AnnaLena - Our Michelin-Starred Dining Journey

Continuing our quest to feast at each of the recently christened Michelin Star restaurants in Vancouver, we found ourselves at AnnaLena on my birthday, March 22nd. Recently we graced the establishments of PUBLISHED ON MAIN and MASAYOSHI and we were eager to add this Kitsilano eatery as a notch on our proverbial belt.

This particular repast was excellent, although not without a few minor issues. AnnaLena has been around for almost a decade with Chef Michael Robbins at the helm since 2015. AnnaLena was named one of Canada’s Top 10 New Restaurants in its first year of operation and has consistently been named as one of Canada’s Top 100. Since 2023, AnnaLena has been recognized by the Michelin people as worthy of a single star.

Endive, sour dough crumb, miso caesar, pork XO.

And we can see why. Chef Robbins changes up his tasting menu regularly using the most seasonal and local ingredients to shine on the plate. He has a talent for marrying flavours, emphasizing textures and leaving you wanting more all the way to the very last bite.

Here is $22.50 worth of our extra wagyu beef. (Quite tasty, but not special.)

There are a few cheeky trends here: you will pay $149 per person at the time of your reservation to which a 20% tip is added. When you arrive, a charming server will tell you about some additional things you can add to your experience for an additional cost. For us, that was a caviar course (which we passed on) and a “savoury taster” of wagyu beef (in addition to the wagyu beef that our entree came with). For $45 we were able to add one serving and share it. (It wasn’t as good as the wagyu beef that was included.)

Then, of course, there is wine to choose. AnnaLena has 2 different flights of wine – the Classic (for $85pp) and The Ultimate ($185pp). We opted for the former. I will say that this is the first time I’ve had a flight of wines where a couple of them just missed the mark completely. In particular, an orange wine from Salt Spring Island was very disappointing and left unfinished.

The meal was quite spectacular, however, despite these slight annoyances. One particular dish, fruits de mer with a dill vin blanc sauce and an airy, sweet and crispy brioche-type bread was the highlight of the evening followed closely by the wagyu striploin with broccoli and sauce bordelaise. All of the dishes were creative and expertly presented.

Shrimp, dill sauce, brioche bun – the star of the show!

There were a couple of presentations that seemed a bit over the top, if not contrived, including a large styrofoam box with 2 small oysters in sauce. It was awkward reaching into the deep box to pull out the oysters. The final petit fours course was presented on a mock up of a sneaker sole – apparently the same one that Chef Robbins wears. Wait. What?

Tasty morsels on the bottom of a shoe – seriously?

The service was attentive and the servers were very knowledgeable about all of the dishes, the ingredients and their preparation. Colin thought that the 2-minute explanations for some of the wine pairings were a bit over the top. I surmise that at $85 pp they are trying to give you an “experience” including all the nitty-gritty details associated with each glass.

The dessert courses were memorable and the accompanying Esquimalt Vermouth with its peppery sweet essence was another highlight of the meal.

Caramelized pear, ginger walnut ice cream, chocolate custard, pink peppercorn waffle.

The restaurant is very contemporary with whimsical decorations – including Star Wars figurines on a shelf outside the restrooms. The noise level was what you’d expect and there was certainly a buzz in the air!

Apparently, the name ANNALENA is derived from two very special grandmothers, one whom is no longer with us.