Diners are conditioned to be biased. Just two small words can affect your whole perception of a restaurant. “Fine Dining” (stuffy). “Family Friendly” (gimmicky). “Hotel Dining” (boring).
I’m here to blow your biases out of the ocean and share YEW seafood + bar with you. I’m a tad hesitant really—the downtown restaurant and bar at the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver doesn’t need to be any busier. The chef certainly doesn’t need a popularity push. And if everyone goes there, my barrel-aged negroni supply might be drained.
YEW seafood + bar has been defying and exceeding peoples expectations ever since Executive Chef Ned Bell arrived on scene in 2011. Okanagan-born Chef Bell came to appreciate BC’s abundance and farm-to-table dining early, beginning in the family kitchen at age 12. He quickly rose through Vancouver’s exacting fine dining ranks before heading east to make a name for himself in kitchens in Ontario and Alberta, and then through regular appearances on Food Network Canada’s Cook Like a Chef.
When word came that this popular, friendly chef would be joining the hallowed ranks of the Four Seasons empire in , some were worried that the chain’s structured rigidity and prestige would dampen Chef Bell’s joie de vivre. Fortunately, the opposite happened. The Four Seasons Vancouver’s once formal, yes, stuffy, fine dining room became… fresh! And not just because of Chef Bell and YEWs commitment to Oceanwise certified seafood, or attention to colorful, flavorful local vegetables (numerous imaginative vegan and vegetarian dishes are mainstays). A bright, driven and creative team has fashioned a lively, friendly atmosphere, centered on quality local producers and the highest service standards, benefiting such a luxury hotel.
I stayed at the hotel recently and over the course of my visit enjoyed breakfast, lunch and dinner at YEW, without once becoming bored with the menu or the sleekly rugged room. I could have easily doubled my stay and still been keen to try different menu items. Do I go with the lobster tacos with miso honey and avocado or the seared scallops with pear butter and bacon? Start with a half dozen Kusshi oysters before a pan of West Coast paella or roasted chicken with celery root, walnuts and kale? It’s a challenge to be so creative within a global restaurant system, especially one with such exacting standards, but under Chef Bell, restaurant chef Sean Murray and pastry chef Bruno Feldelsen, the team has succeeded.
The chic design flows from one space to another (lounge, bar, restaurant, private dining) with cushy booths, communal high tops, ample sized table tops and low slung loungers to fit different moods and times of day. However you use YEW, it’s busy from morning to night. Hotel guests and breakfast meetings take in house made baking, fresh squeezed juices and lattes. Downtown office staff and the nearby law courts share the room with shoppers over lunch (the hotel is connected to downtown’s shopping hub, Pacific Centre and Holt Renfrew) and the post-work, cocktailing crowd fills the lounge and bar for well crafted drinks, oysters and internationally inspired bites.
Which brings me to my main reason for visiting a restaurant—the beverages. Young sommelier (and new mother) Emily Walker is a local sensation, creating a vibrant wine program nimbly crossing from boutique BC producers to small lot international gems. Her weekly wine picks are photographed and documented across YEW’s busy and updated social media platforms, a shining example of how to successfully interact with guests digitally. The bar program is just as strong, with bar manager Justin Taylor experimenting with innovative cocktails (the aforementioned barrel-aged Negroni is one successful example) while paying due diligence to the classics.
Hotel dining rooms will always have a challenge to break stereotype, but the wide ranging cross section of repeat guests, busy room and positive buzz around town shows YEW has met and conquered the challenge. Head up the escalator to YEW any time of day, but save some barrel-aged Negronis for me.
YEW seafood + bar, Four Seasons Hotel || 791 West Georgia Street, Vancouver || yewseafood.com
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