NIGHTINGALE
Farm-to-Table Ingredients & A Party Atmosphere

by Jacqui Birchall
(click images to enlarge)

**nightingale restaurant and patio in the marine building.** *(Jacqui Birchall Photo)*

Loud, lively, and luscious describe the very famous Chef David Hawksworth’s Nightingale restaurant at 1017 West Hastings Street, on the main floor of the venerable Marine Building.

Open for lunch, happy hour, and dinner, this is a not-to-be-missed venue.

Boasting farm-to-table ingredients, the menu is extensive and delicious and is Michelin Guide recommended. The restaurant website says they work closely with local farmers, growers, foragers, and fishers to bring the highest-quality, freshest ingredients.

Small plates dominate, and dining with a few friends ensures a wide selection of dishes on the table. Recently, I was lucky enough to experience dinner with two foodie friends, one of whom is a wine connoisseur. Perfection!

This is not a quiet, intimate location. It is loud and lively. Very loud, very lively, which does not detract from its attractiveness in any way. Sidewalk patio seating is available if you want a more peaceful setting.

**View of the open kitchen from a chef’s table booth.** *(Jacqui Birchall Photo)*

Which brings me to reservations. Reservations are recommended, even for happy hour. Patio and bar seating is first come, first served. When you arrive for your reservation, you may request a patio table or bar seats, and hopefully you will be successful.

Another day, a friend and I reserved for happy hour and were seated at a chef's table booth upstairs. The booths are small, designed for two, with side-by-side seating, and you can watch the hardworking staff in the open kitchen. Interesting, but maybe not for everyone.

The kitchen staff is young and hardworking, and during happy hour there were also three sous chefs in the kitchen.

It was interesting sitting in a chef’s table booth to see which dishes were most popular during happy hour: buttermilk fried chicken with spiced maple syrup, sumac, and pickles; the beet, orange dill, whipped feta, everything crumble; pizzas; and the Kennebec fries with ketchup powder and malt vinegar aioli.

I don’t think I would take a reservation at a chef’s booth table again. One is rather isolated from the main part of the restaurant and the other diners, staring straight into the kitchen. For happy hour I recommend sitting downstairs in the lounge or at the bar. Very lively, great atmosphere, jammed in a happening way!

For dinner, our reservations took us upstairs. The open kitchen is located there, and the room is large and elegant, with attractive decor. It was very loud, but we loved it.

Our waiter was the charming and knowledgeable Garren. We asked Garren for recommendations because the menu is huge.

We started with the cocktail list. The Nightingale Martini is 2.5 ounces of artisanal craft gin, Condesa, mixed with a jasmine and a white-tea-infused vermouth blend and citrus bitters. It is a knock-your-socks-off delight.

The Glenfiddich Old Fashioned is perfection, served over a huge ice cube with a generous slice of orange peel. A very special treat.

For wine, we were offered the sommelier's services. Nightingale boasts Chris Rielly, the award-winning wine director and head sommelier, and the team of Tara Violla and Stephanie Chan.

**Bluefin Tuna Carpaccio.** *(Greta Yeung Photo)*

However, one of my dining companions tasted four wines and chose the Montepulciano from La Quercia Estates in Italy's Abruzzo region, an organic red with “bright scents of black cherry, wild berries, and fresh plums.” We liked it a lot.

Nightingale restaurant notes that its wines “lean into Italian and Mediterranean classics,” and the wine list includes an excellent selection of BC wines.

You can order wine by the glass, the bottle, or the half bottle.

Garren recommended the special of the day, carpaccio of bluefin tuna. It is hard to find the words to describe how delicate and delicious this dish is. It is perfection. It is not always available, but if it is, grab it!

With more recommendations, we ordered the very popular buttermilk chicken, roasted Brussels sprouts with green onions and chilli vinaigrette, braised meatballs, San Marzano and Parmesan, pine nut, and basil from the large plate menu, and spaghetti with Manila clams, jalapeño, scallion, and white wine. The spaghetti comes in two sizes. We ordered the smaller size, and it was enough to share. All the pasta is fresh and handcrafted in-house. Everything we ordered brought a myriad of delicate, delicious flavours.

**the wood-fired pizza oven.** *(Karl Li Photo)*

The pizza oven dominates the kitchen and produces delicious Neapolitan-style, wood-fired, blistered-on-the-bottom, personal-sized pizzas. We ordered the roasted mushroom, fontina, confit garlic, and arugula pesto pizza. Dreamy. A fabulous combination. The arugula pesto is delicate, more subtle than a basil pesto.

Unfortunately, we had no room for dessert.

Another day, for happy hour, a friend and I once again sampled from the cocktail list. The Bramble, with Tanqueray gin, blackberry puree, and lemon juice, is perfection. Not sweet - subtle and delicious.

**A Bramble and a Kyoto Sour cocktail.** *(Jacqui Birchall Photo)*

The Kyoto Sour features El Gobernador Pisco from Chile, lemon, passion fruit, and shiso, a Japanese plant that combines the flavours of mint, basil, citrus, and a hint of licorice. Subtle perfection.

For our food, we chose a Margherita pizza, made with San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. Simple and delicious.

We also ordered the Kennebec fries served with ketchup powder and malt vinegar aioli. The many chefs’ favourite Kennebec potatoes did not disappoint. We would order them again.

Our waiter Russell was terrific and gave us great information about our cocktails.

The Nightingale staff are a charming group. From the hosts who greet and seat customers to the very hip wait staff who seem to work as a team, various staff members delivered our drinks and dishes with charm and smiles on both occasions. The energetic, young and talented kitchen staff work non-stop!

Nightingale is definitely a new favourite.

Nightingale
1017 W. Hastings Street
604-695-9500
Sunday - Wednesday 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Thursday - Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Closed December 25.
Website