Restaurant: Cafe Medina
Cuisine: Breakfast/Brunch/Lunch/Cafe/Eclectic
Last visited: September 23, 2010
Last updated: October 8, 2010 (Added 2 items)
Location: Vancouver, BC (Gastown/Downtown)
Address: 556 Beatty Street
Price Range: $10-20
1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!
Food: 5.5
Service: 2.5 (friendly, but slow)
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 5
Additional comments:
- Co-owner and chef, Nico Schuermans
- Sister to Chambar Restaurant
- Breakfast/Brunch/Lunch only
- Contemporary bistro cafe
- Eclectic/innovative menu
- International/fusion food
- Gourmet style
- Fresh ingredients
- Made in house
- Known for Belgian waffles
- Coffee bar/Specialty coffees
- Imported beers/cocktails
- Local favourite/gem
- Busy at all hours/line ups
- Moderately priced
- Meter parking
- Chambar Restaurant – dinner post
- Chambar Restaurant – dessert post
Hours
- Mon-Fri 8am-4pm
- Breakfast 9am-12pm
- Brunch 9am-3pm
- Lunch 12-3pm Weekends 9am-4pm
- Weekday reservations for parties of 6+
- No weekend reservations
**Recommendations: Fricassé, Salmon Fumé, Lavender Latte, Waffle with White Chocolate Pistachio Rosewater
Cafe Medina is perhaps the most popular local favourite for breakfast and brunch in downtown Vancouver, BC. It’s one of mine for sure. It’s a constantly packed quaint cafe and local gem serving only breakfast, brunch and lunch. As for dinner you’ll have to go next door to it’s parent restaurant Chambar Restaurant, also one of my favourite restaurants in Vancouver. Co-owner and chef, Nico Schuermans operates the kitchen with pastry chef Eleanor Chow for both restaurants, so it’s no doubt that I would enjoy the food at both places. (Chow is also pastry chef for Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie)
Cafe Medina is also famous for their home made Belgian waffles that you can sometimes watch them make at the waffle station showcased in the display window facing the street. However the batter comes from Damien’s Belgian Waffles in Richmond, BC. (Creme de la Crumb also uses this window concept and has a very similar feel to Cafe Medina… they also offer waffles and lavender lattes)
I’ve been to Cafe Medina a few times and the food never disappoints me. Sure there are dishes that are better than others, but on the whole it’s delicious. Everything is made in house and the ingredients are fresh. The food is very eclectic, creative and gourmet with mainly French dishes influenced by Middle Eastern, Spanish, West Coast, Italian, Indian, Hungarian, Moroccan, Persian, Lebanese and of coarse West Coast flavours. It may sound all over the place, but it’s not. It’s very chic and contemporary food that’s generally well thought out and executed.
I may be a bit biased because this type of innovative cuisine is right up my alley. It’s not an everyday place (but I wish it was) as the prices are a bit steep for brunch, but I think it’s well worth it.
The only thing that bothers me is that the service tends to be slow and it’s understaffed for how busy the place is. This means that the food tends to take longer and sit longer before it’s served. It’s also a tiny dining room that’s quite narrow so it feels a bit cramped especially when all the tables are constantly full. Other than that, it’s everything good under one roof and it’s one of my favourites in the city.
On the table:
**Lavender Latte – 5.5/6
- 8oz. $3.60 12oz. $4.00 16oz. $4.40 Latte flavours: Lavender, vanilla, spiced or raspberry
- This is one of their most popular drinks.
- It creamy and frothy and it’s very aromatic, but I could smell more lavender than I could taste. I could still taste it, but it was a bit subtle. I think it’s because they used a lavender infused syrup rather than actual lavender leaves which also made it a bit sweeter.
- It’s not too sweet and still strong with a slight chocolaty taste.
- The old Chocoatl in Yaletown, that’s now Eataly (but same owners) does an excellent lavender hot chocolate and Creme de la Crumb is also offering lavender lattes.
White Chocolate Pistachio Mocha – 3.5/6
- 8oz. $3.60 12oz. $4.25 16oz. $4.60 Mocha flavours: Dark chocolate, milk chocolate lavender, white chocolate pistachio, rosewater
- This was sweeter and creamier than the lavender latte.
- I could taste white chocolate, but not the pistachio. I was looking for that nutty taste but couldn’t find it and I think it got overpowered by the espresso.
- It was very creamy and chocolaty and made with real Belgian chocolates. I would have liked it frothier as well.
**Fricassé (served all day) – 6/6
- 2 fried eggs, braised short ribs, roasted potatoes, caramelized onions, arugula, applewood cheddar. Grilled foccacia $16
- It’s served all day for a reason, and thank god! This is one of my favourite brunch dishes ever. A must try and it’s their most popular item.
