Review The Shoestring Cafe - Richmond

Tiny restaurant tucked away in commercial area of Richmond. First time here during Dine Out and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the dishes and good service. The photos speak for themselves. We enjoyed the seafood chowder, scallop thermidor, thick cut of pork, and flavorful steak. Loved that they had chocolate souffle as a dessert option. Good COVID-19 measures in place, from checking i.d., to the clear panels separating the tables. Don't let the location and outer aesthetic deter you from this gem.

Had a chance to try this little restaurant hidden in East Richmond. It’s located in a business district on No. 6 Rd. Inside, there’s about 10 tables. The menu is sufficient with choice on steaks, fish, duck and other meats. The mussels and calamari was good. The main course, the tomahawk steak was the prize. So juicy and done to near perfection. Other entrées included duck breast and halibut steak. All good.

Me and my friend visited this place for the first time on Friday evening. The location is not ideal in Richmond but it was surprisingly busy. People come just for food from here. We got the freshly baked bread with homemade shrimp paste and butter, steamed mussels with white wine, black cod fillet and duck breast. The main courses came with their homemade pumpkin puree, which was mild and creamy, it went along with the vegetables well. The ingredients they used were very fresh and everything cooked well. The restaurant owner and server there are very nice, their services are pretty good too! Highly recommend this place!

This is seriously such a hidden gem that's tucked away near the outskirts of Richmond. I still find myself thinking about the fresh baguette served with their homemade shrimp butter (which I highly, highly recommend). The table ordered the Dungeness crab with avocado salad and the seafood and corn chowder for the appetizers. They were extremely well-seasoned and was a perfect way to start off our meal. As for the mains, we opted for the cajun chicken alfredo, grilled aged rib eye steak, and the seafood alfredo. Again, completely had our minds blown by how amazing it tasted. For desserts, we had their flan and panna cotta, which was great as it wasn't sickeningly sweet. The prices a bit on the pricier side, but the entire meal was totally worth it.

Mom’s choice of restaurant for Canada Day. Small restaurant in commercial area. Good quality food, decent portions. Price is on the higher side for the restaurant setting and area but still reasonable. Probably will return just for special occasion.

Came across this classy little restaurant and decided to give it a try. Had the BBQ beef ribs with butter garlic linguine and the shoestring fries. The food is with great portion and beautifully seasoned, and service friendly and attentive. Definitely coming back for another relaxing dinner experience. Love the skinny fries a lot

What a rare gem! Spectacular food, cozy ambiance, heartwarming service. Came here on a Tuesday at 5:30 and the place already had a couple tables. The server kindly sat us down and showed us the menu and specials on the wall. What we ordered: -Complimentary bread: Best homemade bread I've ever had paired with the shrimp butter, fluffy, warm, ADDICTIVE! -Crab avocado tower: huge chunks of fresh sweet crab on top of a bed of creamy avocado, paired with a slice of lemon for a nice citrusy kick -Lobster tail pancake: Juicy lobster with a bisque-like sauce on a corn pancake, what a unique combo! -Shoestring potatoes: hand cut by the chef into uniform strings and then fried to perfection, not greasy with amazing texture -Lamb Rack: I ordered medium well because I prefer more cooked, but the lamb was tender and juicy. The highlight was their house made black pepper mushroom gravy which completed the entire dish. -Chocolate souffle: I couldn't have asked for a better dessert to finish off an amazing meal. Slightly crispy around the edges, fluffy and steaming hot with an oozing lava centre. Served with vanilla ice cream which was an excellent contrast. By the time we left, the restaurant was full! Overall, portions were generous (had lots of food packed up), food was perfect, very very reasonable price, and the service was great! I don't think there is a better western restaurant in Greater Vancouver that hits all the points as well as Shoestring Cafe.

Small cozy restaurant, best to call first to avoid waiting. Very generous portions and friendly service. The appy and main were savory, dessert wasn't overly sweet, and everything well presented.

I made a reservation 3 weeks in advance to have Christmas dinner with my family. There was a large party having a company Christmas party there taking up half the restaurant and the noise level was absolutely unbearable. People were drunk and screaming and it was so loud I couldn’t even hear my mom who was sitting right beside me. The tables beside us also had the same concerns with the noise levels. I told the server of my concerns and all she said was “you can get up to leave or you can stay, it is like this every day leading up to Christmas.” I have never tried this restaurant and never plan to.

Everything is great, good value for money. Great choice for set menu. Crab avocado salad, risotto, and soufflé are my picks. The only drawbacks are 1) they don’t serve alcohol; and 2) they only take debit or cash.

We saw some positive reviews on zomato and decided to come here for Dine Out Vancouver.  The menu looked promising and the meal was $30.  I had the corn chowder, lobster risotto, and chocolate souffle.  <br/><br/>Long story short, the chowder was not thick enough in texture and the flavouring was very mild.  The garlic bread that came with it was good though.  As we were finished with this, I noticed the customer at my adjacent table barely even touched her risotto as the waitress took away her dish.  At that point, I wondered if she was really full or if the entree was really bad.  <br/><br/>Eventually, my lobster risotto came and it tasted nothing like a risotto.  Not creamy at all and, if anything, it resembled very moist rice.   The taste was bland and I wasn't sure what was inside it.  The lobster was extremely dry and the meat texture was horrible; not bouncy or chewy at all.  It took me a while to finish the dish because it was that bad... <br/><br/>Lastly, the chocolate souffle dessert was ok at most.  It tasted like microwave chocolate brownies.  There was a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, which also tasted ok.  Nothing wowing<br/><br/>For $30, I felt that this meal was a complete disappointment.  Would not go again

Randomly decided to go here since it was close to work. A surprisingly great place to eat since it was sort of in the middle of nowhere, definitely worth trying.

This HK cafe is in the middle of nowhere in Richmond. I was very surprised and wouldn't regret to come here for dinner last night!! It was worth the trip to come here for a meal!! <br/><br/>All I could say was.... great food, great customer service, great prices and great ambiance. The chef put an effort to make all dishes. This HK cafe looks more high end than others in the Lower Mainland, but the quality, presentation, flavours and everything else are WAY BETTER! <br/><br/>If you don't believe me, go and try it yourself :)

Nice place, super friendly and creative chef with a global menu for dinner and handmade (hand ground) burgers as well as a Japanese menu for lunches, which are very busy. Lots of free parking (in a light industrial area). Blacked Salmon and Cajun prawns were delicious, steak also great. Large serving sizes and served with a nice array of vegetables. No drinks menu. Chef told us to come back and try his pasta, which he recommends. We will!

Best tasting western food I had in Richmond. We went here for dinner for the first time. I ordered the seafood chowder and it was creamy and delicious with an extra TLC. The lamb was amazing and tender, I would come back for the lamb for sure! Their chocolate soufflé was perfect, hands down best soufflé I had! Our server Felix was very thoughtful and knows when to take our plates and when to serve. I really didn't expect that level of service from a little hole-in-the-wall café in Richmond.