Vancouver’s YEW Restaurant + Bar introduces vegan menus

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      At the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver, YEW Restaurant + Bar (791 West Georgia Street) has a reputation for serving up top-notch seafood. Its dinner menu, for instance, features such dishes as black cod chowder, sablefish, and ahi tuna and bacon.

      While YEW specializes in fish and shellfish, this downtown hotel resto has quietly begun catering to diners looking for something entirely different. Just over a week ago, it added vegan lunch and dinner menus to its repertoire.

      The YEW website states:

      Some say “animal free” is the new way to be... Join us for YEW’s twist on vegan living with our tasty array of menu options that are sure to satisfy any palate!

      For lunch, starters range from $11 to $12 and mains from $16 to $19, while dessert goes for $8. Starters include vegan tacos, Little Gem Romaine salad, and truffle mac and cheese with Daiya cheese and soy milk. The vegetable curry, quinoa salad, and Farm Sandwich are the mains. Desserts include the Quinoa Passion, with red quinoa and coconut agar panna cotta, and mango-lime sorbet—both gluten-free.

      On the dinner menu, starters are $11 to $14, mains $18 to $22, and desserts $8. There’s the YEW salad, vegan tacos, and warm potato salad, with purple potatoes, melted leeks, and arugula, for starters. For mains, there’s the saffron risotto, grilled artichokes, and gemelli pasta. Desserts are the same as lunch’s.

      Lunch is served Monday to Friday between 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., and dinner every day between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. The recommended attire for this resto is “smart casual”.

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      Comments

      5 Comments

      Halv

      Apr 20, 2012 at 4:11pm

      Glad to see the vegan options but I'll never step foot in a restaurant that serves foie gras.

      Barbara Kendall

      Apr 21, 2012 at 12:12am

      I echo Halv's sentiments, noted above. No self respecting, ethical vegan would set foot in a restaurant that serves foie gras. I certainly won't.

      FWK

      Apr 21, 2012 at 3:15am

      I have been boycotting restaurants that serve foie gras for several years, even before going vegan. I have recently, however, been reconsidering my position as I've been learning more about the horrors of factory farming. Animals raised on factory farms suffer just as horribly as ducks raised for foie gras, and I'm starting to wonder whether it makes sense for me to boycott the foie gras establishments and continue to patronize restaurants that serve factory farmed meat (and considering that 99% of our meat supply is from factory farms, boycotting all places that sell it isn't really feasible). The vegan options at Yew sound incredible. Seeing foie gras on a menu is incredibly off-putting though. Nasty. I'm still undecided.

      Alison C.

      Apr 21, 2012 at 11:05am

      Foie gras is no worse than any other factory farmed meat. I am just happy that such a mainstream (and fine dining) restaurant has stepped up to the plate to offer a menu of kinder (and delicious-looking) options that hopefully will sell very well to their patrons! If people have these vegan options to choose from, then maybe they will be less likely to spend their money on the foie gras and other meat. Thank you to this restaurant for recognizing the growing demand for plant-based options!

      Tyler

      Apr 22, 2012 at 11:12am

      All animals raised for meat suffer horribly at some point, but of course factory farmed animals have it much worse. I disagree though that foie gras is no worse than other animals. The birds on foie gras factory farms are force fed ridiculous amounts of food in order to puposely disease their liver. So while many animals on factory farms suffer from confinement, mutilation, etc, the act of force feeding is exclusive to foie gras. A disgusting practice.