The Chef's Kitchen - Langley

Fantastic tasting menu dinner experience with tons of attention to detail, beautiful plating, and excellent service.

We had looked forward to the dinner, but sadly, it was disappointing. The food was fine, but not exceptional. The waffle in the first course was too big and the seafood flavors didn't come through. The hamachi crudo was fine, but I prefer fattier hamachi. The crab chawanmushi had great flavors but the texture was too runny for me for it to be a chawanmushi (this didn't bother my husband). The garlic bread was just plain garlic bread we didn't eat all of it. It seems weird for it to be a course on its own. We liked the last two dishes tortellini and scallops. The dessert was too sweet; we couldn't eat more than a few bites. We were expecting to be wowed, and that just didn't happen for us.

We have been coming here for years. While Matt has retired and the restaurant has shifted to meet a different type of experience, it's still as wonderful as ever! Emily and staff carry on the tradition of excellence in every way! You shouldn't miss this terrific foodie experience ?

We were excited to return for a dining experience because the last we dined was before COVID. The ambience was lovely and by the time we left a little after 8pm the restaurant was full. We went for the 5 course menu: pumpkin soup, molasses bread, gnocchi, salmon cake, and giant truffle. The pumpkin soup was great; it wasn't creamy and it came in a little pumpkin which I thought was creative and waste less. The bread was moist and we enjoyed it with the horseradish butter. The potato gnocchi was overdone so a little hard. The salmon cake was a surprise because on the menu it said salmon. It was very pretty to look at with different colors and also textures but they didn't work for me. The salmon cake was overdone in some parts but not the other. The yuzu pesto was delicious but I thought it was overpowering. Lastly, the giant truffle was beautifully made and the taste was excellent. Great chocolate! The only downside was the because there was so much cocoa powder there were several of us coughing as we took the first bite. The course menu at the time was $110 with I think either $65 or $75 for three 2-ounce pours for wine pairing.

All in all, we liked our experience, but the dishes on offer are too few. They accommodate intolerances, etc. but there is little room for likes/dislikes. Some dishes were outstanding others not so. We were 4 and were sat at the end of a banquette size table, inconvenient conversation.