A server picks up plates at the pizza and pasta restaurant Nook in Vancouver on May 27, 2020.Jackie Dives / The Globe and Mai/Jackie Dives / The Globe and Mai
It’s been a glorious week for dining out.
Those first bites of dim sum at Dynasty Seafood Restaurant – peppery pork pie in flaky puffs of pastry, steaming siu mai and smoky fried rice singed by wok hei – were so damn delicious they made me gasp.
To be served a glass of crisp Chablis – in a glass I wouldn’t have to wash myself – while watching the sun set over the Salish Sea from the Beach House patio in Dundarave. This is a simple luxury I will never again take for granted.
And the laughter – my gosh, I must have sounded hysterical – when the server at Nook Shipyards joked about how she was going to lick the credit-card reader before sanitizing it. Yes, it was dark humour. No, she wasn’t serious. But after 9½ weeks of fear, uncertainty and social deprivation, it finally felt like the pressure valve had been released.
What is the reopening plan in my province? A guide
Restaurants are reopening in British Columbia, and life is slowly getting back to normal. The experience is not the same. We will have to get used to masks, gloves, slower service, smaller menus and higher prices. But it’s not bad. Not bad at all. And believe me, I was not overly eager to get back in the saddle again.
I had a lump in my stomach and a catch in my breath as I crept up to Nook in North Vancouver last Friday night. What if the experience was terrible? What if I got sick? I might be a critic, but I certainly didn’t want to be the first one to land a punch when the entire industry is down.
Dine-in patrons at Nook are required to have their temperatures taken upon entering.Jackie Dives/Jackie Dives / The Globe and Mai
Fortunately, my trepidation was put to rest as soon as I saw the big tables on the patio so widely spaced apart. A hostess in a jaunty red mask took our temperatures, while a group of eight was being turned away. The DoorDash delivery guy was waiting patiently well off to the side. The rock music was loud and festive. Within a few minutes, we were offered hand sanitizer and whisked to an indoor table next to an open sliding door.
The circulation of fresh air is good, right? Yes, please, a glass of wine. I’ll get used to this.
In the meantime, a few observations for those who are debating whether to take the plunge.
MASKS AND GLOVES
The use of PPE is inconsistent, but this is in accordance with the WorkSafeBC guidelines, which deems masks optional. At Nook, the servers were wearing homemade cloth masks, but one kept pulling it down. The restaurant group has since acquired plastic shields for everyone. At Dynasty, all the servers wore disposable surgical masks and gloves. At the Beach House, the reusable masks worn by the hosts and servers were so thick it was actually very hard to hear what they were saying.
“We’re going above and beyond what the guidelines suggest. But honestly, the messaging is really confused and muddled,” says Nook co-owner Mike Jeffs.
Hand sanitizer is available for patrons at Nook.Jackie Dives/Jackie Dives / The Globe and Mai
Craig Blize, chief operating officer of Earls, which owns the Beach House, says the guidelines give restaurants the necessary flexibility to get back to business.
Diners should be aware that the safety measures are different from restaurant to restaurant. Call ahead if you’re uncertain to ensure they land within your comfort zone.
NO PLEXIGLASS
None of the three restaurants I visited had installed plexiglass dividers, which are apparently impossible to buy. All three had ample two-metre spacing between tables. At the Beach House, there are “do not sit here” signs posted on every other table. Dynasty had heavy wood-and-glass barriers between seating areas and tables blocking walkways. Although the reduced capacity is horrible for restaurants, it actually makes for a very pleasant dining experience. You can spread your dishes out to the next table, and the noise levels are down to a comfortable hum. But if your risk tolerance is low, you might want to avoid sitting at bars. Although the seats were spaced out at Nook and Beach House and the bartenders were wearing masks, there was a lot of movement from other customers passing back and forth as they visited the bathroom or made their way out.
Customers would pass back and forth to the bathroom and exit, making bar seating feel a bit riskier.Jackie Dives / The Globe and Mai/Jackie Dives / The Globe and Mai
PRICING/MENU ITEMS
The prices haven’t all increased yet, but they likely will. At Nook, a daily pizza special with asparagus and burrata had bumped up a few dollars to $28. “That’s a bit aggressive for a pizza,” says Mr. Jeffs, who said he’d have a word with his managers. But he notes, fairly, that at 50-per-cent capacity, something has to give. Both Beach House and Nook reopened with a full menu. But both Dynasty and Oddfish (part of the Nook group) are having a hard time sourcing seafood. “Salmon, halibut and frozen prawns – that’s all we can get. It’s atrocious,” Mr. Jeffs says. In some ways, shorter menus might be a blessing in disguise. After all that time away from restaurants, I felt almost overwhelmed by all the choices and couldn’t make up my mind.
SERVICE
Be patient. Service is a little slower as everyone adjusts to the new protocols. We saw a lot of huddling at Beach House and had to wave a couple of times for attention. Nook was going through the growing pains of trying to juggle regular dinner service and takeout (a service it didn’t provide before). At Dynasty, it was obvious the servers were reminding themselves to step back and place the dim sum baskets on the edge of the table rather than in the centre and refrain from pouring tea.
Staff at Nook wear T-shirts reminding patrons and co-workers to maintain a safe distance.Jackie Dives/Jackie Dives / The Globe and Mai
SANITIZATION
As I rubbed my hands along the fabric-upholstered bench at Nook and then reached in for a slice of pizza, it dawned on me that there are no guarantees when it comes to safety. Those fabric benches cannot be sanitized between seatings. “We’re not making any guarantees,” Mr. Jeffs says. “There are a lot of things that give me pause.”
The ability to dine out again is definitely a welcome pleasure, but the onus is on customers to use common sense and keep themselves safe.
From now on, I’ll keep my hands to myself and eat my pizza with a knife and fork.
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