I visited the Big Crow back when they had the Hibernation menu (I believe they don’t offer this anymore). The Hibernation is 3 course menu in which guests start off with a salad and thuet bread with pesto.  Mains would be a mixed grill of protein plus 2 sides, followed by mini bars for dessert. The cost was $24.99 per person before tax and tip.

Conveniently the night of our reservation happened to be one of the coldest nights of the year, and since the restaurant is located in an enclosed patio, we were worried about not being warm enough. As soon as we walked into the restaurant, the 12 of us were engulfed with the smell of BBQ – which is not necessarily a bad thing. We were shown to our table, and lucky for us, there were blankets for us to use and wrap ourselves with.

In terms of the food, I found the portions to be small, and it was not cooked the way I expected it to. Specifically, when I think of BBQ I think of salt and pepper, rather than sauces and gravy. I guess there is something about the simplicity of using few ingredients to season anything you plan to put on the grill, because you want the smoke of the grill to come through. At Big Crow, I found that they used too many sauces, and one had to dig for the meat. I also felt that there were many lost opportunities – why not grill the potatoes? And the desserts – Nanaimo bars? Really? I at least would have grilled pineapples, or some other fruit and created a dish from there.

In sum…

I loved the ambiance and the experience at Big Crow, but the food, value and portions do not warrant a 2nd visit in my books.