A stroll around the blocks that feed into Gastowns bustling Maple Tree (Gassy Jack) Square these days would make anyone wonder if the area hadnt already long gone over capacity in the restaurant department. Just off the top of my head I can count Sea Monstr Sushi, Cobre, Chill Winston, Boneta, The Diamond, Terra Cotta, Judas Goat, Salt Tasting Room, Peckinpah, LAbattoir, The Irish Heather, Salty Tongue, Cork & Fin, Nicli Antica Pizzeria and Notturno.
Is there room for more? Absolutely, especially if it comes to us from Andrey Durbach and Chris Stewart. The chef/sommelier pair behind on MacDonald, on Cambie, and on Main have just taken possession of 26 Powell St., a tiny sliver of a space that looks out onto the southern flank of the iconic Hotel Europe flat-iron building.
The space has flummoxed and failed many restaurateurs in the past. Durbach says theres been at least a dozen occupants in the 20 years since he purchased a loft on the same block (I can only remember Nicks Famous Cafe, the Brasil Stone Grill, and most recently, a Palestinian joint called Tamam). Their plan for it? A proper Spanish tapas bar called The Sardine Can.
Will it fly? I should think so. Spanish tapas is woefully under-represented in Vancouver, as are fun, casual restaurants done in a European context. The closest conceptual cousin that we have to it would be the Japanese izakaya, and we have those in droves. Not since La Bodega arrived on Howe St. some 40 years ago has anyone succeeded in really pulling it off.
Attempts, of course, have been made. When Cafe Barcelona opened on the Granville Strip in late 2009, local foodies had high hopes for it. It was small, cheap, and the food was authentic enough. I remember the delicious octopus toasts, the patatas bravas, and the juicy txistorra sausage well; little raciones that cost less than $3 per. Paired with Spanish wines and Estrellas Damm Inedit beer (instantly dubbed damn, I need it), it was a tasty revelation for Spain-starved diners. The owners had impeccable pedigrees, too: Beatriz Gill was a former Spanish Consul General and Roger Creixams was a native of Barcelona. Nevertheless, it lacked the atmospheric punch required of a lively tapas bar, and it went no surprise here unappreciated by Granvilles nightly legion of drunk frat boys and food-phobes out for a cheap slice. Consequently, it never lived to see its second birthday. Sniff.
And so this concept is seriously ripe for a redux, and Gastown, now at the zenith of its renaissance, is probably the best neighbourhood for it. Like nearby Judas Goat, The Sardine Can will be more of a pitstop than a full-meal deal, the sort of place where one will sneak a quick plate and a glass of Rioja before the game or a round of sherry and sneaky croquetas as stop #5 in a neighbourhood crawl. The space, which has some heritage bones to it, lends itself nicely to that effect.
As the name suggests, its going to be tight. Very tight. Try 22 seats squeezed into 500sqft, with half of them lined cheek-to-cheek at a bar that will play double duty as an open kitchen. The other 11 seats will be tucked into three or four tables that look out onto the sidewalk.
I took a look shortly after Durbach and Stewart were given the keys, and I can already imagine it filled with people on a Saturday night or on a mid-week afternoon (they will open earlier than most Gastown restaurants, at 3pm). But theres some work to do first. Theyre going to have to rip out the existing countertop and replace it with a bar (they recently found an aged lovely while on a salvage hunt); tear up the cheap-looking laminate floors; retrofit the existing kitchen with a few new components; perfect the lighting; complete a top-to-bottom scrub and do some serious painting. In other words, its coming is still a ways off.
When it does arrive, we can expect some 12 raciones: small sharables of manchego toast, croquetas, patatas bravas, quality chorizo, Cabrales cheese, and something presumably with sardines. Since Durbach is well known for his affection for bold, honest flavours, I suspect well see little in the way of delicate restraint on the plate. So nothing fancy; just unpretentious, straight-forward bites paired with 8-12 Spanish wines, a few Spanish beers, some sherry and at least two Cavas. All told, it almost sounds too good to be true. The offerings may be few, but they sound deliciously sexy in their simplicity, not to mention their rarity.
As weve seen repeatedly in the past, whenever Durbach and Stewart open a new restaurant, people flock. We shouldnt expect The Sardine Can to be any different, even though itll be the most casual concept that theyve ever put forward (the fact that they wont be taking any reservations will only add to its allure). Opening day should come before the start of summer, which cant come soon enough. Prediction? Home run.
