Le Crocodile Restaurant

My favorite French restaurant in Vancouver everything is always excellent! The best place to have foie gras! If you want the best fancy date experience this is the restaurant!!!

I accidentally forgot to check the dress code when I came, and ended up way underdressed, but the waitress was super relaxed about my situation and made me feel welcome. (I think her name was Beatrice?) Food is fantastic and upscale — I had farafelle with veal cheeks in a Pinot Grigio reduction. The food was as good as the name sounds. The chef sent me a free tart and sherbet, which was super nice.

The food is fine, like 3 stars fine (but with «make it rain» prices). I also thought the service was adequate, like 3 stars adequate.
A seriously unfortunate event occurred during my visit which dropped this to a 2 star experience. And I am going to assume that it was an exception and not the rule. But we all know what assuming does!
First let’s talk about the food. What I tried:
Lobster Bisque– Congnac flavor was overpowering, very little lobster flavor, unbalanced sharp flavors, and very thin. I would not recommend this at all.
Lobster Tempura and Grilled Scallops with Endive Salad — The sauce was a little too acidic, but was otherwise pleasant. The scallops were cooked very well and the lobster tempura is fried food, so of course, delicious.
Filet mignon with foie gras (daily special) — The steak was cooked well (medium, not well done, that would be wrong) and was complimented nicely by the foie gras. The sauce was basically a deglazed pan, which is a totally valid sauce, but it wasn’t very interesting and didn’t add to the dish at all. It was not a sauce you would want to sop up with bread (the mark of a truly good sauce). As a special, I usually expect more interest, since this is the chance for the chef to try something out or show their creativity. This one fell a little flat.
Halibut with scallop (daily special) — The halibut was cooked well and the sauce was nice but here is where the very unfortunate event occurred.
Read on if you would like to hear about the very unfortunate event:
2 bites into the halibut and my husband pulled out a parasitic worm and then promptly found another one. I know that parasites are naturally occurring and this was wild caught fish. But that’s enough to give you the heebeegeebees and is completely gross. This promptly ended our meal.
This is a high caliber restaurant, so I would expect that they would inspect their meat carefully and may be even filet the fish themselves. Parasites live in the muscle, so are not always obvious, but if there were 2 worms, I can only imagine there were more. Also, I may have eaten one. Which, to put it mildly, is totally disgusting.
The service was kind, but did the bare minimum. They didn’t charge us for the halibut, but didn’t go out of their way to salvage my birthday dinner. It really sucks to have to pay $ 80 (CAD) for a meal that leaves you completely nauseated.
Am I being dramatic? Or is this NBD? I’m still pretty bummed because I carefully selected this place and was really excited. Also, I was only in Vancouver for 2 days and I hate that I blew a nice meal on such a letdown.

Wow, what an incredible fine dining experience we had here.
The menu was a little overwhelming so I decided the chef’s tasting menu was the way to go. Everything was beautifully presented and tasted fantastic! The extras were nice surprises: amuse bouche for all of us, shared a plateful of shoestring French fries, and milk and dark chocolate crocodiles to finish. We left full and happy.
It was also the exceptional service that we had from Pierre that made our experience all the more enjoyable. He knew the menu well and was able to make wonderful recommendations for us. Friendly and professional.
Elegant ambiance. We were even offered an umbrella as it started raining; in the end the doorman escorted us to our car which was just across the street.
Would definitely come again; everything about this place is worth it.

Fantastic! Excellent food, one of our favourites, and it is excellent every time we come here! Service is great, food is unbelievable. The food tastes exactly what you would expect it too, and for the price… You can’t complain! Your money is spent well here for fine dining. Perfect 5 stars, highly recommend. Even the bread and butter they serve here is delicious.

Consistently delicious food and good service, worth your money.
Order the bone marrow, it’s melt-​in-​your-​mouth goodness.

Food was delicious and the service was great. We will for sure return when we are in town. The wine we ordered was fantastic as well!

All of the items I order, I would order again and again. They’re just classic dishes at Le Crocodile that never gets old. Always good like the first time you had it, that’s the beauty of this charming French restaurant. For more review visit my blog

This restaurant is absolutely impeccable, from food presentation to service to overall ambience. It’s not easy to find this level of sophistication in service in Vancouver.