- The bottom of the skillet is covered with braised beef short ribs and it’s absolutely delicious! The gravy is savoury and tangy and I bet made with red wine. It’s so rich and intense in flavorful. It’s almost a creamy beef stew, but I don’t think they used any cream… just lots of fat and butter!
- The braised beef is so tender and juicy and just falling apart delicious and they give quite a bit.
- Traditionally the sauce in a fricassee is a white sauce and it would be made in a separate pan without the beef juices, but in this case it wasn’t. I don’t care though because it was freaking awesome as it, with the beef juices in the sauce.
- They started using cubes of raw Granny Smith apples to replace the cost of the cubes of Applewood Cheddar lol. It’s a smart move because Cheddar and apples are a match made in heaven, but the apple could be cooked a bit to take the crunchy tart edge off.
- Foodgasm! Oh god… this photo would convince a vegetarian… and yes it tastes as good as it looks!
- The eggs are nice and runny and it just oozes all over the meat and mixes in with the gravy making the dish so much richer and ever better!
- It’s savoury from the eggs and short ribs, sweet and tart with crunchy apples, creamy from the semi melted applewood cheese cubes and peppery from the fresh arugula that gets slightly cooked in the hot skillet. It’s a combination of freaking delicious! AND they give you a perfectly grilled soft and fluffy yet crispy focaccia bread to soak up all the sauciness!
- I literally can’t talk to anyone while I eat this hearty dish.
- The only thing is that the roast potatoes suck. They were so wrinkly and overcooked, dry and starchy. They should use red potatoes for a creamy buttery texture.
Paella – 4/6
- One baked egg, curried orzo, hungarian chorizo, zucchini, red pepper, roast corn, grano padano, avocado and tomato salad $12
- This was good, but not my favourite here and it’s best shared. It’s a creative twist on a Spanish paella and I could appreciate the idea, but not really the execution because everything overcooked but the veggies.
- It had tons of fresh veggies and it was quite tangy from the tomatoes with a slight spiciness from the chorizo and creamy sweetness from the avocado.
- The seasonings were unevenly distributed with some bites having noticeably more smoky cumin seasonings than others. It would be better with more grano padano cheese as well because I couldn’t taste that much.
- I also wish the corn was sweet, but it tastes old and flavourless and there isn’t much of it… canned corn would have even been better.
- I’m not sure if the poached egg in the centre was supposed to be cooked this much. My guess is that it too long while waiting to be served and it overcooked in the skillet. I also know they use brown eggs because mine included a bit of the shell… maybe it’s the Asian in me, but this would have been way better if the egg was runny.
- Orzo (pasta) has a quick cooking time as is, and since it was served in the hot skillet it was easily overcooked and too soft. The curry wasn’t obvious and I just wanted more flavour in the orzo because it’s a bit one dimensional and I didn’t want to finish eating it.
**Salmon Fumé – 5.5/6
- Open faced ciabatta sandwich. Fried egg, smoked salmon caper cream cheese, sliced avocado, arugula pepperdew and artichoke salad $12 (Served all day)
- I had so many people recommend this to me, so I had to order it on my next visit. It was indeed delicious, but I still think the Fricasse is better.
- It’s about the size of a sunny side up egg and it may seem a bit small, but the quality is there and it’s just enough for lunch without going into food coma.
- There’s generous slices of ripe creamy avocado.
- The salmon is roughly pureed right into the cream cheese and it was actually even better than having the whole slices. The capers are larger ones and they’re mixed in whole so you get nice salty bites. They give you a generous amount of this spread too.
- I loved the lightly dressed in olive oil arugula pepperdew and artichoke salad, although I’m not sure how I feel about the pepperdew.
- Pepperdew or peppadew are the things that look like cherry tomatoes and that’s what I thought they were. It tastes like a cherry tomato, but it’s sweeter rather than tangy and almost like a roasted red pepper with a floral taste at the end. It has a very unique flavour I’ve never experienced before.
- I loved how they had a generous amount of salmon spread on this half as well.
- I saw some people eating this with a knife and fork, but I say eat it like it’s meant to be… a sandwich! You need some of everything in every bite.
- It tastes like a panini and I loves how thin and crispy the Ciabatta bread was. The ingredients really stood out.
- It was a messy sandwich and I enjoyed every bit of it. It’s creamy, cheesy, sweet and floral from the peppadew, salty from the capers, tangy from the artichokes and slightly peppery from the fresh arugula. I could taste every layer of ingredients.
