Bar Gobo
Wine bar · Strathcona ·
Curated vinyl, natural wine, and Asian fusion cuisine
Curated vinyl, natural wine, and Asian fusion cuisine
"A bare-bones, hip natural-wine bar where friendly service dispels any hint of snobbery and a tiny corner kitchenette turns out a polished three-course prix fixe built on local, seasonal ingredients; expect clear, hearty flavors in dishes like wild nettle tortelli or roasted halibut with fiddlehead ferns, with tempting add-ons such as rosemary focaccia with burrata and a lightly smoky apple-onion butter." - Michael He
"I find Chinatown’s cozy 25-seat Bar Gobo to be the more casual sister to Burdock & Co., balancing inventive seasonal share plates, low-intervention wines, and a love of music. Dishes range from beets with sesame, tofu cream, and kelp to risotto with charred scallions and oyster mushrooms, and a panna cotta with coffee jelly and honey-soaked kumquats. The wine list focuses on natural, low-intervention bottles and the music is celebrated with Hi Fidelity vinyl decks in a space retrofitted for acoustic clarity." - Sara Harowitz
"This slender restaurant on the edge of Chinatown is home to some of the city’s most interesting by-the-glass wine options, including low-intervention and terroir-focused pours from around the world and around the province. Whether it’s an amber wine from Georgia or crisp pinot noir from a local Vancouver Island producer, Gobo’s Peter Van de Reep, winner of the 2020 Best Sommelier of BC competition, will help you find the right wine to pair with the attractively priced, prix fixe three-course menu. If they’re available, add the creamy Kewpie-spiked deviled eggs, served with a gloriously salty-crispy anchovy topping." - Nikki Bayley
"Scrunched into a bare-bones space scarcely more ostentatious than the humble root vegetable whose name it bears, the appeal here is more than skin-deep. At first glance, an air of insouciance seems only fitting for a wine bar with pours exclusively from hip natural producers, but the friendly service will quickly allay any fear of snobbery. The best surprise is the cooking, emerging from a tiny corner kitchenette tucked behind the bar and offering an impressive degree of polish in a slim three-course prix fixe—utilizing local, seasonal ingredients, of course. Whether wild nettle tortelli or roasted halibut with fiddlehead ferns, expect clear, hearty flavors; add-ons like rosemary focaccia with burrata and a lightly smoky apple onion butter are similarly pleasing." - Michelin Inspector
"The best surprise is the cooking, emerging from a tiny corner kitchenette tucked behind the bar and offering an impressive degree of polish in a slim three-course prix fixe—utilizing local, seasonal ingredients, of course." - The MICHELIN Guide