I don’t recall when I received a $20 gift certificate from Prestons, but I remember all I had to do was to “like” their Facebook page as part of their marketing campaign to receive one. I wanted to use it many times but never got a chance until recently when I had dinner with my two friends. There are currently two locations for Prestons, one is on downtown Vancouver and the other is in Chilliwack. We visited the one in Vancouver that day. The interior is quite new and cozy, it was a sunny day, so they opened their doors by the street so customers can sit out and enjoy the nice weather. Excuse me for the photo quality of an iPhone as I forgot to bring my camera.

Their menu is not very big, all their items were listed in one page. We ordered an appetizer and two entree to share so we can get a bite of everything.

First came the sliders, we were looking forward to this as it was one of their featured items on the menu. For me it was a hit-and-miss. I enjoyed the pulled pork and the slaw but not the bun. I think the problem was that it was a bit dry, perhaps they should have toasted it.

This was a grilled lamb loin with fingerling potato hash, spicy chorizo, and red wine vinaigrette. I enjoyed this dish – the lamb was cooked medium rare and the potatoes were very flavourful with the sauce and chorizo. The red wine vinaigrette added a sweet touch to the dish as well.

The ravoli was stuffed with ricotta cheese and mushrooms, served with grape tomatoes, red wine reduction, fresh basil and truffle oil. This was also one of their featured items and was very tasty. The ravioli was very well made and cooked nicely. The wrapper was thin and smooth while the filling was creamy and flavourful. The red wine reduction was a bit sweet, compliments the saltiness of the cheese and caper berries.

After the three dishes, which weren’t very big, we felt like we wanted more so we added the halibut. I am often scared to order halibut, because they tend to be overcooked or the fish is not very fresh before it is even prepared. However, this was done properly and turned out very delicious. Besides, who doesn’t like bacon? The fish was wrapped in double-smoked bacon, served with creamed leeks, quinoa, and honey-shallot au jus. The fish itself was cooked just right, flaky, juicy, and the bacon was crispy and salty, which went well with the au jus. The quinoa was very tasty, but I found it a little over-seasoned.

Here comes the long anticipated desserts. First we had the creme brulee with mini doughnuts. Again, this was a bit of a hit-and-miss. The texture of the creme brulee was a little off as it was too thin, but I did enjoy the matcha flavour. The doughnuts were a good pairing with the creme brulee.

Our server particularly pointed out the sundae and recommended it so we had to try it. What can I say? It was a plate of ooey-gooey goodness. They have decided to put together a warm chocolate brownie, vanilla ice-cream, warm chocolate sauce, and raspberry coulis. The brownie was fudgey and chewy, paired with the cold ice-cream and tart raspberry coulis, it was so yummy!

Overall we enjoyed our visit at Prestons. Our server was very attentive, she brought over tongs and plates for us to share and made sure our water was always filled. We were well taken care of. As it was located in the downtown financial district, prices were a bit high given portions were not particularly big.

Con­clu­sion:

Ambi­ence: 3.5/5
Food: 3.5/5
Ser­vice: 4/5
Value: 3/5