The Pear Tree

This would be my second time eating here, but my first review. First time was great. We were here for a family outing with the 8 of us. The second time… well… the food was not as consistent and I would not return. Reasons being:
1. Menu has not changed
2. Inconsistent (unfortunate, but a sad truth for many restaurants)
3. Choices galore
Atmosphere:
Tiny space. Relaxed. Intimate. Server is great and still the same guy from 3 years ago!
I ordered/​sampled:
1. Orange Caramelized Scallops with Double Smoked Bacon Risotto
— 1^st time was absolutely incredible. The smoked bacon infused with the perfectly cooked creamy risotto was to die for. And the scallops were scrumptious and a good portion. The second time, I ordered this as a main course and my dish was watered down. The waiter had the audacity to lie to my face and said the chef was not happy and remade it for me that’s why it took so long. Look, he clearly did not ‘remake’ it or it would not have been watered down and not seasoned enough. I was actually very disappointed and regret not saying anything at the time.
2. Witloof Salad with Watercress, Okanagan Pear Dressing, Walnuts & Gouda
— It was a refreshing appetizer. It was lightly tossed with all my favorite things: pears, candied walnuts and gouda cheese, but a salad is a salad and I have never been blown away by a salad except once.
3. Slow cooked ‘Maple Hill’ Chicken Breast with Confit Leg
— Suuuuuuuuuuuuper tender to the point where I thought the chicken was injected with water? Sounds funny but bare with me. Don’t get me wrong, it tasted great, but the texture of the chicken seriously threw me off. I wonder how they did that.
5. «Lobster Cappuccino» Lobster Bisque Foam with Dashi Custard and poached Lobster
— Do you like lattes with half foam and half liquid? Who the hell does? This is exactly what this bisque was. First of all it’s a very small portion, and they use the inside tip of the claw meat for the lobster meat which I hate. It’s the rubbery weird part of the lobster. It was a rich flavor, but this really did nothing for me. I would skip this.
4. Vanilla Crème Brulee
— Absolutely lovely. Good size to share.
Overall: That scallop risotto… I’m seriously disappointed. Would not come back. Or maybe I would… I mean third time’s the charm? I would recommend this place and try it at least once.

there isn’t many seats but it’s well decorated and cute and so frenchy and it’s v good food i hope you go and try it

Just a heads-​up: if you get sick and need to cancel your reservation, they will call you up at home and threaten to charge you $ 50/​person unless someone else takes your spot. This was our experience with The Pear Tree and, believe it or not, it did not make us want to re-​book another reservation.

Fantastic food and great service. We mainly had the vegetarian options and though the portions were a bit small, everything was prepared so exquisitely, we didn’t mind. Everything was fresh and it appeared each ingredient served a deliberate purpose for taste and visual appeal.
Very intimate setting. Not ideal for children but they accommodated us as we had an early seating. Would definitely return and highly recommend this restaurant.

I have been bugging my husband to eat at the Pear Tree for years. Well for our Anniversary he finally made reservations. The only one he could get was 7:30 so we arrived on time and were seated next to two couples all of us I very close to each other, even tho there was a table that could have had us on our own. I felt like I was dining out with strangers at my table. We ordered a drink a watered down Martini for me with two olives not the three that I had asked for. We ordered a salad to split and it nearly had enough for one person let alone two. No taste to speak of. We also ordered the scallop apple that was good. Then came the main. I ordered lamb shank and because of the late sitting I felt like I was getting leftovers. It was dry and rubbery. What did the waiter say when he asked how is you meal? Nothing because he didn’t ask at all. I guess you have to be the one to tell them that their food is bad. My husband had another dish of braised ribs and tenderloin. Sounds like a big meal right? Could nearly find it on the plate. Good bottle of wine and desert was crème brûlée that was Meh. Sorry Pear tree but I won’t be back. 260 dollars worth of Meh. And now my husband gets to tell me, I told you so!

