Meo: $80 Tasting menu in Chinatown cocktail bar
I am such a sucker for tasting menus and omakase because I don’t have to make any decisions 😌! It’s also a great way to try a little bit of everything a restaurant has to offer.
For a celebration, my friends and I checked out Meo in Chinatown. They seem to lean more towards a cocktail bar but also have a full food menu. As a group of 6, we chose the tasting menu which can be customizable and range from $60-80 per person. Based on our dish selection and modifications, our menu ended up being $80 per person for 10 courses.
📍 Meo
265 E Pender St, Vancouver, BC V6A 1T8
The vibe
The vibe of Meo is so posh. It has the feel of a speakeasy – intimate, velvety, dim lighting. The colour palette is also quite pink, giving it a feminine and cute look for photos 💖. I also love the cat painting behind us.
We reserved the dining booth and it comfortably fit 6 people and can fit more. The booth is like a half circle but we were able to all see each other and talk to each other without any issues. The booth seating is very comfortable and plush and there is a lot of table space for all the dishes.
Food and drinks review
Here is a review of all the dishes we ate during the 10-course tasting menu priced at $80 CAD per person. Each course had 6 servings and drinks were ordered separately.
Matcha highball ($18)
I don’t know why I was expecting this cocktail to look a different way, but it had a pretty simple appearance in a tall glass with a really long rectangular ice cube. If you remove this ice cube you may find there is not a lot of actual liquid but that’s how cocktails are 😅.
This cocktail uses Tanqueray gin, matcha, banana milk, lime, and tonka bean soda. It tastes so good 🍸! A great mixture of fruity and light/refreshing but also having a hit (can make you a little tipsy).
First course: Oysters
The first course was raw oysters 🦪 – one for everyone!
These oysters had a herb celery emulsion, giving it a green jello-like appearance. There was a burst of flavour that went with the sweetness of the oyster – an elevated flavour bomb.
Second course: Patata brava
The second course was one of my favourites because I have the palette of a child.
The patata brava had crispy potato puree, brava sauce and alioli. It was like a coquette with a big mac sauce so it tasted like a yummy fried potato. More of a two-biter.
Third course: Yukhoe tartare
My husband and I often order tartare if we see it on the menu. Meo has a yukhoe tartare, which is a Korean-style beef tartare. They paired it with nashi pear, cornichons, nori seaweed, capers, egg yolk and a Hachi mustard.
Portion was on the smaller side but for 6 people they provided 2 plates of this so that was more accurate. I liked the taro chips they provided – crispy and didn’t break, but the tartare just didn’t hit the spot for me as it wasn’t super flavourful.
Fourth course: Milk buns
I am not super impressed by courses that feature bread because it feels more like it should be a complimentary bread kinda thing, but this one surprised me a little 😯!
Inside this milk bun, which was fluffy and warm, was a curried potato filling. This gave it another layer of flavour and did not take away from the fluffiness of the bread. There is also some whipped fruit butter to pair with the bread, which was yummy also. Overall, the bread dish was good but not sure if I would buy it myself.
Fifth course: Truffle omelet
The next course was off-menu so it may not actually be called truffle omelet but that’s what it felt like it was to me. It was a thick circle with some truffle shavings in the center and it looked similar to a pancake. Overall, the taste was forgetful 😐, even with the truffle.
Sixth course: Pork chop migas
Moving into the main courses, our first entree dish was this pork chop. The pork chop is galbi glazed, which was interesting and a new combination. It was hidden under a few layers of lettuce kimchi and was paired with fried egg hollandaise, roasted pepper, and ssamjang breadcrumbs.
I found the pork chop meat to be yummy and cool since I don’t often eat pork with galbi flavouring. The lettuce kimchi was not fermented enough for my taste and in pieces that were too large. Overall, I thought this entree was just ok.
Seventh course: Fideuá
We upgraded this course to this lobster noodle to add a starch/make the tasting menu more filling for the hungry boys at our table.
This is my first time eating fideuá, which is like a Spanish vermicelli, similar to a paella except they use noodles. At Meo, they use Valencian noodles – these are very short and thin strands. The noodles are cooked in lobster broth and topped with seafood like shrimp, shrimp, squid, mussels, aioli and lemon.
I liked this dish although I do think the noodle to seafood ratio was a little off – there was a lot of noodles left. The lobster broth flavour did come through despite the aioli dollops and this course certainly filled us up.
Eighth and ninth course: Steak + veggies
The last main course was this steak and veggie pairing. This is also not on the regular menu, but the slice was pre-sliced and paired with chimichurri or salt. Portion-wise, it was enough for me but depending on how hungry your group of 6 people are, it may not be enough, hence why we ordered the lobster noodles for the previous course.
The steak was tender and fatty 🥩! Very delicious.
The side veggie was like a kimchi salad but I found it too salty.
Tenth course: Basque cheesecake
Lastly for dessert, we got 2 slices of the basque cheesecake 🍰. It comes with a seasonal preserve pairing and ours was blueberry for that night. The basque cheesecake was delicious and I found the fruit pairing to to really well with it.
Final thoughts
Loewe’s rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
We had a delicious dinner celebrating a milestone for our friends.
Meo has such a cool and posh vibe – I am in love with the interior, the pink plush seating, and the atmosphere. If you have 6-8 people, I recommend trying to book the special booth we sat in!
I am also in love with their cocktail program – the matcha highball is a must order! They were all delicious with a chic presentation and there are so many drinks to choose from. Price is on the higher end but you are in Vancouver.
Food-wise, I am happy we tried the tasting menu and I liked how flexible and customizable it was. My favourite items included the oysters, patata brava, milk buns, steak and the basque cheesecake. Those are the items I would order again al le carte.
I recommend you to check out Meo if you are looking for a cool place to grab a drink and small plates and have an intimate conversation, such as a first or second date. Otherwise, I recommend you to come for a celebration to try the tasting menu!
Sincerely, Loewe
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