Les Merguez - 4/6
- Flat bread wrapped roasted merguez sausage, baba ganoush, haloumi cheese, grilled eggplant, tabbouleh $15
- Yes, I kind of wish I asked was “merguez” was before I ordered it. On the other hand, if I knew I don’t think I would have ordered it.
- Merguez is a sausage made from a mix of ground lamb and beef and it’s supposed to be stuffed in a lamb intestine casing.
- The thing is I’m not a fan of lamb because the game taste bothers me. One bite of this and I knew it was a lamb sausage. I’ll still always try it if it’s there in hopes to find one that I’ll like. If you like lamb or merguez than this will be excellent for you.
- It’s a very clean and easy to eat wrap with lots of freshly grilled ingredients, spices and Middle Eastern flavours.
- It has a very strong lamb taste and it’s a very meaty wrap. The meat is all pureed so it’s very soft and tender with a very soft and thin casing. It was a bit oily for me though.
- The merguez is full of flavour with garlic, smoky cumin and I think some fennel seeds with a slight licorice taste. It was also slightly spicy with a kick at the end. It seems small for $15, but it’s filling with 2 large homemade gourmet sausages which is pretty much where the cost is along with the cheese.
- There is so much sausage, gamey lamb taste and with the added spiciness it just overpowered everything else for me.I was most excited for the cheese and eggplant too.
- The Haloumi cheese is a firm cheese and it’s mild and tastes like mozzarella. They fry it first but it’s doesn’t melt so the wrap doesn’t really have much of a sauce. I could see more cheese than I could taste. I couldn’t taste any baba gamoush (eggplant spread) either and the sauce came from the tangy tomatoes.
- The tabbouleh was fantastic on the other hand. I had to eat the wrap with this because it lightened the meaty flavour and took the gamey edge off. It was fresh parsley, red onions and some tomatoes.
- I also loved the home made flat bread. It was very soft and thin with lots of smoky flavour from cumin seeds. It wasn’t dry at all and it was the perfect amount.
Waffle with Milk Chocolate Lavender – 3.5/6
- $3.15 waffle + $1 per topping
- Try the waffles because they’re famous here, but they’re not the best in the city (in my opinion), although still good. They’re also small and a bit overpriced. If they were amazing I don’t mind, but there is better.
- Try the real authentic Belgian Leige waffle at Patisserie Lebeau. Besides in Belgium, the best Belgian waffle I’ve had was actually in Korea at Didi’s Gaufres (owner from Vancouver!)
Waffle – 3.5/6
- I really wish the waffles were made upon order. They really should be if they’re so well known for them. However they’re made in house in the morning and are popped in the toaster before being served.
- Therefore it has a semi crispy exterior, but only from the toasting rather than the caramelizing of the sugar crystals.
- Sugar crystals. Also known as “pearl sugar” which Patisserie Lebeau imports from Belgium! Pearl sugar are little clumps of natural sugar that are supposed to be found throughout the waffle… but these ones didn’t have them. Maybe I hit 1-2 of them, but I think it was my imagination.
- It wasn’t that fluffy, but at least it wasn’t dry and it’s better than the waffles from Michi Waffle & Espresso Bar.
- They are more eggy in flavour and not that sweet so it could be enjoyed as a meal rather than a dessert. You need at least 3 as a meal though.
Milk Chocolate Lavender Topping – 3/6
- Sexy photo. The milk chocolate lavender topping was served cold and it was pretty thick. It was made from melted Belgian milk chocolate and lavender syrup. It’s good quality chocolate and it’s quite sweet with a slight lavender taste, but slightly underwhelming.
**Waffle with White Chocolate Pistachio Rose Water – 4.5/6
- $3.15 waffle + $1 per topping
- The white chocolate pistachio rose water topping is better than the milk chocolate lavender topping. It’s just much more dynamic in flavours without having too much going on.
- It’s made from White Belgian chocolates and it’s a thinner texture than the milk chocolate. It’s sweet, nutty and aromatic and I could taste an equal balance of the chocolate, pistachio and rose water.
- It was served cold again and I think it would be even better warm and with pistachio crumbs in it… or at least to dip into afterward.
- Pastry Chef Eleanor Chow is really one of my favourite pastry chefs in Vancouver so I just have high standards for her stuff and knows it can be better than this.
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{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
Mijune, is the mocha sweeter than the latte? I still found Lavender Latte too bitter for me >< By the way are your photos switched around o.O? The latter and the mocha?
Hi Elaine! Nope the photos are correct…. did yours look different? And yup! I wrote above in the mocha section that it’s sweeter than the latte especially if you get white chocolate pistachio
Oh that’s weird cuz my lavender latte was served in the mocha cup! Your lavender latte looks like it has different layers!
