‘I struggled to find fine dining and good German food in Vancouver so I decided to open my own restaurant…’
I’d only just met Dr Uwe Boll – a German filmmaker (once acclaimed the world’s worst) who hopped to Canada more than a decade ago – but already I was liking his style.
The food and film fanatic opened Bauhaus in Vancouver’s Gastown district two-and-a-half years ago and it’s already tipped as one of the hottest spots in town.
The slickly-designed venue – a former bank – is impressive with double height ceilings, exposed brickwork and a stainless steel open plan kitchen. Each object has been carefully sourced, from the crockery to the table mats to the chairs.
It was a snowy Monday night and I was shown to a table in the corner of the restaurant and immediately felt at ease in the sophisticated yet unstuffy space.
I’d been recommended to try the tasting menu with wine and if you get chance to visit Bauhaus, I’d recommend you opt to too.
The six-course journey guarantees to leave you in a rather fine mood, with perfectly portioned dishes, generous pours of wine and top notch service.
Everything has been meticulously thought out and like a good film (apparently not one of Dr Boll’s), you’ll be giddily gripped at the edge of your seat to see what’s round the corner.
To start, Alan the wine specialist came to greet us with a smile and two glasses of light, sweet Riesling.
He also placed down cuts of fresh-baked bread and a round of butter sprinkled with smoked sea salt.
Once set, before the main show, we were served up a delicate stack of smoked mackerel with pumpernickel toast.
Alan informed us that he liked to maintain a German style of service, with efficiency being key, and he didn’t disappoint as the meal ran like clockwork.
Our first course was silky hamachi fish with a complementary mix of crunchy cucumber and sea vegetables.
Alan had found the perfect white for this delicate dish all the way from Transylvania, Romania.
The Feteasca Alba Jidvei Sec had some lime blossom notes which worked perfectly.
I almost don’t want to ruin the magic by giving too much away but to let you know that the dishes gradually built up to the pièce de résistance.
We ventured from creamy cuts of fish to a powerful lobster bisque served with deeper white Conde Valdemar Finca Alto Cantabria 2016, then on to meat with a succulent round of lamb.
The smokey cut of slow-cooked flesh was washed down with a divine glass of malbec from British Columbia.
Alan explained as he showed us the bottle of Road 13: ‘When you have smoke and spice you need fruit.’
On a lighter note, a clear bowl arrived with a smooth round of egg yolk-stuffed ravioli adorned with shaves of black truffle.
Again, the marriage of this with a glass of Terre del Principe Ambruco Pallagrello Nero 2010 was eloquently explained.
‘Once the black truffle shows up you need earthy tones in your wine. This one is the staff’s favourite blend.’
This bold red was probably my favourite too and I steadily polished the glass off.
The climax came with some alluring pink cuts of elk, dressed with Brussel sprout leaves, wedges of celeriac and warming splodges of red cabbage and chestnut.
To wash it down, we were treated to a splash of Etna Rosso 2015 from Graci in Sicily, with its light cherry flavour providing a welcome lift.
Like a film, we were coming up to the two hour mark for the finale and it was time for dessert.
A creamy, sweet creme anglaise, cinnamon crunch and apple chunks came in for the final bow with some super snazzy purple wine-flavoured purple mushrooms to liven the senses.
A warming cup of warm wine and calvados was the perfect digestif.
No wonder Dr Boll is so chirpy.
He’s living life pretty well and spreading his passion for design, good food and fun wines to the masses, his 1% Rotten Tomatoes ratings now far behind him.
A big cheers – or Prost – to that!
Bauhaus is located at 1 W Cordova St, Vancouver, BC V6B 2J2
To book at table visit bauhaus-restaurant.com or call (604) 974-1147
