Club Versante’s Acre Through the Seasons is a new Pacific Northwest-inspired contemporary dining experience in Richmond. The restaurant highlights the latest harvests from their own private farm and greenhouse on Cortes Island through a series of seasonal menus. In addition, you will also find the use of other stellar local producers that meet the exacting standards of Executive Chef William Lew and Restaurant Chef Lemuel Tsang. Acre Through The Seasons will be wrapping up Series 1 shortly. Luckily, I got to have a sneak peek of their upcoming Series 2 menu. This menu is themed around ‘Vineyards, Farms and Harvest’. To match this new series, the dining room and accompanying artwork will be transformed to match the theme. Check out my full review of Series 2 below!
Acre Through The Seasons – Series 2 (Courses 1-4)
The menu is $98 per person, and it features 7 courses with an additional wine pairing for $48. The courses are as follows:
- Snacks:
- Foie Gras – rhubarb, strawberry, lavendar
- Spot Prawn Taco – finger lime, avocado crema, serrano
- Eggs Nest – “deviled egg”, masago, trout, RCC caviar, katafi
- Roti – truffle, herb neufchatel, birch syrup
- Course 2 – Tomato
- Course 3 – Scallop & Kohlrabi
- Course 4 – Corn
To start we were given a beautiful tasting of snacks. Each mini morsel is crafted with such care and attention. All four snacks were fantastic but if I had to pick my two favourites it would be the Foie Gras and the Roti. The Foie Gras was rich and creamy, but the strawberry flavour really comes through. The Roti has a light crisp shell which just breaks into the smoothest cheese mixture that melts on your mouth.
Following the snacks we received Course 2 ‘Tomato‘. This dish features a Thai basil sorbet, silken tofu, lime dressing and aged fish sauce. The tomatoes were sweet and bursting with bright summer flavour. The Thai basil sorbet was light and refreshing and the silken tofu sauce adds a lovely creaminess to the dish. When you are almost done your dish, a gorgeous charcoal focaccia is brought out to pair with the remaining sauce.
Course 3 ‘Scallop & Kohlrabi‘ features buttermilk yuzu kosho, bubu arare, and pickled sea asparagus. The scallop is perfectly seared and sits atop lovely thin shreds of kohlrabi. The mild turnip taste pairs well with the sweet scallop flavours.
Course 4 ‘Corn‘ features chanterelles, chorizo, cotija, tajin, and a pasta sheet. The corn is so sweet and pairs so well with the salty chorizo and cotija. The pasta sheet is thinner than paper and just wraps up all the delicious ingredients for the perfect bite.
Acre Through The Seasons – Series 2 (Courses 5-7)
Following the 4th course, we are introduced to the heavier dishes of the night as well as dessert:
- Course 5 – Fried Steelhead Trout
- Course 6 – 36HR Brant Lake Wagyu Zabuton
- Patisserie – Grilled Peach
Course 5 ‘Fried Steelhead Trout‘ features cucumber gazpacho, apple, watercress and dill yogurt. I will say I am firmly anti gazpacho, but this dish may have changed my mind. The cucumber gazpacho was quite thick, leaning more towards a sauce and combining that with the dill yogurt it was like a creamy tzatziki. I have never had steelhead trout prepared this way, and it almost reminded me of fried chicken.
Course 6 ‘36HR Brant Lake Wagyu Zabuton‘ features potato foam, courgette, radishes, Okanagan cherry, and a red wine jus. The potato foam, for me, was the star of the dish. It was so light and airy, and I have never had potato in this way. However, I will note that the wagyu was of course very tender and delicious. The cherries added bursts of sourness that lightens up the dish.
To end a lovely meal, we had ‘Grilled Peach‘ for dessert. This dessert features a cereal milk semifreddo, raspberry gel, chiffon cake and almond ‘dirt’. The grilled peach was so juicy! The cereal milk ice cream flavours really shine through, and this was basically the fanciest ice cream sandwich you’ll ever see.
Worth a Try?
Absolutely. This was a stunning meal from beginning to finish. Each course has it’s own story and all of it works so seamlessly together. The Series 2 menu starts July 6 and will be available from Thursday to Sunday, with reservations available from 5 pm to 9:30 pm (last reservation). Afternoon Tea service with the same theme will be available every weekend from 11 am to 2:30 pm for $60 per person. Acre Through the Seasons is a lovely addition to growing collection of notable restaurants at the AMTD Versante Hotel.
Acre Through the Seasons
Address: 8400 West Rd #115, Richmond, BC V6X 0S7
Website: https://clubversante.com/acre/