L'Abattoir: DineOut #3... Mini portions =(

Onto third and last Dine Out this year at L'Abattoir. Thanks for Adorables' connections were we able to get a table tonight! We sat at the back of the restaurant, which was quite cute but a bit chilly.











Restaurant: L'Abattoir (visit their website here)

Location: 217 Carrall Street, Vancouver
Cuisine: French, Canadian
Price range: $40/person (Dine Out)



Date of visit: January 31, 2016
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 3.5/5
Food variety: 3/5
Food quality: 3.5/5
Buck worthy? 3/5

They had an option of bread service of $3 per person, but as we looked around and felt our tummies growl.. we decided to just wait for our dishes to arrive. For her appie GirlNextDoor decided on their Grilled Squid Stuffed with Pork and Herbs. I believe it was paired with a mint and cucumber creme sauce and squid ink. The plating was a bit bare, but neat and tidy. Squid itself tasted good and pork had lots of flavor, I had a giant grain of salt in my bite which was disappointing. Did I mention there were only 3 pieces of squid about the size of half a wine cork?

I ordered the Cauliflower and Boudin Blanc appetizer which was plated with foie gras, parsley, and crispy chicken chips. I feel this dish was quite nicely plated with the selection in the middle. The pickled cauliflower contrasted well with the fatty foie gras but was unexpectedly tart. Foie gras was rich and smooth, but not much flavor to it. I liked the boudin blanc, but it lacked texture besides being mushy. Strong chicken flavor! The chicken chips were great with the foie gras and boudin blanc, added some crisp to the soft items.

Adorables ordered the Roast Pork Belly with Crackling that included turnips and salsa verde. This looked like a messy dish with just veggies slathered over it, but the pork itself was rich, a bit heavy, but so flaky and melted in my mouth. Crackling needs more more crackle to it, but it wasn't the worst I've had.

I tried their Braised Veal Shank Tagliatelle with squash, chimichurri, and crispy shallot. GirlNextDoor got the same dish but hers was plated much nicer. Mines looked like someone attacked it and attempted to place it back on the plate. Pasta was al dente and the veal was tender, moist, and flavorful.... to the point where I found the whole dish too salty. The portion was very small as well. I'm pretty sure if I counted, there were approximately 7-8 strands of tagliatelle. Chimichurri was wasted as it was only there to decorate the plate and barely detectable. Didn't quite notice any crispy shallots on my dish-- maybe they forgot it.

MaCherie had the Saffron Crusted Pacific Salmon paired with lobster sauce, fennel, and pepper condiment. This was one of the better dishes of the evening, the salmon was lightly seared on the outside, with the inside being semi-raw and felt like smoked salmon. Crunchy on top, the saffron added flavors to the fish, and the lobster sauce sealed the deal. Delish!

Onto desserts, GirlNextDoor ordered the Lemon Tart with Raspberry sorbet and lime meringue. This was so pretty! I loved the tart flavors, it was creamy and not too sweet. The meringue was crunchy and light, great with the tart raspberry puree.

Adorables and I had the White Chocolate Cheesecake with graham crumble, caramel, and nougatine. This was a beautiful display, they looked like tiny mounds of white on a backdrop of the caramel. The cheesecake was smooth and creamy, couldn't taste the cheese strongly. Nougatine and crumble added some nice extra texture to the cheesecake. Yummy!

MaCherie ordered their Dark Chocolate Mousse with mandarin and chocolate cake. Basically it looked like... loose poop (excuse my lack of a better description). On the side was a chocolate crumble, sponge toffee, and a "spongified" mandarin orange slice. The mousse was smooth and rich, not very fluffy like the typical mousse.

We enjoyed each others' company this evening, but some dishes were disappointing, not to mention all of us left unsatisfied from the small portions. GirlNextDoor mentioned that the regular menu had much better portion sizes and quality. Kinda stumped that we paid $40 for this =( I liked how they served us all at the same time though (had two servers carrying two dishes each to serve all four of us at the same time).