Black & Blue is probably the most hyped restaurant of the past year. I have heard numerous terrible reviews, so I put off trying this restaurant (even as a foodie). But I picked this restaurant for Valentine's Day. At least I can try the restaurant for myself to comment.
And thus, my thoughts are as follws: this restaurant looked promising, but may not have been worth the price I paid.
***Post transferred from my previous blog: ca-moment.blogspot.com***
^ I loveeee this light! B&B is so photogenic...!
AMBIANCE | I asked to be seated up stairs, and I admit, the decor is amazing. The booze display, the meat display the glassy classy ela ela-vator, it looked great. The music was loud, it felt very modern. I love the decor, I wish my future house looked something like this, but the music made the restaurant very casual. The boom boom music, I suppose is part of the neon light display - may not be fine dining, but definately eye-candy.
The thing that bothered me the most were the little carts around the restaurant. Black & Blue has this unique service of "bar carts" and "salad carts" that are brought to tables, "performing" a cocktail and a tossing salad. I cannot understand why this is necessary. For my own preference, I prefer red wine with my meat, so naturally the cocktails didn't appeal to me. But it appealed to the table next to me. The separation between my table and my neighbour was a about meter-width aisle away. The cocktail cart took up 70% of the hallway, along with the elaborate bar tender.Servers and guests would have trouble passing by the narrow space and would brush up against, and occasionally bump my table. Sometimes there would be another cart trying to get by and it was ruckus of "behind you! Getting by! Watch out!" next to my table. I finally asked the server to please move the cart as it was seriously disrupting me.
FOOD| I very naturally did not enjoy the food as much as I would've like to. I had so many peeves about the environment, critiques were naturally in my mind.
French Onion Soup is my favourite food, I always order it. My mom scolds me for ordering an overpriced soup all the time, but I do it anyways. It was good, I really enjoyed it. The Tuna Scream wasn't anything fancy, but I love tuna, so naturally I liked it too. Also why was there no bread to start off with?
I wasn't confident with their Wagyu and the sirloins, tenderloins etc.. didnt appeal to me either. Prime rib is usually as safe bet. I decided to shared a 10oz prime rib. With experience from The Keg, I know never to order any steaks over 6oz, anything larger is far to big. This 10oz steak was huge! It was a perfect size for the both of us and left us very full.
Unfortunately, the dish was at room temperature. I was moving the plates around so we could share, my sharing plate was cold and the serving plate and steak was warm at best. I read this comment many many times on Urbanspoon, and I agree with the critics, "heated plates would be a better option".
The meat was tender and juicy, the gravy a tad salty, overall alright. Also, the side veggies were uninspiring - 2 leaves of Chinese Choy-sum and a small carrot. Any extras, $10 please.
I have to throw in a critique however, the presentation really really lacked. Even in the photos I have attached, the placement, the dish, just didn't feel very fine dining. For me, I would've preferred a larger plate with more intricate sides for a $30-$40 dish.
I praise the Lemon Tarte. The tarte itself was amazing, presentation still lacked, but overall the taste was very good. I left on a relatively happy note.
Overall, Black & Blue left me feeling like I went to a larger, slightly more decorate Milestones or Cactus Club.
I felt the atmosphere was incredibly casual for a high priced restaurant.
At this price point, my expectations are high, and there are many many strong competitors, Black & Blue is not anywhere near the top of the list.
1032 Alberni Street
604-637-0777