Restaurant was extremely busy and vibrant on a Friday night. The servers were running around admits the tight tables and as a result was more causal diner vibe than understated elegance. We got the tasting menu and the tomato soup (which was amazing) and caribou which was interesting but the half lobster tail was rubbery and tasteless.
Nothing that really stood out with the tasting menu. Food lacked taste, especially the entrée of White Sea bass and beef. Meh. We expected better

We went here a couple of times for celebrations. There were always really young children in our party. Perhaps for that reason, we were not receiving service as described by other reviewers here. They were professional but not friendly. So for service it’s definitely in my opinion 6.5÷10 for not being rude.
As for the food, I am comparing them to restaurants that charge the same. I would say they were definitely ordinary. .While there is nothing wrong with the cooking technically. The flavors did not blew me away. I am giving them also 6.5.
As for the ambience, it really not hard to tell the age of the restaurant. I understand the need to keep it a traditional french setting. But the carpeting and furniture should be replaced soon.

Le Crocodile is the real deal. They treated a late coming party of one quite decently. Service was top notch and to the point. Stoli martini arrived almost instantly. Two types of warm bread with butter soft enough to spread, right on. Lobster bisque was a generous bowl and well made. The warm foie gras appetizer with a calvados-​fond pan sauce was pricey but out of this world. The piece de resistance was the Sweetbreads entrée in foie gras cream sauce. Now this is how it’s done. A classic, civilized place. They do not skimp. Chef sent out extras such as a little quiche and a sorbet. Warm up your charge card though, as the prices are pretty staggering.

The food was 3 stars, service 5 stars, so total 4 stars!
My party of 3 went for lunch, and we ordered:
–beet/​burrata salad (it was whatever)
–crab cake (good)
–avocado filled with shrimp and cocktail sauce (kinda not good actually– mini shrimp smothered in mix of mayonnaise and cocktail sauce)
–duck confit (kinda tough, comes with fries that are whatever, the sauce was strongly sweet and sour– not subtle at all, like the shrimp mentioned above — and obliterated the natural taste of the few carrot slices that came with the dish)
–salad nicoise with tuna (so not impressed– slab of tuna on the most average salad you could imagine)
–halibut/​shrimp pasta (didn’t try but this person also said it was just so-​so; pretty presentation though)
–chocolate cake with ice cream (good, standard)
Portions were all huge– we were all stuffed after the meal and I skipped dinner tonight. The meal also came with several freebies: mushroom/​blue cheese tart (forgettable waste of stomach space); pommes frites (delicious– best part of the meal); sorbet with mint (meh– didn’t finish mine); crocodile shaped chocolate (I tried the dark one– it was good).
Service was super attentive and all servers were very polite from the moment we walked in. This was an area that they did quite well in. Opened the door for us, took coats, refilled drinks throughout the meal, asked how everything was at least two or three times.
So, since I care ultimately more about experience than the food, Le crocodile gets 4 stars. Can’t speak much to price, but the dishes I remember from the menu seemed average, $ 15 for starters, $ 20 – 30 for mains.
Wouldn’t return b/​c I can’t imagine ever craving any of the food I tried here, but if someone invited me I wouldn’t mind. Overall I enjoyed the experience. :-)

For Valentine’s this year, S spoiled me with a fancy five course dinner at Le Crocodile. Le Crocodile has been around for over 30 years now and is known to Vancouverites for being the classic fine dining spot featuring French cuisine. This elegant restaurant is known to impress.
Surprisingly, the restaurant was quite brightly lit, although they did dim the lights later in the evening. Many couples had already been seated when we arrived. I don’t know if the seating is as tight on normal nights, but I found that we were quite close to the other couples next to us, so it wasn’t the most intimate experience. Perhaps they tried to fit more people in during this night to maximize capacity.
Dinner started off with complimentary bread, which featured both white and whole wheat. Slightly warm but not the best I’ve had. I found it on the harder side.
Our first appetizer on the menu was the Dungeness Crab Cake Lady Purse which was served with a heirloom tomato and fennel salad with lemon and yam aioli. The presentation was beautiful with the puff pastry shaped into a beautiful fan. However, it got quite messy as the pastry got everywhere on the table when we began to eat it. The crab cake itself was pretty good and I really enjoyed the salad which has a nice acidity to it.
Next up was the Wild Mushroom Ravioli served with thinly sliced duck breast in a foie gras veloute. The duck was nicely cooked to a medium rare and I loved the earthy flavour of the mushroom filling paired with the foie gras sauce. However, I did find that the ravioli was slightly undercooked for mine. The edges were still quite hard. Not sure if they did that on purpose.
For our mains, we could choose between the Grilled Beef Tenderloin and Roasted Lobster Tail or Sablefish with Tagliatelle Pasta and Grilled Alaskan Scallops. However, S and I both ended up choosing the Grilled Beef Tenderloin and Roasted Lobster Tail. This was served with a pinot noir and black truffle reduction. The tenderloin itself was quite a large portion and I liked the crispy edges. However, I had asked mine for medium rare and I found it to be slightly more of a medium. Only the very centre was more rare. S’s was cooked on point though. The lobster was slightly too salty for my liking. However, I really loved the red wine and black truffle reduction. I couldn’t stop dipping my meat into it!
We were then served a palette cleanser which was the Pineapple and Vodka Sorbet. It was really refreshing and definitely cleaned our palettes from all the previous flavours.
Lastly, for dessert, you get to share their Valentine’s Dessert Creation. This was perfect since we were already really full! It came with a delicious coconut soufflé. This was super light and fluffy! My favourite of the three. In the middle was a chocolate brownie with maple caramel ice cream. On the very end were two lemon curd tarts topped with raspberries. I found these a little too tart for my liking.
And of course dinner ends with their signature crocodile chocolates (one milk and one dark). Nothing too special about these to be honest…
Overall, we enjoyed our evening at Le Crocodile with a great fine ding experience and service. However, I had higher hopes for the food and left feeling everything was good but nothing «wowed» me. You know that feeling when you want to go back already and have the dish again? That didn’t happen based on the dishes on the Valentines’ menu… I guess they settled for dishes that could be easily executed during the busy night, so I think I will have to come back again on a regular day to get the full experience and choose dishes they are famous for. Plus for $ 98 a person, this was quite a hefty dinner.
Pros:
— Consistent and good quality dishes
— Professional and attentive service
Cons:
— Expensive, although portions are very reasonable
— Dishes from the Valentine’s menu were good but nothing amazing
Price Range: $ 98/​person (Valentine’s menu)
1: Terrible 2: Poor 3: Average 4: Good 5: Excellent
Food: 3.5 Service: 4 Ambiance: 4.5 Parking: 3 Overall: 3.5

