Kissa Tanto's Creative Dishes

Beautifully plated octopus salad, pickled radish at Kissa Tanto

A friend of mine who enjoys dining out managed to snag a reservation at the Michelin-starred Kissa Tanto, which features an eclectic mix of Japanese-French ingredients and cooking styles. Our reservation was for 6pm and when I arrived at the address, which is in Chinatown, there were two other women wanting to go into the restaurant, but two homeless people were sitting on the doorstep.

"Oh sorry, excuse me," one of them said politely and removed her things from the step. They were gone after I had climbed the long stairway and looked back at the door. Not surprising the restaurant needs to put a gate on the door during the day...

Charcoal udon with crab, prawns and squid

Upstairs it's a quaint slightly old school, slightly hipster space with a bar at the front, and dining room to the back that faces Pender Street. The first round was already underway when we sat down and perused the menu. 

The staff suggest sharing everything and for two people, two to three appetisers and two mains, but we went for two appetisers and three mains (after two mains I was just full, the third was definitely filling).

For starters the carne cruda (CA$25) is beef tartare using Snake River Farms wagyu mixed with nashi pear, and tons of finely shaved Parmesan on top -- so much so that it covers the entire beef tartare like a mound of cream-coloured snow. 

A bit excessive for a dish that's supposed to focus on the beef.

However, the octopus salad (CA$25) was memorable. Beautifully plated like a colourful wreath, it featured bits of crispy octopus -- pan fried with lots of pickled radish slices in a parsley and chilli puree. Very refreshing and different textures.

Sablefish with marinated currants, pine nuts

Our plates were cleared before the mains arrived. The sablefish (CA$47) was another lovely presentation but my only complaint was the portion was so small! A tiny portion of the gorgeous fish that was perfectly cooked and paired with oyster mushrooms, a slight kick of chilli and pine nuts for another texture.

We also had the charcoal udon (CA$49), the thick noodle made with spelt so that it can have an al dente texture and coloured black, with bits of Dungeness crab, prawns and squid. 

After we finished these mains, I was just full, but my friend was hungry for more and ordered the spaghettoni (CA$35). It's basically a Japanese-Italian pasta with wagyu and pork ragu sauce mixed with Japanese curry. Again this dish was completely covered in shaved Parmesan, but in the case of this pasta dish it was warranted. Mixing the cheese in made it much more creamier and richer.

Now I was full, and the waiter told us we only had 15 minutes left before we had to return the table, even though there were two or three empty tables around us that were soon filled.

Spaghettoni with wagyu, pork and Japanese curry

So we called it a night, with drinks it came to about CA$120 each plus tips. It was a hefty amount, but creative dishes. Still thinking about the octopus salad.

Kissa Tanto

263 East Pender Street

Vancouver, BC

778 379 8078