After a time at the Pear Tree Restaurant, I began to feel like the Merovingian from The Matrix as he spoke French, akin to wiping your… well, you know… with silk. I’d like to say «that» word, but most of the review sites discourage it. It felt like the luxury it truly wanted to be.
From the outside, The Pear Tree is rather unspectacular, yet being that stands out among rainbow walls and neon signs – the restaurant next door was salmon-​colored with a yellow awning, leaving The Pear Tree’s shale tiles as somewhat reserved. This perfectly exemplifies how simplicity can be scenic. At least I wasn’t assaulted by varying shades of brown, the apparent default décor of every restaurant nowadays. A glass wall of wine divides the serving area from the colossal pristine kitchen. My girlfriend and I were shoehorned to a miniscule table at a far corner, a depressing point given our reservation days in advance. That would be the only criticism of the evening. Since Araxi the previous week, I had been waiting for a truly pampered experience, and The Pear Tree shared space with Araxi in a restaurant guide claiming both among a thousand restaurants across the world one must enjoy before dying. That’s a… big list. I got five down so far though. I better get off my butt.
The menu was Spartan, barely ten entrees, indicating the courses were made to order. We had already decided upon the seasonal table d-​hote, akin to the chef’s menu. Three fixed courses for 64 dollars intermixed with pallet cleansers and bread. Yeah, not cheap. Quick spoiler warning, the dishes were all incredible. Against a canvas of ceramic white, each plate was a moment of beauty, fleeting until I rammed them down my gullet like a voracious duck. I’d be honest and doubtful to remember if I even chewed. Green was a dominant color used, offset with whites and browns. After the brioche opener, we were treated to glazed pork cheek with chargrilled green asparagus, mustard textures and bacon wrapped leeks. In truth, I’m not sure what mustard textures is meant to imply. It was grainy mustard; just say its grainy mustard. And I wasn’t kidding about varying textures, combine the asparagus with the leeks or the leeks with the pork cheek, toss one of the crisps that top the dish if you want. The same was extended to the main, pan roasted «Haida Gwaii» halibut, with Yukon gold potato pave, spinach fluid gel and spring vegetables.
Now I know what you’re going to say – I made up half those words, but that was a direct quote from the menu. So let’s do a Google search. I honestly didn’t know Haida Gwaii was once the Queen Charlotte Islands and that the name changed only a few years ago, did you? Potato Pave refers to the French word for paving stones, and was coined by the world famous chef Thomas Keller – so basically it’s a square potato. Fluid gel? Well, it’s pureed spinach mixed with a gelling agent like xanthan gum… yummm. Actually it was. Finally, the meal concluded with a simple dessert. Though still delicious, it was oddly subdued. In the end, that was The Pear Tree’s strongest note, how it doesn’t go overboard. It skirts the outer periphery of molecular gastronomy without fully embracing it. My girlfriend selected the pear sorbet while I dove into the chocolate ganache with a crisp nut base, salted caramel and orange/​chocolate sorbet.
Pear Tree was an amazing experience but not transcendent… and I honestly don’t know if that translates to being a disappointment or not. I mean it’s less expensive than other places promising the world. I think the fault has to lie with hype. We picked it out from only a handful of restaurants in Vancouver listed in this restaurant guide. It listed only seven restaurants in Vancouver, and I had already been to Vij’s. But Vij’s wasn’t divine either, only fantastic, but I didn’t have a book that attempted to sell me on otherwise. I guess that means it’s all the book’s fault. I’m okay with that. The Pear Tree is worth a visit, certainly. It falls into a slot of restaurant I didn’t know existed – the one just below the best of the city, but one not trying to be better. Leave the top spot for the likes of Chambar or Absinthe, for those wanting to spend half as much but still feel they got 70% of an pinnacled experience, the Pear Tree is a worthy compromise.
Food: 4.5÷5
Service: ⁵⁄₅
Presentation: 4.5÷5
Value: ⁵⁄₅
Recommendation: 4.5÷5

Outstanding. Wonderful. Perfection. Food, service, quality and ingredients are Michelin-​toque worthy. Chef Jaeger is a mélange of «Yoda,» «Obi Wan,» and a Zen master all rolled into one talented food artisan. The not to be missed dishes are scallops over bacon herb risotto, stealhead trout and the deconstructed berry Pavlova bathed in a chilled strawberry soup. The brioche bread is amazing. The Witloof salad is an explosion of freshness, flavor and texture in your mouth. Separate vegetarian menu is a wonderful option. Lamb shank and maple glazed chicken (served at another table) looked like perfection on a plate. Wine list is first rate and well priced. If you have one night in Vancouver and can travel 10 minutes from downtown, this is your place. Truly a 10 in every respect. Blown away actually.

