Ironically, I first got wind of this in a Toronto restaurant from an old serving colleague named Henry. One of my old regular customers named Paul Chalmers (who I would later serve in Vancouver as well) was backing a new restaurant effort called Fraiche. I’ve since heard they may have taken over the Bread & Tulips location (map) deep in the repressed upper redoubts of West Van (I’d link to the Bread & Tulips website but it’s gone). Opening imminently. Can anyone confirm or elaborate?
UPDATE: We had earlier suggested that Ray Henry was the chef behind this project, but a reader has informed us otherwise in the comment thread below. It’s Wayne Martin from Crave (ex Four Seasons).
UPDATE: First report here.
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I spoke to him yesterday. He is still in negotiations to take over the space, so it’s not a done deal. Fingers crossed …
Just wanted to clear up the rumours:
In absolute certainty, I can tell you that Chef Henry is NOT affiliated with Fraiche Restaurant in West Van. I am not sure who their “renowned chef” is at this property, but it will not be Ray Henry. He is currently working on his own projects.
It is going to be a dream team! I know that the woman running the front of house is “bursting at the seems” to call you Andrew but the ink is not quite dry on the contract for the Chef. The Chef is amazingly talented and can cook up comfort food and fine dining to please the toughest critics! The G.M. is an old co-worker of yours from Toronto…hmm could it be someone that Henry (not Chef Ray Henry, also a very talented guy) knows? Paul Chalmers and his wife Barbara are absolutely terrific as anyone who has known and/or served them knows. This is a coming together of old friends and old co-workers. If I were still in the industry I would be begging to be a part of this!!
The ‘Freshe” will be open in february. Guys behind project is same cry from “Crave”. Front is ex. Four Season veteran Marry Ann. restaurant has wonderfull location and should be hit.
was just wondering if there is any further news on the opening date? i live in lions bay, and am always interested in new restaurant openings on the north shore.
Mary Ann answered telephone at Fraiche today and said they would be open on the 29th of Feb.
After having dinner at Fraiche on Saturday evening, I am happy to confirm that Fraiche is open! Chef Wayne Martin creates the most wonderful food, the flavours and textures are always perfect together even when somewhat unexpected. The ambience is lovely and comfortably urban with a beautiful view looking over the twinkling lights of the city, the bar is perfectly comfortable for a person to dine solo because of the atmosphere.
I used to be a regular at the Bread and Tulips since I live nearby. I particularly enjoyed the ambiance, the views, the Halibut, the amazing bread, the background music and the excellent wines. The service was always friendly. I was very disappointed to see them go. The restaurant was never given a chance to build itself up and, apart from an unfriendly and I should say biased review from the Northshore News , it was not given much publicity. The owner being a fairly recent Canadian and not a “club boy” was not given much attention by the reviewers!
I went to the Fraiche restaurant last Weekend looking for the old charm. In spite of the raving reviews, I was disappointed. The service was overly formal and the food came late (we almost lost appetite) and it was a kind of a strange fusion of confusing tastes with over-flavoured vegetables and overcooked fish. The wine list was just off the local BC liquor store – nothing exciting. A few lower end California and BC wines with big markups and one or two really expensive wines. The deserts were just bought off from Thomas Haas and sold at double the price – not very original and a bit too heavy. The bill was very hefty and way above the average prices in West Van for a similar style of food e.g. La Regalade or Il Carmelo’s (where I have never been so disappointed).
I would probably not risk it again.
It is common for two people to visit one place on different days and come away with widely different experiences – or should I say widely different impressions.
Adam McT says he wouldn’t risk another visit to Fraiche. An experienced old folk, me, found it the finest dining experience ever enjoyed on the North Shore.
Perhaps Adam misread Mia Stainsby’s review and that led him to state that Fraiche’s “deserts were just bought off from Thomas Haas…” A better reading shows that Sun food critic Stainsby thought that Fraiche’s pastry chef had developed a chocolate dessert on par with those produced by Thomas Haas. In Vancouver, no greater compliment can be paid to a pastry chef than a comparison with the work of Thomas Haas.
