Curiously Carmen

Olympia Pizza

Originally, Cola, the fiance and I had plans to go to Pho Tan but while we were in this area, Cola saw Greek food and started to crave it so we came to Olympia Pizza instead. This area of West Broadway is also known as Greektown!

Personally, I love these types of family run, Greek-Italian restaurants that have been around for decades. Olympia Pizza has been around for a long time but renovated the inside so it was modern and nice. I really liked the decor in here, with the old family photos on the walls and the tiled floors.

While writing this review, I also found out there is a location on Denman Street, and an express shop on Granville Street.

Sagnaki: Cola has tried this in the past and enjoyed it, so we ordered it here. Sagnaki is a big piece of pan fried cheese, served with freshly squeezed lemon juice on top. I’m not sure how they pan fry the cheese to perfection but this was good. The outside was crispy while the inside was cheesy and stringy.

Chicken souvlaki: The chicken souvlaki here was delicious and did not disappoint. The chicken skewers were grilled perfectly and full of flavour. 

The vegetables in the Greek salad were fresh and crunchy. The rice pilaf and potatoes were tasty as well.

Lamb souvlaki: Cola ordered a lamb souvlaki. She had no complaints about her souvlaki either.

Meat lovers pizza: The fiance decided to go the Italian route and ordered a pizza instead. I had a bite and found it to be underwhelming. There is definitely better pizza elsewhere. However, the fiance liked it.

Overall, we had a good meal at Olympia Pizza! The service was friendly too. If you’re craving Greek food and in the area, I would recommend coming here. 

Olympia Pizza Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Salty’s Lobster Shack

I’ve heard of Salty’s Lobster for awhile now and have been a bit interested to try it. However, it seems like reviews were pretty mixed so I was hesitant. When Takoyaki told me she loved it, I took it as a good sign because I trust her taste buds! The fiance and I placed a delivery order a few days later.

Salty’s Lobster is a food truck, going to many locations throughout Greater Vancouver. They must have a permanent cart location somewhere near us though, because I always see them on UberEats.

Lobster bisque: The lobster bisque is usually sold as a BOGO on UberEats. I’ve seen this deal for many months now. This is one of their most popular items so we decided to try it.

The lobster bisque was ok. I would describe it more as a carrot and tomato puree soup with a couple pieces of lobster. I could see why there are mixed reviews on Salty’s if people only ordered this. The fiance and I both agreed that without a BOGO, this definitely wouldn’t be worth the price! Even with the BOGO, we probably wouldn’t order it again.

Lobster Mac and cheese: This was so delicious! We both enjoyed the mac and cheese so much, and it made up for the mediocre lobster bisque.

The cheese that they used had a sharper taste and was sooo cheesy. The addition of dill elevated the dish even more! *chef’s kiss* There was more lobster in here than the bisque too. If I am craving a solid mac and cheese, I am definitely ordering from here.

Overall, we enjoyed our meal from Salty’s Lobster. We wouldn’t get the BOGO lobster again, but would definitely get the mac and cheese, plus try the other menu items.

Salty’s Lobster Shack Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

The Poke Guy

We have been enjoying our poke bowls lately! It started with ordering delivery a few times from Pacific Poke. As we know how smartphones track our every move, I received a BOGO coupon for The Poke Guy shortly afterwards. This was definitely not a coincidence, we are all being watched Black Mirror style! But I guess I got a free poke bowl from it this time?? Lol!

The Poke Guy is located in downtown, by West Hastings and Richards Street. I’ve been here many years ago briefly, when one of my friends was working here. I didn’t write a review that time but I remembered the poke was good.

The Poke Guy can be slightly easy to miss. You have to walk a few steps down to go inside. Currently due to COVID, they are operating by take out only but they used to have some small tables. They have a menu of their signature poke bowls, or you can create your own bowl.

Aloha bowl: The aloha bowl was a smaller version of their regular poke bowls, and was available as a spring special. I thought it was a pretty good snack size, or if you have a small appetite, this would suffice for a meal. With the aloha bowl, you can choose between the Ahi tuna or Atlantic salmon, and a base of sushi rice or brown rice. The toppings include salad, pineapple, cucumber, tomato, green onions, sesame dressing, fried onions, and furikake flakes.

For myself, I went with the Atlantic salmon and brown rice. This was so delicious. The salmon was fresh and marinated well. The sesame dressing was creamy, and the fried onions and furikake flakes elevated the poke bowl even more. Everything went well together and I would definitely get this again.

Aloha bowl: The fiance went with the Ahi tuna and sushi rice. He enjoyed his bowl as much as I did, if not even more! The tuna was really fresh and also marinated well. Apart from the tuna, he also noted that the fried onions and furikake flakes made the poke bowl taste so much better. Two simple toppings, but delicious!

