Ancora Waterfront Dining and Patio is a Peruvian and Japanese fusion restaurant located on False Creek. Their menu incorporates sustainable seafood with local and international ingredients. The dining space is gorgeous with a great view of False Creek and the surrounding buildings. The atmosphere is refined without being pretentious.
I’ve never tried this restaurant so I was excited to try the fusion dishes. We ordered a dish from each category on the menu to try everything out, as well as several items from their sushi menu.
The ceviche was fresh with strong citrus notes. The seafood mix was good, with my favourites being the scallop and shrimp.
Causas is a Peruvian dish made from mashed potatoes that is usually served cold. We tried the dungeness crab version and it was absolutely delicious. Each piece was loaded with a generous ball of dungeness crab that was sweet in flavour with no filler. The potato base was smooth and luscious and the crisp on top contrasted well with the overall soft textures of the dish.
The sea urchin was smooth, sweet and creamy. The presentation was on point being presented in a dish of ice which kept the uni nice and chilled.
The nigiri overall was prepared well. The rice to fish ratio was on point and there was an appropriate amount of wasabi on each piece. The salmon was firm and fresh with a lovely sheen and was my favourite of the bunch.
There are two sizes available for this dish and we went with the smaller sized. It was presented with two pieces of uni sashimi. I really enjoyed this dish because I’m a huge fan of yuzu and the flavour was present throughout the entire dish. I could do without the salmon skin chicharron as it didn’t add much to the dish. The XO sauce definitely adds a kick, and the spicy hits you up front before slowly mellowing out.
This was the stand out dish for me of the night. The piece of sablefish was absolutely enormous. The fish was buttery and melt in your mouth. The miso squash quinotto which was a play on a risotto but with quinoa was delicious although it was slightly on the saltier side. The sauce reminded me of the dish of sauce that’s always served with Chinese cheung fun (sesame and hoison sauce mix). A delicious and filling entree, this is a must order dish.
The restaurant was not busy at all on a Sunday evening and as a result we received pretty dedicated service. Our water glasses were refilled consistently and our dishes were changed out between courses. The ambiance of the restaurant is very romantic, and that coupled with the stunning view of False Creek makes this a great Vancouver date night restaurant!
