Luxurious Lunching....Glowbal

This was my first experience at Glowbal. One of my favourite dining companions and fellow foodie, Jobin and I arranged to meet at his office and go somewhere close. We decided to venture into Yaletown (since I rarely get there during the lunching hour) and thought we would take a peek at Glowbal's lunch menu. After taking a peek at their inviting, heated patio, great looking food, and fairly reasonable lunch prices (pricier than a typical lunch but not overwhelming), we decided this would be our lunch destination.

 The meal got off to a bit of a weird start. In terms of service, they were a bit slow in seating us and getting us started with our glasses of water...which seemed a bit odd because we were after the lunch rush at almost 2pm and it wasn't very busy. Also, I was a bit thrown by their GIANT MENUS. I've attached a photo to show scale. It was a crowded table with just the small platter of bread, butter, and two water glasses with those two GIANT MENUS. It's actually kind of funny- although initially a bit weird trying to conversate and hold up GIANT MENUS.

Any blossoming feelings of negativity were quickly squashed once they brought out the menus and the complimentary bread and butter. This bread and butter was a stand-out element of my Glowbal experience. The bread was a slightly warm, soft and chewy basic white-baguette-style. Pretty average on its own but when dipped in the warmed butter sprinkled with pink hawaiian lava salt- it became a taste experience!
Our server arrived shortly after. He was warm, friendly, quick to answer questions, and it seemed like he ran things during lunchtime at Glowbal. I asked him a few questions about the satays, and asked for his recommendation since I was torn between ordering the roasted chicken club sandwich and the cobb salad. He recommended the cobb salad and told us he would send out a couple of satays to try. Jobin mentioned that he has some seafood allergies, and the server instantly for the rest of the meal was very conscious of anything potential seafood issues that would mess with his dining experience. Our served actually checked in politely with a few questions later on to ensure that nothing in Jobin's main dish would make him swell up and die. Very nice guy!

The complimentary satays came out fairly quick. We tried the Kobe Meatball with tomatoe fondue, and the short rib with truffle aoili. The satays came with thai slaw, ginger white soya, and hot chinese mustard. The Kobe Meatball in tomato sauce was awesome- rich and flavourful! That sample makes me want to come back for their Spagetti and Kobe Meatballs. Yum. The short rib was good but not mind-blowing and we both dug the hot chinese mustard.

Shortly after we polished off the satays, our mains arrived. Jobin's lunch looked a bit like a classy medieval feast...he didn't finish his massive plate of rich food...he had leftovers for dinner and was still probably so full that he wanted an George Costanza-style nap under the desk when he had to go back to work. He ordered the Lamb Shank with Mushroom Risotto (16$). He loved his dish commenting that the lamb was well-cooked with subtle flavour and that the risotto was the best risotto he had ever had. Thick, creamy, cheesy, and loaded with a variety of quality mushrooms.

My cobb salad ($14) was presented beautifully. And all of the elements (grilled chicken, bacon, free-range boiled egg, roqufort cheese)were definitely quality and fresh. In particular, the bacon was crisp and lighter than usual, which I really enjoyed. Overall, my salad was tasty, but nothing mind-blowing.


We agreed that our mains were tasty- but the fantastic service, attention to detail, and extras like the delicious bread and butter/complimentary satays, are what makes Glowbal worthy of an enthusiastic recommendations and a re-visit.


Glowbal Grill and Satay Bar
1079 Mainland St
Vancouver, BC
http://www.glowbalgrill.com/