At 12 Powell Street in Gastown lies a sweet little bistro cafe with a super cozy room and a very European feel to both the room and the food.  They’ve recently revamped their menu so we stopped in for dinner to check it out and try a few bites. 

The restaurant is owned by Armand Tencha and Jeff Jefkins and named after Jeff’s mom, who’s baking is rumored to be top notch and stills sends them an annual care package of tasty goods each Christmas. Perhaps they’ll share if I go there enough.

It’s definitely salad days right now and it’s my goal to get as much local produce into my belly while it’s at it’s peak. This was a delightfully fresh creation with a dash good quality olive oil and seasoned correctly with a sprinkling of fresh basil for extra points.

Tartar is a fav. Last year I had many and have been meaning to sample more around town. This was a good version and I loved the addition on the side of fries in a play on steak frites. I did feel it was a little too yokey and would have perhaps done a quail’s egg or a smaller chicken egg instead.

Fish bites were so very delicious. Lightly battered and fried without being at all oily. A herb-filled tartare was the perfect accompaniment. I could eat this daily and loved the addition of the calamari.

Another nod to seasonal produce was the Prosciutto and melon salad. Lovely how they balled the melons instead of slicing and used a few different farmers’ market greens.

This smoked onion, blue cheese and bacon tart was hard to share. Superb flakey crust and well set filling. I need this for brunch, weekly.

More salad because I just can’t get enough. The calamari on this on was so tender it barely needing chewing; even better pan fried than in the fish bites if that could be possible.

The owners are always in and their care and devotion is very apparent. I will return to this spot. Great service a very doable wine and my their brunch menu looks good.
12 Powell Street, Vancouver, BC
(604) 558-2599
Lily Mae’s