Bishop’s Restaurant

I know this restaurant has been here for a long time and may have deserved its reputation at one time but it sure does not anymore. We went for my mothers birthday and none of our meals very good. The salad I had was so bitter I could only eat one bite .when the server came to take away my uneaten plate, I told her and she said“oh”.
Our entrees were just ok, no one finished their food. My mothers lamb was mostly fat, she took the meat home for the dog because she could not eat it. My fish was a 1 by 2 inch piece and it was overcooked. My daughter was very hungry when we got there but her food was so unappetizing she left most of it.
The bread was the best part of the meal that is why I gave 2 stars. The service is only good if you are one of the regulars. We were ignored while the table next to us was fawned over. We told them it was my mothers birthday, so they wrote happy birthday and put a candle on my daughters desert. Very strange, I guess it was more economical.
It was freezing in the restaurant so I asked for my coat back, instead they said they would turn the heat up. We were still cold so it made the meal even more miserable. We had reservations at 7pm and our dinner did not make it to our table until 8:30,on a Sunday night that is a long time to wait. I could understand if it was really busy but the restaurant was half empty. Overall a very disappointing experience.

The ambiance was nice, the service was impeccable and the food even better! Great dining experience! Very quant and top quality freshness and amazing on the palette! Big thumbs up ! Definite repeat! Average $ 100 person

Superb food and fantastic staff! You cannot go wrong here! Mr. Bishop’s attentiveness and presence to his guest is the cherry on top! The Halibut was like butter and the Salmon was amazing!

First time in Vancouver and phew this sure is a gem restaurant. Food was delicious and if John happened to be your waiter, get him to recommend an aged Portugese red wine that’s over-​the-​top good. I really enjoyed my night at Bishop’s. All the staff are as friendly and knowledgable as they could be. You can never go wrong with this house. I’ll sure to be back the next time I’m in Van City.

I went here for my anniversary and ended up spending $ 260 for the evening. I thought the food was mediocre for the price I paid. For example my wife’s halibut was dry and the steak I ordered although flavorful wasn’t all that tender. It is unlikely I would repeat as there are many other restaurants that offers better fine dining experience.

I’ve never experienced such an amazing dinner. Everything was top notch. I can’t wait to make it back up to Vancouver so they can out do themselves again.

We are semi sort of kind of regulars at Bishops. With the ever changing seasonal menu and the always plentiful specials you can’t help but to have a great meal. There are no throwaways options on the menu. Each one is amazingly full of taste and creatively. Even the amuse bouche is great.
Wine list is reasonable with some good BC /​California picks and some insanely expensive French options. Non merci.
The staff are superb and Mr. Bishop touches base each meal to say hello and to ensure everything is hunky dory.
Bishops is consistently rated in the top 10 best Vancouver restaurants. Why is no mystery.

This really makes me question my own taste and that of others.
I’ve been to Bishop’s twice. Both times have been spectacularly underwhelming. It simply isn’t good.
Service is exceptional, and that is why I give it two stars. The dishes themselves are genuinely awful; bland, flavourless, and poorly plated. I’ve had the fish, I’ve had the halibut, I’ve had the ribeye, the sidestripe prawns, and the dungeness crab. Not one of these dishes was good. Ribeye was served cold, and everything else lacked any sort of substance or flavour.
It has a reputation, and good for them, it’ll keep the patrons coming I suppose.
But to even compare this to places like Blue Water, Hawksworth, Go Fish, or any of the other great seafood spots in this city is insulting to those restaurants.

There’s paid parking in front of the restaurant, or you can look for street parking further away and walk down. The service was indeed impeccable and definitely deserves 5 stars. Water was filled all the time, the wait staff were all friendly, helpful and happy. Door was opened upon leaving.
I don’t know why but indeed there was a crying baby. This didn’t bother us as it wasn’t noisy or annoying but I just found it peculiar that it would be a common thing. My best guess is the amazing service is able to cater to the needs of a baby and thus parents will always come back with their kids.
We ordered the Sea scallops ($ 19 special) to start and the duck ($ 39) and lamb ($ 45). The presentation of the food was the best I’ve seen in a long time. As you can see from the pictures (despite dim lighting), the food looks amazing! The scallops were unfortunately over-​cooked and thus a bit chewy. The radish cakes were too salty. The duck was amazing and whatever vegetables it came with were also really good. The duck, cooked medium as ordered, had soft meat but a crispy skin. The lamb included loin, shoulder in a croquette and leg. Depending on the day, they might have rack of lamb, which I would have preferred more. At the end of the meal, the food looked amazing but only tasted decent.
The total came out to $ 103 before tax and tips, which although quite pricy, was justified.
I would give Bishop’s 4.5 stars and would definitely return (once I save up enough $) as it makes for a great place for special dinners.