We always come here for special events like New Years Eve which is probably the dumbest way to assess a restaurant. «Would you like a cappuccino with your coat & hat sir?» So a weekday evening dinner was literally a nice change of pace.
The menu is daunting with chockablock of choices. But then the waiter launches into his sonnet to describe a long flow of specials. Sotto voce — hands fluttering — face animated — they roll out one after another. I got lost but I throughly enjoyed the delivery. (Is it my imagination or is this becoming a new thing. Daily specials as performance art?)
Since I had promptly forgotten the specials by the 6^th act I ordered by spying on nearly tables. «I’ll have her appetizer and his main. I’ll pick my own dessert.» Sure I could have used the menu — but hey «We eat with our eyes» eh! It worked. Escargots and lamb.
Fabulous meal.
Service was 5 star. Wine list long and sane. Desserts to stand up and cheer.
So bravo le crocodile.

I’ve been eager to try out Le Crocodile for a very long time and finally had the chance to go for my friend’s birthday. Initial ambiance was pleasant and mellow, the staff greeted us in french followed by the english translation. There were around 5 of us packed into a corner that barely fit us all (we had the reservation for 6 but the other didn’t show).
Starting off, we had compliments from the chef which was a smoked salmon dish topped with olive oil and corse sea salt.
We proceeded to order, the salmon trio, foie gras brûlée, oysters, pan seared foie gras and a warm asparagus salad. The salmon trio was a bit too salty for my taste however I DEFINITELY recommend the foie gras brûlée it’s phenomenal.
Followed by, Caille Grillée et Foie de Canard Poêlé(duck & panfried foie gras), Pâtes Fraîches aux Joues de Veau Braisées (pasta with roasted veal cheeks) Duo de Chevreuil et Confit de Canard (duo of duck confit and venison) and Fillet mignon.
The pasta dish was way too salty for me but the foie gras was amazing.
To finish, a passion fruit crème brûlée, lemon tart and chocolate crepes. All was amazing.
Our server constantly put us on a delay and was never there for us to order, he did forget to bring us our frites. But he knew that menu and the specials by heart with no hesitation and was very friendly indeed.
Our bill totalled up to be around $ 500 which is quite decent for the amount of food we ordered.
Ambiance: ⁵⁄₅
Food: ³⁄₅
Service ³⁄₅
Price: ⁴⁄₅

