Wildebeest
The menu focuses on delicious local ingredients prepared with integrity. Every component has been thoughtfully nurtured by executive chef, Ian McHale, from field to finish. We work closely with surrounding farms and farmers to organically raise healthy, happy animals and grow custom produce. Employing classic butchery traditions and contemporary techniques, Wildebeest presents delicious menus of the season. This is food for food lovers.
We had a 4-person tasting menu. They serve 3(!) oysters. When I asked what happened to the fourth, the server said that's the sizing size, three. "So if we'd gone with the 2-person tasting menu we'd have got 1 ½ oysters?" The server (blond, female--pointed out only because she was the only snooty one there; the Belgian male with the Aussie accent was great) gave a weak smile and walked away. In the end, the smoked oysters were terrible, so it didn't matter. Lots of raw meat followed, *some* of which was tasty. The flank steak and potato-cheese balls were delicious.
Okay, maybe it was our tastes (all four of us, mind you), but we felt the Emperor had no clothes. And at that price point?! Ludicrous. Sorry, Wildebeest.
Went on a weekday evening for a birthday. They have a coat check. One waiter for 5 tables. The waiter was very kind and accommodating but the food was a complete letdown. They have a great wine selection. Menu was their winter special. I don’t recommend the heirloom pickled carrots or the large brisket. Carrots were hit or miss on texture some were so firm we thought they were raw. The brisket was very salty on top of their homemade bbq sauce . We had to drink a lot of water to tone it down even though it’s served with a neutral nutty spinach purée. It is a very gastown atmosphere. Overall not the experience we expected as far as the food. Don’t know about dessert.
Food was tasty, portion on the smaller side, music was to loud causes everyone to yell over it making it even louder in the restaurant
Always delicious, with outstanding service and ambience!
Food was good, friendly staff and nice atmosphere.
Amazing dining experience
Omakase was the best choice. Reasonably priced, each dish was just fantastic
I really wanted to love this place but sadly left disappointed. My dining partner and I were prepared for a nice evening out and ready and willing to spend the money for it. We understood that her being a vegetarian did limit her with this particular menu but there were still some options. The cocktail list was vast and interesting. The execution did not match my initial impression. They were just lacking. My partner ordered the ravioli which was listed under the large plates section and in the $30 range. The portion was significantly smaller than expected and in no way should be classified as large. It was not enough as a full meal. I understand quality of ingredients used but perception of value should really be considered here. The few items I ordered were good. But what ultimately turned us off the most was that the food arrived almost immediately. It made us question how much had actually been made to order. Because the portions were so small we finished very quickly. I have never gone out for an evening and finished food and drink in so little time. It felt rushed and we were not given the experience that tables around us were receiving. We just asked for the bill. It all took about 45 minutes. We left and went for more food and drinks elsewhere. It’s a beautiful and cool spot but it just fell flat for us.
The food is very good, and so are the staff. The wait times after ordering with the uncomfortable seating is pretty rough; I don't know who decided on bar stools for fine dinning. But it's literally the only thing wrong with this place. Probably a bit rich for most people. But I didn't have a bad bite all night.
They tried to hard with over seasoning.
Everything was too salty.
Loved the bone marrow. Service was excellent. Ordered bottomless mimosas and the server kept them coming!
Portions for the main dishes was small but surprisingly filling. Loved the taste of the food and our server was very helpful and friendly! Would go again :D
This was our second time at Wildebeest. The service was top notch. Thanks to Devon for the bubbles when we arrived...much appreciated! :)
We did the menu that the restaurant curated for you based on budget and food preferences! It was an outstanding experience and the food was delicious.
Wasn't expecting bone marrow on toast to be on the menu. It was a mouth watering experience. Avocado toast is well plated with charred marks on halved avocados, beautifully presented by your cripsy toasts. We had a good friends' get-together here, the ambience is relaxing and warm cozy.
While the ambiance and overall decor was beautiful, I was underwhelmed by the food and service. Server was nice but it was slow. Took more than 15 mins to get my glass of wine. Food was tasty but we found the portions to be on the smaller side - left hungry.
The who,e experience was amazing. Looking forward to the next time.
The venue was nice and the food was pretty good. I was there for valentines and it was just kind of ok. The food was decent but the portions were strange for a tasting menu. It also didn’t seem to be a great value and no particular dish stood out as great.
Music was a little loud and the bass was a little too much. My date had a worsened headache and we just couldn’t leave fast enough.
Overall, food was good but not amazing or a great value. The server kept trying to upsell the dishes by adding prawns, lobster tail, or fois gras. It seemed a little strange and lacking in grace to just throw an extra piece of meat on a dish and expect a greater result.
Lovely, as always. We’ve come here for Valentines dinner two years in a row now and they always blow us away with their “omakase” option on the menu... trust the chef! Great cocktails and lovely service too.
As always, amazing service, atmosphere, food, and cocktails!
We were not impressed with the quality of food.
Great staff, reasonable menu although a tad limited and the beef selection is dominated by Wagyu which is not everyone's choice. I do find it annoying that 1. they didn't ask how we wanted our meat cooked and 2. They slice it - I like my steak uncut to keep it warm
So good! Lotta meat. Great service. Loved our guy, he was from Belgium.
