Review: Wildlight Kitchen + Bar

The pescatarian board with cured fish, mussels and cod rillette

People who live near the University of British Columbia finally have a good high-end restaurant to eat at. It's just off University Boulevard, where there's an upscale gourmet supermarket called Urban Fare and nestled between two condominium towers. There's definitely a captive audience for Wildlight Kitchen + Bar.

We had to circle around to find it as it isn't facing the street, but we go there eventually. Cars parked in the area or underground must pay for parking, but those in the underground can show their parking receipt to get reimbursed up to C$8 when paying the check.

Grilled beet salad with burrata cheese

Inside the restaurant is airy with exposed high ceilings and has a west coast vibe with lots of wood panelling to create a contemporary minimalist look. Booths line the perimeter of the dining area, and tables in the middle. We're not quite sure what to make of the screens showing a wood-burning fire suspended above the bar.

The menu is straight forward, using many BC products. The starters or "small plates" offer something for everyone, from west coast seafood chowder to vegan brisket flatbread, oysters and chicken wings.

Recommended by our server, the grilled beet salad (C$20) featured red and yellow beets, decorated with greens, sunflower shoots, Okanagan apples, and roasted and crushed hazelnuts. Very refreshing and easy to share.

We chose the signature pescatarian board ($42), featuring house-made salmon "pastrami", beet-cured ling cod, smoked albacore, cod rillette (with various crackers) and Salt Spring Island mussels, complemented with lots of pickled vegetables like sea asparagus, and carrots, olives and caperberries.  

Seared Hokkaido scallops with risotto

For the three of us, there was at least one piece each of the fish, each delicious but not particularly outstanding. The rillette was delightful with the poppadom and nori crackers, and the pickled sea asparagus was new for me. I have had them raw or slightly cooked, and it was interesting to have it pickled.

After our plates were taken away we waited a very long time for our mains -- it seemed like we were not the only ones, as other tables had the same issue of waiting at least 30 minutes for the next course.

The selection of main or "large plates" also has something for everyone, such as gin steamed mussels, seasonal risotto, a meat burger as well as oyster mushroom burger, and even beef tomahawk for two.

We had the celeriac agnolotti (C$30), large rectangular-shaped packages that were quite rich in the beurre-blanc sauce, topped with generous bunches of oyster mushrooms. 

More gravy with the duck breast please

Seared Hokkaido scallops (C$42) were placed on a bed of lobster and truffle risotto -- hitting all the umami notes and a very hearty portion.

Same goes for the BC duck (C$37) that comes from the Fraser Valley, very tender and sitting on a very generous serving of dijon spaetzle, along with a confit leg croquette, and lots of vegetables on the side including Brussels sprouts, carrots, undercooked potatoes, and beets. A minor quibble of more gravy would have been appreciated.

While we didn't really have room for dessert, we felt we should at least try one to share. The lemon tart (C$14) is not too sweet on its own, but the torched meringue on top is a bit too much. Nevertheless we appreciated the presentation along with macerated blueberries.

Overall a pleasant dining experience from the staff, but the lull between courses needs to cut in half. Diners should not be kept waiting too long.

A bit too much meringue on the lemon tart

Wildlight Kitchen + Bar

5380 University Boulevard

Vancouver, BC

604 915 0722