My company had been trying to organize a work event in the summer while the weather is gorgeous in Vancouver. Due to the nature of Vancity weather, the weather is usually only nice for about two months of the year, in July and August. So everyone tries to fill up their summer weekends as much as possible with outdoor activities. Because of this, it had been nearly impossible to find a Saturday night when everyone was free to get together. The event had been planned, cancelled, and postponed many times. It finally happened last Saturday. We still missed a couple coworkers, but oh well.
We went for dinner and drinks at Dockside Seafood Restaurant on Granville Island. The restaurant was right on the water with an amazing patio perfect for warm sunny days. It was a pretty upscale restaurant with a great atmosphere, lively vibe and an incredible view of the harbour. At a fine dining restaurant like this, I'm not surprised the food and drink prices were high and the food portions were small. However, the service and the food quality did not match the price. The server we had kept us waiting a lot of the times when we needed to order more drinks or get more water. Once the food was served, he never came and asked how the food was. Three of us ordered the mussels but the portion of one order was clearly way more than the other two. The mussels also did not have a great flavor. The sauce was bland and the mussels did not taste very fresh.
Despite the poor service and food quality, we had a great night. It's really fun to go out and drink with coworkers every once in a while, especially your boss ;) Everyone is more relaxed outside of work and we are able to joke around more rather than acting proper. We will definitely have another get together again soon. As for Dockside, I probably would not go back for a second visit, which is just too bad because I really love the view and the atmosphere. Personally, there are many other fine dining restaurants in Vancouver that are more worth the price.
More pictures of Dockside from the official website:
The lounge with open windows facing the water
The lounge bar
More information on Dockside:
http://www.docksidevancouver.com/
http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/14/180513/restaurant/Granville-Island/Dockside-Restaurant-Vancouver