Excellent. Exceptional. What a great experience. A family/​couple run local restaurant with modern flair, an attention to detail in bringing out great natural and simple flavours of food, and reasonably priced for the quality of experience. You have to appreciate natural flavours of food to really enjoy the experience as the food is not heavily salted (which is good)
I had dinner there with just my wife. Omar was our server and we prompt, friendly, well informed in making great suggestions, and very timely in both presentation of food and knowing when my wife and I wanted to converse versus when we need some attention. Stephanie (co owner) also came by to check on us and deliver the sprouts and pear side dish
Must try:
— Scallops with Bacon Risotto. We each ordered one as an appetizer as it was popular on other Unilocal reviews. Delicious.
— Dessert! Wow! At the risk of overhyping — perhaps the best crime brûlée we have ever had. It is inspired by head chef Scott’s travels to London. Unique, rich, simply delicious. Had the chocolate ganache as well with a French press coffee. Fantastic.
We had the Beef Tenderloin and Short Rib for our entrees which were good, presented well and garnished simply. We also split a Lobster Cappuccino (which Omar actually split for us without us having to ask — thank you). It was unique. I am not a huge fan of lobster bisque with a cappuccino texture — but the lobster bits itself were buttery in texture and delicious.
Food was very good overall. Atmosphere and service were fantastic. We will definitely be back. Thank you Omar, Stephanie, Scott and staff.

I’m ranking this restaurant against similarly acclaimed spots I’ve eaten. I’m ranking it based on the Bocuse D’or marketing. The awards. The whole shebang.
I was pretty giddy when we headed out for a last minute, 15^th anniversary dinner. We got all dolled up and headed to this beautifully decorated restaurant in North Burnaby. The menu got me pretty psyched and I was ready for knock-​your-​socks-​off food (ooh, second review where I’m using it that phrase, but it’s appropriate in both). Unfortunately, I felt like everything was little under-​seasoned. So I have to knock down a star, though it really deserves only a half-​star knocked off. I will certainly go back to update this review (perhaps it was an off night?)
Service: A little slow by the end of the meal, but definitely solid service. They’re working the theatrics here and it was much appreciated. For the record, I did not see any condescension or rudeness at all.
Favorite Dishes: The charred asparagus and duck egg was outstanding. My tomato soup was pure and delicious. Loved it. The pork belly was perfectly cooked (a little under seasoned) and the cassoulet really needed some oomph. Cheese course. Yes please.
Ambience: Super romantic, stylish, quiet. Definitely not a place to bring the kids. Do love the open kitchen.
Overall, we had a very nice evening. Two entrees, two appies, one dessert, one port, and a bottle of bubbles ~220 tip in.

This is a small place in Burnaby. The service was excellent — our waiter was courteous, attentive and knowledgeable. The food was excellent — well presented, balanced, unique, and filling. I had scallop appetizer and the top and bottom of the scallops were well grilled but inside was soft homey — very nice. It was served on the best risotto I have ever tasted and was quite filling. I often find risotto too salty or too heavy but this one was perfect.
I had the beef tenderloin and short rib for the main and again excellent. It was aged well and cooked perfectly to medium. Excellent deep steak flavor married with slight char from grill and o jus, this dish was just heaven. Each morsel just melted in my mouth. And again it was quite filling.
For the desert, I had the crème burle. Again, an excellent dish — well presented and surprisngly not too sweet but rich and creamy. They insert a long flat caramlized sugar candy on the side so that you can customize the sweetness of your crème burle — brilliant. It was artistic and practical. By this time I was feeling quite bloated and had to work to finish my last few spoons of crème burle and sips on malbec.

