21 Nautical Miles is a new seafood restaurant in Yaletown. They are best know for their Chinese-style seafood boil, drinks and different types of appetizers.
They are right across from other popular seafood restaurant – Rodney’s. Their menu is quite different.
I was invited by Chinesebites to try a few of their signature items. I was pretty excited since I was going to come visit soon. I love a good seafood boil and the Chinese-style of it really intrigued me.
Interior
The interior is pretty neat. Mostly white with access of colours. I kinda liked it and there are a lot of seats inside for small to large groups.
They also have a second floor
Drinks
They have large beer dispensers and we were surprised they had Innis & Gunn on tap. A good drink to have with their seafood boil.
Seafood Party
To get ready for the Seafood Party, you are give a bib, gloves, chopping board, mallet, utensils and gloves. A good way to stay clean when devouring all the seafood in front of you.
There are 3 sauces to choose from:
- black pepper
- spicy
- garlic butter
These 3 sauces put a twist to the traditional seafood boil most commonly found in the states.
It costs $38.95 per person, but you need a minimum order of 2 people.
The seafood is thrown on the tables, so it is a free for all for those sitting at the table.
Inside the seafood party is crab, prawns,clams, mussels, corn, and potatoes.
The garlic butter was my favourite sauce as it wasn’t too messy to hold the seafood and didn’t overpower the natural sweet taste of the food.
The black pepper was more saucy that the other ones so, you’ll definitely get this all over your hands. Half way through, I had to ditch my gloves so I could get a better handle of the seafood.
The spicy sauce wasn’t bad but it did have spicy Szechuan notes to it.
You really get down and dirty with the meal, good thing there are bigs to shield you from the debris.
You definitely don’t want to be eating this and wearing something expensive.
Appetizers
Golden Fried Calamari with pepper and salt. It has a nice crunch and a good portion to share among friends. I liked it.
House Spicy Spot Prawns had a nice look to it and presentation. When I peeled off the shell, the prawns were overcooked and bland inside. A shame since spot prawns are super delicious and sweet when just boiled.
Chinese Pork Burgers was filled with flavourful pork inside the crisp bun. It was toasted well and tasted good.
Grilled Oysters with cheese is half cooked, so it was a very odd experience eating this. I think I would have preferred raw or cooked, but not half way.
Herbal Coconut Mussels was ok, but I prefer the mussels from the seafood party.The herbal coconut sauce can be soaked up with the bread to enjoy it more.
Garlic Steamed Lobster Tails was very pungent with the strong garlic taste that overpowers the lobster tail.
Abalone is cooked with a house special sauce, which reminds me of sweet prunes. I would have liked the sauce to be lighter so we could taste of the abalone.
Skewers
Lamb skewers were smother in cumin and had a fragrant flavour. It is served on metal skewers, so don’t poke your eye out.
Beef skewers were spiced with cumin too, so it was a bit hard to differentiate from the lamb.
Chicken Satay was moist and not dry at all compared to other places in town.
Pork Skewers are braised for 48 hours. Look at the delicious fatty layers, its basically pork belly.
Dessert
Mango Thousand Layer Cake is flown in from Taiwan and has the layers of crepe, whipped cream and then the mangoes in the centre. It is served with ice cream and topped with more whipped cream. It was good and a good ending to the meal.
Overall, the seafood party is a very popular and fun item to order. The other dishes were a hit and miss. They have a few kinks to work out but can’t go wrong with the seafood party.
We Rate 21 Nautical Miles: 
Address:
1257 Hamilton Street, Vancouver
Website:
http://21nauticalmiles.com/