This restaurant has been on my to do list for a very long time and I finally made it in for dinner and it definitely lived up to it’s reputation! Everything was delicious and looked beautiful. I really appreciate the thoughtful artistic presentation and bold robust flavor’s! The service was outstanding and I think the tequila cocktail was one of the best I have ever had! I will be back soon and I highly recommend Bishop’s Restaurant for a quality, whimsical delicious meal.

Just finished a wonderful dinner there. It was our third time in four years. Each time when we visited Vancouver Bishop’s is a must stop. Overall it’s as good a dining experience as you would have at top Los Angeles, San Francisco, or NYC restaurants. The ingredients were super fresh. They have a very comprehensive wine list, featuring a lot of BC wines. The dessert wine list is super impressive, with several vintage ports.
Most importantly, the service is perfect. They remembered my birthday (the obviously have learned it from two years ago). Highly recommended!

Poached peach with ice cream and risotto is impressive. The tuna tart is fresh and tasty. I would recommend this restaurant to my friends

Blahhhh. Pretty average, and expensive.
The food was very good, nothing spectacular. Nice high quality ingredients. Average ambiance, lots of oldies. Probably wouldn’t come back, although enjoyed a nice meal.

Still the safest choice for taking anyone out to dinner. You are basically guaranteed A+ food and service. An unhurried dining experience where you are never rushed to order, and at the very end they are already ready at the front desk to see you out with someone already holding the door open. They still offer bread at the table and they don’t push special sparkling water or whatever on you — which has always struck me as a rather gauche way of embarrassing you into paying for water.
Non-​drinkers should still have a look at the drink menu for their virgin cocktails. An intriguing choice for just $ 5.50 has vinegar as an ingredient, and tastes like a not-​too-​sweet not-​too-​sour lemonade with gingery bite.

A small, upscale dining experience in the heart of Kits.
Pleasant, attentive service added to the ambience.
Dishes were well presented and portion sizes reflected the cost. I started with the crab risotto (sublime!) and my wife had the beet salad (great colour and arrangement). These were followed by the duck special for myself and the arctic char for her. Both were works of art, but we devoured them nonetheless.
A great wine list with prices ranging from low ($ 30/​bottle) to Bill Gates’ pocket change level ($ 000’s).
For a special occasion I say give it a try. It’s been around for years and there is a reason for that.

We have walk by this restaurant for years and finally decided to give it a try.
We were the only people there for 5:30 seating as we only make reservation the day before, and 5:30 or 8:30 was the only time available.
This is not a big restaurant with 6 tables on the top level and about 8 on the ground level.
The staff was very courteous and efficient. Mr Bishop was also around to greet all the tables.
The food was excellent but not Wow!
We ordered:
Appetizer — Duck Parfait and Dungeness Crab Risotto
Main — Beef Tenderloin and Pork Chop Special
Dessert — Cranberry Bread Pudding and Rum Raisin Cheesecake
Bishop is a Vancouver institution, worth a try but not my cup of tea, I still prefer French cuisine.

