Sage Bistro - Vancouver

I visited this restaurant on my day off because of its limited hours of operation.

I had high expectations based on what my friends had said about this place, but it was just okay.

The restaurant offers a stunning view of the water and distant mountains. After your meal, you can easily explore the UBC garden nearby.

As part of a concert at the Chan Center a 3 course meal was offered at a very good price and well worth it. A nice first course consisting of a watermelon salad with olives & feta cheese (tons of greens but very skimpy amount of watermelon & feta) but was tasty, I had a panko crusted salmon with asparagus, variety of potatoes. The salmon was done to perfection. A lovely piece of orange cake was served. I had a glass of white wine followed by a cup (the size of a demi-tasse) coffee but very good, you go for refills.A very modern simple place with a lot of metal & plastic and everything is in clinical white; being a romantic myself there certainly no touch of romance.The service was fantastic, all waiters were on the bit & never missed a beat.

We booked this restaurant mainly because it is very close to the Chan Centre, where we were to attend a concert after our meal. The restaurant is located in one of the UBC buildings that looks as if it was constructed in the 1950s or 1960s; we did have a view of the water and mountains from the large windows of the restaurant. Sage offers a set menu that includes salad (one choice only), a choice of three entrees, dessert (one selection only), and coffee. The atmosphere and the service are neither intimate nor warm; one gets the feeling that pre-concert meal service is an exercise in getting a large room of diners fed in a limited amount of time, so niceties are sacrificed to that end.The salad was light and delicious. My friend and I both had the beef short ribs which were overcooked and slightly dry. The blueberry tart was delicious but would have been much nicer served warm.Our server seemed inexperienced.I don't think we will return to the Sage Bistro.