Carthage Cafe - Vancouver

Good food! Although the service was a little mixed when I went in, and the portions could serve to be a bit larger. I definitely intend to go back, though.

When I visited: Weekday evening<br/ Booths? No<br/ Noisy? No<br/ Lives up to it’s name? Less of a cafe, more of a restaurant. No alliteration there though I suppose.<br/ Candies with Bill? Yes but boring.<br/ <br/ This is one of those restaurants that provide a little basket of complimentary bread with your meal – though I read somewhere they charge for refills. We tried the Moroccan iced tea which was fine, and my date had the seafood bouillabaise -fish of the day, scallops, tiger prawns and mussels in saffron broth and she said it was decent. I really appreciate restaurants that have ‘sampler’ plates where I can try a bunch of different stuff in one entree, so I chose the Couscous Carthage – steamed couscous, chicken, lamb, merguez and autumn vegetables in tomato sauce. It was pretty good. Service was good. Music was light and jazzy and Frenchy but not offensively so.<br/ <br/ Although this is indeed a unique dining experience, the food won’t knock your socks off. Desserts “all made on site” but still overpriced. I could get that tart in a deli for half the price. I’ve been here twice – I probably won’t go back, I feel like I’ve got the experience and don’t need to spend the money a third time. I would recommend it though if you haven’t been, are looking for something a bit (but not wildly) different, and don’t mind spending some money.<br/ <br/ Biggest Rave: If you’re looking for some fine dining that is open past 9pm this is an option!<br/ <br/ Biggest Rant: Unnecessarily hoity-toity. Also – I don’t understand these thin, dry sausages. Who likes them?<br/ <br/ TRIVIA: Carthage is a seaside suburb of Tunisia’s capital, Tunis…in Africa! It was once the center of the ancient Carthaginian civilization.

Very good. We had El Atlas mussels, seafood soup and salad Nicoise. Everything tasted good with very French touches. Ie. capers and anchovies in the salad,well made fish stock in the soup. Mussels were plump in a saffron and ginger broth. Service was excellent. Restaurant was clean and chairs were comfortable(this is a pet peave of mine). Next time I'll try the tagine items.

Nice surprise. Came here for dinner because they have escargot. When we arrived, the server noticed us immediately and told us our table will be ready in few mins which was fine. Although this place doesn't really have a waiting area so it can be a little awkward standing in the middle. Anyway, food was done great especially for the price. Unfortunately when I was they were out of muscles. Server was attentive and polite. Will come back for sure.

Impressed. I am a good cook so when I eat out I tend to be quite picky. The food was delicious! I had the carthago mussels to start, it 's a spicy harrisa sauce, delicious but definitely not for those scared of hot dishes! My boyfriend started with the french onion soup, it was nothing special but not bad either. I had the rack of lamb... amazing! So tender, they made mine with the peppercorn jus because i don 't like mushrooms. Most restaurants slop over cooked carrots and broccoli on the side of your plate and try to call that 'seasonal vegetables ' but I was quite happy to see a nice variety of fresh, crisp, well seasoned vegetables. My boyfriends NY steak was done to perfection, really quite nice.<br/ <br/ Altogether I was quite happy with the food and service. Better than I expected.