Fable is one of my favourite restaurants in all of Vancouver. There aren't even words to describe how amazing the food is, the restaurant is classy but funky at the same time, the atmosphere is boisterous and happy, and the service is well above par. Fable is no doubt a fine-dining establishment, but without the pompousness. You can walk in dressed up for a fancy date, or in your flip-flops and beach attire and be welcomed with open arms either way. So, needless to say, when my parents were coming to town I had Fable on speed dial to make a reservation.
The only problem was that we weren't sure which night we were going to go for dinner until the day before. I emailed Fable first thing in the morning to see if I could get a reservation 36 hours later. I knew it was a long shot, but I had my fingers crossed. Long story short, I thought we'd got a reservation but in fact we hadn't. I discovered later that day when I phoned in to double check and was heart broken. The lady on the phone, Kathy, turned out to be one of the owners of Fable. She could tell how disappointed I was and, surprisingly to me, went far out of her way to ensure that if there was a cancellation that we would be called immediately, even though they don't normally keep a waitlist. The way Kathy went out of her way when she didn't need to was amazing. To be honest, I didn't think that sort of service existed anymore.
If you haven't guessed, there was a cancellation, we were able to get a reservation at a fabulous table, had a delicious meal and an absolutely lovely evening. So, thank you to Trevor Bird for tantalizing our taste buds, and an even bigger thank you to Kathy for finding a way to make the tantalizing possible!
Heirloom Tomato Salad: heirloom tomatoes, Fable-made ricotta cheese, and house-made bacon vinaigrette. This salad was amazing and I was completely blown away by the portion size. I would order this again in a heart beat! ($12)
My Dad's Steak Frites: triple-cooked potatoes, mushroom, buttered spinach. ($24)
My Mom's Slow-Cooked Spring Salmon: carrot purée, spring cassoulet. I managed to wrangle a bite of this dish and it was delicious! ($24)
My Halibut: chorizo bouillabaisse, mussels, polenta, parsley crust. This was hands down one of the best halibut dishes I've ever had. The fish was cooked to perfection, the parsley crust was really neat and added just the right amount of flavour, there were real chunks of chorizo in the bouillabaisse, and there were a surprising number of mussels. My mouth and tummy were extremely happy with my decision! ($28)
My Lemon Meringue Parfait: streussel, tarragon ice cream. We'd seen these coming out all night long, so I couldn't resist ordering one...it was just so much fun!!! The flavours were amazing. You had a layer of streusel, then a scoop of tarragon ice cream, topped with the lemon meringue which had been torched so it tasted like roasted marshmallows on the outside. Amazing! Word to the wise, it's a sharing size. ($12)
The Daily Sweet Bites: 2 warm almond cookies, 2 macaroons and 2 chocolate brownies. I was too stuffed to try these myself, but according to my parents they were fabulous! ($10)
Twitter: @fablekitchen
