Secret Location

We were here on 1÷9÷2016 and tried their 6 course meal. Per our very attentive waiter, they switch their tasting course menu once every 2 – 4 weeks and this week it was French cuisine featuring 6 different sauces.
Service was wonderful but it was the food that was truly amazing. Started off with some bread service and finger foods. The main courses featured fresh ingredients, and the courses came out at a good pace. As you can see below, the portions were adequate and we were very full by the end of the ~2 hour experience. My favorite was the Parisian gnocci with the grilled octopus, because I’ve only had Italian gnocci in the past, which are potato based. The pastry-​like softness and fluffiness of these gnocci makes them light on the stomach.
I think a lot of negative reviews on Trip Advisor were due to the price. 95 CAD for 6 courses of this caliber, is well worth it.
Enjoy the food porn I’ve posted.
If you are a fan of the ‘slow food’ movement, I think you owe it to yourself to give this place a try. I will probably wait another month or two before revisiting them for their next set of tasting menus.

I love this place, the décor is beautiful and comfortable at the same time. The service was amazing. We went there for lunch and were so impressed by the food, we made a reservation for dinner that night. I highly recommend the Tasting Menu with wine pairing. Each dish was unique and delicious –each presented beautifully.

Should keep this one hidden like a secret. I had the lobster hash. My eggs were grossly under cooked. The hollandaise was tasteless as was the cold lobster. I was so underwhelmed. I paid $ 28 for a brunch that felt like $ 5. The service was ok. Nothing to write about. And I no longer wonder why when I pass by that there a lot of empty tables.

Been going here for a couple of years and its had its ups and downs. It was amazing when it first opened and then had a few missteps.
We returned for Mother’s Day and were shocked. It is far better than it ever was. Everything was flawless. The service was impeccable the food was actually perfect. The interior is always the showpiece, but the food did not lurk behind the shadows.
Stellar meal. They were also super accommodating to our 6-​month old baby. This is not a restaurant you take an infant to for dinner or lunch, but brunch I feel is fair game.

Always enjoyed the brunch at the secret — what a special place to be with someone you love. I had the lobster breakfast and he had the hash both delicious. After breakfast, we head next door to their boutique for some exclusive brand shopping.
You need to check it out yourself to see how exquisite this place is.

Cronuts in Vancouver! Cute boutique concept, decent food.
The Secret Location is a great place to grab a bite with your girlfriends. It’s a beautifully decorated restaurant, with a good assortment of original drinks, desserts, and light meals.
What I really like about the Secret Location is the boutique concept. The service was pretty good. There was a small plate of complimentary sweets provided when I came for brunch, and the kitchen was flexible with dietary restrictions. The food was decent, good flavours, and light. Not a must-​try, but overall satisfactory. Oh, and the cronut’s were not bad either!
What I recommend: (Brunch) Smoked Salmon, Cronut.

had a private tour of the clothing store and it was one of the highlights of the trip. The «tour guide» was knowledgeable and informative and gave the background on each piece. She was friendly and you can tell enjoyed her job. I wish that I could afford a little more in the store! High end!

So we dropped by for brunch Jan 10^th.
We had the Lobster Hash and the short rib with salad. Food was exceptional. Service was attentive. coffee was really nice. Dining room was elegant…- little too fru-​fru for me but it was well appointed clean and luxurious.
So why 3.5? The hipster waiter was painfully smelly. Sorry pal but your B.O. was truly dreadful business and that was unfortunate and injured what should have been a 5 star review.
You can get it all right but if the waiter smells like rank armpits than… it’s all for not.
:(

Fantastic experience. Unlike any other vancouver restaurant. You choose a 5 or 10 course meal let the chef know likes or dislikes and he prepares the dishes from fresh local produce. We had sable fish bison reindeer and it was all fantastic.

