For a while, it seemed like we nearly lost him in the
wilderness. For the last year or so, Haligonians wondered what happened
to the former Gio chef, Ray Bear, when he struck out on his own.
Answer: After a Valley hibernation, he opened every chef’s dream
restaurant, Bear.
Bear is a destination spot. A lounge in front, private room in back
and as you pass through a birch pallisade into the dining room, the
grand design becomes clear: The decor is comfortable, the colours
sunny, the lighting soft, but that shiny kitchen is the main stage.
Eating at Bear is designed to be easy and accessible. The menu maps
out the complexity of each dish. If you choked on the prices, swallow.
Portions are trucker-sized. Even haters of fancy haute-cuisine will
love the meat in these mains: duck ($36), striploin ($38), halibut
($34) and lamb ($38). Bear seasons every principal meat simply and
cooks it perfectly.
It’s the bells and whistles, the detailed presentations shining
brilliantly on big white plates, where Bear flexes his paws. Allow me
to introduce the meat echo. Beside the rack of lamb sit three tender
portions of lamb leg sous-vide (meaning slow cooked in vacuum
sealed plastic). Short-rib bison in tempura accompanies the grilled
steak, salt cod-potato brandades weave among the halibut and the
mace-laced duck is presented three ways with a slab of foie gras: in a
spring roll, a confit leg and a sliced breast.
The appetizers are mixed. The summery scallop ceviche ($13) with
halved blueberries, a fine dice of cucumber, mango and avocado in a
pink citrus broth will unshell you. Order it. Four towering rabbit
cannelloni ($12) falter amid the roast balsamic shallots, earthy wild
mushrooms and rabbit jus surrounding them; the meat and pasta does not
gel as well as his superior rabbit potstickers (currently not on the
menu) do.
Sushi is a nod to the chef’s time at South Beach Nobu in Miami, and
his spicy dragon roll ($12) is quality. I see great business in sushi,
raw oysters and ceviche in the lounge, or for lunch (starting April 15)
or in catering, but the raw and the cooked clash on the menu. It feels
excessive.
If Bear wants to run an A-team kitchen (and he does: listen online
to an interview I had with him in February), he must consistently bring
his A-game to the table. Two taste failures are the hot smoked salmon
sushi ($16)—melted monterey jack over smoked salmon and a jalapeno
salsa—is as off-base as a Japanese nacho; and the crispy pork belly
($15)—dry, not fatty enough, atop a roasted hunk of pineapple as big
as the Ritz.
Watching Bear’s team cook with iron precision in his stainless steel
kitchen is addictive, but the highest gastronomic levels remain
objectives rather than an accomplishments.
Let me be clear: This is an
excellent restaurant, easily in the city’s top five. Bear is a chef
with enough skill to get where he aspires to be—a notch above what
exists in Halifax now—but he has work to do.
“It’s constantly evolving and we’re trying to get to new levels all
the time,” he said two months ago. “By June, we’ll be hitting our
stride, getting where we want to be.”
He’s on his way. The wait staff are excellent. He has the commitment
of the city—the place was packed all winter, and few restauranteurs
can boast that. If you have any faith in chef Ray Bear—and I
do—this restaurant will only get better and better.
Dinner plates
Taken by an iphone during our meal at Bear. This is test: Is this useful? Please let us know in the comments section.
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This article appears in Apr 2-8, 2009.
We have been there two times and its the one of the best, if not the best restaurant in the Maritimes. We would highly recommend it. The service is excellent and the food is amazing.
We have been once . The portions we had were no where near “Trucker size”.Duck and salmon were very small portions.The sushi was the best part of the meal.
Overall,good but nothing to rush back to.
My fiancée and I went once as we stumbled on the only opened restaurant during the last snow storm. As we were the only customers in the restaurant that night, maybe we received a special service. The meal was exceptionally delicious. The portion are far from “Trucker size”; in fact this comparison sounds insulting to the finesse of the food. The portions were just right, satisfying, not too much. After all, there must be room for desert!
I would be interested to see more wine by the glass. As we were only two and we had to drive home after, a bottle of wine would have been too much. I wish I could have purchased wine by the glass to complement each service instead of an expensive bottle that my fiancée and I would not have finished or been allowed to take home anyway.