There aren’t many Vancouver (BC Canada) pubs which fit the description “legendary,” but very high on that short list is The Blarney Stone in Gastown, which has been welcoming locals and visitors alike with warm Irish-inspired hospitality since 1972.
The pandemic shutdown and slow return to normal gave the owners of The Blarney Stone a chance step back from the day-to-day challenges to focus on making sure the much beloved pub would come back better in every way.
One of the key priorities was to give the food menu a complete overhaul to make it a match for the best pub food they had enjoyed during their travels around North America and overseas.
Working with long time Vancouver chef Karl Gregg, The Blarney Stone team spent months evolving and perfecting a top-to-bottom new menu which blended pub classics with delicious inspirations.
In upping their food game, they changed their sourcing to use delicious local ingredients like grass-fed BC beef and Ocean Wise seafood and developed in-house recipes like scratch-made batters and sauces to showcase them in the best way.
Some highlights include the signature Fish Basket which now feature Ocean Wise cod wrapped in a house made Harp Lager batter for crispy perfection and the Dubliner Burger is built with a custom-ground blend of BC grass-fed beef and sharp Dubliner Irish cheddar.
Lucky Nachos use house-fried tortillas as the basis for what might be the city’s biggest nacho plate, and the house wings come tossed in a Jameson Whisky Glaze.
We had a tasting of the new menu and tried the following:
Irish Hand Pies
Locally sourced 63 acres beef pies, mashed potato, potted beef onion gravy
Roast Beef Sliders
Potted roast beef, horseradish mayo, brioche slider bun, au jus for dipping
Blarney Breakfast Sando
Farm fresh scrambled egg, green onions, sriracha, bacon, cheddar cheese, potato bun, burger sauce
Fish Basket
Harp lager battered haddock, tartar sauce, coleslaw, fries
Mac N Cheese Bites
Guinness cheese sauce, sriracha mayo, crisp fried
Crown Flat – Guinness / Magners
All the dishes were delicious but my favourites were the Irish Hand Pies and Roast Beef Sliders which were 💯. The potted beef onion gravy were Chef’s Kiss!
The Blarney Stone is open at 11am daily in the heart of historic Gastown and the full menu can be found online at blarneystone.ca.