Monday, April 19, 2010

Glowbal Grill & Satay Bar

brunch + shopping = a gooood morning!

Glowbal has been on my 'to try' list for gosh-knows-how-long.  I personally do quite enjoy the Glowbal restaurants - namely Sanafir, Italian Kitchen, Coast ( but Trattoria, not so much)).  I love Sanafir's concept of preparing different meats in tapas style portions, all different ways.  Their cocktails are also, in my opinion, one of the best in the city.  Italian Kitchen offers tasty pasta dishes, pizza and italian cuisine at a cost that won't rip too-big-of-a-hole in your wallet.  All in all, the Glowbal group restaurants are definitely a hit on my list :) 

I went into Glowbal with mediocore expectations - both service and food-wise.  Regardless, I've been holding out on trying it for so long.  In addition, I had read a recent tweet of theirs promoting their: Short Rib Frittata with Feta Cheese.  I quite like short ribs ...and the pairing of feta cheese was just too hard to give up!

Food:

It was a bit of a disappointment at first as I didn't see the Frittata feature on the menu, as their tweet had stated.  Maybe it was a good thing as I had been comtemplating (for hours) whether to order that or their Lobster Benedict, lol.  And so, it was on to my 2nd choice: Lobster Benedict

Upon first impression, I noticed that the portion of the benedict was significantly smaller than the usual egg benedicts that I've ordered in the past.  Taste-wise was fine though - although the lobster was a little salty.  The eggs also came atop a cheddar biscuit, rather than the traditional English muffin.  There was also an ample portion of crisp potatoes and a side of greens to accompany the dish.  All in all, it was satisfying (but not marvelous-tasting, as expected).
I had also sampled the Mushroom Frittata (which was a lot bigger portion, btw) and it was good.

We also received 2 complimentary brunch Belgian Waffle teasers (I had a coupon), in addition to several mini donuts (anologous to (if not better) the ones at the PNE) prior to our meal.

As for drinks, my dining companion and I both ordered the Blueberry Banana Smoothies and were not impressed with them.  At $5 each, the serving size was quite tiny.  Also, there was too much ice and lacked the 'smoothie' consistency-thumbs down!





Service:

Not too shabby!

Value:

Food value was fine, drinks value was not.

Ambience:

Bustlin' on a Sunday morning.  Be sure to make resos if you want a patio seat.

Overall: 7.6/10

Yay: Good brunch if you're in Yaletown. Complimentary donuts. Nice ambience.

Nay: I would say parking, but on a Sunday - it wasn't difficult at all to find a spot. Smoothies.





Posted by: J