McLean’s Restaurant

I was hoping to see Kirk McLean but no dice.
I’m sad to hear this restaurant closed down. It had the best mushroom ravioli :(
RIP McLean’s restaurant.

I think this is late, but I had to!
This review is only for the deli side only! Why I say it’s late now? Cause McLean’s closed down both parts of it’s restaurant and deli :(I really hope you bring back the deli! Their former meat and bread joint tucked away just off of Cordova St., somewhat in the alley way.
The sandwiches here were sooooooooooooooooo good! Huge ass sandwiches even though I just ordered medium. Sometimes I’ll even save half for later! The size of the bread looks small, however they do pile that sucker mile high!
Very simple deli, choice of bread, meats, sauces, and topping. If you asked them to heat it up for you, they would walk over to McLean’s and gladly do they for you.
They also made these killer potato chips that comes with every sandwich!
The staff here were always friendly and talkative. Missing this place already!
I really hope they reopen this place. It was great!

Excellent service and great food. Last time I came here they were out of what I wanted to order but the server helped come up with a substitute that was equally just as yummy!
I highly recommend this place! A bit pricey but worth it. :))

Kind of an upscale, intimate little place. The drink prices are fine but the food is pricey, pricey. We came here to unwind after the game yesterday and had a decent experience. I’ll probably return if I’m in the area, but not if I’m hungry… the menu is really limited.

Nice space, pleasant atmosphere and the ceiling is a gem.
Felt like I was logging on my plate. Even with a fork and knife the salad was hard to manage but it tasted fine. The charcuterie board was a good selection of meats and cheeses with olives, picked beets, cukes and carrots. Bread could and should have been much better than it was.
Service was cheerful and helpful.

Food — 3 ½ stars
Ambiance — 4 stars
Décor — 4 stars
Service — 4 stars
Value — 3 ½ stars
Mclean’s Restaurant located in Gastown on Water St between Cambie and Richards is opened by the legendary Canucks Goaltender. The restaurant is consisted of 3 establishments — the main dining on the main level, a lounge in the 2^nd basement level and a deli at the back of the restaurant. The restaurant has a very intimate and romantic ambiance with a great selection of soft lounge and modern jazz music playing in the background — a perfect place for a romantic date. The décor is modern vintage with a white minimalistic color palette accented with dark walnut structural wood beams that enhances the aesthetics of the restaurant.
The restaurant is open for brunch, lunch and dinner. We visited the restaurant for dinner. Their menu selections wasn’t very exciting especially their appetizer section, but what really caught my eyes was the Aussi Buco which is a braised kangaroo tail. I was too terrified to try a kangaroo but the table next to us did and she loved it — she mentioned the meat is gamey like an elk but the braising make the meat very tender.
During my visit, we ordered:
Duck Confit Salad $ 13 — Endive and frisse salad, goat cheese and cherry tomatoes tossed in a sherry vinaigrette. The salad was quite ordinary and average. The duck was quite dry but the goat cheese was wonderful.
Paradise Valley Pork Chop $ 24 — served with caramalized onion, potato gratin, golden beets, grainy Dijon and green apple mustard. The pork chop was done nicely — it is a thick bone-​in cut — very tender and juicy although more Dijon apple mustard sauce would really complete the dish. I also really enjoyed the crispy potato gratin.
Pappardelle $ 21 — served with braised pork cheeks, shiitake mushroom, cherry tomatoes, baby arugula and pine nuts. The pasta was cooked al dente with a refreshing light herb olive oil and fraiche crème sauce. I really enjoyed the earthy shiitake mushroom which complements the pork cheeks perfectly. I did find the pork cheek too a little lean and dry.

5 Stars for the man himself because I was his biggest fan growing up. So I had to go to the restaurant. Unfortunately we were a bit underwhelmed. Service was pleasant but our side dish was forgotten (it was taken care of). My first two choices of beer (Big Rock Grasshopper and Russell Cream Ale) were both out. Then our entrees seemed to have rested too long. Definitely the space was nice and well decorated. Nice bar/​lounge as well so I think it’d be great to have friends there.

I am rating the McLean’s Deli. which USED to be Social.
Its still the same great sandwich shop. but a different name.
If you haven’t been yet. GO.
Social pretty much changed my life. massive sandwiches, great meat (I get the Spicy Sopressata), and reasonable prices (for a beer and sandwich)
They recently added actual tables so there’s more space to sit, and its got a great look and feel.
Did I mention there’s a tree in the middle of the room? yeah. a huge one.

More than just a hero of Vancouver’s past play-​off runs, McLean’s offers a very delicious way to satiate one’s hunger and palate. Rather than Dine Out, McLean’s offered a Dine In menu of butternut squash soup with candied walnut chantilly cream and white truffle oil, which was so rich and delicious. It was a nice palate teaser on a cold winter’s night.
The main dish of the butter braised lamb sirloin with lentils, pancetta, wild mushroom and glazed root vegetables. I highly recommend this if you eat meat. The lamb was so tender, and the lentils make a nice compliment.
The dessert was croissant bread pudding. This was highly recommended by our waitress over the crème brûlée, and she was spot on. So delicious, so soft and a very nice change from a regular dessert fare of crème brûlée.
I recommend the ambiance of McLean’s too, especially for a date. Not a noisy place to go for a nice dinner, and because it is right in Gastown, there’s a great place to go for a walk afterwards.
The waitstaff was really helpful — calling cabs for us because they knew we were trying to catch an 8 pm theatre production.
I’m very excited to see what the kitchen will whip up in the summer.