I feel rather guilty giving such a stalwart on the Vancouver dining scene a mediocre rating, but I guess part of being a «good» Unilocaler is being honest even when it’s uncomfortable.
I had such high hopes for Bishops. I’d researched the restaurant and had made Open Table reservations months in advance. Why? Well, it sounded like a very intimate and traditional place with exceptional reviews and we would be celebrating our wedding anniversary. So I thought, «Why not go upscale and conservative? It’s a special occasion.» We typically seek out nouveau-​casual trendy food, but this time I thought it would be fun to venture into the more standard «adult» realm.
The atmosphere at Bishop’s is definitely conservative and formal. This is what I had envisioned, so I was quite pleased. It wasn’t loud, there were candles (or small lights) on the tables and the rooms were decorated tastefully with local art. We were greeted warmly and the servers were all very polite and gracious.
The most wonderful and positive parts of the meal were the oysters and the corn bisque. The oysters were local and the best I’ve ever had. Although on the smaller side, they had such a rich, complex flavor that I longed for more of them once I had finished the 4 on my side of the plate. Really great and fresh. My starter, the corn soup with roasted scallops, was also completely outstanding. So creamy, bursting with corn flavor, and adorned with a few perfect scallops, I seriously wanted to grab the bowl from my departing waiter’s hands and lick it clean.
Things went south with the entrees and then the service. The service was attentive but the pace was slow. The meal was paced at a rate that we are either not used to, or else they were just having issues in the kitchen that night. I’m not sure which exactly, because I did notice a number of customers without food in front of them, sitting there looking around. In addition, we were definitely the youngest ones in the restaurant. The place tows the line between traditional and slightly dated. I understand the concept of slow food, but at one point I wanted to throw down my linen and re-​join the trendy crowds in Gastown.
Onto our entrees. Oh, the entrees. I ordered the local salmon and, while it was good, it was a tad overcooked. Not terribly so, but enough that the salmon didn’t have that creamy meltaway quality that I know it should. It was slightly dry. My husband’s halibut was even more overcooked. It’s funny because I could tell just by the way fish LOOKED when it was set down in front of him that it was overcooked. It didn’t have the moist sheen that perfectly cooked fish has. It had that dry sturdy texture with the ends curling and flaking — classic for being overcooked. I’m sure the chef would have noticed this as well… so then I’m left wondering if there was chaos in the kitchen that caused this to be overlooked, or if it was noticed and sent out with fingers crossed that it «wasn’t too bad.» Both seem sloppy for a restaurant of distinction. When you’re paying nearly $ 40 an entrée, you want the execution to be a no-​brainer.
In the end, the restaurant did take the halibut off the check without any prompting, which is a tribute to the calibur of the place. However, we didn’t order dessert because the meal just felt so protracted and we were so disappointed with the main courses. I assume our meals were flukes and that the fish typically tastes better here. Not sure what happened, but we left the place feeling distinctly unsatisfied on a very special night.

Bishop’s is located on West 4^th Ave for a decade; the restaurant is small and cozy. They rent paintings and artworks for decoration, such harmony atmosphere and the staffs were very friendly and attentive. They make us feel so comfortable and welcome.
I picked this restaurant for my birthday dinner and we were so satisfied.
We started with Kusshi oysters which soft, delicate texture and fresh. My girlfriend had stunning Dungeness crab cocktail, it was so exquisite. Fresh Dungeness crab meat with Heirloom tomato salad, it presented beautifully and tasted freshly. I had pan seared scallops with organic corn soup, the scallops so delicious and corn soup was creamy and rich.
Down to our entrees, my friend had Beef Tenderloin with pomme purée, seasonal onions, baby carrots in red wine sauce. It’s so juicy and tender. I had Haida Gwaii Halibut with cauliflower, fava beans, fennel in light curry cream, it cooked perfectly and favorable.

Unfortunately, we’re so full and couldn’t even squeeze some room for dessert.
Hopefully, I will be back soon and try the dessert.

We spent a Saturday night dinner here, a party of two, and we ordered the following:
— Salmon tartare special
— prawn bisque
— Sockeye salmon main
— Prawn risotto main
— crème brûlée
The food was good in general, but what stood out to me and my dining companion was the prawn bisque. We both had a serving of prawn bisque before our main, and we had another serving of prawn bisque after our main because it was that good. All in all, service was attentive and personal, food was outstanding, prices were on the high side (100+ per head), but you pay for what you get. I would come here again.

We dined here our second and last night in Vancouver and I have to say the ambiance was warm and romantic. We were greeted by Mr. Bishop before our dinner which was a nice personal touch. This reminded me of Rover’s in Seattle (atmosphere only).
We started with two martinis and my friend was done with the wine before me so they brought my friend a glass of wine. As soon as I was done with my martini, they brought me my wine. I mean serious attention to detail.
Starter: Roasted beet salad with goat cheese, dill & bayuls vinaigrette.
Main dish: Sockeye salmon with roasted fennel, kale, steamed clams in wine broth and chirizo. Grilled bison with pomme frites and aioli.
Dessert: Vanilla risotto with rhubarb compote and rose honey milk sorbet. I have to say the food was average to my pallet, but the service was over the top! One sneeze & someone immediately came over with a box of tissue.
I had to use the restroom twice and the first time there was one towel in the bin. The second time I went to wash my hands the bin was cleared out already. There’s a lot of attention to detail to everything about this restaurant.
I can’t say I was blown away by the food itself. I’ve had better… but the service, the attention to detail was very impressive.

Gorgeous, intimate little place. Service is top-​notch. I had four different people making sure I was happy.
The cute amuse bouche guy forgot he’d given me an amuse bouche and gave me a second amuse bouche.
Sockeye salmon as good as its name. French toast for dessert is a dream I’ve had for a long time.
When I left, the hostess ran ahead to the door and held it open for me.
Nice.