Cork & Fin

Ate here for dine out. Food was really good if not spectacular.
We paired the wines and they did a good job pairing with the courses.
All in all the place had a great atmosphere and a cool vibe. The food was good but nothing that says we have to back tomorrow. Serving sizes were on the small side.

Came here for Dine Out Vancouver 2016. Although I’m sure this is always a crazy time for restaurants and servers, we had such a great experience. Not only was the food good, especially the tuna himachi dish, but our server really made the night. She was perfectly attentive and fun. Thank you! I think her name was Sumiko. Hope you get to enjoy her graciousness next time you visit Cork and Fin.

Onto Dine Out number 2! This time, we find ourselves in Gastown late at night (could only get a reservation at 9:30pm)! And here, introducing NotMooStachio, our newest member/​mascot of the team!
Their $ 30 menu caught my eye because it consists of a six course savoury menu with options for oysters ($ 29.00/dozen) and dessert on top. We were seated promptly and our waitress was very friendly. Also was the option of drink pairings with the meal. MaidKendra opted for the Mocktail Pairings ($ 12.00÷3 pours). First one was a bit bland, but came in a cute cup! Second cup (tall cup) was too bitter, as reported by MaidKendra. Last cup (not pictured) was too sweet.
This was our Burdock Salad consisting of fried tofu, organic greens, and seven spice. The burdock was seasoned and acted like the meat of the dish, quite nice flavors there. Unfortunately all clumped together. Greens were fresh but the major disappointment was the tofu. Coming from a Chinese background, I grew up with deep fried tofu. This was by far the worst I’ve had, cold, bland, hard, and not even crispy. Those poor soybeans being tarnished.
Their Hamachi Carpaccio in apple-​ginger vinaigrette topped with tobiko, on the other hand, was amazing. The hamachi was light and flavorful with the vinaigrette drawing out the fresh fish flavors. I wish there was more!
I mean, look at that beauty!
Crab Croquette arrived next with bechamel, potato on tomato ragout. This was crispy on the outside, fluffy and moist inside. Couldn’t quite taste the crab, and we all felt that the tomato ragout was very herby. I didn’t mind it, but can see how it can overwhelm the flavors of the dish. The size of the balls was quite uneven, look at NotMooStachio joining the rounds: P
Another favorite of the night was the Seared Scallop on a bed of kabocha purée and braised fennel. These were cooked perfectly, loaded with delicious scallop flavor. MaidKendra’s had sand in it, which almost chipped his teeth and he said it was too fishy. Adorables said he didn’t taste the kabocha in the purée.
I was lucky, mines was quite delicious, but gotta agree that the purée was lackluster.
We were pleasantly surprised by the size of the Seafood Gratin consisting of prawns, salmon, garganelli, and parmesan crema. First impression was the overwhelming buttery flavor. It was quite rich, but after a few more bites, got to love this creamy rich dish. MaidKendra found the prawns (sliced in half) to be just a wee overcooked, but acceptable. Forgot to mention he’s our picky seafood connoisseur of the night xD
The other large dish was the Braised Short Rib with red wine, herb potato, and hot mustard vinaigrette. This was like a mountain of steaming meat drizzled with hot mustard. I tore the tender mass apart for good portions to feed all three of us. Maybe it got cold when I finally ate it, but it was quite dry. It was a bit underseasoned, but I could taste the flavors in the fat. Potatoes were flattened and soaked up more flavor of the meat juices.
Couldn’t stop there, had to have some sweet to end the night, so we ordered a Chocolate Cheesecake Mousse with Blueberry Compote ($ 8.00). This was very very very decadent, rich, and dense. It was smooth and chocolaty though! Blueberry compote was too sweet to contrast the mousse. Adorables and MaidKendra ended up eating a couple spoonfuls and left the rest for me. It did get a bit much near the end– came in such a cute Mason jar that I couldn’t stop gushing about it. Too dense to be called a mousse, and couldn’t really taste any «cheese». Love/​hate relationship with this one =P
We enjoyed our experience here though, the service was great and they never pushed us to leave even though I knew they were closing/​closed while we were trying to finish dessert.