Took my wife (and brother-​in-​law) to Secret Location for her birthday. We LOVE tasting menus and were super excited to give Secret Location a try.
Pretty much from the moment we got there, the evening was perfect. The whole staff had signed a cute birthday card for my wife, which was a sweet touch. The seating was very comfortable (important when you’re settling in for the long haul) and while they played some fun tunes, it was easy to have a conversation.
We came for the ten course tasting menu and because my wife and brother-​in-​law are huge cocktail nerds, they requested a cocktail pairing instead of wine (10 courses, five cocktails). The folks at the bar blew us away with their off-​the-​cuff and generally spot-​on accompaniments to the food.
The tasting menu changes constantly, so I don’t want to get you all lathered up about a dish that you might not get to try. But they had us from the smoked beet with dill crème fraîche amuse-​bouche (seriously…I nearly cried it was so good) to the special birthday petit fours and cappucinos at the end of the meal. The service was excellent — the staff were very professional but approachable and seemed happy to answer all of our questions, even as we grew increasingly loaded. Winning!
It’s definitely the best tasting menu we’ve had in Vancouver — eclectic, imaginative and delicious. Worth every penny. We can’t wait to go back!

I have bookmarked Secret Location over a year. Some of the reviews are not encourage and persuasive, therefore, it took me so long to visit it.
I took my good friend there for her birthday dinner. When we arrived, there were 2 gentlemen and 1 hostess at front desk. The manger took us to the dining room and we’re shocked coz we’re ONLY customer! Seriously, sunny Saturday evening (6ish), they have NO other customer?
We got seated right beside the window and looked around the dining room. The contemporary and cyber décor so cool! Chandeliers and designer furniture are extraordinary.
We had 5-​course menu that made us so impressed! The wine pairing were a bit too much to us!
Amuse — It’s so tiny but refresh.
Beet and cheese salad — Simple salad dish but the quality of ingredients was so fresh.
Smoked salmon with cucumbers — Smoked salmon tasted great and Mexican sour gherkins so crispy. The dish presented beautifully.
Sturgeon fish — We could smell it when the server put it down the grilled sturgeon fish on cherry wood. The portion was a bit small but delicious.
Bison ribeye — it was juicy but the potato was marvelous! It’s so tasty and crunchy.
The very berries — Fresh berries with ganache chocolate cake was terrific.
Secret location absolutely is the place to celebrate any special occasion and make you feel like being classy!

We drove past a seemingly unknown corner location in Gastown and I caught a glimpse of an all white posh dining interior and I immediately shouted «I want to eat there!!!». Unbeknownst to me, that was where we were going =). The Secret Location is such an interesting concept. Or rather peculiar. A high end boutique next door that can be visited by (strictly) appointments only and a creative gastronomy restaurant.
The Secret Location doesn’t offer «regular menu». Instead you pick a ten course, a five course or a three course evening tasting menu. With the three course experiment you get to choose one small, big and a sweet dish from presented options for $ 70. The five course and ten course are selected by the chef. All dinner meals include wine and cocktail pairing. We opted for the five course dinner.
To start, we were served complimentary Manchego puff and a lobster roll sitting on rice aioli and cracker. Dishes varied from sublime sturgeon marrow with fiji apple, peppers from the Amazon and Hens of the woods mushroom with chestnut soil to a tender Baby elk as a main course. Strange but effective. Most of these dishes tasted so brand new to my palate. We finished the evening with an amazing Guava tea ganache dessert.
I’m a tad disappointed as we didn’t get foie gras during our tasting dinner. Although more disappointed that we could’ve told them what looked interesting from the menu. I told them no vodka based cocktails and most of our drinks were amazing!
Chef Alvarez greeted diners at the table a few times and I thought that added a nice touch to an intimate dinner. Servers were all so kind in explaining everything thoroughly. Such a unique experience with such provoking pieces! Purely art on the table. Well done chef!

Lobster hash definitely came as advertised, would recommend any decent foodie to try it out.
Too bad the gnocchi not served on weekend brunch.