It seems my assessment and your assessment of Cafe Medina is completely different. While we do agree on one thing (service was extremely subpar), I thought the food was overrated. Granted, I only had the cassoulet but, at that price range, I would have expected something heartier and well executed. It wasn’t.
Elaine – I know right!? It was good though! I blew up the photo just for you! haha
KimHo – I don’t think it’s fair to say the restaurant is overrated based on one item though…. I mean that would be like trying the satay sticks at Bo Laksa King and saying that the restaurant is overrated. I see you’ve acknowledged the fact… but I really think you should go try more items and in particular the Fricasse…although try not to go in with expectations so high.
It’s lighter fare French so the food won’t be hearty per say… also it is “fine dining brunch”… so there is a certain style that perhaps isn’t really your thing right?
Given all the hype behind Cafe Medina plus the $$$ charged, all dishes better be good!
For comparison purposes, a small less known (and less hyped) restaurant – Le Bistro de Paris – had a better cassoulet at about the same price (and had duck confit!). Given the case, I see no reason why Cafe Medina won’t have it at least the same level. Oh, since it has beans, I would expect the dish to be hearty!
I agree you should try the Fricasse too Kim!!! It’s sooooooooo good <3
Another great healthy choice option on the menu is the La Sante. It’s simple, but has many delicious components, including a hard boiled egg, ripe avocado slices, toasted bread, prosciutto, etc. Eat separately or pile together!
KimHo – well I’ve never tried the cassoulet at either so I can’t say or defend anything… until then… I shall be speechless
Victoria – I’ve totally ordered that before! I liked it too, it’s very fresh… however I felt like I could make it myself in a way so I rarely order it.
Paella with a poached egg and a salad on top ? and no seafood ? and with cheese ? avocado in paella ? I’m sorry, I think I cook better than this.
This is one of my favourite spots in the city! I’m sorry to hear you had bad service! I’ve had nothing but exceptional service there – busy restaurant but the service never made me feel it … or maybe I was drooling over the adorable french waiter who we typically get?
I have had the Saumon and it is quite tasty but a little salty the last I tried it. I LOVE the moroccan meatballs as well as the cassoulet – both are quite meat-heavy and probably good to share but very warm and delicious flavours. I’ve had the Santé too and absolutely love it for a nice light meal. I am a horrible cook, so always glad to go out and have a simple breakfast that’s infused with fresh flavour. I agree with you about the Paella – too dry! Thanks for posting M!
Bow – It’s important to remember that this is not a traditional Spanish restaurant. They don’t claim to be authentic in any cuisine either. Cafe Medina is contemporary and innovative global cuisine… so I don’t think it’s fair to judge them on not making a traditional Spanish paella. It wasn’t their intentions.
Lima – lol hahah! Yeah every time I come there’s only 1-2 servers and it takes so long! Ok hun, you’ve made quite the dent in the menu! We have so many places to try!! I will have to go for the Moroccan meatballs you speak of now!
Good review! The braised rib fricassé is far and away my favourite dish for brunch! Can’t go to Cafe Medina enough myself.
A.J. – I can’t get myself to try other things on the menu b/c the fricasse is so good!
I love the lavendar latte as well. And I usually order the saumon fume-it’s really tasty. But next time I think I need to branch out-the short ribs look good but really rich and heavy for brunch/lunch!
Megan – oh it sure is! So try it on the weekend so you can take a nap afterwards… or share it along side your saumon fume
Medina actually purchases their waffle batter from Damien’s Waffles – a tiny shop in Steveston Village! Phillipe, the gentlemen who runs Damien’s Waffles delivers a bag of batter to Medina each morning. If you’re just after the waffles (not the fancy toppings) you can get a box of 6 for about $11 at Damien’s. Just a friendly heads up
Mijune!! I totally ate here when I was in Van last, loved it
Fu – I know!! I heard!!! I was shocked!! I was going to try it this weekend and now I hope to go this week. I was so shocked when I found out! Thanks for writing it on here too though… I was going to have it as an “unknown fact” on my Damien’s Waffles post… but I guess it’s more known than I thought. lol
Darcy – Awesome!! Did you order the fricasse?!
Mmm I love belgian waffles, thanks for the info! If anyone’s looking for a great brunch place, I highly suggest DeDutch and they’re scrumptuous pannekeoks!
Hi Paul! De Dutch is not bad but I find them overpriced at times. You should try Dutch Wooden Shoe Cafe on Cambie
their waffles are so delicious! i love chambar too, they have good mussels and fries
I wrote on the mussels and fries!
http://www.followmefoodie.com/2010/02/chambar-restaurant/
Thanks for commenting Eileen!!
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