Dine out Vancouver Menu 2016– I was a bit disappointed with their dine out menu. This was my first time here. Each dishes was shared between two people. For the price, it’s not bad BUT quality wise– it was lacking (food looks really good in photos). We were seated upstairs all the way to the back where it was darker than the downstairs area. There are other places worth going to.
Hirame Halibut Carpaccio– Pretty good but small portion
Burdock Salad– Overbearing rawness of the salad.
Crab Croquette– There wasn’t any crabs in it, It was more of a potato croquette.
Seared Scallop.
Seafood Gratin– This was a pasta, the cheese on top didn’t taste like cheese at all, tasted more like the packet of cheese powder you would get in those Kraft Mac and Cheese you get at the supermarket. There was one small shrimp (to share between two people) cut into half to make it look like there was two shrimps. I barely notice that in the dark (since we were seated upstairs all the way to the back where it’s so dark!) until my sister pointed that out. lol. .
Braised Short Rib– This was quite filling, it was probably the best dish of the night, good but was under seasoned — more sauce would have made it better.
I will not be coming back to this restaurant. I wished I went somewhere else!

Went here with a friend for Dine Out and it was delicious! The portions although small, ended up filling us up.
Some highlights: the halibut carpaccio was so flavourful, easily my favourite of the night. The scallops and braised short rib were tender as well. We had a couple glasses of red and white to accompany our meal and the server’s recommendations were on point. Although they were busy, their service was fantastic. We also treated ourselves to dessert, a lemon panna cotta (which isn’t included within the Dine Out menu) and it topped the whole meal off perfectly.
Can’t wait to go back and have a go at those oysters though.

The dine out menu is really shady. We had to go to another restaurant after here. The six courses portion was a joke. Not worth to try…
Service was ok. It only took us 35 mins to finish 6 fishes with the wine pairing…
:(

Nosh and Nibble came here and we all had the following.
Hirame Halibut Carpaccio
Burdock Salad
Crab Croquette
Seared Scallop
Seafood Gratin
Braised Short Rib
The Hirame Halibut Carpaccio came with black tobiko, onion oil, and sea salt. This was one of my top 2 of the evening. The floppy fish was chewy, tasted fresh, and had a nice popping sensation with the tobiko. It didn’t have the same savoury taste of a beef carpaccio but was simply fresher tasting for me.
The Burdock Salad came with fried tofu, 7 spice, sesame, and organic greens. This was a very green-​tasting salad, and what I mean by that is there was hardly any dressing. I think the point was to eat the chewy fried tofu with the greens but I didn’t gel with that since my poor forking skills could only pick up a few pieces at a time without help from my knife. The 7 spice did add a nice zing, but I think I need some liquid dressing for my salads.
The Crab Croquette came with crab, béchamel sauce, potato, and goats cheese. I was quite curious about this because I like crab but there was just a hint of crab in these croquettes. Most of it was a simple potato flavour. The whole thing swirled with the sauce well but was a little bit of a letdown.
The Seared Scallop came with kabocha squash purée, fennel, and truffle oil. While these weren’t as big as the scallops from Cabrito, they were still plump-​ish and juicy on the inside. The purée was also quite tasty.
The Seafood Gratin was a mac-​and-​cheese-​esque dish with prawns, salmon, parmesan, and miso. This was a carb-​ful experience with lots of parmesan and miso than prawns and salmon, at least in our experience.
Lastly, the Braised Short Rib came with tomato, red wine, hot mustard jus, and herb potato. This was a ton of meat, and enough to fill me up with my shared of it. The red wine flavour was a little much for some members of our table so you should keep that in mind if you’re not big on winey marinades. The meat was quite juicy with the red wine and pretty tender, not requiring a fork to slice it apart. The potatoes were quite plump with a crispy skin. A couple of potatoes were a little burnt but we ate them anyway like the hungry degenerates we were.
Overall, the plates here were hit and miss. I loved the carpaccio and seared scallop, but an overbearing rawness of the salad and almost seafood-​less croquette and gratin make it hard to justify recommending.

Delicious and cheap for what you get. It was pretty much empty for us on a Saturday night and I don’t realize why. The staff and service were excellent and the food was amazing. Great drink selection and both of our cocktails were delicious. Will definitely try it again next time I’m in Vancouver.

Service great. Flavour amazing. But after a 170 bill (3 drinks between 2 people) we left hungry and ended up at a pizza place. Unfortunately would never go back because portions were far too small.

