February is a good month to eat well in Vancouver. Dine Out had just started, and we were looking for somewhere that felt like a proper evening out rather than just a place to tick off a list. Hestia Kitchen + Bar had been on my radar. A Saturday night reservation, a date, and one of those nights where you just want the food to be good.
The restaurant sits inside a old Richmond mall, but once you step inside you forget about that completely. The dining room is dark and deliberate, with warm light on wood surfaces and a long wall of wine bottles glowing behind the bar. Near the entrance there’s a lounge area with a leather sofa and a full drum kit, which tells you something about the kind of place this is. Live music nights happen here. The room was full that Saturday, the energy easy and a little low, the way a good dinner out feels.
Hestia runs a fusion kitchen with influences from Europe, Japan, and beyond. On Dine Out, the prix fixe was one appetizer, one entree, and dessert. We each ordered different things so we could cover more of the menu.
Fried Chicken with Butter Duck Yolk Sauce
This was not the fried chicken I expected. No thick American crust, no Korean double-fry crunch. What arrived was something quieter and more interesting: a boneless chicken leg with a deep golden coat, dressed with butter duck yolk sauce, arugula, shaved grana padano, and thin slices of watermelon radish fanned across the top.
The duck yolk sauce is the thing. Salted egg yolk has a particular richness to it, a deep savoury smell that coats everything it touches. It reminded me of the way salty egg flavour shows up in some Cantonese kitchens, but here it was restrained and refined. The watermelon radish added just enough brightness to keep the plate from feeling heavy. It’s a different kind of fried chicken. One you slow down for.
Smoked Scallops with Truffle Egg Salad
The scallops came in raw and fresh, which is the right call. Bay scallops dressed in dashi shoyu, the kind of light savoury bath that enhances rather than competes. A nest of truffle egg salad sat underneath, and salmon roe dotted the top alongside fresh fennel fronds and a side of grilled focaccia.
The truffle egg salad sounds rich, but it worked. The creaminess anchored the delicate scallops without drowning them. This was a well-considered plate, the kind that makes you eat slowly.
Crab and Prawn Rigatoni
Of everything we ate that night, this was the one that caught me off guard. The greatest surprise of the meal.
The sauce was built on salted duck yolk cream, finished with shaved grana padano, and it coated every tube of rigatoni properly. Prawns and crab were generous, the kind of portioning you don’t always see at Dine Out price points. But what made it was the texture. The rigatoni had absorbed the sauce the way good pasta should, so each bite came as a complete thing, pasta and cream inseparable rather than one sitting on top of the other. Smooth, rich, and not heavy at all.
Lamb Shank
The lamb shank came on mashed potato, surrounded by green beans and pooled in a dark glossy braise. Breadcrumbs and fresh herbs on top, the bone standing upright in the bowl. It looked like a main course should look.
The menu listed saffron and Asian spices in the braise, and you could taste it at the edges. The meat had been cooked long enough to give without resistance, but it hadn’t gone completely soft all the way through. That is the difference between a decent braise and a genuinely good one. Another honest portion. Bigger than what you’d typically get at this kind of price point in Metro Vancouver.
Smoked Caramel Cheesecake
As we can’t choose the favour of ice cream, we chose to have the cheesecake, but there were no complaints.
It wasn’t the firm dense kind from a slice counter. This was softer, lighter, almost mousse-like in the way it yielded. The caramel had depth without being too sweet, and the cream on the plate tasted made in-house: smooth, not instant, and not dead sweet in the way packaged cream usually is. It closed the meal cleanly, which is what a good dessert should do.
Thoughts on Hestia Kitchen + Bar
Everything from the starter to the cheesecake was cooked with intention. The portions were honest, the staff were friendly, and the space felt alive on a Saturday night. Dine Out is a good way to try it first, but this is the kind of place you come back to at regular pricing without needing a reason. Reserve ahead. The room fills up. Parking at the mall is easy.
Restaurant Info
Hestia Kitchen + Bar
Address: 4351 Number 3 Rd #160, Richmond, BC V6X 3A7
Hours: Mon–Thu & Sun 11:30 AM – 11:00 PM / Fri–Sat 11:30 AM – 1:00 AM
Instagram: @hestiakitchenlab
Website: hestiakitchenlab.ca
Pro Tip: Reserve ahead on weekends. The room fills up. Parking at the mall is easy and free.
