Review: Kissa Tanto

Thanks to my beautiful friends, I had plans to go to Kissa Tanto long before I had even heard of it, long before I had even arrived in Vancouver. For my birthday last year, I was given a voucher to Kissa Tanto, one of Vancouver’s superior Italian and Japanese fusion restaurants. Probably one of Vancouver’s only Italian and Japanese fusion restaurants to be honest, but superior all the same. I was doubly lucky: for my birthday in 2020, some of my Vancouver friends gifted me with another voucher to Kissa Tanto… and then so did my boss! I am one lucky gal, fine-dining my way through Vancouver 🙂

Kissa Tanto had closed through Covid-19 and when it reopened we didn’t want to visit straightaway, as we felt bad that we would just be handing over a voucher rather than actual money. A few months went by before we eventually decided that it was at the stage where Kissa Tanto would just be welcoming of our business regardless of our payment method.

We made our way through Chinatown towards the restaurant, as always marvelling at the gentrification occurring in the area. Kissa Tanto is sleek, intimate and not dissimilar to a high end cocktail bar. One of the benefits of making an early reservation is that we were rewarded with (in my opinion) the best table in the house, right next to the window and basically centre stage (for views, not attention!). 

As expected at a high end restaurant, the serving staff were attentive, knowledgeable and friendly. We were talked through the menu, ordered a range of dishes slightly beyond Andy’s range of comfort, and toasted to some smooth and silky wine. 

The food was flawless. The beauty of eating at fancy restaurants is they showcase certain ingredients in particular ways, and if you’re like Andy, show you yummy ways of eating foods you never thought you’d like. The olives for example, came out stuffed with chorizo sausage and lightly fried. For someone who doesn’t usually touch the olive bowl, my boyfriend could not stay away! 

We ate perfectly cooked pasta, even better cooked salmon, polenta bites and a delightful asparagus salad. Of course we saved room for dessert. As predicted, Andy couldn’t go past the tiramisu and I of course was immediately attracted to the yuzu mousse. It was interesting and paired beautifully with pistachio, shortbread crumble and sorbet. We both left feeling very full and very spoilt! A top class experience.

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