Unimpressed with most of Vancouver’s fine-dining fare, German-born B-movie director Uwe Boll decided to build a great restaurant (his first) that reminded him of home.

It wasn’t an easy feat for the hotheaded maverick, having ruffled local feathers with his candid YouTube restaurant reviews. Wisely, he recruited Stefan Hartmann, former owner of the one-Michelin-starred Hartmanns Restaurant in Berlin.

The chef ’s personality, as warm as Boll’s is prickly, helped smooth things over. And after a rocky start— service was very shaky—his elegant cooking has converted the critics. Tasting menus, built around succulently braised meats, plump poached seafood and brightly acidulated classic sauces, are technically tight and luxuriantly satisfying. Diners in the mood for something more Munich than Michelin will find traditional dishes, including a wonderfully crispy veal schnitzel, on the à la carte menu.

There is also an imbiss (bar snack) menu with pickled herring and fatty-pork sausages on redwine-soaked lentils. The wine selection is slowly improving. The open brick, concrete and dark wooden room has mid-century polish. And the graffiti-splattered bathrooms keep it real. This is Gastown after all.HOURSDINNER
Monday to Thursday, Sunday
5:00 PM until 10:30 PM Friday,

Saturday
5:00 PM until 12:00 AM

LUNCH
Monday to Friday
11:30 AM until 2:30 PM

The most interesting opening in Vancouver this year! – DINO RENAERTS

Beautifully presented and executed in a classic modern German style. – VIKRAM VIJ

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PHOTOS: RODRIGO TIBYRIÇÁ