Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House

Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House
777 Thurlow Street
Vancouver, BC

A colleague of mine (PO hereafter for reference purposes) was about to go on vacation so, before he left, I checked if he would join me for lunch. I will admit that he is among the few people in my workplace who won’t necessarily hesitate to go to almost any place for lunch. Originally, we thought to go to Market but due to a mix of meetings plus bad timing, we did not make a reservation so we ended up looking for options nearby. In the end, we went to Joe Fortes.

Under normal conditions, Joe Fortes (this applies to Market as well) is not a place I would go simply because I am not fond of fine dining. As a result, I was a bit hesitant but, hey, almost anything for post! Anyway, after walking in, one thing is quite evident: service here is top notch. Professionally dressed waiters and waitresses, putting the napkin on your lap, excellent timing from one dish to the next, absolutely no interrupting any conversation you are having, etc. etc. OK, I will admit I was feeling a bit uncomfortable with that… But, then again, that’s me. I am sure for others it is something they would expect.

After given the menu, we were debating the different menu options. In the end, we both narrowed it down to either the blue plate specials or the prix fixe menu. After another debate, we agreed independently to go for the 3 course prix fixe. Hmmmmmm…. Great minds think alike? Now, the one thing I realized after the meals was that they have a free oyster promo (check it here from Red Flag Deals). Oh, well…

After making our order, we received the complimentary bread. The highlight here was the butter: soft to the point it was “spreadable”. However, the bread itself was average. In other restaurants, I would have said they were good but, for Joe Fortes, my expectations would be a bit higher. I won’t put too much emphasis on this one, just a side comment…

Oh, as for drink, I went for tea, Earl Grey, hot (no pun intended). I would have gone for Darjeeling but most places do not have it, so I settled for my next “favourite”. Despite it was in a teabag, it was quite flavourful, almost as the loose leaves version from Cafe Medina. Unfortunately, they did not asked if I wanted some additional hot water when I finished the first brew. Oh, well…

As mentioned above, we both ordered from the prix fixe and I started with the Joe’s Classic Ceaser (sic) – crisp romaine, grana padano parmesan. PO went for the chowder which, unfortunately, I did not take pictures of. The salad was good but disappointing at the same time. The lettuce heart was crispy and the dressing was creamy, which was “improved” by the parmesan. Umami “taste” anybody? However, there was one “flaw”: there was none noticeable garlic taste. Caesar without that taste? Heresy!

PO went for the 5 ounce steak, which was served with mashed potatoes and vegetables. It was ordered rare and, when it was slice, it was indeed cooked as ordered: almost bloody red in the middle and seared on the outside. PO seemed to enjoy it.

As for myself, I went for the steelhead salmon and, according to the on-line menu, served with jasmine rice and extra virgin olive oil. Obviously, in the picture above, it wasn’t served with jasmine rice but roasted potatoes. They were OK, nothing extraordinary, specially considering the herb flavour was not present. The oil… Well, I will have to say it was below average as it didn’t have that unique virgin olive taste. Finally, the salmon was cooked as ordered – medium. But, that was in the thick middle portion, the rest was almost overcooked.

Since we went for the 3 course prix fixe, we also had dessert. PO went for the vanilla crème brûlée while I went for the vanilla gelato with chocolate ganache. We both thought each of our desserts were too sweet. One odd thing about the gelato was that it felt almost as if it was ice cream. Could it be it was more for “marketing” purpose? Hmmmmm….

While I will admit I did not end up ordering something Joe Fortes is known for (read: oysters), I think this lunch showed me what I can expect from this place. Unfortunately, that something translated into something average – service aside. While the later was excellent, the food itself did not have anything that could set aside from other places. From that perspective, not worth to come back.

Tagged under: Downtown • Seafood • Vancouver