Roar Tofino
This is the second time I've stayed at Hotel Zed, but I didn’t eat at their in-house restaurant, Roar Tofino, the last time.
If I’m being honest, it was because once I found out what the theme of the restaurant was, I immediately dismissed it as not having anything there that I could eat, as a vegetarian. I’m really happy to admit that I was very wrong.
Let me explain: Roar is a fire-themed restaurant. Many of the dishes here are cooked over a live flame, not just any live flame, but a wood-fired one. So my assumption was that it would be very meat-forward, but it turns out I was incorrect.
Roar also focuses on locally-sourced ingredients (more about this in a second), which is something that I really love. And, let’s face it, when your restaurant is a two hour drive from the closest restaurant supply outlet, it’s to your advantage to focus on what you can gather nearby.
Like the Hotel Zed in which it resides, Roar Tofino has a vintage theme. You’ll find loads of thrifted knick knacks and chachkes on the walls, and there is a nod to the 70’s in the retro-themed tiki drinks on the cocktail menu. In the summer, they have a huge, wraparound patio that would be an amazing place to hang and have a (locally sourced) beer.
The service and the menu, however, are anything but old fashioned. Our server, Michael, was clearly a professional of many years. He was like a friendly Energizer Bunny, hopping from table to table, answering questions, slinging platters of food.
There are some dishes that change seasonally here, but there are some that are menu staples, and should remain so, because they are so good.
We started out with drinks; I’m not drinking much these days, and they do have mocktails, like the Cocofino Colada, which includes a locally-sourced yogurt, pineapple, and lime, served in a ocotopus mug, giving Pina Colada vibes. They also have Tofino Kombucha here, which is my own personal favourite brand. I had a Skyhopper, a rum-based drink with pineapple and lime, finished with a table-side torched cedar branch for additional fun and aroma. This one came served in a flamingo mug. They also have an extensive wine and beer list, again with the focus on local (or at least BC based) brews.
On to the starters. I really can’t say enough nice things about the house-made focaccia. It’s sliced and then toasted over the open flame. Be sure to order it should you go here, it’s pretty amazing. We had ours with the fire-roasted Little Qualicum Brie (from just down the road in Qualicum Beach), which comes topped with caramelized onions and a berry compote. Addictive. I mean, let’s be real, you can’t go wrong with delicious melty cheese on fresh homemade bread. We enjoyed that focaccia so much, we went back the next night and ordered it again, but this time we had the Endive Salad and the Crispy Fried Brussel Sprouts.
Salad. What can you say about a salad? The trick with salads is to embrace texture, and this one did, perfectly. The endive and the arugula contributed a bitter and a peppery note, and the pepitas and maple praline hazelnuts added sweetness and crunch. This is a really, really good salad. Same with the brussels. Okay, okay, I get it, lots of people hate them, and I’m not one of those people. Having said all of that, these might have been the best brussels I’ve had in my life. They were perfection. Crispy, but without being oily as they sometimes can get, then hit with a quick dose of lemon juice and a shaving of parm before they hit the plate. This dish was everything: crispy, a bit creamy, the tiniest hint of acid, and perfectly seasoned.
Mains. Here’s where you might expect to see a lot of meat, but of the 9 dishes on the menu, only half were meat, the rest being seafood and vegetarian. Yes, there’s a steak, as you might expect, a burger of course, a chicken dish and also a pork belly. But there’s also a couple different types of fish (tuna and sablefish), a pasta entrée, a veg risotto and a Mushroom Mille-Feuille, which I believe is vegan. They also have share platters for two, one of which is vegetarian.
Michael had the Tuna Tataki, a very light and refreshing dish, filled with vegetables. I had the heavier Beetroot Risotto, which was a gorgeous colour, and I really want to attempt to make it. Okay, so I’ve watched enough episodes of Top Chef to know that making a risotto is deceptively hard (I’ve made a lot of risotto myself as well), and this risotto was perfection. It wasn’t too loose, it wasn’t too seized, the arborio had just the tiniest bit of bite left to it in the centre. The dish is finished with lashings of chevre from the Okanagan, and some pepitas for crunch. There’s also a mound of fire-roasted broccoli, and while I appreciate extra veggies, I found this superfluous, actually. I didn’t think the dish needed it. You can also add extra proteins to this if you like.
Finally, dessert. There are four options, and we went for, of course, the chocolate one. We also had the Pumpkin Cheesecake, which comes with a gingerbread caramel, burnt orange ice cream and granola. I liked this, it was a fine cheesecake, but I couldn’t taste enough pumpkin in it. I wanted it to be pumpkin-ier. The Cocofino Chocolate Torte, however, was an absolute knockout. It came with a lime coconut sorbet, a raspberry coulis and cacao nibs. I could eat this every damn day. It was rich and creamy, but there was also loads of texture, and the raspberry and the sorbet added a tiny bit of tartness that kept the dessert from becoming too sweet. All in all, a perfectly balanced dessert.
You might be thinking this: Tofino is a tiny town. How could they possibly have or attract really good chefs? I don’t know the answer to that question, but they absolutely do. The technique here is top notch, with a ton of attention being paid to the details: seasoning, balance and texture.
Roar Tofino was a really great meal, and I’m sad that they are so far away, because I’d be going there every day for the brussels, a side of focaccia and that Chocolate Torte. Maybe it’s for the best that I live so far away?