Ambiance: 4/5
Food: 3/5
Service: 4/5
Overall: 3.5/5

http://www.topofvancouver.com/index.html

Top of Vancouver Revolving Restaurant

The Top of Vancouver Revolving Restaurant is the kind of restaurant where you know of its existence, but never bother to venture inside. For one, the food is probably pricey given its location 553 feet (167m) above the ground. Also, there are so many great restaurants located on the ground level nearby that one is hardly tempted to make the effort to go up there. Nevertheless, when an opportunity arose for me to finally pay the infamous revolving restaurant atop Harbour Centre a visit, I was excited.

To get up there, you have to take an elevator that transports you directly to the top floor. The elevator has glass sides so you get to look outside and see to streets and buildings down below shrink in size as you go up. I suggest going there for dinner, as the panoramic view of Vancouver at night from the wide windows all around the restaurant is simply breathtaking.

What I like about this restaurant is that it doesn't matter where the server seats you; one revolution is made every 60 minutes, so one has the opportunity to enjoy the scenery outside from different locations. During the course of our meal, we completed around three revolutions, which approximates to three hours spent dining at the restaurant.

Our waitress started us off with some bread:

It came warm with some whipped butter on the side.

M, sis, and I shared the soup of the day: White Bean Soup with Double Bacon $10:

I remembered the consistency of the soup to be very thick... probably due to the beans. There was also traces of bacon bits in the soup, which was a nice touch. Overall, this dish was good, but not memorable.

Since one bowl of soup was devoured in no time shared between three people, we also got another one to share - the Lobster Bisque (lobster meat, croutons, and cognac crème fraîche) $12:

This dish was very good. The soup was creamy, without being overly so. In my opinion, it was the best dish of the night.

We also ordered an appetizer to share. We wanted to try something a little more different, so we went ahead and ordered the Smoked Salmon and Crab Croquette (stuffed with Brie cheese and topped with chipotle roasted pepper aioli) $15:

We were lured by the promise of brie cheese. Cheese in anything is good, right? Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed when this dish arrived. For $15, I was expecting something more unique and fine dining-esque. Sad to say, the crab cake was exactly what it was - a crab cake. The brie in the croquette was indeed creamy and cheesy, but it didn't stand out. The smoked salmon was lacking from what I can remember. Then again, as this croquette was shared among four people, maybe I'm not giving it the recognition that it deserves.

Finally, on to the mains. I decided to order the Blackened Halibut Filet (served with papaya and mango salsa in green peppercorn white wine sauce) $36:

I apologize for the bad photos...it was extremely dim in the restaurant, and I don't like how pictures with flash turn out. Anyhow, the fish was tender and well done, yet there was nothing exceptional about it in terms of taste. The papaya and mango salsa was n0thing to shout about either.

Sis ordered the New York Steak (10 oz. grilled New York AAA steak served with peppercorn red wine sauce) $42:

The steak was done medium rare as per requested. The meat was juicy and tender, and its flavour was further enhanced by the red wine sauce. Needless to say, sis really enjoyed it! This dish is on the pricey side, however, considering you can get good quality steak for less at other fine dining restaurants on the ground level.

Other dished ordered on that night were the Alaska King Crab Legs and the Steamed Stuffed B.C. Wild Salmon Filet:

After our mains, we ended our meal with something sweet. Sis, M, and I shared the Top of Vancouver Mango Cheesecake (Unbaked cream cheese, marscapone, and a touch of brandy. Served with strawberry coulis and crème anglaise) $10 :

The presentation of this dessert was done well. The taste of mango in the cheesecake was weak, but there. I prefer baked cheesecakes to their unbaked counterparts, so I can't really comment on this dessert. I recall that this dish was more like a mousse than a traditional cheesecake - just a heads up for those who was expecting otherwise (like me).

This is the Chocolate Frangelico Tower (light chocolate sponge cake with Frangelico cream. Served in a milk, white, and dark chocolate tower) $10.50:

I can't comment on how this dessert was as I didn't get to try it. As the saying goes, you can't judge a book by its cover. However, in terms of appearance alone, I give this a 5/5. ;)

Strawberry Napoleon (round puff pastry stuffed with cream cheese and strawberries marinated in honey, orange brandy, lemon zests) $10.50:

This dessert looks rich. However, don't hesitate to order this if you are not watching your caloric intake, as it does look very promising.

Overall, I didn't enjoy the food as much as I would have liked, but that's to be expected in a restaurant more known for its location. In total, the bill came to around $600 for just seven people. Definitely on the pricey side, but we did also order two bottles of red wine. Although the hype of restaurants in the sky have came and gone, I'll say the view and ambiance is well worth paying this place a visit. Just don't go expecting great food.