Coast (Alberni Street, Downtown)

In 2007, serial restaurateur Emad Yacoub, president and owner of the Glowbal group, shook up the Alberni strip with the $1.7 million Italian Kitchen. This July, Yacoub brought out even bigger fish to play. Weighing in at at a bank-breaking $3.3 million, Glowbal’s seafood star, Coast, makes a huge splash on Alberni Street.

From the entrance, Coast looks like your typical high-end patio, but its true grandeur lies inside. Downstairs, the mosaic-tiled floors bustled with hosts ferrying seafood to and from the open kitchen. Crowning the room was a circular bar surrounding a tiered island seafood on ice and liquors. On the upper floor, bottles of wine seemed to line every wall. Spinning curtains and mirrored walls divided dining parties from each other, each section illuminated by soft golden lighting.

Much like the venue, the menu was also grand. Seafood aficionados would be hard pressed to choose; from classic chowders to sushi, if it lives in the sea, it was on the menu. At the recommendation of our waiter, we settled for buttermilk-battered calamari ($12), the seared halibut ($25), and the dover sole ($42); rich and subtle seemed to be the chef’s speciality – traits consistent across all three dishes.

Starting with the calamari, we were treated to large squared chunks of premium squid, flash fried to melt in our mouths. Complimented with a side of smoked-garlic aioli, the pub favourite was refined to pair with the rest of the meal nicely.

Being a seafood novice, I’m a little cautious in my verdicts, but I couldn’t help but feel a little underwhelmed with the entrées. Both dishes were presented elegantly (in particular, the dover, which was sliced right at the table), but there was little else truly memorable except their texture – that rich, melt-in-your-mouth quality that the calamari shared as well. That being said, the plates were still good – they just didn’t blow me out of the water.

Coast is a gorgeous venue, one that I will revisit again and again to entertain, but based on today, I think my next visit will be for drinks and smaller plates.