Bistro 101 at Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts

The good news is that my wife loved her meal of trout. She loved the appetizer, assorted tomatoes, her main course, trout and her desert, the tiramisu. I on the on the other hand was disappointed by my selection. The appetizer, three small scallops perfectly cooked but their delicate flavor was overwhelmed by the picante flavor of the hot sauce. My main-meal was allegedly something the equivalent to a New York steak or Delmonico. I asked for and received the steak medium rare. It was served with crispy fried potatoes. The meat was barely edible. I don't know the cut of meat they served or the origin of the meat but I would never recommend this steak to anyone familiar with the finer cuts of meat such as filet or rib eye or New York. I did finally manage to finish the steak but not without picking stands of meat from my teeth throughout the course of the meal, A restaurants signature is predicated on their ability to deliver an tender cut of meat cooked to perfection. Total failure. My desert was to be Profiteroles with ice cream. What I expected and what I got were two different things. I expected the type of puff pastry in and eclair or the like but the profiteroles we more the consistency of a cookie. I was disappoint on all three counts

I never like Granville Island despite everyone is talking about how great it is. To me, it is a place where all the struggling poor wannabee artisans can have a chance to exhibit their works. Finally, i have a reason for hanging around there--the restaurant. The PICA is a small restaurant west of the entrance to Granville Island. It is located in the building to the right when you are just about to enter Granville Island. It is a typical school where student-cooks work on their assignments, and you get to sample their work. This is pretty much like a miniature version of the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) but on a much smaller scale (there are only 10 tables here). The will-be chefs are trained with the aim of bettering the hospitality industry, and a few may become the stars in fine dining restaurants in the locale. So, the food they serve is definitely up to par if not above, and i must say, the dinner i had was scrumptious, above average than meals that one would have at Red Lobster or IHOP. One must make a reservation 2 weeks or more ahead of their planned visits. There are only 10 ish dining tables. So early reservation is a must. I was advised by the maitre-di to call 2 weeks ahead of time (604-734-0101). The restaurant is narrow, one side is facing north with window views of the water front and Granville Island, the south side also offers window views but of different sort, i.e. big panes of windows behind which the chefs and sous-chefs are preparing your dinner. You can either see through the southern windows or via a big LCD that offers real time broadcast of the food preparation. Pretty cool stuff! The menu are itemized as full sampling which consists of hor d'oeuvres, main course and dessert. You pay one price for all the above three. You have a few choices of the entrees and that is it. You can almost be rest assured that the dishes may not be of the ultimate fine dining calibre, but the standard is definitely above average. Even the arrangement and presentation of the food will meet the high standard of a foodie.Beverages come in a different menu, but i have only opted for their beer flight which supposedly is from the micro brewery on Granville Island. Wine menu is limited but i I assume that it is made available to pair the food they serve.Food is good, price is good, parking is available free with 6-10 parking spaces in the adjacent building's indoor parking lot (ask when you make the reservation).i strongly recommend anyone to give this a try, but make sure that you call in to make a reservation way ahead of time. Even your visit to Granville Island does not turn out to be your high expectation, this will well make up for it if you plan out a side trip to dine in this restaurant. There is also a bakery to enable you to sample their different varieties of baked goods if you have no time for dining here.

We have dined here several times in the last couple years. The menu choices are, obviously, limited as the meals are fixed price 3-course meals, but the monthly menu is posted online so one can check ahead and at $30 it is a good deal.Food and service can be inconsistent, but recall that this is a culinary school and where issues are brought to their attention, they have always been sincerely and promptly addressed in our experience.My wife and I and an out of town friend had dinner there yesterday. We ordered draft beers but told a few minutes later the machine was down, along with profuse apologies but, more importantly, the server was prepared and offered us some bottled alternatives and helpful recommendations and we ended up enjoying something different that we might not have otherwise.Our hostess and server were friendly, knowledgeable and efficient.OK, the men's washroom did not have soap and my wife tells me her pork entree could have used a bit more sauce. And her dessert souffle took a bit longer than usual to arrive but, again, we were told right away that there was a delay and our server was honest and direct about the fact that it was due his being busy and he did not put in the order to the kitchen immediately, again with profuse and sincere apologies. This was more than sufficient for us to look past the error, which was minor.All of the other courses we had were excellent.Mistakes will always occur. There is always room for improvement. It is how an establishment responds that makes the difference, plus the diners having reasonable expectations.

This is a culinary school, which means the kitchen and the serving staff are all in training. As long as one knows that, everything is fine. Food - good. Service - charmingly tentative. Atmosphere - relaxing, at least the lunches we tried there. Be tolerant, and one can have an enjoyable experience.

We were celebrating two birthdays and it had been awhile since we last visited. The interior decor was elegant. The service fast, friendly and professional. The appetizer was a variation on a Deviled Egg combined with the ingredients of Pesto. It was a delight and we wanted to eat more. The main course was tasty and beautifully presented. We all ordered different desserts and our spoons made the rounds. My favorite was the Cheese Cake that was infused with Caramel flavours. The cake was the consistency of a Flan and yet tasted true to its name. The finale was a plate of tasty treats with a Chocolate script saying "Happy Birthday". The joy of it all was being able to stand at the glass window and watch the Chef's preparing our food. Add this restaurant to you "Lets Go There" list. You will be impressed and well fed.