Wildebeest Awards

Wildebeest Restaurant Review:

Named for an intimidating animal best known as an easy food source for predators roaming the African savannah, this Gastown restaurant features a nose-to-tail cooking concept. Heading the kitchen is Wesley Young, who is dedicated to local ingredient sourcing and innovative dishes. His food is well-thought-out without being overwrought. Housed in a refurbished nineteenth-century building, the dining room reflects this culinary philosophy with its bare-bones brick and wood styling that is both casually comfortable and hip. A long, open kitchen takes up the most space, as cooking is the star here. Try the Wilde'beet' salad with crunchy apple, winter herbs, and frozen mascarpone, and the unctuous smoked bone marrow butter and bread. Whether roasted veal sweetbreads, pork jowl or beef tongue, no part of the beast is discarded, and lowly ingredients are transformed, elevated in fact, into remarkable dishes. Line-caught ling cod with fermented cabbage, candied cod belly, “sea” foam and bacon dashi is a knockout. Carefully selected old- and new-world wines are offered to pair with dishes in the restaurant and the underground wine bar. The diverse selections regularly draw a swathe of wine geeks and wine agents happily combing the list for treats. Desserts are as fascinating as the mains: parsnip pudding arrives with goat cheese sorbet, orange crisp and crushed pistachios. Tonka bean ice cream is accompanied by Wildebeest nutella, chocolate cookie and hazelnut brittle. This place is definitely where beauty and the beast meet on the plate.