Tried this restaurant for brunch, lunch and dinner. Love it, love it, love it!!! Excellent food, very reasonable prices, friendly unpretentious service, and of course BEAUTIFUL ambience.
Strongly recommend the lobster hash and double baked almond croissants for brunch. Soo good!!!
We had the 5 — course tasting menu for dinner. They first served 2 course snacks to start with. So, the whole dinner felt almost like a 7 — course meal. Each course was paired with drinks. It was amazing! It felt like we were dining at a Michelin-​starred restaurant, at a fraction of a cost. This 5 — course meal with all those drinks was only $ 95 pp!
I found some reviews here to be extremely unfair. The boutique is completely separate from the restaurant and it has nothing to do with the amazing food that this restaurant has to offer.
Last but not least, don’t get intimidated by its very sleek décor. Staff is very friendly, and really, it is not that expensive. Even on Commercial Dr, brunch dishes are $ 13 – 14 and up. The lobster dish that I mentioned above is $ 17 only.
Bön appetit!

Boy am I impressed!
I actually work in the gastown area and I pass by this store/​restaurant a lot so I’ve always been intrigued by the unique furniture and layout of the interior. When I looked it up, I found out that this restaurant bakes the world famous hybrid pastries, kronuts! Of course they wouldn’t be the same as the authentic ones sold in New York, but from my research, the ones sold at Secret Location are almost as good!
Anyways, I went for brunch and the prices were very high, but not as high as Hawksworth or Miku. The menu was very interesting and the majority of their brunch items were $ 15-​$ 17. We ordered the perfect egg, eggs of the day and the lobster hash. I honestly have to say that the lobster hash was perfect in every way, especially with the quantity and quality of lobster that I had received.
I normally eat lobster cooked Chinese style, with lots of garlic and onions so I’m used to lobster with lots of flavour. Secret Location’s lobster on the other hand was very plain but at the same time, extremely sweet and juicy! I was surprised at how the natural flavours of the lobster were so delicious and blended in perfectly with the runny egg and hash! Also, the eggs in my dish and in the perfect egg dish were cooked in a very unique way. I cannot describe it in culinary terms but basically, the entire egg (including the white) was translucent but it wasn’t exactly raw enough to make me feel uncomfortable. When I poked the egg, the yolk was very yellow but wasn’t very runny; it sort of just slowly flowed out like lava!
Anyways, the main star of the show was the Kronut! The waiter explained to us that they only had 4 Kronuts per BATCH and each batch took 90 minutes to make. I believe he mentioned that they only bake one batch of kronuts for brunch so I’m not exactly sure if that’s once a week or once on Saturday and once on Sunday. This week’s Kronut was filled with expresso infused ganache, which complemented the sweet and flaky croissant like pastry perfectly. I enjoyed it so much that I ended up ordering one to go and one of their cream puffs!
Also, I want to mention that it seemed like last year, they had a problem with their staff being too pretentious and unfriendly but it seems like they have hired new staff who are very knowledgeable and welcoming! I actually walked into the the restaurant today in flip flops, shorts and a tee shirt and the hostess and waiters were very friendly. The waiter even provided a complementary starter (raspberry timbit like things), an extra financier even though I didn’t order an espresso drink, and a very fancy box and bag to take home with my Kronut! Service was excellent and I do wish to come back someday to try their dinner menu and desserts.
PS. I forgot to mention that my lobster hash dish came with brussel sprouts leaves, which I normally hate because of the bitterness but for some reason, I loved them with my hash! :) Oh and this was a special brunch for me because I passed probation at work. I feel that $ 25+ for brunch is a bit too expensive for me but it’s nice to indulge once in a while!

The Secret Location that isn’t so secretive after all. This place is practically see-​through with floor-​to-​ceiling glass windows. Just in case the glass windows didn’t catch your eye, the bright, aqua blue awning sure will! The décor and open layout was certainly ironic!
The cocktail menu is supposedly something special. We browsed the menu and unfortunately, nothing stood out. It probably didn’t help that the bartender also had a miserable look on his face.
Since my last visit, they seem to have switched to an «all tasting menu» type of service. I was there for one of their tasting menus on Valentine’s Day. Normally, I hate surprises when it comes to food. But, friends thought it might be an interesting idea.
Be warned: the tasting menus do not come cheap. You’ll be looking to spend a pretty dollar on these fancy, little menus.
Our waiter was very enthusiastic. He gave us a very detailed introduction to each dish. At times, we thought it was overkill — especially when we didn’t have much of it to taste anyway. Mind you, some of the dishes are quite tiny. The main course dishes were much better portioned and the detailed introductions were, perhaps, less irrelevant. The wine pairings were OK. Then again, wine is subjective.
Does this place spell «class»? No. It was actually quite «hipster» in my opinion.
Overall, we had a nice time in each other’s company. The dining experience was, indeed… interesting. We won’t forget about this place completely, but it doesn’t make our to-​go list either.

