Today were were checking out a new casual restaurant in Surrey. During our visit they have only been opened for three weeks, taking over from the Town Hall that use to be.
The exterior of the building is striking and honestly too grandiose for the casual bar feel and matching menu that lies within. It reads night club given the matte black finish and its name. Then even more so when you add in the red carpet, stanchions, and balloons; that I assume were residue from their grand opening celebrations. This all set our expectations higher than they ought to be and we were disappointed as a result.
Considering this was a bar, we started with a couple of drinks. Nothing really stood out for their signature menu.
The White Orchid is vodka, white cranberry juice, lychee liqueur, lime, and tajin. I was drawn in by the use of the tajin, as a more rare mixing ingredient. It gave the cocktail a tangy flavour with tart cranberry to balance out the sweet Soho. A cocktail for sipping, not pairing with food.
The Night Owl Gin & Tonic was a safer bet. Empress rose elderflower gin, lime juice, peach schnapps, lavender syrup, creme de violotte, and tonic. A sweet floral and fruity mix given a twist with the flavour of peach. The type of cocktail purposely sweet so you can drink and enjoy it more.
The food menu is a gathering of your familiar and casual bar offering with pizza, bowls, sandwiches, and a collection of international flavours.
The Meat Lovers Pizza felt basic with their house marinara, pepperoni, and bacon shaved beef. The latter more shredded beef than salty and crispy bacon, as we had hoped. The flavour was one tone, unexceptional, and salty. It could have benefited from a dip, and I should have asked for some ranch to give this hard crusted pie some personally.
The Karaage Bowl came recommended by the server and it was a lot more exciting with tempura chicken, mango, edamame rice, pickled vegetables, and sriracha aioli. I wasn’t expecting such a photogenic bowl with its bright and beautiful colours. It ate clean like poke with fluffy rice. I just could have used more toppings for more depth and textural interest, plus enough sauce to be able to coat it all and offer the bowl its only flavour.
Our favourite dish was the Pomodoro Rosa vegetarian pasta. An extremely saucy rigatoni with tomato cream, confit tomatoes, fresh basil, parmesan cheese, bocconcini, and microgreens. It has a mouth pleasing texture from the stringy cheese and tender pasta. Plus it had a comforting homey quality, as something I make and enjoy in the comfort of my own home. I am also partial to tomato and flavours higher in acidity, so this won me over all the way around.
The Cajun Chicken was sous-vide Cajun chicken, mashed potato, and grilled asparagus in a Cajun cream sauce. I found this dish too salty from the sauce that drowned and overpowered the mashed potatoes. It would have been nice to have it on the side, for self dictated dipping or pour over. At least the chicken was tender and the vegetables crisp.
The Chimichurri Salmon was my least favourite. A 6oz salmon filet with potato purée, asparagus, confit tomato, and microgreens. I found it heavy and dense with an over arching pesto and lemon flavour. Nothing I wanted to revisit after the first bite.
I tried to find something I appreciated about them beside the exterior of the building and the occasional owl that made a logo-ed appearance within. However I found the food average at best and not worth driving from Burnaby to Surrey for. Despite the branding this was only slightly elevated bar offerings. Considering their neighbour, I would sooner visit them instead.
Night Owl Kitchen + Bar
19640 64 Ave, Langley, BC V2Y 1H3
(604) 546-5100
nightowlbars.ca
