How had I not visited Olive and Anchor before now?
It’s not like the place is a closely guarded secret. On my recent visit with my family there was a waitlist for a table. The traffic gave the room, with its massive front patio doors open onto the harbour, the vibe of an L.A. hotspot, filled with lots of tanned, sartorially inclined guests sipping white wine in the summer breeze.
Maybe it’s because I was still operating under the outdated notion that unless you’re a local, Horseshoe Bay is a functional place, a coffee stopover on the passage to and from B.C. Ferries sailings. It’s a silly, lingering misconception given my fondness for resident Butter Lane’s excellent tea service and the fun, contemporary pub vibe of neighbour Troller Ale House.
Nevertheless, I had my first Olive and Anchor experience after work on a weeknight with my family and am now going to be among the many devotees of the restaurant. The food is a fresh and bright collection of casual dining favourites, from cod and chips to burgers and tacos, as well as heartier fare like Slow Braised Beef Short Ribs with Truffle Potato Gnocchi or B.C. Ling Cod with Yukon Gold and Bacon Hash.
The menu is lightly studded with Korean influences, including Beef Bibimbap, a striking and popular dish of gogi beef (thinly sliced, marinated and grilled), fried egg, brown rice, cucumber sunomono, zucchini, bean sprouts, and Gochujang (fermented chilli and bean paste), all served in a searing hot stone bowl.
Arriving via bus ahead of the rest of my group, my heart sank to find Olive and Anchor positively teeming with people, suggesting a long wait ahead for a table. However, the hostess worked some seating magic and secured me a table at which to wait for my family to arrive.
In light of this accommodation, I feel compelled to offer a PSA on behalf of restaurants everywhere: occupying a larger capacity table in a hopping place on the promise of imminently arriving dining partners is seriously obnoxious. It leaves the front-of-house team to explain to other, full parties that there is no space available for them (despite several obviously empty seats at your table) and can back up the turnover that restaurants require to make the most of a busy evening.
That said, I was assured on this occasion that it was fine to sit on my own at a table for five and so proceeded with a clear conscience, ordering a pint of Phillips Analog 78 kolsch and half a dozen oysters on the half shell while I waited.
The oysters, described to me as a local beach variety not dissimilar to kusshi, were exceptionally fresh and simply accompanied by hot sauce, cocktail sauce, lemon and freshly grated horseradish. The light and clean kolsch paired well. I was joined by the rest of my family just as I tucked into my final bivalve and we ordered a varied selection of dishes from the menu.
I was surprised to see almost no vegetarian selections on the menu.
This oversight forms the crux of my only real criticism of an otherwise rock solid meal. As an omnivore who has cooked for a vegetarian spouse for more than 15 years, I am of the opinion that it doesn’t take much to develop a few tasty vegetarian options, particularly in summer when fresh local produce is at its apex, and increasingly I find that these selections prove to be among the more creative issuing from kitchens as they require unique combinations of ingredients to yield good depth of flavour.
In any event, the kids and I kicked off the meal with an order of juicy, crispy, nicely seasoned Korean Chicken Wings that featured a sweet and spicy glaze with crushed cashews and toasted sesame seeds. A second appetizer of Fried Calamari was similarly satisfying and a cut above the usual iterations of this dish with the inclusion of meaty, whole baby squids alongside tender and succulent rings of larger specimens.
From the kids’ menu my older daughter chose a simple but expertly prepared Penne Alfredo, while my youngest also went for penne, but with a fresh and child-friendly pomodoro sauce. My son, who at almost 10 years old is self-weaning from kids’ menus, chose Fish Tacos for his main, a generously portioned dish that featured two corn and wheat tortillas stuffed to capacity with light and tender morsels of battered Pacific grey cod, sliced avocado, tomato salsa, cilantro, apple cider vinegar slaw, and chipotle aioli.
The tacos were bursting with fresh, complex and complementary flavours and I had to exercise discipline in my requisite “small bite for the review.”
My wife went for the only vegetarian dish, Spring Greens with goat cheese, candied cashews, sun-dried cranberries, avocado, cherry tomato, and edamame in honey-lemon vinaigrette. It proved to be a well-conceived salad and paired well with a side of grilled focaccia with pesto and parmesan cheese.
I chose Salmon Flat Bread from the appetizer menu for a final dish and relished its novelty. This was not an oven-baked pizza, but rather a cold dish of supple, house-made flat bread topped with herbed cream cheese, mountains of cold smoked salmon, rings of purple onion and briny capers. The flatbread is a smart summertime dish, sort of like an elevated bagel with lox and cream cheese, and was good value relative to the amount of salmon, priced at $15. Appetizers range from $8 to $15, mains between $16 and $28.
Olive and Anchor is located at 6418 Bay St. in Horseshoe Bay. olivaandanchor.com 604-921-8848
Chris Dagenais served as a manager for several restaurants downtown and on the North Shore. A self-described wine fanatic, he earned his sommelier diploma in 2001. He can be reached via email at [email protected]. North Shore News dining reviews are conducted anonymously and all meals are paid for by the newspaper.
