Night Owl Kitchen + Bar: New fun bar in Langley
A new bar just opened up in Langley this month – Night Owl Kitchen + Bar π. We were invited for a sneak peek at their space as well as to try out many of their menu items. Here is everything we got to try!
Disclaimer: As part of an Instagram collab, all dishes and drinks featured in this post was free. But for transparency, I will include menu prices here and as always, my honest review and opinions.
Night Owl Kitchen + Bar
19640 64 Ave, Langley, BC V2Y 1H3
The vibe
The interior of this bar was quite fun. It had a dark and moody colour tone with dark walls, dark green, black countertops and a lot of fun lighting. The bar was also lit up in a fun way.
There’s a beer pong machine, billiard table and lots of seating for big and small groups. They also have an outdoor patio area too, which I imagine will be nice come summertime.
Food and drinks review
All prices are listed in CAD and rounded to the nearest dollar for simplicity.
Night Owl G&T ($16)
We got to try 2 cocktails – the g&t and a second cocktail that I forgot the name of. Both tasted fruity and easy to drink, plus they looked great! The g&t gave me Barbie vibes as it was super pink and sparkly π.
All the drinks on the menu sounded fun and pretty – and they’re all under $16!
Chicken wings ($18 – 50% off on Wednesdays)
Night Owl anticipates their most popular appetizer to be their chicken wings. They have a pretty good selection of different flavours and on Wednesdays, wings are 50% off – as expected of a pub/bar.
We tried 3 different flavours: Truffalo, Asian Zing, and Sweet chili crunch.
The truffalo was my favourite π€©! This surprised me because I am usually not a fan of buffalo sauce. Here they mix orange buffalo sauce with truffle mayo and parmesan cheese, giving it a creamy and rich flavour with a bit of zest.
The Asian zing was very sauce with Hoisin sauce, kewpie mayo, sesame, pickled ginger and green onions. The sweet chili crunch had Thai chilli, fried onions, fried garlic and basil. Both of these were good as well with the sweet chili crunch being my second favourite. I just thought these flavours were not as unique as the truffalo one.
Wings were decently meaty and the meat wasn’t dry. I will say that these wings are much more saucy than dry wings like salt and pepper. So if you like milder flavours, wipe off some of that sauce as it may be too strong or salty for you.
Kalbi butter shrimp ($15)
This is the first appetizer listed on their menu and it’s actually quite fancy imo. We have shrimp tossed in kalbi butter and paired with grilled sourdough bread.
I think in general this was a reasonable portion and price. The prawns had a yummy kalbi butter sauce to it, which tasted both savoury and a little sweet. It was easy to eat this with the bread also.
Avacado n’ chips ($14)
You guys know I am obsessed with guac π₯! This one here has a colourful mixture of different ingredients instead of just smooth green smoosh. It has charred corn, pico de gallo, feta cheese and pickled onions. Overall, had a nice acidity to it and the corn chips were beautiful π. I prefer my corn chips thicker and crunchier than the grocery store ones and these definitely delivered (and strangely reminded me of the guac I got at Earls before)!
Wagyu gyoza ($14)
I will admit I am not a big fan of dumplings or gyozas at Western establishments… it really irks me when they charge me over $10 for like 4 dumplings π.
Lucky for me here the gyozas come in 7 pieces and the filling has wagyu beef inside. Although I will say I can’t taste the difference between wagyu and non-wagyu when it comes to a fried gyoza filling (and I also question whether using wagyu in a fried gyoza is the best use for wagyu π€). Overall, this appie is ok but it didn’t deliver the wagyu dream it may instill in your heart.
Edamame ($12)
I… don’t think I have ever willingly ordered edamame before π but this is definitely the most loaded edamame I have ever seen and eaten. It is doused with house miso chili sauce and parmesan cheese – giving it a lot of flavour when you suck on the steamed edamame.
Thinking back on this appie, I will say that I think I liked it! I liked it, but I wouldn’t pay $12 for it, unfortunately π.
Loaded tater tots ($13)
I knew when this plate arrived it would be my favourite appetizer of the night. I am such a basic potato girl π… I can’t help it!
Loaded tater tots?? Are you kidding me? Of course they are delicious. Great crunch to each piece, great pairing with chipotle aioli, house sauce, bacon, cheddar, pickled onions and green onions. I can devour this entire bowl with a drink.
Buttermilk Chicken Sando ($22)
All the burgers are under $23 and this one here is the chicken burger featuring crispy Nashville style chicken in a brioche bun, creamy slaw and pickles. This was a hefty sized burger and I liked how the coleslaw and pickles added some sourness and freshness to the chicken patty. The fried chicken I feel could have been crispier overall, but the structural integrity of the burger was decent.
Fries were skinny (which I prefer) but a little salty.
Chimichurri Salmon ($28)
This main dish is the most expensive menu item at $28 (which isn’t even that expensive, honestly π€·π»ββοΈ). The chef called it a simple dish, but I found it to be quite elegant – a 6oz salmon with potato purΓ©e, asparagus, confit tomato, and microgreens.
I really liked the potato puree – it was soft and not grainy and paired well with all the components of this dish. The asparagus was prepped well and the tomatoes offered a burst of flavour. The salmon could have been more moist.
Pomodoro Rosa ($23)
This is a pretty good portion of pasta for $23 and it features one of my favourite pastas – rigatoni! It is tossed in a tomato cream sauce with confit tomatoes, fresh basil, parmesan cheese, bocconcini and microgreens.
This is a vegetarian dish and celebrates the flavours of tomatoes as every bite you can taste it in the cream or the actual confit tomatoes. Overall, a nice pasta dish but I would likely get their more protein-heavy mains as the prices are similar.
Cajun chicken ($27)
When this dish arrived, I got sudden flashbacks to eating at Cactus Club because it really reminded me of the cajun chicken from there. Here we have a sous-vide Cajun chicken on mashed potato, grilled asparagus and a Cajun cream sauce.
Presentation and portion aside, we found this dish too salty and I would say we liked this dish the least out of everything we tried.
Final thoughts
Loewe’s rating: βοΈβοΈβοΈ
We had a great time trying so many dishes at Night Owl Kitchen + Bar and want to thank the team for inviting us for the sneak peak/media night.
We were impressed with the presentation and quality of all the dishes and drinks π€©. When we think “bar food”, we really don’t think of dishes like this that have both aesthetics and fun twists. Flavours are bold and strong. Prices are also super reasonable for the amount of food and the quality. In terms of food quality, I think Night Owl’s positioning and value is more along the tropes of the Cactus Club, Earls, Milestones, etc. and not your local grimy pub or bar.
I highly recommend you to check them out as they just opened this week in May and they have fun vibes – bring your friends for a fun night out!
Sincerely, Loewe