Ensemble Tap is opened by Top Chef Canada’s winner – Dale MacKay. They sell pub-style food with a large array of beer on tap, thus the name. It’s a spin off of his other restaurant – Ensemble, which is a higher end dining.
Since I helped Flo assemble some furniture, she treated me out for some food close to her place. Since Ensemble Tap was just downstairs, it seemed like a good place to go.
Steam Buns ($14) has seared albacore tuna, Mama Cho sauce, and fresh kimchi. The bun was cold and we felt it might have been better if it was warm like those Chinese-style steam buns. It was hard to taste the tuna since the kimchi and the Mama Cho sauce overpowered the tuna. It was a tad spicy and has a little sour taste to it. I really didn’t like the flavour combinations.
Thai Chicken Wings ($12 – 1 lb) The chicken was deep fried and came with the thai sauce on the side. I didn’t find it very amazing at all since it’s quite expensive for a pound of chicken wings.
Tap Burger + Bacon ($15) has mushrooms, caramelized onions, onion, lettuce, Swiss cheese, horse radish, and a side of fries. The beef patty was quite large and the added bacon was nice and crunchy. I really liked the burger since it was a good price and tasted delicious.
Key Lime Pie ($8.50) has whipped cream, toasted coconut, and lime zest. It was light and airy, so it was not a heavy dessert. It has a really nice lime flavour, but you know there was definitely some food coloring in this. I’ve never had a key lime pie, but this was good.
Overall, the appetizers are definitely expensive. The burgers are delicious and priced well. Service was ok.
Words of Wisdom:
- Good burger
- Around $15
- Some appetizers not worth the price
- Good array of beers
- Closest Skytrain: Burrard
We Rate Ensemble Tap: 
Address:
990 Smithe Street
Vancouver, BC
Website:
http://www.ensembletap.com/
