Horizons Restaurant

Horizons Restaurant is at the top of Burnaby Mountain which is popular for locals and tourists because of the water, city as well as mountain views. There is a garden, playground, hiking trails and a display of totem poles.

I used to come here frequently for lunch because it is a hike from my house, but after the fire incident, I never made time to go back because the food is not that great. BF has wanted to try Horizons for years and I never let him because I do not think the food is worth it. I decided tonight is the night to make his wish come true and come here (fine, and for my OpenTable points... and I also found a coupon LOL). By the way, I called to confirm for a specific window seat or I could have changed the date/time, if they could not do it, they should not have agreed.

The deal is for the month of August, $29.95 for 1 appetizer, 1 entree and 1 dessert. Good deal eh? Is it worth it? No.

The restaurant has a pretty wide pathway, 

but the seating is a bit cramped.

THE COMPLIMENTARY BREAD, STRAWBERRY AND ARGULA SALAD, GULF ISAND MUSSELS AND CLAMS, GRILLED LAMB CHOPS, WESTCOAST SEAFOOD CHOWDER, BC SOCEYE SALMON, NEW YORK STEAK AND CREME BRULEE.

Caesar ($6.25) and coca cola ($3.00). Okay, so I am not sure if the bartender is to blame or the restaurants way of making it.. but seriously this is the worst caesar EVER. It came luke warm and freaking bland. The caesar tastes like nothing and I cannot even taste the alcohol which is not my biggest concern. My biggest concern is that the caesar tastes like watered down clamato. Did they forget the tabasco and worcestershire sauce? This is the only failed drink I ever had at any restaurant.

To start, the COMPLIMENTARY BREAD. The slices of bread are soft and served warm. I did not like the butter though, it tastes like whipped margarine.

All our appetizers came at once and extremely fast from the bartender, weird?

The WESTCOAST SEAFOOD CHOWDER ($8.00). Salmon House on the Hill is Horizons sister restaurant and the chowder is on both menus for the same price, which gives me the impression that the chowders would be the same. They are not and I was wrong. I noticed that I have never been to a mid price or fine dining restaurant that serves soup in a cup, it seems so cafeteria or cafe-like to me. The chowder has no seafood taste but there are some salmon pieces and shrimp. I do not recommend the chowder but it is really good at Salmon House!

The STRAWBERRY AND ARUGULA SALAD, ENOKI MUSHROOMS, BC GOAT FETA AND SHAVED ALMONDS ($AUG special). I do not like my salads with heavy dressing but this has no dressing at all. There is only a few drops of balsamic vinegar you see in the photo. I personally cannot eat arugula dry (if it is in a sandwich, that is fine since it is not straight up just arugula) because it is too strong for me, I wish they tossed it in olive oil or a light vinaigrette at least. I never had enoki mushrooms raw either. Anyways, I packed this up and thought I can make it to my liking at home tomorrow :).

The GRILLED LAMB CHOPS, MOROCCAN SPICE RUB, CUCUMBER, TOMATO, FUNNEL, FETA CHEESE, YOGURT ($14.00). The piece of lamb chop on the right is cold and the rest are lukewarm. The lamb chops are not over cooked or chewy, just cold. They kind of taste like something I would make at home and an hour later finish without bothering to heat it up. The bread is warmer than the lamb chops, honestly. But! They are passable, could be better and at least they are not chewy. The lamb chops are not very flavourful or salty and just tastes.. plain and simple, and not good or the worst.

The GULF ISLAND MUSSELS AND CLAMS, SPICY CHINESE BLACK BEAN GINGER BROTH, FRESH CILANTRO ($AUG SPECIAL). I did not like the mussels and only had one. The broth is not clear, the mussels are not properly rinsed and the seafood taste is very strong. The mussels are fresh, just not yummy.

After a while, no one cleared our plates and I kept seeing a bus boy walk around. I asked if he could clear the plates for us and he took everything except the empty basket of bread, I asked if he was able to remove that as well.

He must have misunderstood me and thought I wanted more bread. At first I thought it was a waste because I did not want to eat more bread, but since the appetizers sucked, I was grateful I had more bread. I thank him for the bread, seriously.

My entree is the BC SOCKEYE SALMON, GRILLED ON AN ALDER WOOD BARBECUE, CITRUS BASIL VINAIGRETTE, ROASTED GRAPE TOMATO, ASPARAGUS RISOTTO ($AUG SPECIAL). I requested the salmon medium rare in case it is overcooked and the salmon is grilled nicely. The sockeye salmon is not as tasty as spring salmon (personal preference) and other then the fact that the salmon is cooked well, there is nothing amazing about it. For the risotto, I can taste the powder from the rice which kind of throws it off.

His entree is the 8OZ AGED CHAR GRILLED, WILD BOAR BACON, ONION CREAM SAUCE AND STEAMED NUGGET POTATOES ($AUG SPECIAL). The steak is not medium rare and is overcooked. Our server was nice enough to change it for him.

His new steak is rare and not medium rare. I am probably one of the fewest girls that can eat 3 steaks a day and done rare as well. I was glad to trade my salmon for his steak since he likes sockeye salmon anyways. I find the steak to be chewy and tasteless, so I thought forget it, just take it home and make it better tomorrow. So basically I ate bread for dinner. Seriously. By the way, how can you mess up on steak twice -___-.

Before dessert, I asked the bus boy if I could get the steak and salad (untouched) packed up. I thought it was weird when he threw my side plate and butter knife onto my salad.. he knows I am keeping it right? Later he brings just my steak and asks if I wanted the salad. I was thinking traumatized from Fraiche throwing away my barley touched octopus dish, so I said "oh yeah, I did not touch it..". He then brings my salad on a plate and cutlery? LOL I felt so bad to remind him I wanted it packed up :(.

For dessert, BC CLOVER HONEY VANILLA CREME BRLUEE, HOUSE MADE ORANGE BISCOTTI ($AUG SPECIAL). The creme brulee is actually good and not bad. The top is nicely caramelized and brittle, and the texture is perfectly smooth. If I wanted to be super picky, both creme brulees are not caramelized the same and the difference is pretty big. I am surprised the biscotti is house-made and perfectly done! I hate making biscotti because I am too lazy to wait for them to cool down and re-bake again. Not going to lie, this is the best dish and only good dish!

The view from our table. 

MY THOUGHTS

I honestly think if you plan on dining at Horizons for the view, do not bother. You do not need to eat at the restaurant for the view (unlike other restaurants) and you might as well spend a couple of hours walking around Burnaby Mountain. After sitting at the restaurant with the appetizers, I feel like Horizons gives us the impression that you are in a restaurant for tourists who get hungry and look for a quick snack.. while looking at the view and do not need to enjoy the food.

For the service, I find it average and not bad. Our sever is a senior, friendly and seems like he tries his best. There is also one bus boy I saw circling the restaurant looking for plates to clear or if customers need something (ironically our plates were not cleared up until we asked). Anyways, I DEFINITELY recommend Salmon House over Horizons any day.

Oh, I am pretty happy I saw the $29.95 August special on the Horizons website because we were planning on going July 31st and we would have ordered the same entrees! If we paid the original prices for our entrees and the 2 appetizers, it would have been a waste. Even the chowder and lamb chops that are not included in the special is a waste of money. 

Note: A lot of people including myself believe that "specials" at a restaurant means the food will not be as great as if you ordered from the regular menu. But the truth is that most specials are designed to bring in new customers and keep them.  So actually, the specials are supposed to be very good or even better than the regular menu.

Food: 2/5

Service: 2.5/5