Dining Room Dazzler a Hidden Gem in Progress
Voya should help put Loden hotel on the map
Has Loden been lost in the shuffle? With all the hubbub over the arrival of Big Apple chefs in our town, it's been easy to overlook the long-awaited opening of the city's newest boutique hotel and its dazzler of a dining room, Voya.
Then again, given its ultra subtle signage, finding Loden itself can be a challenge--blink as you drive down Melville and you'll miss it. But once inside you'll be greeted by a vibrant, contemporary but cozy, black and white wrapped room that also feels retro with its trio of giant circular crystal chandeliers. It's an absolute gem.
With former Lumiere executive chef Marc André Choquette in the kitchen, top tipple-meister Jay Jones as resident bar star, resto GM-sommelier Robert Herman (ex-Cin Cin) and hotel GM Edel Forristal (ex-Whistler Four Seasons and Pan Pacific), the mix is potent. As it should be.
Overall, two visits (lunch and dinner) this past week found us impressed with this newbie, if for no other reason that it breathes much needed life and panache into this up-and-coming 'hood.
Choquette's small plates prowess shows through in spades, with a particularly impressive appetizer lineup that adds up to an unmistakable homage to (pre-Boulud) Lumiere. Tastes we'd go back for include a piquant tuna tartare with black sesame seeds and avocado "carpaccio," and a foamed seared scallop with smoky pork belly and creamed leeks.
The dessert parade is also killer, a plethora of tastes that will have you torn between a zinger of lemon curd tartlet with zest confit and the purest of lemon ice cream, a sexy romp of a vanilla bean purée cuddled up to pistachio gelato with chocolate rosemary biscotti, "deconstructed" tiramisu and more.
Lunchtime finds (when the headier dinner tarif yields to a very appealing $26 two-course offering) range from baby beets tangled with goat cheese and candied walnuts, or seared tuna slices with tempura anchovy to "au point" halibut with braised cipollini onions, perched on olive oil "crushed" potato.
Our only quibble came with the slightly larger dinner mains ($28 to $30, sides $5 a la carte), which, while reflecting similar flair and creativity, seemed less consistent in execution than the small plate starters. Intended as subtle but more inclined to bland, barely cooked-through sablefish with seafood "chorizo" and pretty scallop cappelletti were anointed with a remotely discernible smoked paprika broth.
The dinner mains need more time to evolve.
In the end, though, it's the whole package that brings added delight, from the modern cream and sugar sets to stellar stemware--including proper Burgundy bowls when you order something serious off the wine list (like anise and cherry-toned blockbuster Belle Glos Meiomi Sonoma Coast Pinot). Wines are well chosen--though be prepared to spend along hotel lines to help pay for those sparkling stems. (For whites, from the more wallet friendly end, Tantalus Riesling is still the most flexible food friendly option.)
Go for lunch if your appetite is fiscally tempered, dinner if no-holds barred.
Either way, 'tis the season to celebrate. It's a good reason to check out this very stylin' arrival, with more than a dash of panache.
08.12.12 - Vancouver Courier
