Great Canadian Casino has come to the Tri-Cities and have taken over once existing casino properties Hard Rock and River Rock. This move has come with a rebranding and new partnerships to breathe new life into both properties. This includes teaming up with Live Nation for more performances and entertainment prospects (an estimated 20-40 in the works) and new restaurant concepts, which includes Canada’s very first Gordon Ramsay restaurant.
This is Gordon Ramsay Burger located within Great Canadian Casino Coquitlam, and we were invited to attend the official opening with ribbon cutting ceremony.
On this day the restaurant has actually been open for a week now, running their soft launch. The ceremony saw the mayor of Coquitlam turn out, with many senators, as well as several members of the chamber of commerce. All here to support a new business that is sure to bring many into Coquitlam. In fact we were informed that as of today Gordon Ramsay Burger has over 5,000 reservations, and you won’t be seated until mid January of 2024 if you are looking for your own. Lucky for us, this invitation also granted us an opportunity to dine at the restaurant, and try many of their appetizers, along with the famous burgers.
During the ceremony plenty of photos were taken, a golden ribbon cut with giant matching novelty scissors; and even though Gordon himself was not there to christen the day, he did send over a recorded greeting. In it he thanked all those who supported the venture, put work into making it happen, and ended with a promise to return to Vancouver soon.
Gordon Ramsay Group’s Culinary Director and Executive Chef were here in Gordon’s stead. In Coquitlam to ensure everything was to their Group’s standard. Chef Rueben is the top culinary chef for the Gordon Ramsey Group in North America, and actually that travels around launching all openings, such as this.
Everything on the menu must be vetted and approved by them before launch. Worth noting is that nothing on the menu is exclusive to Vancouver. Instead, diners can expect a rotation of seasonal items and recipes from other menus exciting menus, but at different times.
The restaurant is casual, which is on brand with this venture. I walked in without any expectations, however at the same time had high ones given the celebrity of his name, and knowing he has built his brand on high standards.
The restaurant is fairly simple in design. There is plenty of seating for larger parties, and decor includes a few nods to Gordon and his home country. The Union Jack is splashed across the ceiling and photos of the celebrity chef are framed amongst cooking accoutrement.
Expect a casual chain feel and menu to match, with a one sheet drink list on one side and their food menu on the other. We would start with a few appetizers to share, before trying their top four popular burgers, followed by a drinkable dessert.
The drink list is where they are able to inject local flavour into the restaurant. All but one wine option is from BC’s Okanagan. And similarly, majority of the beer choices are locally sourced and includes breweries from Port Moody and Coquitlam.
I thought to explore their cocktail list with the most stereotypically Gordon Ramsay cocktail of them all. “Oh Bloody Hell!” was his take on the Canadian Caesar with absolute vodka, clamato, worcester, and pickle juice. Although it felt lacking with a barely their rim and minimal edible garnishes. The mini bottle of hot sauce somewhat made up for it, with the ability to add heat as you like.
For food we tried their Caesar Salad with creamy garlic dressing, romaine, kale, green apple, house made garlic croutons, parmesan, and lemon zest. Fresh and clean, I appreciated the extra effort in the croutons, but wanted more of them. Same went for the brightness from the thin slices of Granny Smith apples. But honestly I would not come in to a burger spot to order salad anyways. Especially seeing as there was nothing distinct about this. No new element unseen else were, nothing to make this more memorable.
Similarly, I don’t expect to order hummus and dip at a burger joint, but did really like their approach, topped with a pickled red pepper coulis and whole chickpeas, served chilled. It was also nice to have the option to enjoy it with either room temperature pita or raw vegetable sticks.
Now the Street Corn Dip I did want to see and like. It is similar to enjoying elote-style corn with jalapeno, cotija cheese, parmesan, lime, and cilantro; but in a dip form. A chunky spread with whole sweet corn kernels, plenty of salty cheese, and enough of all the above to enjoy generously with the blue corn tortilla chips. I can recommend and would get this again.
I can also vouch for the Hellfire Chicken Wings, well coated in their hellfire sauce and served with a side of blue cheese for dipping into. A tangy tabasco-like Buffalo hot wing, given more glamour with a topping for green onion and chilli slices. Tasty, but no where near as hot as its name suggests. Medium tickle at most.
When it came time for the burgers they were presented to our group on an elongate wooden platter. A collection of their top four, each branded with a wooden pick. However, normally all burgers will be served with your choice of either fries or a side salad.
Options to upgrade your side includes truffle Parmesan fries which are their regular thick cut potato sticks dressed in parmesan cheese. The truffle comes from the truffle aioli served on the side. This also comes with a side of their house ketchup, which is less vinegary than the bottle kind with preservatives. I could tell this paste was fresh and you can still taste the tomato at its core.
Their take on sweet potato fries was interesting. Already on the sweet side, the sweet potato sticks were further given a dusting of vanilla powdered sugar. Then presented with a honey jalapeño aioli and a chipotle ketchup to both parallel and contrast the sweet candied yam feel of these fries.
