Located in the former Tomato Cafe location, Stella’s looks nothing like its predecessor. It’s a sleek room with warm colours and soft lighting.  The menu is also different from the Commercial Drive location, featuring a few dishes local to the ‘hood plus a prix fixe dinner menu option.

But what you always do at Stella’s is order a beer. With an extensive Belgian beer list and lots on tap, there’s something for everyone. It was a smooth and sweet Leffe for myself tonight.

We opted to share a bunch of tapas, where I feel the kitchen is strongest:

• Cauliflower “popcorn” – mini florets roasted in butter and herbs, topped with cheese
• Tender chipotle lime dusted calamari
• Korean BBQ beef ribs with a pickled ginger and nori salad
• Belgian Poutine with a Blanche de Chambly & miso Gravy and topped with green onions – both ingredients give the poutine a nice zing
• Mussels – freshly steamed mussels with your choice of 8 flavorings. Make sure you order a side of bread too.

The tapas were tasty, fresh, and well executed. The food at the Cambie location is a little better than Commercial Drive, and a step above usual bar fare.

Cold beer, fresh mussels, frites, good prices…yeah, I’d go back.

Stella’s Tap and Tapas Bar on Cambie
3305 Cambie St (@ 17th Ave)
Open for lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch.

The Eight 1/2 differentiator: their mantra that everything should be “simple, fresh, local,” which for Eight 1/2 means  a kitchen with no deep fryer and microwave. What that translated to was some good, different menu options. The room is nice and cozy with soft lights and a modern feel. We arrived at 7pm on a Tuesday evening and the restaurant was full. After enjoying a drink at the bar, we moved over to a table once space opened up.

Here are my highs and lows for on Eight 1/2:

• The restaurant offers a seasonal fresh sheet in addition to the standard menu – we sampled some excellent mini perogies with a mild chipotle sauce.
• Cedar plank halibut with mango salsa and spinach risotto. This dish was fresh, but fell a little short. One dining companion felt the size of halibut filet was too small. I was fine with the size, but it was slightly over-cooked and the mango salsa didn’t have much flavour. The spinach risotto was okay, but came cold.
• Steak Sandwich – while the Globe & Mail review slagged this dish, I quite enjoyed it. The bun was a little doughy, but full of butter and garlic and the steak was so good – medium rare, tender, grass-fed steak. Mmmmm. On the side we opted for a bowl of french onion soup (also off the fresh sheet), which had a nice flavour, but was not extraordinary.
• Dessert – apple crumble pie with ice cream, warm and comforting
• Service was friendly but the kitchen was quite slow (we waited about 20 min for appetizers and over 30 min for mains). I’ll forgive them for the wait time since the restaurant was packed and I had two friends to gossip the night away with. That said, don’t go if you’re in a hurry.

Overall, Eight 1/2 is a nice neighbourhood joint and the staff really cares about offering good service and food. I’ll return to try more menu items, like the oven-baked wings, pizzas, and 4-cheese macaroni and cheese.

Eight 1/2 Restaurant Lounge
151 East 8th Ave.  (@ Main)
604-568-2703

But now that I’ve been to the new Heather a few times, I’m a fan again. The place is more polished, but the food is better and there something to be said for a newer cleaner decor. The Heather is a modern styled Irish Gastro Pub and is the centre component in a series of separate rooms and businesses: The Shebeen Whiskey Lounge located in the back, the Salty Tongue lunch spot next door, and the nearby Salt Tasting Room down Blood Alley.

Of course they have a huge selection of whiskey and beer, but also order a martini if only to enjoy the olives they serve with the cocktail – heavenly Italian, non-pasteurized olives that taste amazing.

Some of the Heather’s most notable pub snacks:

• Curry Chips – fresh cut potatoes piled high with a curry dipping sauce
• Grilled Cheese Sandwich – Brie, olive tapenade, mustard, tomatoes
• Mixed Olives – there are good olives and there are meh olives. These are good, really good
• Ham Hock Ballentine Sandwich – salty, meaty goodness. These are on a canape menu only, though.

Long Table Dinner Series

For the entire summer (and longer if we’re lucky!), the Irish Heather is offering the Long Table Dinner Series. In the Salty Tongue, they have this 40 Ft. long communal table that seats about 40 people. Every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, 40 people reserve a spot for a dinner and pint of beer for $12. Delicious and great value. Everyone is promptly seated at 6:30pm, the chef comes out and explains the dinner, and then we eat!

The communal table is great – I hung out with a few people at the table last night for an extra hour talking about Kitsilano, real estate, gardening, and travel.

And for $12, you are scoring excellent food. Last night was freshly made yam & cream cheese stuffed tortellini. The other night was roast suckling pig with crispy skin and mashed potatoes. The upcoming menus for July/August include braised beef short ribs, Cornish Game Hen, and a Sunday roast dinner. Vegetarian and non-alcoholic substitutions are provided on request – with notice.

These dinners sell out regularly and are great fun. Go to at least one this summer.

To view the menu and reserve, visit the Long Table Series blog page – I’ll see you there.

The Irish Heather
210 Carrall St, Vancouver
604-688-9779
Open for lunch & dinner