I’ll start with the good.
Service was good. The waitress was friendly and patient with our allergies, temperature concerns, etc.
Ambiance was good.
And now the bad.
The seafood ‘Platter’ was awful. The six oysters were actually good but the horseradish that came with them tasted like paper until the waitress went to the kitchen and grated some fresh for us. The tuna had that tangy fish taste, the ceviche was way too raw to eat. The mussels were the most tasteless thing imaginable. The corn tortilla chips were the best thing on the platter.
The ‘Arugula Salad’ literally filled HALF of the bowl and the tomatoes tasted like they had been charred over a gas fire. Inedible.
The side of kale had the same gassy charred flavor. Char is fine, not when it tastes like gas.
In the end, we had horribly salty mashed potatoes and overcooked, salty french fries for dinner.
If you want to eat oysters, go to Cork & Fin. If you want to eat anything else… go SOMEWHERE else.

Loved our visit at the Cork and Fin in Gastown. We were seated at a table by the front window away from a bigger table so we could actually hear ourselves talk. We were there on an early Sunday evening so it wasn’t too busy. The best part was their 3 tier seafood tower reg: $ 89 was on for $ 49. Services was great, our waitress even offered to take our picture without us even having to ask. Would definitely come back again.

Ah, Cork & Fin. what’s not to love?
Fiancé and I like to visit on Sundays as it’s Seafood Sunday! On our last visit, we had the Cork & Fin Tower since they’re almost half priced on Sundays (regular price $ 89, $ 49 on Sunday). The tower consisted of a half of a lobster, a dozen oysters, prawn ceviche, maple cured salmon, tuna and mussels. We loved it! All of it was delicious. At regular price though, the price would be kind of steep for the amount of food. It was delicious but definitely not close to filling. I could have ate the entire tower myself and probably would have still ordered more to fill up. We love seafood though so it was a nice treat to have great tasting fresh seafood at the Sunday price.
Our main reason for visiting is the oysters though. I can’t get enough of these delicious little morsels. On Sundays they have real buck a shuck (yes, $ 1). Variety changes every time we go. Although once we went a little later and they were sold out of their buck a shuck variety of the day and only had the premium ones at $ 2 each. A little disappointed but I was okay with $ 2 each for Kusshi oysters.
Service is always fantastic here. Our server remembered us from last time and even remembered our conversation. On our last visit, the guy behind the counter shucking the oysters was dancing along to the music. Staff seem happy and are very friendly.
Fantastic restaurant. Will be going back often!

Deliciousness!
This place has a really small menu, which is good because that’s how you know that they are good at what they do. I tried the chef’s table, and I was impressed. The crab was cooked in really delicious sauce, and the veggies were prepared perfectly. The cocktails were really refreshing! One tip for this place is that you GOTTA make a reservation. Space is very limited, and they fill up really fast:)

Had an awesome experience at this unique restaurant! Amazing cocktails, well priced and great food! Will definitely go back. Great atmosphere, great service and awesome place to go to if you are visiting gastown. We had a chance to meet the owner, he was truly passionate about his establishment and it shows through the menu and great service.
Would recommend trying the mussels and frites and the salmon tartar! For cocktails, can’t go wrong with the game of thrones inspired White Walker, or the Lime in the Coconut. Delish!

We were there for dine out Vancouver’15.
The service was very good. They brought each course out right when we are done with one. It seems like they put in extra effort to be attentive.
Décor/​ambiance was fabulous. It was romantic with lots of history in the building.
Food was not bad. The lobster bisque was a little on the salty side but they did give us 4 pieces of lobster! The pâté Breton was a good portion but it was not very spreadable on the bread. The octopus and chorizo tasted better (it’s a little spicy/​hot). The flank steak was good but I’ve had better seared flank steak before. The arctic char was really good! So soft and moist in the middle yet crispy skin on the outside. The gnocchi was good too, only 3 pieces. The edamame didn’t feel like it belonged to the dish though.

Dine Out 2015
chorizo & octopus, ricotta croquette, flank steak, Arctic char, lobster bisque and oysters.
Pros:
Great service (they were running behind so they offered us a seat at the bar and complimentary bubbly while we waited), oysters were fresh, octopus was tasty, and good sourkaut.
Cons:
Lobster bisque was cold, Arctic char was a bit under and the skin was not crispy, flank steak was chewy and under-​seasoned.
Overall I was a bit disappointed with their dine out menu. This was my first time here. The service was excellent though.

I came here for a dinner with my ex-​colleagues and we were quite impressed!
The restaurant itself is quite small, but we were seated upstairs where a large table easily accommodated us. The staff here are very friendly and warm, making us feel as if we were at somebody’s house for dinner!
Anyways, our bosses were feeling generous, so we ordered a round of Cork & Fin seafood towers, which were amazing! Three tiers of amazingly fresh seafood were placed in front of us, and I seriously gorged myself that night. The tuna, mussels and prawns were extremely fresh and everything was so tasty!
I also really enjoyed their lobster soup as it was hot, which was a nice change from all the chilled seafood! My steak was cooked quite nicely while the desserts were great. We had a lot of drink that night so I don’t recall the details, but we definitely had a great time!

