A dark and quiet room overlooking Water Street in Gastown, this little French restaurant has received much praise for their charcuterie off-shoot 2 doors down (ne The Butcher Shop), so I decided to give their main room a shot. It was a good friend’s birthday party and we were on the hunt for oysters. Now a place whose logo features an oyster would seem like an obvious choice (as opposed to a stuffed toy store that features a platypus in their logo, and yet offers no platypi to be purchased… but I digress…) so here we were.

The restaurant is split into 3 sections: the aforementioned Butcher Shop is a few doors down in the same mall; the oyster bar and lounge is downstairs – quiet and quaint, with but 1 TV to watch those wily Canucks slough through another game; and the main room upstairs – long and wide, with beautiful dark wood walls and floors that add to its charm.

It was a quiet and chilly Thursday eve as we made our way in. We were greeted warmly and taken to our table — a seat right at the front of the window for all to see… and consequently (it is Gastown after all) provider of entertainment far and wide – including the regular chimes of that God-forsaken steam clock down the street… seriously… how many pictures could Japanese tourists take of this thing?

Our drink orders were taken and delivered rather promptly. Our waiter was professional, yet stumbled a bit on elaborating on menu selections when asked. Fortunately he had notes and would recover easily. Most importantly – he was attentive, always refilling our water glasses, asking if we needed anything, and displayed the professional grace that only a French waiter could possibly have.

We started off with 2 dozen oysters (a selection of 5 species from both coasts) and a charcuterie platter. The oysters arrived with a selection of 3 sauces – a light amber one with shallots with the least amount of heat was dispersed with rather quickly. The other two were a hot sauce type, and what the waiter described as “blueberry molasses.” I could not comment as I generally steer away from raw mollusks… well raw anything to be fair — so I tucked into the familiar charcuterie platter. Pork rilette, caramelized onions, roasted garlic, pork with pistachios, oven roasted tomatoes, and a beef pate – all served with a bag of assorted crisps to top. All as good as I remember.

The staff was efficient in clearing out the decimated plates as soon as we finished and replated us. The mains arrived shortly after. I had a wonderful braised beef osso bucco that was as tender as the sauce was warming on this cold eve. Two of the folks had rib eyes that had been ordered medium rare – but arrived kinda half medium done, half medium rare… reportedly the beef was quite good though so there was no need to complain. A note — you could actually choose how large you wanted your steak — none of this prescribed 10 oz, 12 oz crap — the birthday boy wanted 16 oz and that is what he got. Another fellow had the Fraser Valley duck breast… and it was just completely overdone. Barely a hint of pink to be found. I wasn’t able to try it, but he seemed satisfied enough to tuck in — so be it. All the dishes came atop various sauteed/roasted vegetables that added a touch of colour and sweetness to the dishes.

Once we cleared that, the next phase began. The birthday boy had his birthday cognac – the chalice came atop a cup of hot water — a VERY nice touch. I tucked into what the waiter described as an Earl Grey/chocolate creme brulee. I am not a brulee fan by any mean — but I am always curious and up for anything that manages to include tea in new and different ways.

Once I got past the shell – the scent of Earl Grey wafted up and greeted my senses and I had at it. The brulee was well flavoured – not exceedingly sweet, but smooth. Both flavours complemented each other nicely and had their chance to shine – neither overshadowing the other. As far as brulees go — I was very satisfied.

In the end, it’s a lovely room, with fair prices, and quite good service (with some rough spots) – but their inability to handle something as simple as steak and duck gives me reason to pause, especially when it wasn’t busy at all. I was satisfied enough with my meal to warrant a recommend, and I certainly hope it was just the chef having an off-night.