Blue Water Cafe

Great food! Great ambiance! Great service! Freshest seafood in town. Can't wait to go back.

Went for my wife's bday, had made a rsv online for 8pm in the heated covered patio area and added notes about birthday and allergies. Upon arrival we checked in and were promptly seated at our table. Our server came and she gave asked if we want water which we agreed we did and then she let us know of some menu items that were no longer available And if we had any questions she would be more than happy to answer us. She verified the notes I left about my wife food allergy and confirmed whom birthday it was. She was super attentive and friendly I believe her name was Lauren?

We perused the menus and started off with some beverages. I ordered the gentleman's sweep on the rocks and she ordered the gray whale with cucumber. There was no skimping on the alcohol here these were true mixes appropriately made. Delicious!

We then ordered our food. We decided on seafood taster for 2 and lobster bisque for starters. Seafood Tasting for Two came with
dungeness crab and baby shrimp salad, albacore tuna tartare, bay scallop ceviche
smoked sockeye salmon terrine. Everything was absolutely spot on fresh and delicious. The tuna tartare came on a seafood crisp and actually one of the managers maybe came out to warn us the seafood crisp was fried on oil that contained beef (wife's allergy) and was going to remove it and explained sometimes their oil might contain beef and today it did so realizing the note about beef allergy staff came to rectify the problem. Luckily she hadn't tasted it nor was she really going to as wifey isn't a fan of raw seafood so I calmly thanked the gentleman and said I would be eating the second one anyways. He still proceeded to place the serving in front of me as he didn't wish it to be anywhere close to wifey. That attention to detail and service was absolutely far beyond anything we had experienced before and were delighted.

Continuing the meal the salad was coated well worth the dressing and tasted tart with the vinegarett and fresh with seafood. It was perfect imo. The tartare was nice and the seaweed crisp added beautiful texture to the nicely diced tuna. Scallop ceviche was a nice bite and delectable. The only thing i wasn't keen on was the smoked salmon terrine though wifey liked it. That however probably is my bias against smoked salmon and cheese.

The lobster bisque was rich and super tasty.. maybe too rich as I was quickly getting full from it. But I finished it!

On to the mains, I had a taste of wife's sablefish...omg it was cooked to perfection. Absolutely buttery moist and delicate. Served with some bok and sauce.. my wife absolutely loved it. My arctic char was also cooked perfectly. Nice and tender, flaky and moist with a crisp skin served on a bed of leek/Wakame and a rich creamy sauce with Masato and pearl couscous. It was so delicious but I was getting stuffed..I finished the char and some more veg but ultimately left a pile of greens untouched. I almost forgot the pomme frites! Perfect seasoning with the truffle oil, not too much but enough to enjoy the flavor ; Again too full so ended up taking them to go. We both were too full for dessert but they gave us a nice dessert bite each for the bday dinner which was lovely. One of the best dining experiences we've had. The wait staff super attentive to our needs and noted our allergies, pleasant to talk with and friendly. Definitely would go back. Our seating was also nice, under cover away from rain, heated And beautifully comfortable and relaxed but in a modern atmosphere. This establishment is high up on my list of places I would go back to.

We ventured into Yaletown on day two of our visit to Vancouver. Wow, what a happening place! There are so many restaurants here ... Such a lively vibe!

I ordered a bottle of 2019 Checkmate Queens Taken Chardonnay ($343) from their Dekleva Vineyard. Generous fruit, including peach, pear and nectarine ... it offered a balance of acidity and a rich, mineral finish.

The menu is extensive ... We ended up ordering ten dishes, mainly raw ones. We started with six oysters ($28), two each from Effingham, Shigoku and Barstool. Our server (Melissa) recommended Effingham, but we found the other two to be superior. My favorite was the Barstool.

Next up, Halibut Tataki ($22.50, fourteen slices of halibut, dressed with yuzu kosho / tonburi / ponzu sauce. I'd never had raw halibut ... It was delicate, similar to sea bream (to me).

Next was unagi and Hamachi nigiri ... the unagi was fine but the Hamachi lacked the coloration and taste I'm accustomed to.

