Published on Main is known as one of the best restaurants in not only Vancouver BC but also in Canada. They were also awarded 1 star in the inaugural MICHELIN guide for Vancouver in 2022. Their menu features mostly European influences with modern, culinary techniques and showcases local, sustainable ingredients while celebrating the bounties of the region.
Reservations
We booked two months in advance for their tasting menu which was priced $125 per person at the time. It has since gone up to $150 per person. You can also opt for the a la carte menu. The reservations for the tasting menu are harder to get than the a la carte option. You can also try for a walk-in but you will need to line up before they open at 5 pm.
Contemporary & Sleek Interior
The interior features a contemporary design with dimming lighting and sleek elements. We saw a variety of groups including those on a date night and some on a celebratory gathering.
It was an overall comfortable ambiance but since the restaurant was fully booked, it got noisier as the evening progressed.
$125 Tasting Menu
Here’s a look at what we tried for the $125 tasting menu.
Chef’s Selection of Snacks
Pork blood and almond biscuit with a foie parfait, grape compote
Prawn toast with siracha mayo and fresh shiso
Brown butter madeleine with whipped butter, sea salt and chives
Tuna oshi with sushi rice, house soy and jalapeno
Burrata tart with beets and fresh dill
Endive waldorf, cheese, sunchokes and candied nuts
Chicken liver mousse, ginger spice cookie
Venison tartare on a malt barley cracker
Markkloesschen
An herb dumpling soup
Side Stripe Prawns
Cooked and chilled side stripe prawns with cucumber, apple and horseradish
Albacore Tuna
Albacore Tuna with sliced Castelvetrano Olives; sliced green grapes; sliced preserved almonds; ajo blanco sauce on the bottom and spicy bread crumb
Pickerel
Pickerel with tomato dashi and bok choy
Delicata Squash
Squash with koji mushroom sauce
Pumpkin Agnolotti Pasta
Agnolotti pasta with lobster mushroom and herb butter sauce
Roasted Duck
Roasted duck with chanterelle mushroom, café au lait sauce
Brunost Cheese Tart
A green apple cheese tart
Melon
Melon granita with sour cream sorbet
Douglas Fir
Douglas Fir oil with malt barley crumb and salal berries compote
Overall Thoughts
I thought the dishes overall were well-executed, creative and nicely presented. My favourite course was actually the collection of Chef’s Selection of snacks at the beginning of the meal. There were 8 snacks of sweet and savoury varieties and these made for a fun and interesting start. I thought all the dishes were quite unique from each other but still flowed together as the dinner progressed.
The herb soup dumpling was very hearty followed by two lighter dishes which were the side stripe prawns and albacore tuna. The pickerel with dashi broth was a tasty Asian-influenced dish. The melon granita was a nice cool, icy dessert to cleanse the palate while the use of Douglas Fir oil was interesting.
The servers at Published on Main were very friendly, knowledgeable and professional and offered the type of service I would expect from a 1 star MICHELIN restaurant.
Overall, an enjoyable evening at Published on Main and I would recommend trying them out!