel welcome for breakfast, brunch or lunch. It tries way too hard to be upscale while unintentionally missing the mark of the core location daytime audience. In other words there was no neutral ambience. The bathroom was less desirable at only 1 stall which seems like a pain in the ass on a busy night. My culinary partner in crime noticed in the men's washroom pink rim stains in the toilet which is a clear indication that there is no regular up keep in the bathroom department.
Service: The service was very very slow. It took 10 minutes just to get my tea, 25 minutes just to get the meal. No one refilled our water until the very end of our meal and I think that was only 'cause my date was bitching about how no one came by to refill the water and the host possibly overheard us. It was too little too late. The restaurant only had less than 16 people, not busy for a west end brunch at all and yet on top of the slow service the table next to us hadn't been cleaned. There were dirty dishes at the bar as well and no one cared to attend to those until 30 minutes into our seating. We later got an apology for the dirty dishes and the lack of cleanliness but only 'cause I am sure that the waitress recognized my disgust over the dirty tables that were left unattended for so long as patrons kept coming in. I understand that there were only two people working, however, considering the patron to host ratio, I've seen and experienced better service in similar circumstances. When I went to the washroom I overheard two tables complaining about the slow service accompanied by annoyed looks, therefore, I was relieved that it just wasn't me.
Food: Part of the reason I selected this Groupon in the first place was 'cause of the menu which by the way, isn't very French. I have had French food and although the menu is French inspired, don't be fooled. We came for brunch and there were a few items that I really wanted to try out. It all looked good on paper, however, when we were served both my culinary partner in crime and I weren't pleased. I ordered the omelet with herbed tomatoes and potatoes on the side. I don't understand how an omelet can take 25 minutes to prepare. When it came out they overloaded the omelet with black pepper. It was as though someone either knocked over the canister and didn't bother to make a replacement or someone just over shook the jar. To add insult to injury over the black pepper, it was the whole spice version and not even real cracked pepper. As for the tomatoes, those were very sparse. I can tell that the tomatoes and the fresh herbs were well intended, however, the over powering of the black pepper just over shadowed the greatness that this dish could've been. As for the potatoes they were nicely spiced and probably the only saving grace of the afternoon, however, there were odd flavors that indicated that the potatoes were deep fried in oil that hadn't been changed in a while. Speaking of potatoes, my date and I each received approx 1 C of potatoes which for the price, isn't a lot. To add insult to injury the waiter gave us a small half full shot glass of ketchup to share amongst each other for 2 1/2 cups of potatoes. How cheap is the restaurant that they couldn't give us a side of ketchup each? One shot glass was good for only dipping 5 nuggets at the most. Ketchup isn't even expensive to begin with. As for my date's meal he was a bit upset 'cause the hollandaise sauce on his eggs benny was supposed to be bacon infused, which wasn't present. The sauce looked dry rather than nice, runny and shinny as in other establishments. Both our meals arrived cold, however, we were hungry. Of course 'cause they took so fucking long to serve us in the first place, my date had to leave in the middle of the meal just to put more money in the parking meter which meant that he had an even colder meal experience.
Price: I had a Groupon, however, for the price and the meal experience, $12 for a breakfast plate isn't worth it. You will get better service and food at Denny's for half that. We didn't end up spending all $40, however, the waitress included our Groupon value which included tax and tip which rarely happens with Groupons as taxes and tip are extra. Perhaps the hosts got a clue that we weren't satisfied with the experience. We didn't bother tipping due to the experience and just l -
Review from Darren N.
Vancouver, BC
5/6/2010
Maybe I had high hopes, I don't know, but it just didn't live up to my expectations. But this is where I wish there were more obvious ways to break out a rating. I get that yelp is simple and in many ways, that is its beauty, but this 3 star rating is in many ways misleading.
The service was excellent. I would give it 4 or 4.5 stars. Our waiter was very helpful and funny and though the food came a little slowly this was acceptable as it was a busy Friday night.
