Cork & Fin? Didn’t that open in 2010?
Yes, it did. And like many Vancouverites, I hadn't paid much attention to the Gastown seafood restaurant. Unfortunately, it tends to get overlooked because it is located next door to arguably one of Vancouver’s favourite upscale restaurants, L’Abattoir.
The new Cork & Fin relaunched in June and to make up for lost time, I tried it three times in the span of two weeks.
Cork & Fin started as a seafood focused upscale restaurant, but now they’ve shifted their focus to small plates with a mix of seafood and meat. Seafood is still celebrated, but they’ve changed the concept so it’s not the heart of the restaurant anymore.
The first time I went was for happy hour (everyday, 5–6pm) featuring two-for-one oysters (chef’s selection, minimum order one dozen) and $4 beer/$5 cocktails/$6 wine.
This was when I also discovered their fantastic “Pig Buns” (sliders) with braised pork and spicy mayo on deep fried Chinese steamed mantou buns. Along with delicious crispy chicken wings and frites, the Pig Buns are on their Vancouver Canucks Game Day Platters (available on game days excluding Fridays and Saturdays). Although still good on the platter, the Pig Buns tend to be better à la carte because the slice of pork belly is bigger.
If you’re going for share plates and munchies I’d also highly recommend the mussels which come in a miso, bacon, and chili broth. I know. How can you go wrong? It's an umami bomb. I actually dipped my Pig Buns into this broth like a beef dip. They didn’t need it, but they tasted great this way too.
I’ve also been on a seafood tower obsession where I've tried a new one at least once a week for the last month and a half. I’ve tried Cork & Fin’s twice.
The three-tiered seafood tower is $80 and features 14 raw oysters, about 15 chilled prawns, about 15 chilled mussels, smoked albacore tuna, salmon ceviche, sardines and ½ a chilled lobster. For most it’s a full meal for two or an appetizer for four.
On Seafood Sundays, the seafood tower is almost half price at $49 and they even have buck-a-shuck oysters.
I’m always skeptical of such a big discount and I was expecting less seafood on the discounted tower, but it was actually relatively comparable. The presentation wasn’t as nice and the chilled seafood towers came out as the last course after the hot mains, but it was their first week featuring “Seafood Sundays” so I don’t think they were prepared for how popular they would be.
Another hot dish worth ordering is the butternut squash gnocchi with thyme and duck confit (optional). It’s rich and creamy comfort food and perfect for the season.
While the menu is a bit scattered with West Coast options, Asian inspiration, gastropub snacks, nicer small plates, green tea gelato for dessert, and seafood towers, there are dishes I’d go back for that I really enjoyed. In fact, I did go back for them – twice.
Find Mijune at the Notable Awards on Nov. 12, The Culinary Apprenticeship Dinner at The Fairmont Pacific Rim on Nov. 13, and hosting the Rustichella d'Abruzzo Primograno Pasta Party fundraiser for Chef Tina Fineza on Nov. 23. Also follow her culinary adventures in Jerusalem, Israel Nov. 16-23 #FMFinIsrael. Find out more about Mijune at FollowMeFoodie.com or follow her on Twitter and Instagram @followmefoodie.