This is a review for the 2015 new year’s eve set dinner. We made a reservation 1 month prior to the date just in case. They called us 2 weeks ahead to confirm and then again 2 days ahead to confirm and also requested our credit card info for the reso. The hubs and I got to the restaurant at 6:14pm and was promptly seated. We didn’t feel like drinking and resorted to tap water.
We placed our dinner order at 6:24pm. Appetizers arrived at 6:38pm. The pâté was bland, the frog leg was nice and tender. Bread was served at 6:47pm. Butter is cold and un-​spreadable.
The first main course (King Crab Cake Wrapped in Phyllo PastryServed with Heirloom Tomato and Fennel Salad with Lemon and Yam Aioli) was served at 6:57pm. The king crab was a bit dry. Too much olive oil with the cream sauce rendering the dish too creamy. Second main course (Wild Mushroom Raviolis Served with thin sliced Duck Breast in a Foie Gras Velouté) came in at 7:19pm. The duck, frois gras, wild mushroom ravoli were all cooked nicely, but they taste better separated than combined. Third main course (Grilled Beef Tenderloin and Roasted Lobster Tail Served with Smoked Bacon infused Pinot Noir Reduction) came in at 7:50pm. The beef tenderloin was cooked to perfection. The lobster was a small little strip on top of the beef. Really dismissible.
First dessert arrived at 8:10pm. Pineapple and Vodka Sorbet tastes like any sorbet. We wondered why vodka needs to be there since it didn’t add any flavour to it. A rather small «palate cleaner» (as the server called it), since the scoop looks like it is for a child.
Coffee and the final dessert (coconut soufflé with chocolate raspberry tart) were served at 8:24pm. The soufflé was nice and bouncy. The tart is nothing special though.
Overall, we would give it 3.5÷5 (rounded up to 4). ³⁄₅ for Service because it was attentive, but nobody noticed we had a very wobbly table (table wobbles every time we touch our plates). ⁴⁄₅ for Wine list due to its extensiveness. ³⁄₅ for the food as it was just okay, but the tenderloin saved the day.

I booked this restaurant based on reviews way before our trip. On the way there I felt a little worried that we were going to have to take out a mortgage or order off the happy meal menu.
We were greeted immediately and went to the bar to wait for our table. The ambience here is very romantic without pretence.
The do a tasting menu for $ 85 which I considered but really I would advise to pick an appetiser and a main course as you seem to end up with a lot of food anyway. I had escargot followed my veal and duck while my husband had the bone marrow followed by Chilean sea bass. My food was all absolutely perfect. My husband wasn’t too keen on the baked bone marrow but I don’t think there was anything wrong with it, he’s just used to having in soup instead.
We had a bottle of wine. While it was excellent, the price was pretty high but that’s the norm. You are paying for the experience.
Before out appetizer the chef sent out little caribou tarts which were lovely. With the main course he sent out little fries and then before desert he sent out a dish to cleanse the pallet.
We both had desert and then we waited for the bill. It was $ 280. That included pre dinner drinks, 2 appetizers, a bottle of wine, 2 main courses and 2 deserts. My point is that you can come here and spend $ 280 or you can spend thousands. Either way the experience and the food are perfect. I grew up an hour away from france and my mother still cooks a few French dishes. I would say the chef is spot on.

I wanted to be wowed by this place but it disappointed me… the service was absolutely great; the ambiance feels a bit off specially if you have been to the new french bistros in other parts of town. It was fully booked for a weeknight so I was excited to be trying the food.
We started off with a bottle of Gentil from Alsace region, which I highly recommend. Then ordered the beef tartar, which was just ok. I didn’t like the fact that it was served with white toast:(
As for my main I ordered the rabbit leg, which despite being tender failed to amaze me… and the same goes for crème caramel.
Needless to say I won’t be coming here any time soon considering the good selection of other french joints in town.

Es war heute der kulinarische Höhepunkt in Vancouver. Der Service war exzellent, die einzelnen Gänge des Menüs ließen keine Wünsche offen. Ein unvergesslicher Abend. Danke an den Service, danke an die Küche.

I can see why Le Crocodile has lasted so long and always gets rave reviews. I have dined here once before but quite a few years ago and it’s definitely not a place I would frequent often. Not because of anything bad about the restaurant itself, it’s just an extremely heavy meal! For a special occasion it’s perfect!
The servers are attentive and accommodating, the menu has a wide variety of choices and the food is excellent! They have some complimentary offerings — a tart with goat cheese and asparagus (buttery and delicious) served after you have ordered and before the bread basket, and a pear sorbet after the main course. Unfortunately we didn’t have room for dessert or else this would have cleansed our palates before that course.
For appetizers, we had the crab cakes which was one of the many special items that day and also the bone marrow. Good portions for both. 2 full bones for the marrow and probably should have ordered 1 between 4 people instead of 1 between 2. Delicious but as it is marrow, of course it’s quite heavy and rich!
For our mains we had the special, seabass on Angel Haired pasta with a lobster bisque sauce and a lobster tempura and the papperdelle pasta with braised veal cheeks in a truffle oil and pinot sauce. The papperdelle with veal cheeks was my favourite of the two.
Would have loved to have tried a couple desserts but too stuffed so I’ll have to save it for next time!