Adam’s swipe at the wine list was unfair too. Because our choice from the list – a near impossible to find BC estate wine – was sold out, the server recommended a delicious Sauvignon Blanc from New Zeland. It was not one that I had experienced before but was fully satisfactory.
I agree that Fraiche is not inexpensive but I would hardly compare it to La Regalade, a fine French bistro but a cramped space that provides simple fast food and no view.
Tiddley Cove folks enjoy their hard to please reputation but folks, at least make the criticism fair and accurate.
Sorry Mr. McTaggart, but I must agree with NRF
your criticism is way off! How can you possibly trash Fraiche’s winelist when the owner of Bread and Tulips would charge $12.00 for a glass of Chilean wine that you could buy an entire bottle of for the same price at the LDB. Food prices were also no great shakes at the previous establishment…any bias with food writers might be well expected regardless of the fact that the owner was a newcomer to
Canada. The fact is that the previous owner had no experience whatsoever in the restaurant realm and it showed. As a wine rep I can tell you that Fraiche’s winelist is not just full of wines from the BC liquor board. On the contrary, many wines are brought in directly from the vineyards and and exceptional number of bottles are specialty items not available to the general public. If you consider classic California wines such as Kistler, Heitz, Cakebread, Neal, and Radio-Coteau as “low end” California wines then I really have to question your wine knowledge. Prices are more than fair for this list…many restaurants charge more for the same wines and deliver far less for ambiance, food quality and exceptional service. If you are going to criticize, get your facts straight
Let get our facts right and compare apples with apples. With due respect, please don’t compare a talented but unknown chef running an East Side eatery (Main and King Edward) who is now the Chef at Fraiche with Alain Raye of La Regalade who is one of France’s internationally known chefs with a best selling cookbook and Michelin star. This is like saying that VCC is Cordon Bleu.
As for the view, Fraiche’s view is limited to about 5 tables next to the window. The other tables have a pickaboo view and those near the kitchen must enjoy the view of the buckets and dishes.
In fairness to Bread and Tulips, the Chilean wine was one of my favorites and it was, as I remember, $ 14/bottle at the liquour store and $9 a glass at the restaurant. This comes to 30% which is the standard markup in any restaurant. To criticize a restaurant for keeping 30% food or drink cost just shows that people who comment on these things dont know what they are talking about. How much is Fraiche selling its wine at? What is the cost of the New Zealand sauvignon blanc referred to by the above comment (which by the way is a BC liquor store $10 staple.)
Probably the least appealing aspect of the new restaurant as compared to the old restaurant is the fact that those running it are just employees and the owners are nowhere to be seen. The place has lost its soul which is characteristic of a hard working owner. This is why I love Italian and French restaurants because the owner is putting his life and soul on the table, as Alain Raye does at la Regalade or the owners do at Carmelo’s .
The desserts that I ate were from Thomas Haas!
Once again, you really should do your homework…an “unknown” Chef to you who happened to run the brigades at several Four Seasons Hotels before he opened Crave…(you may have heard of them, a little company which has been recognized as #1 in the world for their very discerning luxury Hotels).
Chef Wayne Martin actually IS one of the owners and he, along with the General Manager also put their life and soul on the table, spending more hours than you can possibly imagine there.
They earned their accolades through a lifetime of international hard work in the industry, and on the contrary have more soul than most owners who go into the business because they want to become instant celebrities, as several of the past servers of B&T have told me was the case with its owner. I have absolutely the greatest respect for Alain Raye at Le Regalade and will continue to dine there but my point is that I celebrate the fact that both restaurants have their own style and equally talented people. If you feel that Fraiche is not your style than you have the right to dine at your Italian and French restaurants and we will thank you for giving us the ability to book the coveted table that you chose to give up.
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