The Apron at the Westin Wall Centre Richmond

While dining out at an airport hotel is not usually considered by local Vancouverites, The Apron could certainly change your mind. Located within the Westin Wall Centre in Richmond, is the on-site restaurant focusing on contemporary Pacific Northwest cuisine with artful presentation. This past week, I was invited to a media tasting of the new Winter menu at The Apron which included influencers from San Francisco: Cynthia (@CynEats) and Melissa (@melissademata).

Disclosure: All food and drinks were complimentary. Opinions are my own.

The Apron Menu

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, The Apron features locally-inspired dishes. Many of the items can be prepared gluten-free. You’ll also find SuperFoodsRx dishes which feature pairings of whole food ingredients to boost nutritional composition and flavours. Furthermore, The Apron supports community and sustainability initiatives as restaurant partners of Mealshare and Ocean Wise.

Culinary Team

The culinary team at The Apron is lead by Executive Chef, Robert Uy. Chef Uy’s approach to food is to locally sourced, seasonal and sustainable ingredients. We were also introduced to other members of the talented culinary team which Chef Uy is very proud of.

What We Tried

Our menu tasting showcased a wide variety of dishes offered at The Apron:

Starters
- Celery & Parmesan Soup ($10)
- Coast Cobb Salad ($16)
- Diver Scallops ($16)
Mains
- Haida Gwaii Clear Water Halibut ($36.00)
- Bouillabaisse ($34)
- Duck Tasting ($38)
- Seared Grass Fed Beef Tenderloin ($40)
- Pumpkin Risotto ($24)
Dessert
- Not So Rocky Road ($11)
- Going Bananas ($11)
- Pumpkin Sticky Toffee Pudding ($11)

Starters

The Celery & Parmesan Soup was first presented as a soup dish containing brioche croûtons and parmesan crisp only. The soup poured at tableside into the dish made for a fun start to the evening. I quite enjoyed the silky, smooth soup which was flavourful and hearty.

The Coast Cobb Salad is both a Mealshare and SuperFoodsRx item. It had a refreshing mix of sockeye salmon, hearty romaine, curly kale, blueberry, tomato, avocado, pumpkin seed, free run hen egg, buttermilk and jersey blue dressing.

My favourite of the starter were the perfectly cooked Diver Scallops which were presented on a tender, sous vide pork belly. Some sweetness and fruitiness were added to the dish via the white chocolate parsnip and compressed pear.

Mains

Our media group shared five main entrees in a family-style. The buttery, tender Ocean Wise Haida Gwaii Clear Water Halibut came in a rich, creamy coconut green curry broth.

The Bouillabaisse (Ocean Wise, SuperFoodsRx) was a hearty stew of red snapper, prawn, scallop, roasted fingerling potato, and saffron aioli.

The Duck Tasting (Mealshare) was a melt-in-your-mouth delicious consisting of sous vide, confit of leg, liver mousse, puffed wild rice, and choke cherry gastrique.

The very tender, juicy Seared Grass Fed Beef Tenderloin had truffled pomme puree, mushroom, pickled chanterelles.

I was quite a fan of the Pumpkin Risotto (SuperFoodRx) which was rich without being too heavy, creamy and cooked al dente.

Desserts

As a dessert lover, I was quite taken by the beautifully presented desserts at The Apron. In my opinion, these thoughtful and creative dishes seem modestly priced at $11 for what you get. The Not So Rocky Road is a chocolate lover’s dream: chocolate graham soil, chocolate silk, walnut maple gelato and torched house-made marshmallows.

But for those banana-dessert lovers, you will gladly enjoy Going Bananas – an artistic and delicious melange of banana pudding, sponge cake, brûlée banana, candied pecans, and vanilla bean sauce.

The seasonal Pumpkin Sticky Toffee Pudding featured a pumpkin genoise, pumpkin “pie” puree, pumpkin seed praline, meringue, salted toffee, cinnamon glace. It was mouthwatering to watch the rum anglaise being poured onto the dish in front of you.

Overall Impression of The Apron

I was very impressed with the attention to detail in the Apron’s dishes. The dishes, particularly the desserts, were creative, delicious and almost too beautiful to eat. For an elegant dining experience in a casual and inviting environment, consider the Apron for your next gastronomic adventure.

Website: www.westinvancouverairport.com/richmond-bc-restaurant