Random West End dining at Central Bistro
Since Leo’s been doing his beer blog thing, we spend our weekends searching for the perfect medium of a restaurant where he can get great beer selection and I can eat good meat-free food.
Leo’s long time friend Robert Erickson is a partner and new head chef at Central Bistro, so he got the tip on their monthly food and beer pairings. However, I did not know this before I was escorted into the restaurant, greeted firsthand by Robert, and had the first few bites of my entree, so when he asked me to do a Yelp review during our meal, you can bet I already had my impressions of Central.
The place was not what I expected. “Bistro” gave me the impression of a small, cafe-like place without much food selection. I was surprised to see a dimly lit, romantic but social, restaurant (not spacey, but not izakaya-like either) with a full bar. The menu was pretty versatile, with lots of seafood choices popping out. Very West coast.
Our table started off with the Red Truck Salt Spring Island Mussels (there are two kinds) with Pomme Frites ($15 + $3) – and I neglected to see the chorizo was there… wish the size of the mussels could have been bigger, but no other complaints. Leo ordered the Seared Qualicum Bay Scallops ($14), but sadly couldn’t eat them because there was coconut in it, so he let his mom finish it, and she said it was good.