On the night of my 31^st birthday, my fiancé took me to a restaurant that we have been wanting to try for a while.
The Pear Tree is a French restaurant tucked away in Burnaby, and they have won many rewards such as Chef of the Year (Scott Jaeger, 2007) and Top 10 Restaurants in Canada (The Maclean’s, 2015).
We were both really excited to try The Pear Tree, as it has great reviews and all the photos on Unilocal look delicious. The first impression of the restaurant is unexpected. It is upscale with classy décor and we were greeted warmly.
We were debating between ordering an entire bottle of wine, or just order by glass. The server was very helpful and offered us to take home unfinished bottle, so we were able to open a bottle and celebrate my birthday.
«Lobster Cappuccino» Lobster Bisque Foam with Dashi Custard and poached Lobster — this is a very unique dish and the lobster bisque foam was rich yet complimenting the poached lobster. I would recommend this dish.
Orange Caramelized Scallops with Double Smoked Bacon Risotto — the scallops were perfectly cooked and the risotto was a bit salty, but when you enjoy both together they worked great as a team.
Chargrilled organic ‘Blue Goose’ Beef Tenderloin with 36 hour braised Short Rib and Sieglinde Potatoes — both short ribs and tenderloin were delicious. The meat was so tender and flavorful, we had to slice them into tiny pieces to savor them slowly. I almost wanted to order another one.
Chocolate Ganache with a crisp nut base, salted Caramel and Orange Chocolate sorbet — the crème brûlée had the perfect caramelized sugar crust and worked well with the brandy snaps.
Vanilla Crème Brulee with a Crisp Brandy Snap — the chocolate ganache was rich and not too sweet and the chocolate orange sorbet added bits of refreshness to the dish. #runfordesserts
Overall I gave The Pear Tree 5 stars. It is now my favorite fine dining restaurant. The server was professional and knowledgeable, the ambiance was intimate and romantic and the food is simply delicious.

Have you ever been to one of those restaurants that believes they are SO special that they come across condescending and rude?
Well here it is!
We were the only table in the room and yet the waitress seemed too occupied with her menial tasks to take our order. The menu was very simple and classic yet the stress level exuded from the open kitchen was more expected from an operating room. Unfortunately the results were so average we felt completely ripped off.
I had heard the chef was a disciple of Bruno Mari but this is NOT in the same category. Think Earls in a small room, one cranky bitter waitress and prices jacked up 500%

Terrible experience. Let’s start from the beginning, after driving through the ghetto we finally found the restaurant (right next to a shoppers and a bus stop). When we walked in we were greeted by a miserable woman and what looked to be the head chef. They asked if I had booked two reservations and after checking it appeared that I did mistakenly double book and I said that we would just take the 5:30 reservation. The woman laughed and raised her eyebrows at me and proceeded to tell me she had been trying to contact us all day because they were unsure if we needed two tables (we are here from the states so our phones are not working) she then took us to our table and as she was walking back to the front she looked at the chef with raised eyebrows and a patronizing smirk like we were a bunch of idiots. We then waited for about 10 minutes just to get water (we were the only ones in there at this point). My mother and I asked for iced tea and about five minutes later the miserable woman came back to tell us that it comes from a can so it’s very sweet so if we wanted she could steep some fresh tea and I declined and said I didn’t want to be a bother and that I would like to order a different drink. Again she did her little patronizing laugh then walked into the kitchen to gossip to the chef and talk about how we didn’t want tea anymore and rolled her eyes. Besides the awful staff, the food at best is mediocre. DO NOT COME HERE.

Went pre Valentines to beat the rush a bit. I don’t know what I was waiting for but I remember the place opening and my first visit was only last week.
Was disappointed in that we we went expecting to do a tasting menu but they needed more notice that that. Usually I’m used to the fact that these restaurants already have something on the menu for tastings.
It’s ok however because it’s clear they want to be able to focus on providing a quality meal and experience as they completely wowed us and delivered. Lobster bisque cappuccino was brilliant, I thought I had good lobster bisque before but this was amazing. 36hr short rib, I thought it was gonna be beef jerky or mush hahah. It was great and the beef texture was maintained.
It was awesome, quit reading this and go visit! Can’t wait to repeat with small group of 4 or 6 for a tasting menu!

When I went there for the first time, the portion was big for each dish. I am the person who wants to enjoy several dishes with small portion. Especially I want to reach the desert with my comfortable stomach. I don’t want to feel full and tight.
A few years later, I went back there and ordered the tasting menue. Every single plate was brilliant and decent portion not to fill up too much. The presentation was gorgeous, the service was professional and the atmospher was nice. Of course I completed the desert, even small macaron by chef’s compliment with happy smile.
It’s not cheap but I am very happy to have such a good restaurant in Burnaby.

WOW, what a gem in North Burnaby. We had always wanted to try The Pear Tree but for some reason never got around to it. We were foolish to wait so long! What an incredible meal! Service was excellent and the food was spectacular! I had the Lobster Cappucino as my starter, the Beef Tenderloin /​Short Rib as my main and shared the Chocolate Ganache for our dessert!
Beautiful, small, very modern room and it was packed on a Satruday evening.
We will be back soon!

I never have been to Pear Tree before and my gal friend highly recommended it to us for celebrating special occasion.
I was wondering any decent/​upscale restaurant in North Burnaby, really? But, I’m wrong. I checked out the website and menu 2 days before my reservation, I found the food pictures were superb and the chef Scott was awarded in 2007.
When we walked in, I was surprised. The dining room is not big but elegant, the wall décors are simple but classy. The hostess and waiter service was ok.
They served made in house brioche bread (bread pudding and French toast) that awesome!
My hubby had Caesar salad with toasted Croutons and shaved Grana Padano to start with, it was good. He got stunning main course — braised lamb shank served boneless with seared scallops and roasted pear risotto. Lamb shank was soft and tasty, scallops were delicious and risotto was creamy and delightful.
I had pan seared caramelized scallops with smoked bacon risotto as appetizer, the scallops were full flavour and risotto was so delicious! My entrée was spectacular too! Pan roasted Trout served with pomme dauphine and butternut squash, it presented beautifully. Trout well-​seasoned and cooked perfectly.
Dessert, dessert, dessert, I died for it. Chocolate Ganache with a crisp nut base salted caramel and orange chocolate sorbet. It served in nice presentation, rich and smooth chocolate ganache with light flavour orange chocolate sorbet. Woo! What a wonderful dessert.
Price very reasonable with such good quality food, thumbs up!
The table next to us was pre-​ordered a tasting/​speical menu and the food was so attactive and detailed. I would love to try it on my next visit.

⁹⁸⁄₁₀₀
That was a lot of fun. Fine dining in Burnaby. My freidns and I are foodies and were totally into the food. We got lots of great pics and experienced a lot of new flavours. I love that the farms are listed on the online menu (although I do not recall if it was on the actual menu). My friends and I usually order an appetizer well we hum and haw oiver the menu. So our appetizer arrives and our menus are wisked away. I am like «huh???» So she gave our menus back; however we respectfully laid them aside while we ate. I was disappointed that we were not offered pepper although I am sure it was just an oversight.

The Pear Tree has a few quirks that first timers should be aware of:
First, the chef prefers that you concentrate on the food. So we were all rather surprised when they started collecting menus when my initial order of the scallop appetizer came. My idea was to have something to snack on while the rest of our party arrived and we browsed the menus. They didn’t really push it too hard, but it’s a dining concept I hadn’t seen elsewhere.
Also, the kitchen is not afraid to use salt. Both of my appetizers were salty. The prawn cappucino was very salty – Reminded me of marmite, actually. Yes, it was that salty. Even the slices of brioche they brought to the table before dinner had a salty crust. Hmm!
Which is not to say it wasn’t tasty, but if you’re keen on watching your sodium, you might want to call ahead first.
Finally, there is a vegetarian menu (on the menu it reads, «vegetariabn and vegan options available») but not really a vegan menu. For vegans, they trim the vegetarian menu of the non-​vegan items (e.g., they take out the cream in the Classic Flamed Gin and ‘Cascade’ Tomato Soup with Chive Whipped Cream); and for dessert they can prepare fruit sorbets.

Perfect special occasion restaurant — I was here for their 5 course anniversary prix fixe menu, regular price $ 150 per couple but we did have a Groupon for $ 75.
There aren’t any food choices to be made on the menu, so I settled in for a nice, long dinner. The dining room has a view of the open kitchen, with many hands on deck to create a carefully cultivated menu.
I was a bit worried at eating 5 courses, but the portion sizes were perfect for me. I only failed in polishing off the dessert, but in my defence it was a deceptively large egg-​shaped container.
The first course was a sunchoke foam soup with an impressively paper-​thin, crispy strip of bacon. There was also bacon bits within the soup. Enjoyable, similar to a potato soup with lots of savoury notes from the bacon.
Second course was a perfect, moist trout served on buttery spinach with these amazing potato purée balls. They flash fry them for a delicate wafer-​like skin. I’d be happy eating a bowl of these.
Third course was a ham hock terrine served with pickled cute, micro-​veggies. My least favourite course, but it was still good.
Fourth course, felt the most entrée-​like. A meaty, long strip of duck breast with crispy skin & a thin layer of fat. At some point, a palate cleanser bowl of pea shoots & apple strips appeared but I didn’t really make use of it.
Dessert was a vanilla crème brûlée, served with a large crispy tuile & fresh fruits.
Impressive meal overall.