Cozy neighbourhood eatery Homer Street Café coming to Yaletown

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      In 2011, Tableau Bar Bistro opened at the Loden Hotel and brought to Coal Harbour the charming brasserie feel and “daily specials” type menu typically associated with European cafes. Soon, the team behind Tableau—principal Lilliana De Cotiis, executive chef Marc-Andre Choquette, chef Tret Jordan, head bartender JS Dupuis, and general manager Steven Wright—hope to do the same for Yaletown.

      Homer Street Café (898 Homer Street) is slated to open in about a month, and as the contractors and designers are putting the finishing touches on what will be a cozy, un-fussy room, so are the chefs on a menu that will feature roast chicken—and lots of it.

      “People will be able to order them whole, half, or quarter,” Choquette told the Georgia Straight at a media preview on May 29.

      Diners will also be able to choose between several spice rubs—including the clove and cinnamon-laced ras el hanout (a classic Moroccan mix) and the more familiar chimichurri—and chickens will be roasted in an impressive glass-enclosed rotisserie imported from France.

      Besides roast chicken, the menu will also include homestyle soups and salads, sharable plates like a peanut-topped chickpea dip and a dangerously addictive crispy chicken skin (yes, you read that right—chicken skin). A daily roast and a hearty braised short-rib pie will also be on the menu.

      The restaurant’s cocktail program will highlight familiar flavours in new ways, such as the refreshing “An Apple a Day” made with rum, chartreuse, green apple liqueur, and apple and lime juice. Wines by the glass will offer sips from around the world, including a summery malagouzia from Greece and a goes-with-chicken red from the Loire Valley.

      The room designed by Craig Stanghetta, whose previous restaurants include Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie and Pidgin, retains the historic character of the building (Homer Street Café is located under the recently redeveloped Beasley). Plush leather seating, cream wainscoting, wood tables, and mosaic tile floors suggest refinement without stuffiness. 

      Comments

      3 Comments

      Mrjim374

      May 30, 2013 at 6:17pm

      I miss the old homer street cafe, not enough old character greasy spoons left downtown

      craig stanghetta

      May 31, 2013 at 9:06am

      A Note to clarify that the Homer Stree Cafe design was a collaboration between my studio and that of Linus Lam and Denise Liu of Bespoke by Edison and Sprinkles. Thnanks, Craig S.

      PD

      Jun 3, 2013 at 8:55am

      I miss the old Homer St. Cafe--where can you get a $5 greasy spoon breakfast served with a snarl nowadays?