The Helm

I wrote up the following short review and then looked at the page again to see that the place had closed. I had no idea.
I was at The Helm for a large group event back in December. They kept the tasty appetizers coming as our large group mixed, mingled, danced, played pool, etc. The room was packed and likely was not easy for the service staff to keep up with, but they seemed to do a fairly good job. The sleek, modern décor was nice and made for a decent backdrop to the hundreds of pictures that were taken. Lastly, the bar staff were quick and knew their stuff. Overall, left a good impression and I had a fun evening.

Came here for a drink with a friend. It’s not the first time I’ve been here but the first time I’ve sat down for a nibble and a drink.
Their wine list is lacking although they did have a Burrowing Cab Franc that I’ve been meaning to get ahold of since they sold out at the winery. The server was a little lost as to what wines they had and she had to keep checking to see if it was available.
We also ordered some truffled poutine and it was quite a portion, although I couldn’t really taste the truffle, it was poutine and poutine is generally good!
As we came here later in the night, the place was slowly transitioning into a club and it was hard to carry a conversation and so we decided to leave and go elsewhere.
I would probably go back for a few drinks but if you’re really trying to have a conversation with someone over good food, this probably isn’t the place.

I ventured in here on a Friday night around midnight… and first thing you notice is, uuuummm, men! They are everywhere, fully dressed, half naked… busting moves all over the place… I know I’m barking under the wrong tree, but hey, talking ’bout the sight for sore eyes;p
Joking aside, I had so much fun here dancing with my gf without being pestered by Surrey central;p
Music is great, and the vibe is pumpin’
Go there to dance and let it all out!

came here for a Bday. we had the entire section to the left when you walk in the front door. so literally near the entrance. wasn’t bad to get in and out quick.
the concept of this place is that its a supper club. don’t see too many out this way compared to in the east, i.e. Montréal for example. so basically you have dinner and then at night it turns into a ‘club’. the restaurant opening was actually featured on the show The Opener on the Food Network.
kinda looked over the menu and nothing looked great on there and it seemed overpriced. also saw what a few other ppl had ordered and weren’t that impressed. so me and a friend went right to having drinks.
all the shots were really good. i liked their take on the King Kong and Superman shots.
so eventually they started clearing all the tables out of the entire restaurant. they had a DJ that had been spinning all nite. he started his set with a lot of 80s music. there was actually a stagette there that nite dressed in 80s swag so it was quite fitting. altho the inebriated bday boy wasn’t enjoying it and kept asking the DJ to step it up a few decades. eventually he played the good stuff and it ended up being a really fun nite

The Helm has a great ambiance, but I wasn’t crazy about the food. I enjoy tapas, but when you’re looking at 12 per plate and small servings, I spent more than I expected to. I was underwhelmed by the dessert selection, but decided on the assortment of cookies and marshmallows which turned out to be ok.
I recommend meeting here for drinks and appetizers rather than a full meal.

This place had the makings of brilliance –they are big on sustainability and farm-​to-​plate, and I’m all over that.
Granted, we arrived at 9pm for a late dinner, but the place was pounding. I couldn’t hear our hostess as she directed us to our seats, in the center of the walkway to the dance floor. I shouted over the music for somewhere else to sit, while covering my ears to keep them from bleeding.
She sat us in the front bar, which was better, but still so loud that we couldn’t hear eachother. My dining partner moved his chair to sit closer to me so we could hear eachother, but a server came and told him he couldn’t do that, so we were forced to yell over the large table.
We had a couple dishes, and shared them. They were both good — though the menu seemed to be missing the basics: a chicken, a fish, a beef, and then whatever else you want from there. We defaulted to fish from lack of anything that didn’t have shellfish or pork or lamb in it (three things I avoid).
I’d go back, but during the day when the music isn’t thumping so loud that I feel like i’m in the middle of a train tunnel.

