Riley's Fish & Steak

Finally! With our Vancouver living cost, we finally get a casual and elegant seafood restaurant to match. Rileys is under the Global umbrella. Beautiful, elegant, glam, light decorum with high ceilings and a spectacular seafood bar (I'm on the fence on how "open" it is).

Pros
Their drinks are already doubles which makes sense at a reasonable market price of a double in the early twenties.
Pricing on Seafood, You know when you walk into an old school seafood restaurant and many items are market price. Well, they shoulder that cost and give you an average so you just pay like approximately 200* a tower instead of having that discussion in your head when your bill comes.

Love everything on the menu! From add on Foie gras to warm classics and their surf and turf with a mean cocktail menu.

Everything the wait staff could not have been better. The wine steward let me taste a number of wines till I found the one I liked. And the bread was amazing

I went in for happy hour on a Thursday and I was blissed out within minutes of entering. It was sunny and warm and we were asked if we wanted the recently opened outdoor seating but we took our chances on the delightful indoor environment. Every single staff member that passed us gave us a warm smile at the least and a welcome and "how are you" at best.

It felt like a large room of friends. Even the other guests smiled around at each other. This was a place of welcoming. The food was served at perfect intervals and it all was delicious. Special shout outs to the black pepper aioli, the carpaccio, the mushroom side.

The steak was cooked wonderfully but for a ribeye at that price, I expected a bit better of a cut of beef. But I suppose getting beef at all in this climate, one should be grateful.

I also have to make a big mention that my drink is a gin martini, slightly dirty and extra dry. Extra dry means NO VERMOUTH. This is the first bartender in Vancouver who seemed to understand this so they are the star bartender in the land.

Stopped by for happy hour and left feeling satisfied. The restaurant has plenty of seating indoor and outdoor. The decor is quite nice and everyone was friendly.

The happy hour menu has a good variety of options. We tried only three things, but I'd happily come back to try other items.

Mussels and clams- they have two options but we went with the white wine and garlic. You can get just mussels or clams or a mix of both, which is what we opted for. There were only two pieces of bread served with it, so I wish they gave a little bit more or cut it into smaller pieces. The seafood was fresh and the clams were huge. I've never seen clams so big before.

Buttermilk crispy chicken- the chicken was crisp and tossed in honey. It was nice to have the savoury and sweet mix. This was a decent portion.

Mini lobster and prawn sandwich duo- this was delicious. I just wish there was a little bit more seafood for better ratio with the bun. Otherwise the flavour was on point.

Overall, I was really happy with this happy hour. Food was solid. Prices were reasonable. Menu had a good variety of choices. I'd definitely return again.

With an open concept raw bar, cozy looking seating in the main dining area and a nice colour scheme, Just as all of the Glowbal restaurants, Riley's is very aesthetically pleasing - great for a trendy dinner for a special occasion.

Each of the service staff were kind, accommodating and explained dishes very well. Food came out quickly and at nice temperatures as well. I will have to say that for the price, the steak and sides were not quite the quality that I expected (appys and martinis were though!). At the "buy up" promotion set menu price, it would be fair, some of their sister restaurants just seem to do their steaks a little better.

I would note as well that the building is not automatically accessible for wheelchairs or strollers, with only stairs up to the main entrance and no automatic door opener. However, if you called in advance they could allow you access through a side door off of West Cordova.

Beef carpaccio was my favourite part of the meal! Well balanced flavours.

Finally tried Riley's and took advantage of their buy up before the times up promotion. $130 on Sunday/Monday night, 3 course meal for two. Seemed like a great deal. We tried to make an earlier reservation but landed at 8:30pm.

The restaurant was pretty full and seems like everyone was there for the promo! It's a great deal. Service was great and attentive.

A few starters to start. Salmon rillette was interesting and tasty. Never had something like this before and I enjoyed the flavors. Beef carpaccio was solid. Brioche was ok.

Onto the entrees! Presentation was great. Strip loin and lobster gratinée were delicious. Cooked perfectly. Prawn fried rice was just okay. Mushrooms and potato purée were standard and good.

Dessert - rhubarb custard cake. Tasty and not too sweet!

Overall good amount of food shared between two people. Solid deal at $130.

