Mission
2042 West 4th
604-739-2042
MissionKits.ca
Open for dinner Wednesday-Monday from 5:30pm.
I have always enjoyed Curtis Luk’s food. While I never ate any of his creations during his time at Fable, I became very familiar with his talent at both The Parker (now Big Trouble) and Bambudda. While not a vegetarian himself, he made The Parker’s vegetarian and vegan menu memorable, and his work at Bambudda, churning out modern Chinese small plates, was solid.
Mission is Luk’s first shot at the owner/operator ring. He’s partnered with sommelier/GM Chase Macleod, while the two worked together at Fable. The food menu is highly vegetable-forward, but has some notable animal proteins. Everything is sourced as locally-ethically-seasonally as possible (meats are butchered in-house), and the wine list favours natural, organic and biodynamic offerings. Bartender Justin Darnes (formerly of Pidgin) has created some innovative cocktails, utilizing his own bitters, tinctures, syrups, etc. Par for the course these days in Vancouver, but so far, so good.
The problems begin when you sit down. Service is inconsistent. A lady one night is friendly, knowledgeable and gracious. A gentleman another evening is pushy, rude and supercilious. If I wanted bad service, I would go the Elbow Room and spend a lot less in the process. Drinks are mainly solid, like the fresh take on a sloe gin fizz. Flat, but rather aromatic; at $10, it’ll do.
Food prices are very reasonable ($45 for the four-course tasting menu; $65 for the six-course, à la carte items mainly under $20), as are portion sizes. The plates, however, are fussy, unnecessarily complicated and often fall completely flat in the mouth. The first course off the tasting menu set the tone for one night. Wild salmon, sorrel and shrimp sit over a small blin (pancake; one “blin,” many “blini”). The blin is tasteless, but some black roe livens things up. A dilled shrimp sits alone next to a wedge of cured salmon. It’s disjointed and doesn’t cause any excitement. Cauliflower “porridge” starts out well, with a creamy puree that is whipped with crème fraiche for a silky texture and delicate taste. Unfortunately, it’s then studded with farro (wheat berries) and grated, raw cauliflower. The overcooked berries are jarring, and the raw grate, like the emperor’s clothes, is indistinguishable in both taste and texture. The whole is topped with some sautéed broccoli, ringed with a lacklustre kale pesto, and garnished with two kale chips that are dry, dusty in the mouth, and completely without flavour, and two ribbons of kohlrabi “noodles” that seem neither here nor there.
Local goat (a main off the tasting menu) is slightly better. It’s fork-tender and moist, but feels like the kitchen completely forgot the salt or any other seasoning. The accompanying potato “napoleon” is a very silky mash housed between two large chips. It’s a nice play on textures and the rich-salty combo works to a certain extent.
Much better was a starter off the à la carte menu, a sidestripe prawn “cocktail” on toast ($5). The toast was too soft, but the prawns, mixed with dill and topped with more of the kohlrabi, were excellent; flavourful, plump and fresh. It almost made up for the horrifying “oreo” cookies that came gratis with our bill. Dry, crumbly sawdust is never a pleasant chewing experience, and although these looked like chocolate biscuits, the taste managed to effectively hide any indicators.
The room is pleasant, the wine list is well chosen, and the cocktails, for the most part, are solid. The restaurant’s ethos, on these fronts, seems to be on the right path, but until the food (and service) achieves some measure of overall palatability, this Mission can only be considered a failure.
All ratings out of five stars
Food: *
Service: *
Ambiance: **
Value: **
Overall: *1/2
*: Okay, nothing memorable.
**: Good, shows promise.
***: Very good, occasionally excellent.
****: Excellent, consistently above average.
*****: Awe-inspiring, practically perfect in every way.
Anya Levykh is a freelance food and travel writer and can be heard every Monday on CBC Radio One’s On the Coast. Find her on Twitter @foodgirlfriday and Facebook.com/FoodGirlFriday.
