Culture R E V I E W S
Charcoal-fried oysters
AW, SHUCKS
Papi’s Oyster Bar tries—hard—to resurrect the corner of Davie and Denman. by
Calamarata
Neal McLennan
When Captain George Vancouver first sailed into English Bay in 1792, he made two notes in the ship’s log while gazing upon what is now the city’s West End. It is a place of raw natural beauty…and parking is going to be a mother. I was thinking of Captain George as I buzzed the intersection of Davie and Denman looking for a spot before heading into Papi’s Oyster Bar. It’s a complaint every non-West Ender has about the area and as a result it’s long been a place where the restaurants were of two sorts: large chains like Cactus Club that prosper because of the tourists and small neighbourhood gems like Tavola that are revered neighbourhood boîtes. The last restaurant to break out of this two-way mould was this establishment’s geographic predecessor, the Raincity Grill, which was so ahead of its era in terms of locavorism in 1992 that one suspects proprietor Harry Kambolis might have possessed a time machine. But even flux capacitors break down, and by 2014 Kambolis was forced to sell both Raincity and his acclaimed C Restaurant to Viaggio Hospitality Group, which turned the latter into Ancora and set about trying to recapture some magic at Davie and Denman with the former. They first tried a concept called Beach Bay Café, perhaps the most forgettably named eatery in the city, and despite a light, airy space and some solid talent, like chef Felix Zhou (Heritage Asian Eatery), it never caught on with locals or visitors. Earlier this year they went back to the drawing board and came back with Papi’s, with the stated goal of bringing some casual into the menu and space. My initial visit, however, found a place that was casual in name only, with a
Chef Jefferson Alvarez
There’s new talent in the kitchen with chef Jefferson Alvarez bringing some swagger to the menu. Tuna ceviche
THE DEETS
Papi’s Seafood and Oyster Bar 1193 Denman St. 604-685-7337 papisoysterbar.com
Price: Mains from $18 Best Dishes: Tuna Ceviche, Octopus and Popcorn
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