And if you order the fries alone, as “Just Fries” it comes topped with chives and accompanied by house ketchup and chipotle ketchup.
All the burgers come with the same toasted sesame seed brioche bun. I liked the look of the generous sprinkling of black and white seeds, but found the airy bun oddly dense, especially in their “American” style burger. This is more formally known as the “Backyard Burger” with American cheese, bibb lettuce, tomato, red onion, and bread & butter pickles. Here, I would have liked more of a soft milk bun-like texture to contrast the drier patty and lack of sauces. I did appreciate the salted and deeply charred edges of the patty, but find that Vancouver is so blessed with great burger options, that I cannot help but to compare, and was left wanting more.
In truth, I even endeavoured on a mini burger crawl recently, so am aware of what is available as competition. The recipe however was delicious and I know I would have liked it with either a juicy smashed all beef patty, or this one more pink and softened at the centre. Plus some mayonnaise or a garlic aïoli to add moisture and rally all the raw vegetables together. Even more pickles for freshness would have helped. Nonetheless, if you can only order one burger, this would be the safe choice I recommend.
Although their signature burger is the Hell’s Kitchen Burger, listed as spicy with roasted jalapeños, avocado, mozzarella, and roasted tomato. Just looking at it, this was a tall order. The kind of burger you have to unhinge your jaw for, thanks to a whole avocado half crowning the patty. It served as a faux spread with its creamy texture, while also offering some cooling to balance out the whole soften roasted jalapeño at the core of this. An interesting twist and take, but I could have used more bold flavours to take this one home. A goat cheese or feta crumble perhaps?
With minimal toppings you can really taste the quality of the beef patty in the Farmhouse Burger. The salty, thick butcher’s cut bacon and gummy yolk of the fried egg are the stand out here. But dense and dry, I would have liked a simple mayonnaise to inject some brightening tang, or better yet a honey mustard-like hollandaise to add some moisture and bring the breakfast theme full circle.
And for a non-beef option, look to their Southern Yardbird featuring their only chicken patty. This is topped with sharp cheddar, bread & butter pickles, bibb lettuce, and a mustard BBQ. This was the sauciest of all the burgers. A unique flavour that had you going back for additional bites with notes of tangy, sweet, salty, and tart.
It was the most exciting for the bunch, but the table was split on the patty itself. Made with a blend of both white and dark meat, I didn’t mind the chicken nugget-like texture (thinking it gave the burger a unique character), where as majority of the table wanted a whole white meat chicken breast.
Not offered, but other handheld options I wish we got to try today was the lobster roll and truffle burger with truffle goat cheese. I also would have loved to bite down on their blue cheese burger considering how great their blue cheese dip was, above.
I fully appreciated the length of the hotdog, however other than its exaggerative presentation. This was no different than a stadium dog. But don’t get me wrong, I would still order it for novelty alone. We had the Straight Up Dawg which is a footlong hot dog in brioche bun dressed with dill pickles, onions, mustard, and ketchup. In retrospect, I wish we got the more exciting Bloody Mary dog instead. This one would have been wrapped in bacon and dressed in a Bloody Mary ketchup. But oh well, I guess there has to be a reason to return.
And if you’re looking for dessert or something sweet to accompany your meal, they have that all in one, as a milkshake. The Oreo Crème Brûlée Shake is an oreo milkshake at its core, topped with crème brûlée pudding and finished with whipped cream. The only thing missing was the shatter sugar topping for it to be a true crème brûlée, but we certainly got the flavour of it in the custard. This is a playful twist on the classic cookies and cream milkshake.
The Sticky Toffee Shake came with a nice story. Apparently Gordon surprised his mother with this one, by inviting her to one of his restaurants, and ordering her the shake; only for her to realize it was her recipe in a glass. Sticky toffee shake with brown butter ice cream, almond toffee, and biscoff cookie. Caramel and plenty of crispy toffee bites, I liked this one the most out of the two.
In conclusion, this was a great opportunity to see how Canada, Vancouver specifically executes on an international concept. Sadly, I don’t think it quite measured up to Gordon Ramsay name. The flavours are there, the presentation this its mark. But when you see Gordon Ramsay’s image and hear him speaking to the restaurant’s high standards, you can’t help but judge.
However, don’t let me scare you away. I am chalking this up to new restaurant blues. And the staff and chefs will only get better once the team solidifies themselves, and has more experience working together. Not to mention, considering this is a casino restaurant and they see all walks of people, the goal is to have a broad appeal, and they have certainly done this while toggling the tightrope of exotic ingredients and unique pairings.
Rumour has it that Gordon will be visiting in the near future, so I will look forward to my return trip then, and an updated review.
Gordon Ramsay Burger Vancouver
Great Canadian Casino Vancouver
2080 United Blvd, Coquitlam, BC V3K 6W3
(604) 516-7130
gordonramsayrestaurants.com
