Returning home from a day of successful salmon fishing in Tsawwassen, we stopped in Mission for dinner. The drive is just about 2 hours to home so the stop was nice, and an opportunity to check out one of the more acclaimed restaurants in the area could not be missed.
As their name suggests, all of the items the restaurant serves are made in-house and from scratch, a fact they pride themselves on as they boast supporting the local farmers in the area when sourcing their produce and proteins. From the Worcestershire sauce in the Caesars to the fermented black garlic that goes into their ice cream and is sold in grab and go packs. This calibre and attention to quality speaks to the owner’s background in catering.
I have not had much experience dining in the city of Mission, but based on what I have driven past and heard of, Scratch is definitely one of their more upscale finer dining options. Something you would not expect located on the second floor of the city’s Best Western Plus Hotel.
Looking around Scratch’s spacious dining room with simple decor and trendy light fixtures, and noting the sunken bar and adjacent dance floor, this is the kind of restaurant you would expect as a chain in Vancouver. Unexpected, but readily welcomed as a livelier and happening destination in the area. And I have been told that they have plans to utilize all the extra space for a live DJ and regular dance nights come the new year.
We started our evening with some of their signature cocktails. The Pineapple Patron Sour was a mix of Patron Silver, pineapple juice, lime juice, and soda. A easy citrus spritzer, it was more tart limeade than sweet with tropical pineapple.
The Whiskey Rosemary Smoke was the showstopper. Assembled table side, the pre-smoked smokey rosemary glass is overturned then in goes an ice cube block that is pour over with a shaken mix of whiskey, honey simple syrup and bitters. The smoke gives the whisky a peated quality and the sugars an easy finish.
I have said it a handful of times and will continue to say it, I cannot turn down brussel sprouts. These are Balsamic Brussel Sprouts, fried crispy and tossed with their house-made balsamic reduction and finished with fresh grated Parmesan cheese. The amount of sweet and heavy balsamic used had the sprouts feeling sticky and dense, instead of the ideal crispy on the exterior and crunchy at the core.
The Calamari arrived hot and crispy in batter, definitely fried to order with black garlic tzatziki, pickled onion, pickled Fresno and jalapeño. I especially appreciate how they were so generous with the tasty tzatziki, but did not get any of the black garlic in it.
As we were here celebrating a birthday, we decided to indulge in the 12oz Ribeye special with roasted vegetable, mashed potato, and Yorkshire pudding. Sadly, the plate came to us closer to room temperature, with the centre doughy pocket of the Yorkshire pudding being most noticeably cold. The gravy was beefy, the vegetables we closer to a mash than the firm crisp I was hoping for, but at least the fragrant garlic puree over it all was a nice note. As for the steak it was a fattier cut and served closer to a medium than the rare we wanted, and still not as warm as you expect it would be served to order.
The house made Gnocchi is a must. Pan seared with a cashew basil pesto cream sauce and sweet peas. I love peas and was happy to have as much as I did here. Their freshness helped to balance out all the luscious cream sauce and had me returning scoop after scoop of these soft and chewy nuggets. I distinctively recall going “Mmmm” on every bite.
And as a surprise for the birthday boy the restaurant spelled out a birthday greeting on their most popular dessert. The Apple Pie Volcano is another must order when visiting Scratch Mission. This is a handmade apple phyllo pie stacked like a mountain with jagged phyllo shards hiding a centre of soften cinnamon apple chunks. Surrounded by a moat of maple butter and toasted walnuts. All topped with a scoop of nitrogen prepared ice cream in a black garlic and heavy cream flavour.
The flavour of the garlic does not come through but acts an accent heightening the sweetness of the vanilla. As a whole the dessert was fun to eat, as you dug your way through the light and crunchy texture of the buttery crust, got the crunch of the nuts and licked the caramel and maple cream from between your lips. What a wonderful dessert.
If you are ever in the area and/or driving through be sure to stop by Scratch Mission, you will not regret it. They are doing great things to have their farm to table concept be a reason why you need to visit Mission.
Scratch Restaurant, Patio and Lounge
32281 Lougheed Hwy., Mission, BC V2V 1A3, Canada
+1 604-287-3663
scratchrestaurant.ca