A great selection of beautiful and creative food. The menu is fantastically creative and excellently executed. A beautiful balance of flavours and styles of food with a great seasonal element. Thanks so much Widebeest.
Fantastic food and vibe. Unfortunately, I called in a week prior to let them know we were celebrating a friends recent wedding and was told they would do something special, but nothing was done. It was a disappointing miss, but the rest of the evening was great.
We had a delicious brunch, the mushrooms on toast was divine. Fresh-squeezed OJ, tasty eggs benny, and a great atmosphere. We will be back.
The food was delicious! Every bite full of flavor!
Fish was overcooked and odor was strong. Steak was good. It was okay.
Came during Dine Out 2020. Wagyu carpaccio starter was delicious until i bit into a piece of plastic. Bleh. The server was kind enough to bring me a new order which I promptly finished. The confit duck leg with fregola sarda was perfectly prepared. Crisp skin with tender moist meat and the pasta was chewy well seasoned al dente. I opted for seared foie gras upgrade ($20 surcharge - ouch!) on the side & was not disappointed. Even the chocolate and plum dessert was a wonderful surprise. It was silky and rich but offset nicely by what looked like whipped cream (yuck!) but was actually fig leaf yogurt! Surprisingly good combination. The plum compote and the hazelnut added interesting variety which worked well together. Overall, I was very happy with the food and service and recommend Wildebeest for a night out with friends.
The food was solid, tasty and well presented but at the price point pretty average. We won’t go back simply because there are better options in Vancouver.
My wife & I had enjoyed our Dineout dinner at Bufala Edgemont a few days before and when we learned there that both are owned by the same people we immediately made a reservation at Wildebeest. The hostess was very courteous when we requested a table on the main floor rather than downstairs to accommodate our aching knees. Our server, a young man from Belgium, was first class - the epitome of a true professional - knowledgeable, attentive & personable. We noted that he was always observing, alertly but unobtrusively, to ensure that all of his diners received prompt attention.
We began by adding the bone marrow to the other starters on the Dineout menu. My European wife loves bone marrow and was delighted by the presentation & taste. All of the other dishes we ordered from the 3 course menu were superb and each was beautifully presented, served in a timely manner & in perfect proportions. We thoroughly enjoyed every morsel. Flavours were delightfully complex, and the elements of each dish worked together harmoniously. I would describe Wildebeest as offering seriously delicious cuisine. I am somewhat puzzled to understand why this was our first visit since I had heard of this restaurant, but I suppose this is the objective of Dineout - to encourage people to try restaurants new to them. Based on our happy experience, we will return and will recommend it to our friends.
Lovely prepared, locally and seasonal sourced food. Great wine pairing for Dine out. Liked the selection of mocktails
Lovely first experience at Wildebeest. They were quite busy and we had a reservation for 8pm but didn’t get our table until 830pm. We sat at the bar and started some drinks in the meantime. The host was kind enough to comp our drinks due to the wait. I had the tuna tartare served with pork rinds, delicious! The flat iron steak was perfectly cooked and had a nice char on it. Spruce tip tart was perfectly lemony and refreshing, my only qualm was that the crust was a bit too firm. Will definitely come back! Friendly service and delicious food, how can you go wrong?
Great food and great service. Wouldn’t recommend fir a quiet meal though as it was quite noisy
The food was very tasty and we had great service. I would go back.
Disappointed
We went to Wildebeest for the 3 course "Dine Out" menu, which was priced at $45. In general, the food quality was poor and portion sizes were quite small for the price. The appetizers we ordered were beef carpaccio and tuna tartare. The beef was sinewy and difficult to cut. The tuna was grey. For entrees we ordered flat iron steak and rock fish. The flat iron steak was not tender and was very rare. The rock fish was well cooked but the sunchokes on the side were large, unappetizing pieces which were very mealy. Dessert was a lemon spruce tip tart. The tart shell was over baked and difficult to cut, and the curd inside was over cooked. In all, I don't think I'll return to Wildebeest or recommend it to friends.
This was our second time at Wildebeest and it was even better than I remembered. We had the dine out menu and felt that we got excellent value for our money. The food was outstanding and the staff was very knowledgeable. Thanks to Anthony our bartender! He made our evening very enjoyable.
I'd recommend Widebeest for drinks. The food was fine - we went for Dine Out Vancouver and it was an OK value. I think if we had paid full price we would have been disappointed.
Cocktails were creative and excellent though.
Excellent food and service! Will be back!
We went for dine out Vancouver, the choices were very well thought out and varied. We started with the smoked olives and deviled eggs with the house aperitif and they were delicious (especially the olives) and went extremely well together. Every dish we had had something a bit unusual about it but nothing seemed forced or weird. The wines and wine pairings were excellent. Our server was warm, attentive and polite. We did not feel rushed even though it was busy and we had a shortish time frame.
FAQs
Wildebeest is rated 4.3 stars by 1754 OpenTable diners.
Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable. Due to local restrictions, this restaurant may not be accepting reservations at the moment.