Rating: ????????
Price: ????????????
Address: 1485 W 12th Ave, Vancouver, BC V6H 1M6
Phone: (604) 558-1485
My wife and I loved Siena, because we went a few times in the past during dinner, the experiences were great. We loved the risotto and the antipasti, it is probably one of the fewer places that serve great risotto.
When Groupon offers the discount for brunch, given the past experiences, I order one without a doubt. Our experience on brunch, it’s different in a disappointing way. The service is a little slow because of 2 persons tending the tables, but the showstopper is the food. I feel like I am eating at a completely different restaurant.
The menu offers a handful 5 to 6 main courses, there is also a daily special on the quiche. We order the quiche and granola with yogurt based on the recommendation from our server.
Our foods come in about 15-20 minutes, the presentation looks good. They must have an abundance of arugula in the kitchen as all the dishes come with them. I love arugula and I have no issues with them, just my thinking is that if both main courses have arugula on them, then the yogurt should serve with something different, maybe some berries or some seasonal greens like lettuce? ???? The chef needs to be a little creative about it rather than doing everything under a set formula.
While my quiche is warm, my wife’s not. She is able to have it heated up. The quiche is all right, I have had better quiches. The yogurt is also all right, the texture and creaminess is similar to the one from Bel Cafe.
The smoked salmon benny on the other hand, is outstanding. The egg is done right and Hollandaise sauce is a good match with the bread like crust. The portion is great that it doesn’t have a thick bread. The large pieces of potatoes complete a fulfilling dish. I think if they could add some arugula to this dish would makes a huge difference in presentation and flavor. The potatoes could be friend for more crispiness.
My mother in-law orders the fritata. She says it is a little bland, I cannot comment on it because I only got a small bite. It tastes like the quiche without the crust.
We have not order any hot drinks since our next trip will be Honolulu Cafe. The mimosa is simply orange juice and champagne.
Siena’s offering brunch on the weekend makes sense, it can add extra revenues to cover the largest sunk cost of operating a restaurant – rent. However, given the quality of the food, I don’t think it can justify the asking price. To me, the same quality could be had at home or at a family restaurant. It will be a disappointment if you hold their brunch standard against the dinner standard. I suspect the brunch chef and the dinner chef are two different persons based on the presentations and flavors. However, if you are going there because of the Groupon, it offers tremendous value ????.