SUCH a cute location! their drinks are super cute (and tasty) and their lobster hash… oh man. words cannot even describe it. this place is a bit pricy, but i was definitely pleased at how many big, juicy pieces of lobster there were in my dish, so for $ 17 i thought it was absolutely worth it.
next time i come back here, i’m definitely wearing a huge sun hat and long, white gloves, just so i fit in with the vibe more. i seriously cannot get over how cute and delicious this place is.

Love the décor. Everything in white. Comfortable seating.
Went for dessert. Utterly disappointed. We tried three kinds and all of them, disappointing. Flavours were not cohesive, presentation was boring, and the kicker was that they were expensive! They all ranged from $ 11 to $ 15. I don’t mind paying if flavours are outstanding or mind-​blowing. The chef tries to make it creative with flavours like curried pistachios and tapioca but the end result did not work at all. I’m not craving to return even though the décor is lovely. I barely finished my dessert and I’m typically in love with desserts! Waiter never asked how it was either :(

As a lot of Unilocalers have already mentioned, Secret Location sticks out like a sore thumb in the vibrant hipster Gastown. In contrast to the grungy feeling of practically everywhere else in this area, the interior of SL is ridiculously minimalistic and… white. It’s really really white. Don’t get me wrong though, I enjoy the décor and it makes dining here much more unique.
My gf and I originally came here to try their latest offering, the cronut, but they apparently served brunch till 3pm so we decided to have some actual food as well. Some people have mentioned that dining here can seem pretentious, but the brunch service was really good. It was fairly empty at around 1:30pm — the servers were all very good and the food was excellent.
I haven’t had the opportunity to try out the original cronut or the first local copycat, the frissant. Tasting SL’s cronut, I could tell what the buzz is about! If it’s even half as good as the original or the frissant, I’d be buying dozens of these a day! SL’s cronut was really crispy and flaky; it really resembled a combination of croissant and donut. Currently they only make about 10 a day, but the server told us that they plan to ramp that up as more people hear about it.
I also had the Perfect Egg — it was probably the best poached egg I’ve ever had. It was poached beyond perfectly (at least for me). The runny yolk as poached until just before solidifying, so the yolk was runny but not watery. The crumpet that came with it was a tad disappointing, but it soaked up the egg yolk pretty well. The smoked salmon was awesome too!
My gf had the quiche, which is a seasonal selection. Ours was a mixed mushroom quiche — here’s a tip, order the quiche! It was one of the best we’ve ever had. The crush was like a flaky pastry; flaky and light but still solid. Almost like a really good pie. The quiche itself was amazing too.
Also, go take a look at the bar — especially if it’s not too bright out — because it glows! When you’re done eating, stroll through side to their boutique shop as well. Really neat gift items, clothing, and accessories.

This is another place in Gastown which is rather over-​rated perhaps because of the décor. From the outside it looks so clean and neat that you’d think a glass of water would cost you an arm and a leg but we were proved wrong.
Our server greeted us very warmly which was not what I was expecting and sat us at a corner table giving us the best view of the Gassy Jack square, if you can call it that.
The furniture is great, that’s if you like Italian modern chic. It can be too much if that’s not your cup of tea. The fireplace is filled with LCD that simulate a burning fire. Our table was a mirror with small tiny black flowers everywhere, almost taking you away to dining at a fancy place along the French Riviera.
I asked the server for a recommendation for a cocktail as they all looked amazing and was pleasantly delighted with Queen’s Tea Cup. This was a great pick-​me-​up cocktail on a rainy evening.
We started off with Oyster’s from Fanny Bay which just taste out of this world. For my main the Arctic Char was cooked to perfection and the Fennel sauce was a great companion. My friend ordered the mushroom risotto, which was creamy and tasted amazing.
The portion sizes although small were quite filling, and I’ll be coming back again for more delicious goodness.