Dovetail

Another highly anticipated restaurant crossed off the list! Dovetail is a busy restaurant with a clean and polished aesthetic located in the heart of Yaletown. I came in Thursday night with 2 gfs and the place was PACKED - what a good sign.

We started off with some drinks and normally I don't enjoy ordering zero proof because it really takes the value out of things but I wasn't feeling my brightest that day, so I opted for 'Plan C' (vitamin c...haha i get it). To my surprise, it was very delicious and complex. My gfs also enjoyed their cocktails as well. The 'red flag' was reported as "chugged it down like juice".

Appetizers were very pleasant! The butter beef tataki was sweet, sour, and umami with tons of crispy shallots - very delicious. The bang bang shrimp was a flavour town booster as well and actually kicked in the spice department (which does not come often in non-asian restaurants), well done! Lettuce was lettuce, standard salad there.

Now came the big guns...the pasta. I'm usually not a big pasta eater as I find pasta to be very heavy and carby - tough on me as I gain weight easily haha. The spicy vodka pasta is a cult favourite from what I've heard and after trying it, I completely understand why. The complex savoury flavours combined with the slight bitterness hits deep and leaves a warm feeling in my stomach. My favourite however is definitely the carbonara (I do love white sauce pasta....), the pasta was cooked perfectly and the creamy sauce combined with the mixed egg yolk was to die for!!

Overall, I may have had better pasta at other places but I think this place has a special vibe that is especially appealing for someone like me who enjoys good ambiance, good food, and good service. The food is special and I would love to come back and try some other pasta dishes again.

Went to dovetail after I kept seeing their spicy vodka pasta (I miss NY food). This place is surprisingly hard to get reservation for, so we ended up having to settle for early dinner.

Place was bustling. Happy for the restaurant but as a result it was really hard to have a good conversation inside. Service was prompt and satisfactory.

Got the pasta ($30) and lychee martini ($12). Overall, pasta tasted great and satisfied my cravings. Portion was massive so we decided to split instead. I am not usually a martini person and found the drink a bit too sweet. It's a pretty nice easy summer drink though.

Something to keep in mind is that their plant-based/vegan options are severely limited. My friend ended up having to order brocollini ($16) without the dressing since it contains dairy.

I was placed on the wait list at 645 pm with a suggested 40 min wait. Unto my knowledge,my boyfriend also went in separately about 5 mins after I had& was told 1.5 hours.

I went back an hour later and they said a table would be available at 9 & they would call me.

Neither of us received a call.

I am not interested in this place based on the behaviour of the hostesses. This is not respectful .

Great spot for dinner in Yaletown! Service is quick and attentive. Cocktails are amazing and delicious. The bang bang shrimp appetizer and broccolini were great. The star of the show was the pasta! The spicy vodka pasta was my favorite. Great texture and flavors!

Came here on a Wednesday, and the atmosphere was lovely, however it did get a bit loud overtime. The servers were really friendly and upbeat. We got our food really fast. The paper plane was more sour than the dovetail sour, both really delicious. The tuna was cut up into mini cubes and it went really well with the sauce and everything in it. The pasta was really well made. The spicy vodka wasn't overly spicy, had the perfect amount of spice. The soft egg and smoked bacon mixed into the carbonara was a unique flavour. Also, I have to mention the shape of the pasta! My friend and I have never seen such pasta shapes before! So unique and different. Really enjoyed my experience. I will be coming back later in April to try more dishes :)

first foodie adventure of 2024 with a! i wouldn't call it a disappointment but...it's a slight downer? we both made it to the restaurant late - i was still a little earlier than her lol hostess greeted me fine, and i immediately noticed the cozy environment - smaller tables, tight spaces, and 2 communal coat racks. i do realize that the space of the restaurant is limited but with large winter coats - it's def a problem.

ofc, it is dineout season so to see the restaurant SO busy was a little heartwarming - ik the restaurant industry has been struggling a bit since COVID.

with a busy restaurant, came the hubbub of conversations and the only downer - loud music. the music was so loud that you couldn't even hold a proper conversation with the person across frm you. a and i were shouting the whole night - i legit thought i lost my voice when we left.

the restaurant's decor itself was nice tho - neutral palette with minimalistic vibes. a casual, west coast feel.

our server, morena, was the sweetness and guided us thru the 2 diff menus. everything is family style so the portions are meant to be shared. i had a thing before this so i was exactly the hungriest person out there so we didn't do the dineout menu and ordered à la carte.

being the prepared ones, we had analyzed the food and drink menu (slightly) beforehand. we ordered a bottle of pertinace barbera d'alba and true to the vivino reviews - it was the best red to have with heavier pasta dishes.

now that drinks are taken care of, we started with the table bread. presentation was unique with the balsamic butter spread on the plate rather than in a separate container. the sourdough focaccia was nice and soft - hot so that the balsamic butter can melt once spread.

then the kale salad and bolo came. the kale salad came in 2 sizes - a and i go the smaller one. we absolutely loved the roasted shallot vinaigrette - the tang def stirred our appetite for the heavier pasta dish. the fresh feta added a savoury taste to the salad as a creamy element. the almonds added a nice crunch! the bolo - short for bolognese ofc - was piping hot when it arrived. even after chatting for a bit, the dish remained hot/warm for a while. we both found the tagliatelle to be a little softer than al dente - not OVERLY soft but def not quite al dente. the beef & pork ragu was hearty and made the dish feel homey.

overall, the food and service were good but the loud music def made me take a star off.

Love Dovetail. Food is excellent. Tried most things there! Service stands out. A lot of regulars from the neighborhood so that's sign enough it's a go to place in Yaletown. Setting is West Hollywood chic. Seen a few celebrities there too

Not impressed with their service. Sure I understand it's a Friday night but immediately putting a call in customer for 8 minutes is just unacceptable.

Ended up trying out anyway. Burger and mushroom toast not bad. Decent service too upgraded from one to four stars.

Great value for Dineout! I don't think I would come back for the regular menu as it was quite pricey and I would rather go elsewhere for the same price.

The place was extremely busy and could only get a 9pm reservation for dine out, but they offered walk in seating at the bar/by the window on certain nights, so we decided to do walk in, instead.

Service was alright. We had about 4-5 different people helping us, which was alright, but it made it quite confusing to know who our actual server was.

The butter beef tataki ($20) was good! Cant compare to Phnom Penh as they are very different but still tasty!
Carbonara ($34) and bolo ($34) pastas were nice! I'm glad I got to share both with my partner as I would get sick of eating the entire dish of just 1 pasta bc it would be too much of the same flavour. The lemon tiramisu ($12) was a nice, light(ish) dessert to finish everything off.

In terms of the atmosphere, it was quite loud but we went for an earlier dinner and were in the corner which was nice. We were able to have a nice conversation without yelling over everyone else in the restaurant. I can't imagine how loud it gets later on in the night and don't think I would find that very enjoyable.

Overall, I did enjoy the food, just unlikely I would come back and pay regular prices for these items as it would've added up to ~$66/person but with the Dineout menu, it was only $40/person!

worst service ever!! incredibly rude bar staff. horrific experience. do not waste your money here.