Thank God for groupon, livingsocial, indulgeliving, etc., etc., etc.
This was one particular joint I had been eyeing, waiting for the day I was no longer restricted by starving student status and Alas! Living Social comes out with a voucher.
The décor? Loved it. Clean, sleek, modern.
Tapas? Same. Price adds up mighty quick, but darn it! It’s tough not to overindulge. The hand-​cut truffle poutine with jus exceeded my expectations, as did the greens with lamb bacon. OMG. And i’m a sucker for cheese. The cheese plate and the breads were just… oh they were just great.
We received a free champagne cocktail even though we weren’t supposed to so that was a fantastic bonus.
I can’t complain about the place! The only reason I docked a star was because it wasn’t somewhere I felt I could linger and talk all night long, though it looks as though others were having no problem doing so themselves;)

My first experience with this restaurant was during their opening and I thought that it was pretty good considering it was their first week. There was a lot of options on the menu it was pretty diverse. I went back again a few weeks ago and the whole menu has changed. I came in for a office get together and had horrible service. Interestingly enough I was told we were served by one on the managers though it wasn’t busy and all the other servers were chit chating by the bar. The menu was out of a few things and the portions were pretty small. One co worker who was vegetarian didn’t have a lot of options and only had potato wedges for a meal. The food was okay but came out pretty lukewarm at best. The thing Iiked best about the place was the room itself. With nice lighting and big chandeliers. Be careful though because this place turned into a night club and it got pretty loud. Was hard to hear anybody over the dance music. Overall not the worst place but for the price point of the food and atmosphere I would rather go somewhere else if I was in the neighborhood.

David Adjey-​designed? you don’t say. I was feeling a bit of deja-​vu though, as friends of friends bought a liquor license during the Olympics last year for this establishment when it was ‘in-​between’ UnWine’d and what it would become. From the scuzzy Olympic bar to gorgeous girl-​friendly design in a matter of months.
I was here for a tweetup organized by a friend, and I was impressed by the appetizers they were giving out — the pork meatballs with yogurt-​mint sauce were awesome, as was the crispy polenta. I didn’t have the chance to have a full meal here yet, so perhaps another night…
Sole complaint? Had a lovely glass of La Frenz Vineyard’s «Alexandria» — while it was great, I didn’t feel that the small glass of $ 18 wine was worth $ 10, when similar (larger) glasses of red were a similar price point.

Atmosphere: Good location, easily accessible. Looks classy inside without being too pretentious. We went on a Thursday at 6:30 pm, therefore, the music by the live DJ was kept at a reasonable level, however, I can see how during the peak weekends how this could be very socially frustrating. Looks like we can at a good time.
Service: I called in advance for a reservation and the lady on the phone was really nice, the service continued as such when we arrived. Our waitress Rachael was really nice and topped off our water very frequently. When she brought out the dishes she took a few moments to describe the dishes with the ingredients and the pairings which was rare. It was like being a judge on Iron Chief. This is something that a lot of waiters and waitress should be doing at tapas bars, especially those that emphasise on local and fresh ingredients. There was clearly pride in the food that was presented.
Price: As with most tapas establishments, this was $$$, however, I had a living social coupon for $ 40 worth of food for $ 20, therefore, between my date and I, the money stretched. Just on the price alone I would not go. The coupon was encouragement to just go once.
Food: The menu presented on-​line was different slightly than what was presented when we were seated which was a shame as I really wanted to try the flourless chocolate cake. Thankfully what they did have worked really well for me with a few exceptions. Stuffed dates with blue cheese, a common tapas dish. The blue cheese was strong, however, the dates weren’t sweet enough to offset the cheese and in fact rather than compliment, the flavors clashed too much. Either they got a bad supply that week of dates or the warming temperature was sub par. Crostinis with vegetable pâté was excellent. I have had different vegetable based pates before, however, this is the best I’ve had ’cause they mixed in dates which added a bit of sweetness without it overpowering the spread. Ricotta Gnocchi with Grilled Radicchio, Walnuts, and Smoked Onion were to die for. The Gnocchi was fresh, melted on your tongue and the sauce blended and worked perfectly. Even though it properly melted in your mouth, the crunchy hard walnuts complimented nicely as an after thought of taste. Meyer Lemon Curd with blueberries was good. The curd was nicely prepared, melted great on the tongue and creamy. The blueberry sauce was great, perhaps a marination in vodka would’ve added a nice kick to the dish. The hard mirange crust was a good attempt, however, the crunchy to chewy combination was more of an unpleasant distraction than an addition, you either go for one or the other with the crust. I think that the attempt was to make a crunchy base to offset and compliment the texture of the dessert, however, it failed. A thin wafer crust would’ve been more suitable.

