Chambar

Ambiance: You know it's upscale, but it's not fine dining.  The decor makes this place feel more like a "steak house" or a "casual chat room".  It's hard to describe, but it definitely is not a fine dining feel.

Seating/Wait time: It looks like a small restaurant in the waiting area, but there's actually a very big seating area in the back.  It's better to have a reservation when you come. Phone number:  (604) 879-7119

Dress Code: Casual, but could be Dressy Casual.  Definitely no suit and tie required.

Crowd: Everybody

Meal: Ordered off the "Set Menu 1 $60.00/Person"

Complementary Bread with Spread

This is a pleasant change from the "ordinary" olive oil or balsamic vinegar.   I should have asked what the spread was, it was really tasty.  It wasn't tangy, it wasn't sweet, it wasn't spicy, it was neutral in taste.  Soft like butter.  I didn't really care what I was eating, I was too busy enjoying it.  

Thon et chorizo
Lightly seared toro, marinated sweet peppers, jalapeno vinaigrette, crispy chorizo, cilantro.

When you get the chance to eat toro, you take it!

It is very easy to over cook toro by searing it for too long because it still cooks while "off the heat", they did a great job because it wasn't cooked to the center, there is some rawness so you enjoy the true flavor of the toro.  The sauce did not overwhelm the toro and was a nice complement. 

Entrecote de Boeuf
9oz ribeye steak, sun dried tomato, caper & pine nut sauce vierge, roasted mushroom & tomato bruschetta, truffle aioli.

roasted mushroom & tomato bruschetta, truffle aioli.

I really liked how they put everything together as opposed to simply doing the mushrooms and tomato like a salad and the bruschetta as a "stand alone" on the side.   It is great to get some veggies in a meat entree.  This is a nice touch.  There wasn't too much tomato to make this sour.  The bread wasn't too hard or too soft so that it soaks in all the juice.  This side was very enjoyable.   By stacking the ingredients on top of the bruschetta, I like how the chef is telling you, "this is how I want you to eat my food"!

9oz ribeye steak, sun dried tomato, caper & pine nut sauce vierge

I asked for medium rare and I got medium rare.  It really did not look like 9 oz.  I weigh and package 9 oz of beef patties every month and this looked less than 9 oz.  


Glad that it did come out medium rare, it was tender, happy there weren't any tendons or tough parts.  The sun dried tomato and capers didn't really add to the steak.  It was nice to have, but it wasn't necessary.


This dish as a whole is filling and satisfied my "fair portion size" expectations. 

Le café belge
Espresso cheesecake with belgian chocolate mousse crème de cacao gelée & crisp chocolate wafers.

I expected more cheesecake than just a square.  I think all cheesecake should have a crust. This one is pure cheesecake, it is tasty and because there is so little of it, I nibbled at it to make it last longer.  They didn't "skimp" out on the other dishes, and I wish they didn't do so on the cheesecake.


The best part of this was the espresso bean at the top and the chocolate wafers.  


The white stuff is jelly and didn't really taste like anything even though it's said to be "belgian chocolate mousse crème de cacao".  It would be better if they just didn't have the jelly and just give a bigger piece of cheesecake.

Personal Remarks:  I've tried a lot of set menus and I often find myself disappointed not by the taste, but by the portion size.  When I eat out, I tend not to care how others at the table may think of me.  I would ask the waiter, what others view as embarrassing questions, because I know that if I don't ask then I'm going to regret it and have a bad mood later.     


If you don't care how others may think of you, then please enjoy the following advice, if you share the same concerns as I do when ordering off a set menu at a restaurant you have never been to.

When restaurants design a set menu, there are items on there that help offset the price of other items.  Which is why you often find a few choices to select from in the appetizers and entrees.  They anticipate that if every other person selects something different this will "balance" the value of creating a set menu.  However, if everyone orders the most expensive items, then the restaurant will loose money.  

In the past, I've always found myself disappointed because I am usually the person who ordered the worst tasting item, or the smallest and under valued item.  After eating at more restaurants and learning from those experiences, I now know what to do and can teach all of you.  

Ask the waiter, "Which is the biggest in portion size of these choices, to get the best bang for your buck? and tastiest?"   

When asking this question, you want to make sure that you are the last person at the table to order or among one of the last orders to be taken.  Because if everyone ordered something different, when the food comes out, you can compare with the rest of your table.  Conversely, if you ordered first, and everyone followed your order, then you'd have no other dishes to compare your order to.  

I was very happy with the food.  Everything tasted great!  Here's some of the other stuff on the menu that the rest of my table ordered.  I've tried them too and left my comments below each item.

Betterave & fenouil
Roasted baby beets, orange vraised fennel, pomegranate, whipped sheeps feta. 

Not tasty at all.  Yes, it is fresh, but nothing special.  Just tasted like regular beets and fennel.

L'omble de l'Artique nicois
Crispy Arctic char, sea asparagus, pea shoots, bacalao, lemon & grana padano concasse, tapanades.

Well made, very soft, not over cooked, nice crisp to the skin.  Overall, nothing special, the only thing unique were the sauces around the fish.  The person that ate this said they were not full after eating it.  I tasted it, and this is a dish that you can easily make at home. 

Tarte aux griottes
Sour cherry tart, vanilla ice cream & lemon crème.

This was tasty, however, even with the ice cream it was still too sour for my taste.  

Before coming to Chambar I had a lot of expectations because of what everyone was say about this restaurant.  My advice to you, don't come here with any expectations.  If you do, your dining experience will not be as enjoyable.  

They use fresh ingredients, the food plated well.  In terms of creativity and being different, as you can see from above there isn't anything they do differently from other top restaurants.  They don't serve anything on the menu that you can't get elsewhere for a cheaper price.  

It would have been great to see things on the menu that you can't get anywhere else to make this a unique dining experience.  Besides the seared toro, there isn't much on the menu that wow's.  Simply, this restaurant makes what a lot of other restaurant makes and charges a bit more.

You do get what you pay for, which is food that is cooked well.  It is better than paying for food that you "expect" to be cooked well, but is not.  Chambar delivers in execution, but the menu lacks in creativity and does not give anything new in terms of a food experience.

Value: 4/5 Overall: 4/5