- Hastings-Sunrise | Senses Inspired

Two Chefs and a Table

The cutely named ‘Two Chefs and a Table‘ restaurant is right on edge of ‘edgier, fringier, and cooler to be here’ part of Chinatown/Gastown. It’s sweet quaint decor reminds me of a low key romantic verson of Finch’s.

When we got there around 7pm, it was surprisingly quiet for a Friday night. We were done our dinner around 9pm and we were pretty much the only diners there. That night’s lack of patrons was not a reflection of their food though…which was pretty amazing.

We first whetted our appetites with blue crab tartare

It was a mix of blue crab meat, avocado, red pepper, cucumber, and citrus zest. Each bite was filled with the delicate flaky crab meat. In its delicateness, it was decadent too.

And we had the best looking and tasting spinach salad

The salad was better-than-salad-bar with prosciutto, warm wild mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and candied walnuts. Even though the ingredients sound pretty simple and basic, it was nicely put together with a slightly sweet balsamic vinaigrette.

As my main, I ordered the Coq au Vin

It was polderside farms redbro chicken which has been red wine braised, baby zuchinni on top of braised white beans. Unfortunately, I found the flavours lacking. I expected a stronger red wine flavour and the chicken wasn’t as tender as I like it to be. It seemed like it should have been braised a couple of hours longer. The whole dish was more like light chicken stew.

My dinner partner in crime ordered the steak frites

It was nicely prepared triple A sirloin, addictive shoestring fries, tarragon aioli, and butter braised tomatoes. I only nibbled at the fries but here’s a picture of the plate.

The restaurant has one of the best warm intimate rooms this side of Vancouver. It was unfortunate that it wasn’t busy at all that night. Our waitress was attentive but the rest of the staff seemed despondent because of the lack of business. I’ve heard great things about brunch here so definitely look forward to coming back to this cute little spot. If you don’t mind checking out this part of town, it can also serve as the scene of a quiet romantic date.

Two Chefs and a Table
305 Alexander St

Au Petit Chavignol

Au Petit Chavignol is a Zagat rated restaurant located in the unlikely Strathcona neighborhood. Aside from the hood’s infamous reputation, this strip of Hastings isn’t so bad. There’s a sprinkle of cafes, galleries, and shops which makes this area becoming popular with the students & artists crowd (think Main Street 10 years ago). This restaurant is of course quite far removed from the Gastown and downtown area which is perfect for ‘discreet meetings’….Hey, it’s their marketing angle not mine’s.

I’ve been to the restaurant a couple of times so below is a general review of my experiences there.

Even though it’s known for its fine artisan cheese and good wine, there’s also a number of items great for dinner. They have one of the best ‘mac and cheese’ in town, soups, salads, and raclettes. We went for one of the decandent fondue with a nice bottle of Riesling

I don’t remember what it was called, as its no longer on the menu, but it had Gruyere and Emmenthal served with a side of sausage, cornichons, bread, and pickled onions.

Both times I’ve been there, my friends and I ordered the Petit Tasting Platter. It’s a selection of 3 cheeses and 3 charcuterie picked by the kitchen.

They’re pretty good about selecting the types based on your preference. When I went to the Au Petit when it first opened, their cheese and meat selection was literally a booklet. But now they’ve pared it down to one sheet of carefully selected cow, goat, and sheep cheeses and a handful of charcuteries.

What made the night was really the small intimate cozy space and the charming waiter. He came by often, checked how we were doing, and chatted with us. He was pretty nice and attentive.

This little diamond in a not-so rough neighborhood is worth going to…discreet or indiscreet.

Au Petit Chavignol
843 E. Hastings Street