Prior to The Poke Guy, we primarily ordered from Pacific Poke or made our own poke bowls. After having The Poke Guy, I actually prefer it more than Pacific Poke (although Pacific Poke isn’t bad either). I found that the poke has more marinade here and is more saucy, plus the fried onions go so well with it! We will definitely be back when we are in the area.

The Poke Guy Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Harbour Oyster Bar

I have been on a bit of a raw oyster kick lately! I have always enjoyed oysters but have cautiously enjoyed them because of the higher risk with food poisoning and getting vibrio. However, it seemed like I just threw caution to the wind this year and have been a few times already, more than the past few years combined!

It started with Ebisu, then Atlas, and now Harbour Oyster Bar. I also have some plans to try out some other oyster bars this summer.

Harbour Oyster Bar is located along Commercial drive, right next to Marcello’s and across from Famoso.

Harbour Oyster Bar is a pretty small restaurant, with a few tables inside and a bar. I am not sure if the patio was opened due to COVID restrictions or if they normally have a patio on the street.

We went when the indoor dining restriction was still in place, and the restaurant wasn’t accepting reservations on their patio but said we could give them a call 30 mins before we arrive to reserve our seat.

Raw oysters: The star of the show! The happy hour oysters are $1.50 from 11-5pm, a pretty good deal if you are wanting to come during lunch. The oysters were fresh and tasty, with no complaints about them. Very satifsying!

Fried oysters: The fried oysters were also on the happy hour menu and came with 4 per order. They were served deep fried fresh and very crunchy. It was a fun option if you don’t like raw oysters, or wanted them cooked.

Garlic prawns: The garlic prawns were also on the happy hour menu. They seemed pretty lackluster and not what I was expecting. They were also pretty expensive for the price, so I would recommend getting the oysters instead. Currently in 2021, the happy hour price was $12 and original price is $16, which is not worth it for 5 pieces of prawn.

Overall, the oysters were delicious and the service was really friendly. It is a decent choice for oysters in the Commercial Drive area, and if you don’t want to go downtown for your oyster fix. I will definitely be back for happy hour.

Harbour Oyster Bar Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Nightingale

This review is a long time coming! I have been wanting to try Nightingale for maybe about 1.5 years or more now. We wanted to go last year for a couple special occasions, but COVID said no! Fast forward to now, we decided to settle with patio dining because who knows when restaurants will open again?

This is the entrance to the restaurant during normal times. The restaurant is located in downtown on West Hastings. Nightingale is the sister restaurant to Hawksworth, Nightingale is considered the “casual” equivalent but there is nothing casual about it to me (maybe the addition of the pizzas?? Or I’m just not fancy enough and think this would be considered fancy dining lol).

There was a storm that day so it was a pretty bad day to go, but we were determined to try it. Prior to going, I saw that the patio was open rain or shine, and had rain protection and heat lamps so we thought it would be fine. Rain will not stop us for a special occasion and since we’ve been wanting to come here for so long!

We didn’t realize that the patio to Nightingale wasn’t actually connected to the restaurant. Next to the restaurant, there is an office building, and then a courtyard. The patio was set up on the courtyard so servers had to walk past the office building to get there. We felt pretty bad for these servers going back and forth in the pouring rain and left a nice, big tip!

Ceviche: It’s been awhile since I had ceviche, and it’s not something we normally order but the fiance wanted to try it. At first glance, the ceviche looked different from what we were used to so I was a bit worried we wouldn’t enjoy it. Turns out, it was absolutely delicious.

The ceviche came with halibut, jicama, avocado, and a side of crispy plantain chips. The ceviche tasted extremely fresh and had a lot of fresh halibut inside. There was a strong fresh lime flavour, which was refreshing. The crispy plantain chips were great too, and reminded me of those Chinese shrimp chips you get with duck except the plantain chips were thinner.

Pizza: The pizzas don’t have a name, but we ordered the one with roasted mushroom, fontina, confit garlic, arugula pesto. They have a decent pizza selection for a restaurant that doesn’t specialize in pizza.

The pizza dough and crust was delicious. Slightly chewy and lightly charred, it was my favourite part of the pizza. I wish the toppings were spread out more evenly instead of being dollops on the pizza, so that we could have all the toppings on each bite. There was a bit too much garlic for my liking but overall, the pizza was still really delicious.

Spaghetti: When I saw this on the menu before we went, I knew I had to try this! There wasn’t a name for the spaghetti as well, but this was the one with manila clam, jalapeno, scallion, and white wine. The clams was what sold me, I love a good seafood pasta.

The spaghetti did not disappoint! It came with a simple garlic with some cheese (probably also some kind of dairy sauce in there too). Due to the clams, the sauce had a nice seafood flavour too. The fiance noted how generous they were with the clams, and he was right. The plate came with so many clams, and they were big, juicy and flavourful.

Despite the storm, we really enjoyed the food at Nightingale and it did not disappoint. Unfortunately, we couldn’t sit in the dining room where the ambiance was better, but we wouldn’t mind coming back here again.

Nightingale Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato