Exile Bistro
1220 Bute
604-563-8633
ExileBistro.com
Open Monday-Saturday, 5pm-midnight; Sunday, 5pm-10pm; brunch Saturday-Sunday, 10am-3pm.
The concept is fantastic. Plant-forward, ethical and wild, indigenous, artisan…these are the next-generation successors to buzzwords like local, sustainable, fair-trade, foraged, seasonal, organic, et al. They sound fresh, exciting, cutting-edge. The only animal proteins on the menu are wild game and ingredients like live algae, spelt kernels and cashew sour cream (there are a lot of gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options) abound. It seems like a recipe for success, a perfect expression of Pacific Northwest edible culture.
Like many things that sound great on paper, the execution can be somewhat different. Exile Bistro has a solid concept, led by an obviously dedicated team of individuals under the banner of owner Vanessa Bourget, a former bartender (Nuba, Heirloom), chartered herbalist and holistic nutritionist. The problem lies in the treatment of all those stellar ingredients.
The Emerald Lake, a gin cocktail with live algae ($13) was surprisingly good, but Red Margarita ($12) on an earlier night, laden with tequila, hibiscus and beet, couldn’t mask the flavour of the unwelcome aloe vera. The craft beer list is excellent and mainly BC-based, unlike the wines, which favour Italy, France, Spain and Portugal. The wines are all sustainable, organic or biodynamic, but heavier local representation would seem to be more in keeping with the restaurant’s ethos.
The food is a bit of a puzzle. While there is meat on the menu, it seems to be treated the way people who are not animal lovers treat their friends’ pets – with afterthought and perhaps slight disdain. A forager’s bowl ($17) of black rice, poached egg, mushrooms, pickled carrots and onions, was an earthy, hearty dish. We ordered it with the $4 elk supplement. Elk is normally quite feral in flavour, rich and unctuous, beautifully gamey and lush. While it was cooked at the right temperature and was perfectly juicy, it was also completely tasteless and bland. Perhaps it had sat in a freezer for too long, but it could have been listed as beef (and mediocre beef, at that), and no one would have known the difference.
Bison short ribs ($26) with birch syrup and spelt kernels was another lacklustre experience. The meat was fall-off-the-bone tender – and again, completely tasteless. The spelt kernels were just roughage, something to provide fibre, but without any distinguishing taste of their own.
Seared duck livers ($14) were a much better choice. Glazed with whiskey butter and served with rye toast, black fig and apple-onion compotes, these made a lovely dish. The livers were plump and the compotes nicely cut the fat, as did the winter slaw.
The vegetarian dishes were hit and miss. Borscht salad ($12) with dill, sauerkraut and cashew crème fraîche was too creamy and heavy. A little acidity here would have balanced things out nicely. Ricotta ravioli ($18) had a lovely filling, but the pasta was doughy and too al dente around the edges. Cedar-smoked potatoes ($8) with cedar oil and crème fraîche were delicious and hearty, and could be eaten on their own in large quantities.
I would like to see more restaurants with this level of thoughtfulness and care placed into the building of a menu, but, until the execution of that menu at Exile is on the same level, it seems a sad waste of excellent ingredients.
Hear Anya Levykh every Monday on CBC Radio One’s On the Coast and find her on Twitter @foodgirlfriday and Facebook.com/FoodGirlFriday.
All ratings out of five stars.
Food: ★
Service: ★★
Ambiance: ★★★
Value: ★★
Overall: ★★
Rating guide
★: Okay, nothing memorable.
★★: Good, shows promise.
★★★: Very good, occasionally excellent.
★★★★: Excellent, consistently above average.
★★★★★: Awe-inspiring, practically perfect in every way.
