Below contains a review of  Water Street Cafe in Gastown. The reviewing style was inspired by local food and travel blogger/enthusiast Follow me Foodie (followmefoodie.com) 

Restaurant: Water Street Café

Cuisine: Seafood/Pacific Northwestern

Last visited: January 20, 2015

Location: Vancouver, BC (Gastown)

Address: 300 Water Street

Phone: (604) 689-2832

Transit: Waterfront Stn

Price Range: $10-20

Very Poor: 1, Poor: 2, Okay: 3, Good: 4, Very Good: 5, Outstanding: 6

Gastown. A contemporary and cultural hub located in the northeast end of Downtown known for its restaurants, nightclubs, modern fashion and boutiques. As Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhood and an official historic site of Canada, the district has a rich history as a centre for trade and commerce, protests and entertainment beginning in 1867. Today, it is a popular tourist destination due to its unique blend of both traditional and modern elements that can be found in the buildings, shops and overall vibe of the area. And right in the middle of Water Street, a well-known street that was originally used to transport goods for trade, across from the famous Gastown steam clock: Water Street Café.

On January 20^th, I went to a restaurant called the Water Street Café in a class trip to celebrate “Dine-out” Vancouver. When our class got there, I was starving. So instead of ordering solely the “Dine-Out” menu, I decided to order another appetizer along with it. During my short time there, I found the place to be incredibly comfortable. The waiters there were incredibly friendly and helpful, answering all of our questions and constantly refilling our water.

The service is definitely 6/6!

The critique of my courses will be written below:

Appetizers: 

The first dish I ordered was the Caesar Salad. After squeezing the lemon over my salad, I began to eat. The first thing I noticed was the strong taste of the sauce. It was very sweet and a little sour at the same time, making for a fine combination in my mouth. Not only that, the romaine lettuce and garlic were in excellent condition: chewy and crunchy. However, I feel like the Caesar Salad was overdosed with sauce. Sometimes, the taste was so heavy that I had to drink water to dissolve it.

Caesar Salad: 5/6

Along with the Caesar Salad, I also had the Soup of the Day, which was Cream of Potato with Smoked Salmon. This was one of the best soups I have ever tasted. The richness of the cream was perfect. Not too little or too much cream, the balance made me want to gulp it all in one go. Apart from the cream, another stand out was the taste of smoked salmon evident in the soup even though there was no actual meat. The aftertaste mainly consists of the salmon. Overall, the soup was so delicious that it convinced me to take gulp after gulp of the soup until it was finished.

Cream of Potato with Smoked Salmon: 6/6

Main:

After the appetizers, my main dish, Spaghetti Carbonara was brought to the table. The dish looked so well decorated that I almost forgot to take a picture before digging in. The food, however, did not taste as promising as the image. The noodles were very chewy, making them hard to eat and swallow. The Carbonara, which is the signature sauce of this dish, was way too cheesy. By the time I ate halfway through this dish, I had already finished a full glass of water. After that, I found it very hard to continue and finish this dish.        

Spaghetti Carbonara: 2.5/6

Dessert:

Finally, the dessert I ordered was brought out. It was the Fresh Fruit Sorbet that was on the “Dine-Out” menu. To be honest, I didn’t really have a high expectation for this after the Spaghetti Carbonara. This dessert really toppled my expectations. It was incredibly refreshing after finishing the main dish. The tropical and fruit flavors were obvious blended in the ice cream. This was an excellent dessert to finish off with, leaving a good impression with me as I write this review.

Fresh Fruit Sorbet: 6/6

Overall Rating of Water Street Cafe: 5/6!