One of the few upscale fine dining place that’s great for big groups of people !! The place has two floors, but it only has a few tables inside. Dim candlelight, big tables, and friendly waiters makes this place great for birthday parties where friends can gather.
They have the Chef’s family style dining where you can order two or three course meals to share.
The food was amazing. Some highlights ?
–raw oysters with champagne mignonette
–love the candied walnuts in the grilled endive
–normally I don’t like beets, but love the pairing of beets and chevre
–tuna was cut into generous sizes and seared just right
–lamp chops with terragon cream was soft and juicy
–love the cheescake mouse with pistachio and lemon curd
–small but nice selection of cocktails and wine
The only two downside I can think of was that parking is really hard since it’s in Gastown and the lobster and cheese item was more like mac and cheese. There is no lobster bits in it at all.
But the rest of the other items and friendly staff definitely makes this place a great place to come back to.
Bonus: They also have Happy Hour from 5 – 6 where they serve 2 for 1 oysters with a special on wine, cocktail, and beer.

I had been to Cork & Fin several times over the past two years before dining there recently, but only for their 5:00 — 6:30pm buck-​a-​shuck sessions, or a random drink. I really wanted to have a full meal in order to see what the kitchen was capable of, and to see whether the food could stand up to the slick and comfortable ambiance of the space that I had enjoyed in the past while shooting oysters. Valentine’s Day seemed to be the perfect excuse to test this Gastown brasserie.
I was impressed from the get-​go as our table was ready right upon arrival and we were given a primo spot on the cozy second floor, overlooking the main dining area and oyster bar below. We started our meal with a glass of French bubbly, which whet our appetites for the first course of this Valentine’s set menu.
The first dish was a crudo platter consisting of six Kusshis, tuna tartar, cured salmon, and scallop sashimi. All of the seafood was clean tasting, subtle, and elegantly presented.
The second dish was an unusual and harmonious octopus salad. This looked a bit intimidating at first glance because the slices of octopus were abnormally large when recalling salads of a similar ilk; however, this grilled cephalopod was tender, and married perfectly with the roasted tomatoes and greens upon which it rested.
For the third course, I had the egg yolk ravioli with a butter parmesan sauce and my girlfriend had the arctic char with fennel and blood orange salad. These two dishes were perfect counterpoints to one another: the pasta was rich and soft, while the char and salad were light and palate-​cleansing. The portions were also bang on, as this protein-​heavy menu meant that we couldn’t have handled huge servings of pasta and fish.
The dessert echoed the yin-​yang balance that existed between the pasta and char, and presented itself in the form of a flossy pavlova and a luscious pistachio chocolate mousse. On its own, the pavlova would have been too light. And by itself, the mousse would have been too heavy. But together, they were perfect.
This meal, and this 2014 Valentine’s eve, could not have been more enjoyable or satisfying. We popped our heads into the kitchen as we were leaving to give our thanks to the chef, Cayley Milne, who is doing an amazing job at Cork & Fin. We will definitely be back.

One of the classier fine-​dining establishments in this part of town.
Parking here is pretty crappy — your best shot at a free spot is a few blocks E of here.
The place is not as big as it looks — the mezzanine only has 4 tables, and the kitchen takes up the entire back half of the restaurant.
I had the prix fixe (3-​course meal) for $ 32 — not bad. Some salad items cost $ 2 more though. This place is one of the few establishments where I will say the pricing is reasonable.
Pan-​fried oysters — beautiful. Nice light wasabi. And they weren’t greasy at all.
Shaved asparagus & mushroom — asparagus was nice and daintily cut. The poached egg dressing was curiously good. Special mention.
Roasted arctic char — the skin was nice and crispy and salty, but the rest of the fish was nice and neutral. The lentil mix was pretty nice — reminded me a bit of risotto. Portion was a little bit on the small side, but not unreasonable.
Overall I was very happy with the food.
The one curious thing is that they don’t replace your utensils here — we used the same set through all the meals. For such a classy place, this was a not-​so-​nice surprise. My friends and I tried the 4 o’clock utensil setting as a hint. Nope. The staff placed our utensils back onto the table. If you’re the owner and are reading this, please train your staff accordingly.