Restaurant review: Deuce (North Vancouver)

Ianiv and Arieanna took me for dinner to this new place on Lonsdale Avenue (near 16th St) that they had been to before (they mentioned that the restaurant was sourcing only local ingredients, really good food). If you’ve never been to Lonsdale Avenue, it is a really bright, well-lit corridor that goes from South to North in the North Vancouver area. I love Lonsdale, and it’s always a great place to find restaurants, walk along (and do exercise!) Deuce is a really well decorated restaurant, and as Arieanna mentioned, it is an upscale dining place in the North Shore (something kind of uncommon, at least for me – remember, I’m an East Vancouver boy). The best part of it – we had the whole room for ourselves. The music wasn’t overpowering and it felt cozy despite the relative large size of the restaurant. Tables are very well distributed (they have four areas, including a patio, a lounge, a dining room and a bar at the centre of the house).

Credit: Ianiv and Arieanna

Credit: Ianiv & Arieanna

We ordered a shared plate of Rocket Bottles ($ 10), one of their Shared Plates, and each one of us ordered a Solo Plate (smaller than an average entree but definitely larger than tapas). The whole concept of Deuce is sharing food items, although I wouldn’t say that you can’t go without sharing – the portion size of the Solo Plate is large enough to satisfy one person. We all had each a Solo Plate and we left definitely full (and we didn’t even have drinks!).

Credit: Ianiv & Arieanna

I ordered a Deuce Salad (candied pecans, cherry tomatoes, sundried cranberries, Qualicum Sunshine feta, mixed greens, pomegranate avocado vinaigrette) but I wasn’t sure that my order would be enough to fill me, so I chose to add chicken to my salad. I can say that the flavors were excellent and I was quite pleased with it. And of course, I was definitely full by the end of it. Arieanna ordered the Cheeks and Chips (beer battered halibut cheeks, hand cut fries, smoked paprika tartar sauce) and Ianiv ordered a Serious Mac and Cheese (fontina & farmhouse cheddar, pancetta, oyster mushrooms, panko & truffle oil). Given that the portions were more generous than we expected (and here’s a tip to Deuce – don’t change the size! It was unexpectedly larger, which was a very pleasant surprise).

Credit: Ianiv & Arieanna

We wished we could have done dessert but we couldn’t really eat much more. Apparently, Deuce has brunch, and just browsing through the menu I was very pleasantly surprised. I am thinking I’m going to organize a North Shorte brunch tweetup here. From the prices I see on the brunch menu, they are on the higher (pricier) side of breakfast (items near $ 10) but if their brunch is anything like their dinner, I’m definitely sold for a high quality breakfast. I was telling Ianiv and Arieanna that they were my lucky try-out dinner companions. Every single time I have tried a new restaurant with them, I’ve had a wonderful experience. The food has been great, the company has been spectacular. And the funny thing is, almost every time we go out for dinner, we try new restaurants. I don’t think I’ve been with Ianiv and Arieanna to a restaurant I had previously tried . My kudos go to Deuce for having great food and service. I look forward to having brunch with friends sometime soon at Deuce. And many thanks to Ianiv and Arieanna for taking me here!