Manhattan Restaurant - Appetizer Review

Restaurant: Manhattan Restaurant – Appetizer Review

Cuisine: American/Regional/West Coast
Last visited: December 16, 09
Area: Vancouver, BC (Waterfront/Downtown)
550 West Hastings Street
Price Range: $10-20

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 3 (for appetizers only)
Service: 3
Ambiance: 1.5 (for a hotel)
Overall: 3

Additional comments:

• Serves traditional soups, sandwiches, pastas, entrees
• Located on 2nd floor of Delta Inn Hotel
• Large windows, but not much view
• Good for business lunch meetings
• Old-fashioned hotel restaurant
• Cozy mom and pop type seating area
• Fresh sheet available (3 course dinner)
• All day dining: breakfast, lunch, dinner
• Dessert menu

**Recommendation: Local Mussels and if available request the creamy leek and potato won tons (it’s supposed to be served as a side with their special)

I’ve been to Manhattan Restaurant at the Delta Inn Hotel & Suites to try their Big Apple Split dessert. This time I came for dinner and ordered their appetizers as well as some entrees (which I will be posting about tomorrow).

There are 2 restaurants in the Delta Inn Hotel & Suites: The Manhattan Restaurant (upstairs) and Spencer’s Lounge in the lobby. Both serve the same food and basically use the same menu. The appetizer platter is offered on the menu at Spencer’s Lounge and it allows you to select 3 appetizers from their list of 6. However I was having dinner at The Manhattan Restaurant and the appetizer platter is not an option on their menu so I had to request it. I actually ended up ordering 4 appetizers and paid a little extra because I wanted to try their creamy leek and potato won tons that were served as a side to the chicken en-sous-vide entrée special of the day. It was totally worth it because it was the best thing on the platter.

Manhattan recently changed their menu, but most of their appetizers were typical appetizers served at most chain restaurants. I was a bit confused because they would have two gourmet “hotel-style” appetizers and then everything else was basically sports bar appetizers.

To see my Manhattan Restaurant dinner review

To see my Manhattan Restaurant dessert review

On the table:

Appetizer Sampler Platter 3/6

• Choice of 3 appetizers for $18 (in my case 4, for a little extra)

• **Local mussels 3.5/6
• Green curry sauce, grilled toast points $13 (a la carte)

• At first glace the mussels looked the most promising on the menu and after talking with the waiter he also said those were the best choice. I would pretty much agree with him

• The mussels were the highlight of this dish. I’ve had better curry mussels at other restaurants, but the mussels themselves were really good here. They import them fresh from the Salt Springs throughout the week. They’re medium sized and really plump and juicy. I didn’t enjoy the sauce as much as I just enjoyed the freshness of the mussels.

• The curry sauce was definitely spicy, and I like spicy, but it wasn't very sweet or well rounded. It wasn't thickened with any dairy or coconut milk so it was on the thinner side. It had some fresh ginger, but it was basically just spicy almost to the point where you could taste a little bitterness.
• Crab cakes 3/6
• Small salad, thousand island dip $13 (a la carte)

• Since we customized the platter, we only got one mini crab cake cut in half. They should have at least given at least two I think. They’re pretty small. Just reading it I was really disappointed to read thousand island dip. It just sounded so old-fashioned and boring. I didn't even end up using the sauce. I was very surprised with how much crab they used. There wasn't that much filler and they were a tad spicy and lightly battered. They were good though.
• Popcorn Prawns 1.5/6
• Corn relish $13 (a la carte)

• I totally wasn't expecting these at all. I though it was almost going to be like popcorn shrimp. It was basically prawns with a very heavy and thick coating of corn bread and then deep fried until golden brown. The corn relish was pretty much frozen corn kernels and plum sauce mixed together. I wasn't a fan of this sauce.
• They were huge and 3/4 of it was corn bread. I had to eat so much corn bread before I hit the prawn. The corn bread wasn't that good either, it was too dense and dry. I couldn't taste any cornmeal in it. I almost felt like I was eating a corn dog, they were really filling. It felt like something they should serve at a barbeque place or Southern country diner/pub. It was an appetizer that would go good with a cold beer.
• On the upside the shrimp itself was fresh, tender and flavorful.

• 

• **Creamy Leek and Potato Won Tons 5/6

• This was actually the side that was to be served with the special chicken entrée of the day. I didn't want to order the entree, but I really wanted to try these won tons. I'm SO glad I got to try them because they were delicious! I would consider going back just for these.
• It was the creamy leeks they use in the sable fish entrée (which was the best part of that dish) mixed with creamy mashed potatoes wrapped in won ton wrappers and deep fried until golden brown. I actually forgot they used won ton wrappers because it was so thin and crispy it tasted like sheets of filo pastry. Which make me think how great they would be if they used these instead? They were nice and crispy and then had this creamy, soft, salty and flavourful filling on the inside.

• To see my Manhattan dessert review