Ophelia: Modern Mexican food in Vancouver

Ophelia is a Mexican restaurant located in False Creek in Vancouver. We came here on a friend’s recommendation with our 2 puppies and ate on the patio. This review is based on an in-dining experience.

Patio

I didn’t get a good look of the interior because we were seated in the patio the entire time. It did look quite modern and fancy. They allow dogs as long as they are tied to the other side of the patio divider.

Patio seats are comfy even though not every table has shade so one side of our table was hotter to sit in than the other side. The patio was under cover and there are also heat lamps.

Food

We came here for lunch and shared 2 items between 2 people. We ordered from their brunch menu.

Molletes con chorizo o arrachera ($20)

I honestly cannot pronounce this menu item for the life of me. Luckily they explain what it actually is – grilled skirt steak or chorizo, garlic toast with refried beans, grilled cheese, pico de gallo and garden greens. We chose chorizo instead of the skirt steak.

I was surprised to see the actual dish because it wasn’t exactly how I imagined it (although I had no idea what a molette is to begin with). It’s kind of like an open sandwich? Or garlic bread with cheese and chorizo on it. The salad was refreshing. The bread part was yummy and something I’ve never tried before but I’m not sure if it justifies a $20 price tag.

Taco de arracherra y bone marrow ($21)

This dish has 3 tacos, all with grilled skirt steak, cheddar cheese, cilantro, Serrano aioli, flour tortilla and roasted bone marrow. You are supposed to scrape out the bone marrow onto your tacos and eat it with all the toppings – a really rich way to add more flavour to already very savoury taco fillings.

These tacos are delicious! I really liked how the cheese is almost like a cheese curd stuck to the flour tortilla too – it makes it thicker and more greasy/good.

Final thoughts

Loewe’s rating: ⭐⭐

We enjoyed our food at Ophelia and would return just for the steak tacos alone (so good). The tacos can be a little greasy because of the bone marrow and the steak but if you love this type of food then you will really enjoy it. I think their brunch menu is a little limited but their dinner menu has more promising entrees.

Sincerely, Loewe