This weekend we took a drive out to Maple Ridge to discover Sunflower Cafe. This is a farm to table experience located on an actual farm, and had I know they existed prior to today, I would have visited sooner.
If you don’t mind the drive, the trip is worth it as an out of town, date night destination. They have called this space their home for over five years, and the locals were already aware of what they had in their back yard. With everyone else who was visiting, it was clear when it was their first time. We found ourselves coo-ing at the setting when we turned the corner to our destination.
The cafe hosts tables under a covered open patio, but the best seats are within one of their gazebos. We were shown to one that was surrounded by wild flowers and overlooked their organic vegetable and fruit gardens. This was the literal crop we would be eating during our farm to table dinner tonight.
Given the above, their menu is hyper seasonal, so adaptive that the tasting may change mid service. The menu changes daily based on the accessibility of the 200 different vegetables, herbs, and flowers green across their 17 acres.
The tasting menu is a curated selection of their regular menu pulled together. Designed for one, but with enough food for two to share. We would do just that and order additional dishes from their a la carte offerings to get a true and full look at their kitchen’s abilities.
The Sunflower Cafe Tasting Menu was five courses for $85, which is a fantastic deal considering the quality of ingredients and caliber of preparation. Five courses plus bread and amuse bouche, described as the ideal way to get a look at the best of what they have to offer.
The Sunflower Cafe Wine Pairing is $55 extra. A glass for each course amuse to entree, with none for dessert. This is a selection from their cellar designed to complement the artistry of their plates. Their wine selection is unique, organic and small batch, many of which I tried for the first time today.
However, we started with a couple of their house cocktails, both with edible garnishes sourced from their gardens.
Given our surroundings the Garden Vibes seemed like the apt choice. A mix of empress gin, elderflower liqueur, citrus, mint, and egg white. This cocktail was best taken alone, to appreciate its bold floral notes, matching the equally bold colours of the garden.
I preferred the Strawberries & Cream with strawberry gin, kiwi cheong, all spice dram, citrus, milk punch, and whipped vanilla yogurt. It was refreshing and tangy like a milky calpis. A refreshing glass that paired well with fresh greens, like in a salad.
Our meal began with their housemade buttermilk buns and cultured butter. Served warm throughout and fluffy, the butter pure and creamy. Both, together were a great start and an even better sign of things to come.
A little added treat were fresh cherries foraged by the chef. Small and sour you enjoyed them for the experience and fine example of foraging. However, awkward on such a large plate, we didn’t touch it thinking a bowl or something more was to be place at the centre of it.
This came alongside our amuse bouche of citrus cured tuna and fennel prepared three ways. There was fennel in the top oil, pickled fennel in the vinaigrette, and actual slices of bronze fennel. This was a lovely ramp up, the slight bitterness of the last fennel helped to perk up the appetite.
The first wine pairing was the sparkling Bella with notes of effervescent honey crisp apple and a blush of refreshing sugars. It transitioned well from amuse to our seasonal summer salad first course.
This is a salad prepared with fresh in season veggies, the collection of which changes daily. Today this included carrots, cucumber, pickled gooseberry, kohlrabi, nasturtium, and pea flowers. All on a herbed emulsion with whipped ricotta. You can tell that these were lovingly picked, just by how carefully they were arranged on the plate. Another acidic offering to further perk up the appetite.
This was paired with a dry, organic, and barrel fermented Pinot Gris from Sage Hills Winery & Organic Vineyards. I got notes of peach that picked up in fruity notes in the salad. It also carried well into the bonus salad below, adding a light citrus to wash.
Not yet on their menu is this experimental barbecue salad of sorts with charred bbq romaine leaves left on the stalk. Coated in a homemade ceasar dressing and topped with an oregano dominant pizza crumb for zest and crunch. A creative take that I have not seen and tasted else where.
Our second tasting menu course is the BBQ Porcini & Asparagus. Mushroom and vegetable dressed in a mushroom condiment, espresso jus, and pickled spruce. They described this petite salad as “localized chop suey” with a deep woodsy and smokey flavour.
The Scout rose with lots of skin contact offered notes of sweet strawberry and tart rhubarb. A refreshing combo that helped to refresh our plate from the richness of the umami above.
The 2022 Snafu was an unformed and unfiltered, gewurztraminer dominant wine with apricot on nose and palate. Its sugars helped to combat the overwhelming saltiness of the Pacific Lingcod below.
Lingcod boudin, kohlrabi, and a white wine sauce. I loved the elevation from the use of the fish roe and the morel mushrooms. However the roe made the already salty fish even more so, and the fragrance of the mushroom was lost from it being stuffed with a ling cod sausage. Sadly it would have been nicer just fish, turnip and sauce with edible flowers for garnish instead.
Our fourth and red meat course was the Roast Fraser Valley Duck with yhf baby beets, berries, maitake mushroom, and jus. The preparation of the duck was unbelievable, honestly the best none Chinese style bbq duck that I have ever had. The plate was well conceived with berries to sweeten and the seaweed powder over the roasted mushrooms to contrast it. Both adding their complexity to the larger slice of duck.
The 2022 Amelia Daydreamer wine was the perfect pairings would its tart cherry tannins running parallel and heightening the assembly with its own berry notes.
For dessert and the final tasting course we had their Chocolate Brownie with hazelnut mousse, chocolate ganache, candied hazelnuts, and chocolate tuille. It was not too sweet, the perfect portion size to end on a chocolatey note.
Our wine pairings ended with the course before, however, if looking for a great stock dessert wine, Clos du soleil and its sweet honey finish is an excellent and common choice.
As I mentioned above, we also got to try a few of their other dishes a la carte. These are what we found interesting.
The Beef Tartare with smoked mayonnaise, turnips, and traditional accompaniments; eaten on a hemp cracker. I have never had a creamy tartare. Its tang helped to highlight the natural flavours of the meat in contrast and picked up on the fragrant herbs. The cracker was needed as a base to carry it and to act as a buffer for the potential of one monotonous flavour.
The Parisienne Gnocchi with wild mushrooms had a similar flavour to the bbq salad thanks to the pizza crumb. I honestly could have done without it to better focus on the pillowy softness of the gnocchi. Once again heavy handed on the oregano, but better balanced here with the creaminess of a gooey slow-cooked egg and parmesan cream.
The 6oz Beef Tenderloin was a satisfying entree with potato boulangère, brassica, and peppercorn jus. A great meaty option for those looking for something more fulsome.
And their only other dessert is a Seasonal Tart with seasonal foraged fruit and pastry cream on a sugar crust. Served with a scoop of their summer berry sorbet, on a bed of wild black rice for texture. This season it was alpine strawberries, pickled goose berries, Saskatoon berries, and wood sorrel in the tart and rhubarb and salmon berry in the sorbet.
This is my kind of dessert, light to end, and more refreshing than sweet or rich. You could tell that the crust was made fresh, crispy to contrast the juicy berries and cream. I found the tart better as is and to give the sorbet its own solo moment.
In closing, we had an amazing experience and left raving about the setting, service, and servings. I highly recommend them for a special occasion celebration, worth driving out for. I would love to return to see what they have and are like in different seasons.
Sunflower Cafe
10225 272 St, Maple Ridge, BC V2W 1R1
(778) 522-4472
sunflowercafe.ca