Excellent food, fantastic service, beautiful décor. My bf and I bought another groupon like deal and this time it was for McLean’s. Funny thing, because we never knew it even existed until we bought the deal online. And boy are we ever happy that we found this gem of a restaurant. We actually sat in Kirk McLean’s table, since he wasn’t in for the night and that made us feel extra special!
The cooks in the back gave us a little something extra which was soooo yummy and we look forward to having a future event there in the downstairs party/​bar room.
LOVE IT!

the sandwich place is great,
dunno about this other place that everyone is talking about

This place was recommended by the lady who works at Hudson since I’m from California. The restaurant was very chic inside and looked fairly new. There were only a couple of other people dining in the restaurant when we got there for lunch. Our waitress was very friendly and attentative. My friend and I shared the beer battered halibut and chips as well as the chioppino. The halibut was crispy and moist and didn’t taste oily at all. It came with a minted pea sauce which I’ve never even heard of but went well with the fish. To top off the dish, it came with garlic french fries! Delicious!
The chioppino was pretty good but not my favorite but my friend enjoyed it. It had the usual shellfish in it and the broth was flavorful.

There are a lot of very good elements about this space, I love the room. It’s simple, elegant and clean, the original flooring and windows are beautiful and add that sense of history that most Vancouver restaurants try to capture.
But I never know what sort of evening it’s going to be when at the very beginning of the evening, our server drops 2 full kir royales over me, my companion and our table. Granted, he was apologetic, but really not as much as he should have been.
I really wanted to like the food, the fresh bread was delicious, but an olive oil and balsamic dip just let it down, especially when the olive oil was low quality, tasteless, bland and unappetizing. Butter would have improved it significantly, especially with the price point of the dishes. The dip just seemed very casual dining /​chain restaurant.
The grilled Humboldt squid was passable, maybe just a little too chewy with an overpowering aioli, but saved by a spicy chorizo to pull it together.
The seasonal vegetables served with the mains proved a little controversial, when asparagus was deemed to be a suitable «seasonal» vegetable in November, but serve it they did and although we asked for no asparagus, our mains turned up with it all the same. The free range chicken was delicious, moist and succulent, but the pommes purée were a tad oversalted.
Tastes from my fellow diners’ plates held promise, the duck risotto was good, as was the pan seared halibut.
I think there’s a lot of promise and we did enjoy ourselves, although the service was a little hit and miss. Our waiter seemed a little too cocky for this space, and although I’l admit we were a tough crowd, seemed put out and not overly helpful. Maybe it’s a question of them still trying to find their feet, and I hope they do.
Will I come back? Sure, but it won’t be for a special occassion again.

Went into the lounge for a beer, bite and the Canucks game, the blasting house music and partying staff made me cringe, the food grilled squid and wings was ahh not so good, the HD TVs very good (except if you sit on one side of the room the TV across the room has a light fixture hanging in front of it, will I go back for a game or two this winter??? My friend with me said «it won’t last!!!»

Came for Friday lunch on the patio in late August. Maybe it was an off day but service was atrocious, food was just OK and I was really not impressed. It took over 20 min of sitting with menus closed for them to take our orders even though there were 3 wait staff and only 4 other parties in the whole restaurant. We had to ask repeatedly for glasses, water, utensils and the cheque.
Had the cioppino which was OK. 2 large prawns and 1 gargantuan scallop. I know it’s not supposed to be the best of the catch but some cuts of fish really should have been thrown out and the broth was just lukewarm when served.
Others in my party had the mushroom risotto. Crunchy risotto, not classically prepared. She didn’t like this dish at all. Mozzarella and tomato sandwich. No complaints but it’s pretty hard to mess this one up. Mushroom ravioli. The best dish at this visit. Creamy sauce, creamy filling and fresh pasta.
I figure we would have been better off if we had sat inside but with so many other downtown spots, I’ll leave this place to the tourists. Will not be back.

With a party of 8 at 7pm on Sunday evening, McLeans was our only option, but we were very pleasantly surprised by the service, wine, and menu. I had the cioppino, duck confit salad, and malbec which were all amazzinggg. There weren’t too many people there since it just opened and it is pretty pricey, but I expect that to change rapidly.

Goodbye Social. Hello McLean’s!
Of course I had to try this out as soon as it opened. Just earlier in the week, McLean’s was a broken down restaurant, but by the time I popped in for some late night drinks and appies, it transformed into a modern and classy resto-​lounge.
With warmer weather making an appearance in Vancouver, the patio that reaches out onto Water Street makes a perfect place to hang out on a warm day, while observing the interesting and quirky people roaming the street.
The décor was elegant and classy — glass lights, white tablecloths, round vases with white roses and candle light. Picture it. But there was also a modern twist — step into the lounge area and you’ll find luscious chairs to park your tooshie or head downstairs to more intimate seating or their luxurious round booth decorated with white roses, a mirrored tray and Mally Jackson pillows.
The Albacore Tuna Tartar was flavorful and delicious. Perfect with the thin, crispy seaweed chips it came with. To drink? BEET mojito. Take your pick — yellow or red. Tasted like a refreshing mojita with a faint hint of beet flavor.
I’d say prices are pretty standard for a restaurant of the same caliber as McLean’s. Appies go for about $ 9 – 12 and entrees $ 20 – 30. My mojito was $ 8.
I’ll be back to eat up the rest of your menu, McLean’s.