FEAST | Fresh Sheet x Coquille Fine Seafood x Gastown

Gastown—(November 18, 2019) Coquille Fine Seafood has been around now for a minute now after initially opening to much anticipation and fanfare thanks to its sterling pedigree inherited from team behind L'Abattoir and their renowned "slaughterhouse" restaurant just a few blocks away.



Since its inception, I have always enjoyed spending time in Coquille's regally cavernous and nautically ornate 4,100-square-foot dining room (seating a hundred) with every detail or aspect complementing the whole sea theme to a tee.

albacore tuna crudo and roasted foie gras (with green apple, pickled onion, and maple)

We were invited to taste Coquille's various lunch menu dishes from L'Abattoir Executive Chef Lee Cooper and Chef de Cuisine Chris Janowski. To start, their beautifully plated seafood platter was a fine treat for seafood lovers made of freshly prepared catches.

potato gnocchi (with salted cod, poached egg, and burgundy truffle)

I found the well put-together appetizer and entrée dishes all rather quite delightful in mixing traditional fare with fanciful ingredients from the ocean.



The tuna crudo and its foie gras were particularly decadent in their simple tastiness while the gnocchi felt classically comforting in its many flavours.

cassoulet (with grilled striped bass, crab sausage, boudin noir, and beans)

Full of rich, hearty ingredients, the creamy slow-cooked cassoulet had so many pleasing meaty elements to it as another meal highlight.

banana cream pie (with graham crumbs and tonka bean caramel)

To cap off our decadent meal, the classic banana cream dessert was deliciously satisfying with the just-right cream-filling to crumble ratio with fine layers of marshmallows and bananas.

Sailor's Platter (with oysters, king crab, shrimp cocktail, scallops, littleneck clams, mussels, tuna tartare, and albacore tuna)

As initially conceived and hoped for, Coquille never reinvented or even saved Downtown Vancouver's thirst for modern seafood. But instead, after refining its offerings and experience, it has nestled nicely into a familiar groove of fresh but upscale and traditionally approachable seafood fine dining.



On a final (somewhat ironic) note, the seafood restaurant is reportedly for sale less than two years after its opening.

Update: Sadly, Coquille has confirmed it is indeed closing at the end of the month/year.


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