Delicious sea food tower! Service was exceptional. So was the wine. Oh and the brioche bread

Came by Riley's on a Tuesday with the Buy Up promotion ($130 for a $230 set menu for 2 persons). This is a very popular promotion and I could see most tables were there for this promotion. Riley's is located at the top of Burrard St across the Convention Center and used to be a Rogue before it shut down during COVID. Loved the high ceilings and all the natural light...and also the individual washrooms. Now for the food...

They brought out three appetizers to start: a brioche loaf with lobster oil, a salmon rillette with sourdough and beef carpaccio with truffle aioli. Nice presentation on all three but do not think two bread items were necessary. I was not a fan of the salmon rillette. The brioche loaf with lobster oil was the star of the first courses.

Next was followed with a striploin (cooked perfectly) with a lobster cut in half, prawn fried rice, roasted maitake mushroom and mashed potatoes with black truffles. Again the presentation was great for all the dishes. The taste of the mushroom and rice was ok but a bit bland. I really enjoyed the steak sitting with the tuffle mashed potatoes...a great combination of taste and flavours.

The last course was a rhubarb custard cake. It was a perfect end to a large meal.

The service was excellent and it was a very positive food experience.

Great place to celebrate a special occasion. My server greeted me with a complementary glass of champagne for my birthday. I loved the elegant ambiance and the booth I sat in was very cozy. We came for happy hour and they have a nice selection to choose from.

oysters: you can't go wrong with $1.50 West Coast oysters.

wagyu beef carpaccio: this was my fave! Thinly sliced wagyu topped with a ton of sauce, onion rings, cheese and bread.

classic mussels: 1 1/2 lbs is a good amount to share.

chocolate cake: my girlfriends ordered me this for my bday. I don't love chocolate, but it was very decadent

This restaurant has a very nice interior, it looks classy. Food presentation is good. The food itself was ok. Brioche was freshly baked and scallops were the standouts. It's in a convenient location, near the convention centre and cruise port.

Metro Vancouver went nutso!

Riley's Fish & Steak, put out a time limited promo - 2 can dine on Sunday or Monday for $130 (that's like $80US LOL) a great savings from the regular price of $230.

However, because of huge demand, the sale ended early.

Then it became a racing battle to try & get space for reservations on Sunday or Monday (valid only on these days) till the beginning of May.

Well that didn't go over well - an additional booking day, Tuesday had to be added - extending the time frame till June.

I got super lucky & kept checking availability - space opened up & I grabbed it no hesitation.

The sooner the better I thought.

Gosh check out the menu offering & you'll know why people went bananas! See pix!

On the menu for - Buy Up Before the Times Up - lets start with the 3 appetizers ...

Mini Riley's Broiche - OMG this one had me at Mini = goodness gracious I'm in luv! I'm definitely getting this bread next time I go back!

The Beef Carpaccio was to me - comme ci comme ça = some of y'all may like it, me = it was just ok.

The sauce on it could have been better in my humble opinion.

The Salmon Rillette (Pate) absolutely floored me.

Not really one for pate but this one had me oooooohhhhhing & aaahhhing like never before!

And the cheesebread that came with it = Santa Maria slap me twice!

Now onto the entrées - the Whole Roasted Prime Striploin was on point, as would be expected when serving Prime!

The Lobster Gratinee (does Gratinee mean small?) was on the smaller side of lobster that I've had previously. Nonetheless it went dowwwwnnn!

The Prawn Fried Rice was bland & could have used a bit of jazz aka spice.

The Roasted Maitake Mushroom was very tasty - mushrooms with a twist for sure.

The Potato Purée was just aight. I luv me my mash & I've have had better.

Ending this off with dessert - the Rhubarb Custard Cake was excellent.

Kudos to RFS for not going stingy with dessert & providing a quality ending to the entire experience. Bravo!

Our server Luis was fantastic. Very helpful & prompt.

There you have it.

RFS is a gorgeous elegant classy restaurant right at the Waterfront - downtown.

Great spot for an after dinner walk with fabulous views.

The interior of RFS is quite swanky with beautiful to the eye touches.

There is a a cool oyster bar for those that love oysters & a huge selection of wines - will be a great spot for groups.

Speaking of wine, a couple across from us were wine tasting (the maître d' had a opened 3 bottles of wine for their table, which sat there for 25 mins before consumption) & so if you're a big wine lover, for $30+ you too can indulge.

Contact RFS for details.

RFS was awarded a Michelin star & deservedly so.

I am already contemplating coming back to Riley's for brunch & to try the Happy Hour menu!