Food was just ok, but the bill was silly. $ 80 before tip for 4 very small dishes and 3 drinks. The Smoked Tuna with Blood Orange salad tasted pretty good and the Flank steak had good flavors to it. We also ordered this Squash Gratin, that was terrible. I’ve never sent food back before and asked to get something else, but this dish was like baby food meets rotten veggies. Too many bad flavors and gross texture. Service was very good until later in the night when the waitress got other tables. We were then ignored and waited close to 30 min for the bill. Overall, the food is ok, but not superb, definitely not worth the price. I probably won’t go back. In fact I was so hungry after the meal I had to go for poutine at Fritz!

We went in on a Thursday night at around 7pm and we were the only customers in sight. While the service staff was attentive, but the management had a persona of trying to be fabulous restauranteurs that wasn’t fooling anybody. The food was okay, but not exceptional by any means. It was overpriced «tapa — style» food. You easily need to order 3 plates to yourself to leave feeling content, but not too full. With most plates being $ 10-​$ 15, that adds up pretty quickly. Overall, I would not go back on my own accord, but rather go to any of the numberous, well priced bistros in the neighbourhood.

I loved this place… I felt like I was trying something new for once, unlike going to another Earl’s or a Cactus… It was packed on a Friday night with great music and fantastic appies. I enjoyed my ceaser and many snacks with my bf. And it’s so close to home! I’ll definitely be back…

i’ve eaten here twice now and both times were fantastic. service is attentive, and both times i’ve had a visit to my table from Chef Tobey herself. i’m vegan, they had no trouble taking care of my food requests.
food is delicious and reasonably priced, everything is super fresh made from scratch, with love.
highly recommend to both meat eaters and veggies.

My gf and I came here on opening night at 5pm to a resto more full of camera crew than actual patrons. I’d been invited on Twitter and so thought I’d swing by to check it out. Having been in meetings since 8am, I was looking rough, so I darted to the bathroom to freshen up. My gf and I gabbed and laughed about how we were confused about what was going on. Suddenly a man banged at the door. «Quiet down in there, we’re filming!» Instantly we silenced, embarassed. Were we ruining shoots? Hushed, we came out and a fabulously dressed David Adjey stood outside laughing and told us he was kidding. We chatted with him about his style and he told us about his shopping escapades around the world. A few times he mentioned things like, «Well now you can say you talked to David Adjey.» We adored his charismatic personality but thought his self promotion was funny because we didn’t know who he was!
We found a table and then saw David A being interviewed on camera. We giggled to ourselves, knowing that we should really know who this guy is. Our server was absolutely lovely, and told us a lot about the restaurant as well as made us feel so at home. Loved him. We asked him about ‘the guy’ but he didn’t have a lot of info for us. Another gf joined us and we started ordering food. The beet salad, smoked tuna and bread were great, but the standout was the turkey confit gravy with huckleberries and savoury bread pudding. Do yourself a favour and order this — absolutely decadent.
David A sat at our table much of the time and entertained us with stories about his various «escapades». It was scandalously fascinating. He also shared with us his goal of grinding through one million dollars in ’11 and having nothing to show for it. Um… He’s a big personality with pretty good shock value. It seems he’s helped to develop a great restaurant in Vancouver, started by four friends. The food is all farm-​to-​fork, so the quality is fresh, local, and of course, in season. The owners look really young… If I have time to watch TV, I’ll be watching The Opener to learn more about this place…
But aside from the TV hype, the food was great. Try the turkey confit. Amazing.