Provence Marinaside Unveils New Tasting Menu & New Seasonal Dishes

Provence Marinaside Unveils New Tasting Menu,
New Seasonal Dishes and Summer Spritz Collection

Spring has sprung and with it comes the promise of longer days, fresh new beginnings and the onset of patio season. It’s also the season for new dishes, menu refreshes and new cocktails at Provence Marinaside – Vancouver’s answer to the Côte d’Azur, located across from the False Creek Seawall in Yaletown.
“This is an exciting time of year for us – we want to celebrate all the new ingredients coming in to season,” says Provence’s owner/Executive Chef Jean-Francs Quaglia. “For the first time ever, I am excited to present a seven-course Chef’s Tasting Menu that will be available for dinner service starting today. We’ve also added some new seasonal dishes to the regular menus and, we’ve enhanced our summer cocktail selection with the addition of the Summer Spritz Collection.”

Chef’s Tasting Menu
This special seven-course menu is priced at $120 per person with an optional wine pairing available for an additional $55. It will be available every day for dinner in addition to the regular menu. However, it must be ordered in advance through Open Table with a non-refundable payment. Start your dinner with Fresh Oysters, continue with a classic Salade Niçoise, then on to a mini version of Provence’s popular Crab and Lobster Rice. After refreshing your palate with Citrus Sorbet, your dinner continues with Dover Sole Filets before you have a tough decision to make. Do you choose the Charcoal-Grilled Beef Tenderloin or the Charcoal-Grilled Lamb Chops? The meal ends on a sweet note with La Surprise du Chef. “For the optional wine pairing I chose to concentrate on French wines from Provence and Languedoc as they perfectly complement the Provençal flavours of the dishes,” comments Joshua Carlson, Provence Marinaside’s Wine Director. “Of course, guests don’t have to go with this pairing, they can choose any of our more than 300+ wines by the bottle or 140 wines available by the glass if they prefer.”

New Seasonal Dishes
In addition to the Chef’s Tasting Menu, Provence Marinaside will continue to also offer its regular à la carte menus for Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch, and Dinner. These menus evolve with the seasons – presenting local ingredients at the height of their freshness and flavour. “It wouldn’t be a summer menu without the inclusion of guest favourite Salade Niçoise. It’s a traditional summer dish in my native Marseille and one of our most popular seasonal dishes,” says Chef Quaglia.

New on the Breakfast and Brunch Menus are two Tartines (French open-faced sandwiches) served on baguettes – Beef Tenderloin and Smoked Steelhead with Avocado. In addition, a Lamb Haché Tartine is available only on the Brunch Menu. Also new on the Brunch Menu is the Chef’s Brunch Salad (smoked steelhead, frisée, fennel, olives, tomato, cucumber, anchovies, boiled egg). A popular traditional Provençal dish, Herbed Green Chickpea Cakes, is featured on the Brunch, Lunch and Dinner Menus. In addition to the regular Lunch Menu, Provence has also introduced a Chef’s Plat du Jour with specialties such as Moroccan Spiced Lamb Burger (Monday) and Provence’s version of Fish and Chips (Wednesday).

The regular Dinner Menu also sees some new dishes appearing alongside the Herbed Green Chickpea Cakes – Mediterranean Caesar Salad, Grilled Fish Trio, Seared Halibut and Seared Dover Sole are some of the standouts in addition to perennial favourites such as Provence’s West Coast-Style Bouillabaisse, Wild Mushroom Ravioli, Provençal Half Chicken or Seared Beef Tenderloin.

Summer Spritz Collection
What better way to spend a lazy spring or summer afternoon than enjoying a sip and nibble on Provence’s beautiful patio overlooking the Quayside Marina. For many years, the Aperol Spritz has been the favoured summer libation. However, this year, Provence’s Asst. Wine Director/Bar Manager Ryan Johnson has upped the restaurant’s summer cocktail selection with four new French-inspired Summer Spritzes – Lavender Haze (Mirabeau Rosé gin, St. Germaine elderflower liqueur, Lavender, Lemon, Provençal Rosé, soda), French Spritz (Cap Corse Blanc vermouth, Gentian liqueur, St. Germaine elderflower liqueur, lemon, thyme, soda), Corsican G&T (Mattei Corsican dry gin, Fever Tree tonic, basil, citrus, spice) and Mistral (Mare Mediterranean Gin, grapefruit, rosemary, manzanilla sherry, lime, soda). “I created these spritzes to celebrate the distinctive ‘garrigue’ scent of Provence including thyme, lavender, basil, and rosemary. When summer is upon the south of France, the herbaceous bouquet of wild vegetation and flowers enveloping the landscape creates the unmistakable essence of the Mediterranean that permeates the air,” comments Johnson. These are available throughout the day as an accompaniment to Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch or enjoyed for Happy Hour or as an aperitif prior to dinner.

Get into the Spring/Summer vibe with flavourful Provençal cuisine and summery cocktails at Provence Marinaside – it’s less expensive than a plane ticket to France and just as delicious.

Media release and images provided by Nancy Wong, Culinary Communications.