Our main dishes were beef sashimi and halibut. There were fourteen slices of beef tenderloin ($23) dressed with a yu'kke sauce (soy, ginger, garlic, red pepper and sesame), garlic chips and chopped scallions. This was very good, tender and flavorful.

The Johnstone Strait Halibut ($52.50) was served with braised kohirabi, baby carrots, sea asparagus, whipped bintje potatoes, chanterelle mushrooms, with a smoked oyster beurre blanc. Halibut is delicate and this dish was a visual treat. We ordered sauteed baby spinach ($10) as a side.

The finale was a Black Forest Cake Bar ($16), white and dark chocolate mousse layered with griotine cherries and topped with wafers of chocolate, accompanied by a quenelle of Morello cherry gelato. This was a visual sensation!

We enjoyed our time at Blue Water Café though we felt the cost to be a little high for the food and wine served. The nigiri sushi didn't meet our expectations; every other dish was fine.

Fantastic. From the food to the service and atmosphere; all were great.

We started with jumbo shrimp cocktail, and had the filet, sablefish (truly fantastic) and an assortment of nigiri. All were high quality and fresh. The gin and tonic (I forgot the name, it had Mediterranean flavors) was very good.

Great experience overall. Very happy we tried this place out.

This is a super nice restaurant! If you're looking for a elegant place for a fancier dinner, I would definitely recommend coming here. Service is spectacular and the food was also delicious.

We got the saba aburi nigiri and the miso marinated cod. Both were fantastic -- the sushi was so perfectly torched and melted in your mouth, and the cod was also so tender and well seasoned. Savory, sweet, and umami. The drinks we got were also nice, and they gave us two tiny jelly for dessert!

It was a fun and delicious experience here -- if you're in Vancouver looking for a nice dinner spot, definitely check this spot out!

3.5/5 - Went to Blue Water Cafe to celebrate a birthday. The restaurant was busy and had a fine dining-esque interior. We got the Seafood tasting for Two and shellfish platter to share. For my main I got the sablefish. Food was good although service was slow. Our server Mikey was also not very hospitable - plopped dessert menus onto our table without asking and didn't converse or check in with us.
Other than that - seafood was fresh and tasty, albeit not the best I've had (I don't think the natural sweetness of the shellfish showed through). My favourite of the appetizers was the salmon terrine - it was creamy and flavourful. The sablefish was also flaky and tender but a bit too salty for my taste. Overall, our experience was ok - food was good but nothing I haven't gotten elsewhere and service needs some work

Blue Water Cafe has become our favorite restaurant, and we live an hour away, in the US! The service (Frankie, then Chris Royal and Jennifer) has been amazing every time and the food is the best around. Andrea at the bar makes a great Old Fashioned, too.

The grilled octopus is one of our favorite dishes, but isn't always in season. The Stamina and The Dragon sushi rolls are delicious. The show stopper is the seafood tower - so, so fresh and beautifully presented. If you have room at the end of the meal, I highly recommend the Black Forest Cake Bar with brandied cherries.

One of the best things about the restaurant is the relaxed atmosphere not often found in places with such high quality food and service.

What a great spot in what is considered the heart of Vancouver's dinning district .. very quaint place and an amazing staff ... We were a party of 8 (4 couples and everyone had nothing but the best to say about our experience at the Blue Water .

It's been 6 years since I last been here. Not much has changed !
Same solid menu with on point service.
Prices haven't changed much from 6 years ago !!!
Definitely a must when in Vancouver !!

While visiting Vancouver we had dinner at Blue Water Cafe. It far exceeded our expectations! The food as well as the wine and cocktails were outstanding. The only thing better was the service. Our waiter was Antoine. He was extremely knowledgeable about everything on the menu. He made excellent suggestions and did an amazing job of suggesting pairings when we asked. We sat on the patio where the entire staff we interacted with was lovely. We liked it so much, we canceled our reservations the next night and returned to Blue Water Cafe. Big shout out to the GM, Adrian and Kevin as well.