Vancouver’s Bar Bravo seafood restaurant dry ages fish

Owners wanted to make it a fun, more upscale place with a really nice vibe. The food has global flavours reflecting their travels

Published Nov 22, 2023 • Last updated 19 minutes ago • 5 minute read

At Vancouver’s Bar Barvo, the crudo dishes are the standouts. Pictured here, scallop crudo. Josh Neufeld photo. Photo by Joshua Neufeld /jpg

Bar Bravo

Where: 4194 Fraser St., Vancouver

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When: Dinner, Wednesday to Sunday

Info: 604-486-1118. bravovancouver.com

Dining at the new Fraserhood hot spot, Bar Bravo, you might find yourself asking, What the heck is dry-aged fish? That would be upon seeing some whole fish, dangling nose down, in a dry-aging fridge. Like, isn’t aged fish an oxymoron?

Actually, it’s not. I’ve encountered dry-aged fish in a few restaurants in the past year and know the best Japanese sushi chefs have always aged some fish species to improve flavour, umami, and texture — although the Japanese method is by wet aging.

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In North America, it’s catching on.

“You see it on social media and the words are being thrown around,” says owner-chef Jonah Joffe at the seafood-forward Bar Bravo.

“If you hang the fish face down for three to five days at the right temperature and humidity, it allows the excess moisture to drain. It firms up texture, increases taste, aroma and flavour. The flesh itself stays moist because the skin protects it. Every fish is different depending on how lean, oily and fresh it is before you start.”

But more importantly, Joffe begins with high-quality, sustainable seafood, vetted by Ocean Wise and Marine Stewardship Council, and sourced from Organic Ocean, Fresh Ideas Start Here and 46 South.

The seafood connection runs strong via Joffe’s business partner and general manager, Jonathan Merrill, who’s from a seafood family in the Maritimes and has worked in seafood restaurants such as Rodney’s Oyster House in Toronto and Chewie’s Hospitality in Vancouver.

The bravo in the name has a maritime connection, too — in the navy, a ‘B’ for bravo flag on a ship signals there’s dangerous cargo on board. In the Canadian Maritimes, it’s also an old fishing term referring to a boat carrying illegal goods, especially during Prohibition, says Joffe. Yet another meaning, as in ‘well done!’ applies here, too.

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Bar Bravo seems to have inherited goodwill left by former occupant, Ubuntu Canteen, but it has earned it with a welcoming front of house and very good seafood. It was quite packed when I visited, but our server considered it a slower night as people were out at Halloween parties.

“We wanted to make it a fun, more upscale place with a really nice vibe. The food has global flavours reflecting my travels,” says Joffe, who’d previously worked at Alloy in Calgary and the late, one-Michelin Masa restaurant in San Francisco.

Joffe’s menu will change three to four times a year with the seasons, and was in transition when I visited.

I would begin with oysters on the half shell — you’re in capable hands here. As things become more settled, they’ll hold events such as oyster shucking competitions with proceeds going to neighbourhood charities.

The crudo dishes were the standouts. Spencer Gulf hiramasa, or yellowtail amberjack, was a stunner with a half-dozen slices of dry-aged fish, marinated in prickly pear leche de tigre sauce and served with blood orange and pomegranate and dots of green pistachio sauce — so brilliantly hued and inviting.

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And, even prettier, was a bright and refreshing wreath of sliced scallop crudo in cucumber, apple, jalapeño, yuzo sauce with tapioca caviar, crispy jalapeño, dill and micro-greens. These are tweezer-assisted dishes, this one accessorized with dill filaments, jalapeño circles and apple brunoise.

A seared scallop dish, plump, cushiony and golden, came with lemongrass and coconut sauce, fregola — a couscous-like pasta — and the last of the local corn.

Glory Bay king salmon, a wonderful, sustainably farmed product from New Zealand, was dry-aged and served with a tamari, maple, ginger sauce. And yes, aquaculture can be sustainable if done right, given advances in the industry. This product is rated Best Choice and awarded Best Aquaculture Practices since 2016 by the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch.

Australian Fremantle octopus was steamed with a sparkling wine, then grilled, and served with a tomato and smoked paprika-based brava sauce and an herbal salmoriglio sauce.

A couple of dishes fell short for me. A gnocchi dish went overboard with pumpkin, both in the dough and the sauce. A tumble of oyster and king mushrooms added some contrast.

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Dessert didn’t quite work for me, either. Cubed, charred pumpkin sat on brown butter streusel, and under the streusel, some whipped chocolate ganache. Maybe ditch the streusel? In the dimly lit room, the dish looked brown and uninviting.

The wines take a different approach focused on those produced within 100 kilometres of the ocean.

“It’s geographically cool because it forces us outside comfort zones and opens our eyes. I’d never have thought of Nova Scotia as a blossoming wine community otherwise,” says Merrill. “We have new and old-world wines.”

The wine list is appropriately seafood friendly with an emphasis on white, pink, orange and bubbly. It’s not a long list but there are some interesting and off-the-beaten-track choices, like a rosé from Greece, a muscadet from Oregon and wines from the tiny Salt Spring Island producer Kutatás.

All the same, don’t overlook the fun and creative cocktail list. There are three local craft beers on tap and, for a seafood restaurant, some quirky choices by the can like Guinness and Miller High Life.

“I’ve always loved the MHL bottle,” Merrill says. “It’s nothing more than esthetics. It’s a running joke with my friends.”

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Side dishes

Vancouver Cocktail Week is back for another round of spirited fun. Tickets go on sale Dec. 1 for the city’s third annual celebration of cocktail culture, which runs March 3-10. Presented by The Alchemist magazine, Cocktail Week will be held at venues across Vancouver. It’s the premier showcase of the city’s immense bartending talent, with events ranging from cocktail-paired dinners, seminars, master classes and Cinq à Sept happy hours, to the opening brunch at the Fairmont Pacific Rim and the main event—the closing gala at the Sutton Place Hotel. For tickets or to browse the Vancouver Cocktail Week 2024 program guide, visit thealchemistmagazine.ca. The program guide will also be distributed at bars, restaurants and private liquor retailers starting Dec. 1.