The appetizers were excellent. Probably 5 stars. We shared a poutine and the soup du jour and both were quite spectacular. I believe the soup was cauliflower with truffle oil. Just great. And probably the best poutine I've had in Vancouver to date, though I'm hearing that Corduroy's might be better. I will be checking on that soon.
The mains however were not that great. 3 stars max. I had the beef bourginon and it was quite a disappointment. The meat was tender but very plain and the flavour just wasn't there. The other dish was some kind of seared pork loin and it was borderline over done. You could really taste the char and this overpowered the rest of the flavours.
Desert was pretty good, probably 4 stars - clafoutis with berries.
Value - not great. If you're going for a beer and poutine, that is great idea as it is a nice place and that will run you like $20. I saw they have burger + beer specials on Tuesdays and I will be checking that out. If that wins me over this might go to 4 stars overall, but given my overall first impression I can only give 3 for now. -
Review from Jack D.
Vancouver, BC
8/22/2011
Saturday afternoon. We walked into a pitch dark empty restaurant, saw our friends sitting in the corner looked helplessly. We sat down and wonder what had happened. No service at all.
We went to find the waitress. A tall young girl came reluctantly. With no knowledge of their food, she took our order and did not come back for a long time. In my mind " dinner time = busy time". I excused my self to use washroom. Stood up and look at the empty room, I thought that the washroom might have a long line up. There was nobody in there after I stepped into washroom but dirty seats and garbage everywhere. Cleaned the least dirty stall, relieve myself, washed my hands. Everything happened in the ghostly dim light.
Finally, our food was here. My crab cakes were burnt half way through, the waitress said " WHAT DO YOU WANT ?" I said: " I want not burnt crab cakes" . We ate in silent, because we don't want hurt antibody's feeling.
3 1/2 hours later. We paid the bill. Said goodbye to the dog. We all agreed on " We are not coming back"
.$9 for 4 pieces of butter leave and 1/4 egg.
$12 for look-like "portobello mushroom"
$21 for a piece of tasteless pork.
$ 6 for 3 mini scope sorbet. really small
$9 for 3 cream puff. not really sure
3 1/2 hours in the dark. -
Review from Julia G.
Vancouver, BC
4/23/2011
Wonderful lunch at The Dog. The daily specials were tomato soup with gin and scallop, shrimp and salmon crepes. We had both and both were terrific. We were welcomed even though we were a few minutes early. The coffee was delicious: fresh americano. We sat at a window table and read the paper and watched the people pass by on a sunny holiday Friday. Could it get any better? Yes. The food was really good. The tomato soup was thick and full of rich tomato flavour and the crepes very thin and filled with lots of chunky seafood. The white wine sauce was delicate and folded into the seafood. The sauce did not drown the crepes or the filling. Served with killer frites. Surroundings are charming but simple, service excellent and the food definitely kicked up a notch or two. Can't wait to go back for steak and more of those frites
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Review from Luisa S.
Vancouver, BC
9/5/2008 1 photo
While decidedly more upscale, this particular bistro still honours the time-old tradition of keeping things a little casual. The menu here is tight but with a nice selection of salads. While my asparagus salad was thoroughly satisfying, I must admit to being tempted out of my vegetarian ways by my friend's scallops, béchamel, gruyère cheese gratinée. Nice ambiance, good food and excellent service.
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Review from Sadie B.
Vancouver, BC
5/4/2011
I had heard that the Smoking Dog Bistro has a new menu/chef, so my friends and I decided to check it out. I can honestly say it was one of the best meals I have had in a long time! For appetizers we had the crab cakes and the scallops with fennel. The crab cakes were UNBELIEVABLE - everyone has to try them! The scallops were perfectly cooked and the fennel was so delicious, I could have ate a whole plate of it (I'm usually not a fan of fennel). For our mains I had the chicken supreme, one of my friends had the vegetarian risotto and the other had the pork chop. Not only was the presentation beautiful, everything was perfectly cooked, and packed with SO MUCH FLAVOR! I savored every bite. The desserts were also really well done. We were impressed with the atmosphere as we were seated near the fireplace, which was very elegant and cozy. The service was a bit slow, but otherwise it was an amazing night and I can't wait to go again.
