Tofino: dinner at the Pointe at Wickaninnish Inn

<a href="http://dardens.smugmug.com/gallery/5874241_ZEuVp&quot; Sunday evening was devoted to food, wine and the Chesterman Beach ambience of the Wickaninnish Inn. The Pointe Restaurant is a bit expensive, but we think it is extraordinary value for money. A modest dinner for the two of us grand totaled to CD$ 300, including a lovely bottle of Chateau de Beaucastel Cotes du Rhone Coudoulet de Beaucastel 2005 ($90 restaurant price). We were definitely not thinking about the bill as we reveled in the skilled service and the taste magic coming from the kitchen.

The Pointe is famous for innovative Pacific Northwest cuisine built on locally grown produce and seafood from the surrounding waters. We were happy to see that the deep wine list was not restricted to promoting BC wines [an unfortunate theme we have seen in the upper range of Vancouver Island restaurants].

For the record, we enjoyed these dishes:

Chilled Grapefruit Soup

Tofino Dungeness Crab, Melon, Mint, Campari Ice



Ahi Tuna Tempura

Asparagus & Marinated Vegetable Salad

Fresh Watercress, Tomato Emulsion



Braised Pacific Rock Fish

Local Mussels, Tomato Ragout, Gin, Basil, Saffron Aioli

The above descriptions should be regarded like the abstract of a scholarly paper. The actual composition of each dish is much more varied and complex. No doubt some of the seaplane traffic flying into Tofino from Vancouver and Victoria are couples coming to dine at the Pointe.