A British Food Experience...in English Bay
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
VANCOUVER - When a restaurant has the name Marmalade, sure you might think of toast and marmalade, but you also think of English specialty cuisine such as homemade mouth-watering scones with jam and clotted cream, steak and kidney pie, and all those comfort foods from the U.K.
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LONDON-BORN
Alaleh Sharifaie
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Open since June, Marmalade Kitchen and Bar is a London inspired, modern-retro venue situated along the seawall overlooking the marina at False Creek. It is located under the Burrard Street Bridge near the Aquatic centre at 1010 Beach Avenue. The owners are sister and brother Alaleh and Ash Sharifaie who are originally from London, England, and who serve a unique blend of west coast-English cuisine.
It was a beautiful sunny day when I recently dropped into Marmalade. The café offers a prime view of the marina from a large patio out front and through the large glass windows. You can enjoy your favourite beverage while people watching.
There are the joggers in their high-fashion spandex, roller bladers, cyclists, and people just out walking on the boardwalk enjoying the scenery. Granville Island is just a few minutes away by water taxi and you can board at the Aquatic Centre.
Marmalade offers Guinness and Bass pale ale in the bottle and Alexander Keith on tap. With the longer winter nights, more people are moving inside and a music session is being considered for a Friday or Saturday night.
Because of the many apartments right around the Marmalade Kitchen and Bar, they get a variety of age groups and Alaleh said, “it’s just surprising the amount of British people we get in. There are a lot of English people here and they tell their friends about Marmalade.”
Hot buttered scones with jam and clotted cream is served at tea-time at the Marmalade around 4-5 PM daily. There is also a special dinner menu with more British signature items such as steak and Guinness pie, battered cod, breast of chicken, and soup and sandwich are the daily special.
There are a few unique features at Marmalade. “Every Tuesday night is ‘Gent’s Night’, where men get 50 percent off their entrée,” said Alaleh. “Ash wanted a variation, because he said it is usually the women who get the perks and it’s actually working. The men like the fact that they are the ones getting something off their food.”
Another feature at Marmalade is the “speed dating” nights. Alaleh explained how that works saying, “it’s actually an organization that hosts these evenings at various locations. Single men and women have five minutes to talk to each other, and then they must move on to the next table, and so on. If they like each other, then they take it from there. They have actually booked Christmas Eve here at Marmalade.”
Alaleh said Marmalade Kitchen and Bar is in the process of organizing something different for New Year’s Eve and they are taking reservations for Christmas parties now or for any other special occasions.
Marmalade Kitchen and Bar caters to both the yuppie crowd and the traditionalist. So, if you’re looking for something unique in both location and dining experience, then try Marmalade Kitchen and Bar. For more information, call (604) 689-7800, or visit: www.marmaladekb.com.
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