Cardero's Restaurant

Last month Sam took me out on a "Oh God I'm sorry I wrecked your heels, threw up a little on you and cut your night short" dinner date. I would drag his half comatose body home anytime,  though next time perhaps not wearing high heels. But it was very nice of him to take me out either way.

We settled on trying Cardero's in coal harbour. Its in a nice location nestled right along the water. This was back in May, the sun was out but it was still a little too cold for patio. When we went inside we were greeted with an assortment of rustic marine decor and an open kitchen. It was super busy so I refrained from taking pictures.

What was really cool was their system of calling people when their table were ready. Instead of names or vibrating coasters you are given a card with your flag on it. When your table is ready they will actually raise your flag and ring a bell to notify you. We didn't actually get to participate in this though as we made reservations ahead of time. No waiting for us!

After placing our order we were served up with bread and the cutest butter I've ever seen. The butter is labeled!! How cool is that!? Or maybe I'm just easily amused.

Once again I had forgotten to take my camera out with me. But with good lighting, the iphone camera doesn't do too shabby of a job. We started with a dozen oysters and we happily slurped them down while chatting over amusing oyster anecdotes. When it comes to oysters, I generally just like mine with a dash of tabasco and lemon, but the sauce that accompanied these worked very well as well. 

Sesame Crusted Albacore Tuna

I ordered the tuna. See I guess this is why I should blog more recently as I've already forgotten what it tastes like. It was served up a wasabi dressing. It was very good, but clearly not memorable.

Sam had settled with the scallops. Look at how big they were! I'm never one to settle on scallops as an entree when it comes to deciding on what to eat, but these were quite nice. They were light charred on both sides and cooked to perfection on the inside. I actually wonder how chefs do that, because you can't exactly stick a thermometer into a scallop. I guess its just a watchful eye and timing.

After dinner we walked along the seawall and went to search for dessert. However the couple of places we thought of were already closed (!?) and after wandering around we went into this little Peruvian shop in Gastown. The food in there actually smelled really good, but we were just there for the finale.

Cardero's is a great choice if you want some place nice without breaking the bank. I used to recommend a lot of guests there without ever having tried it. Glad to know I didn't do them wrong.