Appy Hour at the Flying Pig Gastown

Working in Vancouver down town means always being surrounded by great restaurants. Though we often do end up skipping lunch at the office, when lunch does happen, it's always delicious.

This time we decided to visit the Flying Pig again. The food and service is always great and on point, however this time we had quite an interesting experience (the bad kind) with the hostess. Although the overall visit was good, it would have been much better if the hostess wasn't so strict and uptight.

Click in for our appy hour experience + what kind of dishes you can expect!

I came arrived at the office on my birthday last Friday and was instantly surprised by a huge gift basket of Urban Fare goodies, thanks you! The pistachio crisps were delicious!!

Next surprise was that it was going to be a lunch day, yayy!!!

One of our regular go-to spots is Appy Hour at the Flying Pig in Gastown. Everyday from 4pm to 6pm you can enjoy a whole range of amazing plates for just $6 each! The dishes change from time to time too, you don't have to worry about having the same thing all the time.

We've been to the Flying Pig numerous times, many of those times during Appy Hour too, but have never had such a terrible experience with the hostess. I don't know if its a recent thing or something, but god she was horribly uptight and anal in regards to seating.

The thing with happy hour is that usually it only takes place at the lounge area, which is perfectly fine. There's four different sections one can choose to be seated at: the windows, the bar, tables or the communal table.

As we came in, we were immediately notified by the hostess that tables were immediately not the option as they only seat either parties of 2 or 4 and because we were only a party of 3 they could not have an open seat due to "maximum table occupancy" or whatever bs term she sprang on us.

Thus we were given the choice of windows, communal or bar. We picked the communal table, which probably seats 8 and was completely open at the time. Rather than allowing us to sit 2 on one side and 1 on the other side of the table, the hostess had the audacity to order 1 person to sit at the table's edge....like seriously wtf lady, who wants to sit somewhere where people constantly walk around, especially when the full table is empty.

No apologies whatsoever, only the reinforcement of the "maximum table occupancy" came in her increasingly stern voice. Defeated, we decided on a bar seat.

But here's the kicker, right when she seated us, another party of 3 got seated at a 4 seat table we were intermediately denied. Hostess didn't even acknowledge it, maybe "sorry" simply got replaced with "maximum table occupancy" in her word database.

I'm glad another more attentive server/ manager noticed the situation, and immediately came by with a very sincere apology (and a round of drinks as peace keeping). Thank you for acknowledging that, and letting us feel like we matter kind sir.

Any ways that was a lot of words, now onto the foods!!!

Salmon Cakes - $6

It actually came with 3 cakes, but one got devoured right upon arrival haha. They're crab cakes, crispy and creamy, but with salmon instead. Served with some kind of tartar sauce and topped off with a small piece of candied salmon.

Beef Carpaccio - $6

Seriously, this is six dollars?? Thinly sliced lightly seared beef topped with garlic cloves, arugula, capers and fresh shaved parmesan...I could totally eat this all day long.

Beet + Bresaola Salad $6 (back) and TFP Cured Meats Platter $6

For an extra $1 you can add a nice selection of cheeses to your meat platter as well. Not a fan of blue cheese myself, but the other cheeses are nice. You can expect proccuito, salami and bresaola served with olives and tiny pickles.

Steamed Clams $6

Seriously, how are they making money?! 

Clams are cooked perfectly, drizzled in a white wine + herb reduction, and topped off with their classic pomme allumettes. The potatoes remind me of Hickory Sticks, I like to eat them piece by piece. I feel like I should point out that there is actually a very good portion of clams in this, not like just a tease of 3-5 pieces haha.

That's it for this visit, dinner was literally just a couple hours away any ways. Thank you Dave for the birthday treat!!

If you guys can time your visit during happy hour, do it!! I just hope no one will have to encounter the hostess from hell like we did, or you know...just come in parties of even numbers!