Fable restaurant opens in Kitsilano

Vancouver-based chef and Top Chef Canada season two finalist Trevor Bird has opened his first restaurant, Fable (1944 West 4th Avenue). Located in Kitsilano, Fable serves farm-to-table, modern Canadian cuisine. The name of the restaurant is derived from fusing the words “farm” and “table”, and based on the idea that every dish tells a story.

“I wanted to open a restarurant that would help define Canadian cuisine,” Bird, who previously worked as a chef de partie at Vancouver’s Shangri-La Hotel and restaurants in Ottawa and Montreal, stated in a news release.

The menu features locally sourced ingredients that are organic whenever possible. Appetizers are all under $12 and include seasonal raw and crispy spot prawns with lemon emulsion and fennel; a gourmet play on canned tuna; and vegetarian-friendly chickpea fritters with pickled red onions, shoots, and curry mayo; and mushroom flat bread dressed with olive oil, arugula, and parmesan. Entrées run between $16 and $28. Highlights include slow-cooked arctic char with gnocchi, kale, leeks, and spinach purée; and flat iron steak with potato fondant, black pepper jam, and broccolini. Desserts ($9 to $12) include a daily cheese plate, lemon pot de crème, flourless chocolate cake, and rhubarb cake.

Chef Bird is accompanied by chef de cuisine Curtis Luk, who also competed on the second season of Top Chef Canada, service director Ron MacGillivray, and beverage director Kathy Schleyer. Fable is open Monday to Saturday for dinner, brunch on weekends, and lunch on weekdays.

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