It was @wongers birthday and she decided to have it at the Electric Owl. The name of the place sounded very interesting, seemed more like a pub/lounge to me. Since we went there early and it was fireworks night, this place was pretty much desserted except for our large group and some other people.
They serve up items you would see at an izakaya place. This place really confused me because there were chopsticks and most items on the menu didn’t match the look of this place. Their Japanese style snacks are prepared by a Vietnamese chef in an izakaya-inspired room and a live band.
Their whole philosophy is that, like great drinks and creative food, good is always better when there’s more.
There are 2 bars, a large stage, an open dancing area in the middle and lots of seating around the restaurant. Its actually great for large birthdays where you want to have food and drinks. Usually there is nightly entertainment, so there isn’t a need to go elsewhere if you want to party.
On all the tables are the Japanese-like ceramic cups with napkins and chopsticks.
Since the menu was so Japanese, I decided a Sapporo (Pint – $5.30) was a must. Straight from the tap and it comes in the tall glass.
Spicy-cured Beef Tataki ($7.90) is seared NY steak spiced with togarashi seasoning with greens and mayo. The cut of beef was really nice, but I felt that the dish did not have the spice I was looking for. It was not at all spicy. The mayo did not work very well with the beef since it does not give your pallet a good clean feeling compared to the traditional ponzu sauce.
If you are going to get this dish, you might as well go to Guu or any other Izakaya to get the traditional item with ponzu sauce.
Karaage Chicken ($6.90) is deep fried chicken seasoned in soy sauce. It is topped off with leeks and has a side of mayo. M said it was alright, but he wasn’t full from just one dish. You probably need to order about 2 dishes to get full.
Drunken Ebi Mayo ($7.80) is sake-marinated, deep-fried prawns with mayo cocktail sauce. It was alright, but anything out of the ordinary. I liked the side of the cocktail sauce since some other places like to just douse it all in the sauce.
Owl Poutine ($6.20) has fries with teriyaki gravy, cheese curd, green onions, nori, and mayo. You can also add bacon for $1.60. This is one of their popular dishes. It tastes really good!
Matcha Rice Pudding ($4.30) is creamy matcha-infused rice pudding. I liked it even though the presentation is not that exciting. It’s not very heavy and a great light dessert to finish off your meal.
Ice Cream agemono ($5.30) is deep-fried phyllo-wrapped vanilla ice cream with fresh fruit and green tea compote. It tasted alright, but it melted pretty quickly.
Overall, the food is really not the main attraction. It’s a good venue to just chill with your friends and have a drink. They always have large special events, so great social place. Even though their website advertises 2 for 1 ‘appy hour’ from 5pm – 7pm, we didn’t get it. Perhaps it was because we were in a large group.
Words of Wisdom:
- Large amount of items are not available on their menu anymore. No brunch, No Bubbletea.
- Customizable drinks and super nice bartenders
- Lots of large events
- Reservations for large groups
- Owl Poutine is a must
- Free parking in rear
- Closest Skytrain: Main
Vancouver, BC
www.electricowl.ca
www.facebook.com/ElectricOwlSocialClub
