I met a few girlfriends for some dinner and drinks at Parq Vancouver as we wanted to check out the new casino/hotel and its restaurants. After walking around and checking out the gorgeous space, we settled on Honey Salt for the evening. Our seating was “lounge style” (a couch and chairs with a table in the center) which I sometimes find difficult for when eating a meal. Nevertheless, we made ourselves comfortable and took in the space around us. The restaurant decor is super cute, glossy and inviting. We ordered moscow mules and caesars all around and they were pretty good. For dinner, I went with the grilled maple hill chicken which is served with mac and cheese. Although it was fine, it was nothing special. I expected more for the $25.00 price tag. For dessert we all decided to share the society chocolate and banana cake. This was the highlight of my meal. It was massive! The four of us didn’t finish it (mind you, we were stuffed from our dinner). It was moist and fluffy and it wasn’t too sweet. Yum! At the end when we were ready to pay, I reminded the waitress that I would be paying for myself and the main of my friend sitting right next to me (I had told her this before we started ordering as well). My friend was still going to be paying 
for her drinks. She said that she knew and would split the meals accordingly. She passed the bill around and I glanced at it quickly. I saw an entry on there for my meal and the main of my friend so everything looked good. I passed the bill over to my friends for them to take a look. We waited for a bit for her to get the debit machine then began her rounds getting payment from our group. When she got to me I again referenced that mine was the shared bill. She put through a bill and I did think it was a little low, but I went with it as she was holding the paperwork. She ended up mixing up the bills and my friend sitting across from me ended up with the bill I was meant to pay. My friend and I worked it out separately, but it was a bit of a nuisance that after all that it still got mixed up. Overall the restaurant isn’t bad. I do see potential. Perhaps they’re still in the midst of ironing some things out as it’s still so new. I would be open to giving them a try again in the future.
Honey Salt
Years ago, a girlfriend from work and I went to a fun restaurant called the Rumpus Room. We sat on the colorful fun patio with pink flamingos and fake grass on a warm sunny day. We were instantly in love with the vibe and had a fabulous time. Sooo we were soo disappointed when we heard that they had closed their doors.
The hubster and I went over to Chinatown for a date night tonight and decided that we would check out Juke Fried Chicken. This restaurant does not take reservations. There was a bit of a crowd waiting outside which I usually take as a good sign. We were told it was about a half hour wait and the wait was exactly a half hour. We were seated in the center of the restaurant. There’s a good vibe in this restaurant. Everywhere I looked people were smiling – the staff and the patrons. The cocktails seemed to be named after songs (Juke Box?) which is an awesome conversation piece. Chris and I went through the cocktail menu seeing what songs we recognized. I ordered a “starboy” and it was very tasty. For dinner Chris ordered the fried chicken and I went with the spicy boyz, which is fried chicken drenched in 
hot sauce. Each order of fried chicken comes with a side of Asian slaw. We also ordered some fried brussels sprouts to share. The food came out to us quite quickly. Juke’s chicken is free range chicken with a gluten free batter. Ohhh ehhhm geee, this chicken is sooo good. The batter was super crunchy and the chicken was juicy. We had ordered the honey mustard and ranch dipping sauces on the suggestion of the waitress. We barely used the sauce. The chicken is great on its own. The Asian slaw was topped with peanuts. It was different from any slaw I’ve had before and it’s inspired me to add peanuts to slaws I make at home in the future. It was just delicious. The brussels sprouts were good also, but in my opinion nothing too special. I will mention that because it is a small restaurant, the seating is very close together. It almost felt like we were seated with the couple next to us as we could hear their conversation and vice versa I’m sure. There was a hip ambiance and the service was top notch. By the end of the night Chris and I were debating whether or not it was the best fried chicken we’ve ever had. I’m going to have to go with yes. We learned that Juke’s also serves brunch. I loved dinner so much that I can’t wait 
to come back and try brunch very soon.
For one of our date nights this past summer, we made our way over to try out the Holy Crab. Excited about the new-ish restaurant that opened in the area that offered “louisiana seafood boil” options, we were ready for a down and dirty seafood meal. I’ve always heard about the restaurants where they dump the seafood on the table for you to dig into, but I hadn’t seen or experienced it in downtown Vancouver before. I welcomed a new kind of dining experience happily. The restaurant offers a casual vibe and decor. I loved the chalkboard walls with instructions for de-shelling your seafood. There were throw away paper tablecloths and meals were offered in parchment paper. You’re presented with plastic gloves and for camera happy people like myself, they offer
selfie sticks to make it easier to take photos in all your messiness. We ordered beers, bisque, lobster rolls, corn and some crab legs. We thought it would be plenty (especially for the prices), but we were a bit disappointed when we received three crab legs for the very high price. We made our way through and ended up ordering lobster as we were still starving. The service was awesome, the food was delicious and it was a fun vibe that made for a great, albeit messy, date night. I wouldn’t recommend it for a first date, but it was awesome. The downside is that I didn’t think the prices matched the vibe. I found it to be too expensive for the casual atmosphere offered.
My girlfriends and I started off our girls night out at West Oak in Yaletown. I walked in to meet my friends at a dimly lit restaurant with a sexy ambience. I loved the vibe. Service was great. Our waiter was attentive, personable and witty. We never went long without our cocktails being replenished. The Rosé Sangria was refreshing and delicious. My girls and I shared the Chinois Prawns. Yum! Easily my fave dish of the night. For dinner I ordered the lobster linguine. I was pleasantly surprised. I often like to order lobster pasta, but a lot of restaurants are quite cheap with the amount of lobster they put into the dishes. This wasn’t the case at West Oak. The linguine was delicious with hefty chunks of lobster throughout the dish. Lastly, we ordered the fresh baked cookies for dessert. Prior to coming here, I kept hearing how amazing the cookies were and how I could not leave without trying them. Although we were pretty full, we ordered them. Perhaps my expectations were too high because although they were very good, I didn’t think they lived up to the hype. I’ve had better. The great food and atmosphere contributed to a fun night with great company. I will definitely be back.
