Par4 Kitchen & Bar

As you know, Vancouver has a few days of rain a year...  In fact, an average of 169 per year!  So when you feel a little blue sometimes, especially during the months of October - April, I don't blame you!  So even though we boast that we can play a round of golf 365 days a year, there are many of us who are fairweather golfers.  Not to fear, we now have a new place where we can play on a golf simulator while enjoying beverages and food, even before we hit holes 9 and 18.  Located in the former location of Big Ridge Brewing in Surrey, we find Par4 Kitchen & Bar.  We checked out both the simulator and food one night.

So beyond playing the Golf Simulator, they also have other games such as hockey, football, soccer, handball and shooting zombies.  They have all the equipment necessary including golf clubs (L&R), hockey stick, football, soccer ball and a ball for handball and throwing at those aforementioned zombies.  There is bar seating for your friends to watch you shank that golf ball as well as a place to have drinks and share some snacks.  Good call on the hand sanitizer at the table.  When you are done playing, you can move to the dining room and enjoy more food!

About that food, we did get started on some shareables because we were busy making fools of ourselves with the games.  To start off, we had the Albatross Nachos with beef.  These were quite good with crispy chips that had enough cheese on them.  On the side, we found sour cream, guac and salsa.  The one thing that made these nachos was the braised beef brisket.  It was super tender, meaty and full-flavoured.  It was another $7.00, but well worth it.

Next, we shared the Bubba Platter featuring fried chicken, dry ribs, corn ribs, fries and slaw.  I really enjoyed the corn ribs as they were crispy but still had the sweet juicy pop of each niblet.  They were nicely spiced too.  The dry ribs were typical being crispy on the outside and meaty on the inside.  The fried chicken skewers were like chicken strips with Cajun spice and ranch dressing.  I didn't mind them but the batter was a bit thick.  Fries were fantastic, they were hot, crispy and with tender potato inside.  Slaw was pretty solid being crunchy and not overdressed.  Although there was a nice mix of appies, this was a bit pricey at $55.00.

Since we were here on a Tuesday, they were offering all their pizzas for $15.00 each.  We decided to try the Donair Pizza with shaved beef, za'atar, onion, tomato donair sauce and chili oil.  In terms of concept and flavour, this met the challenge.  There was an array of earthy and tang spices, meatiness and slight heat.  The crust was crispy and a bit chewy.  However, one thing that we would've liked to see was softer beef.  Since it was double-cooked, it ended up being chewy.  Maybe add it on after the fact?  Not sure...

We really had no choice but to order the Masters Club Burger as Par4 Kitchen is a bar/pub restaurant (you need to try the burger!).  This also passed the test as sported afresh seasoned ground beef patty, bacon, burger sauce, aged cheddar, tomato, onions, pickles and iceberg lettuce on a brioche bun.  We added an extra patty to make this even better.  About that patty, the beef was moist and nicely seared.  The texture was naturally meaty and the flavour was beefy.  The toasted brioche was perfect.  Solid burger.

We didn't end there with the handhelds as we also went for the Korean Fried Chicken Burger.  By virtue of using a chicken thigh, the meat remained moist and juicy.  The batter was a bit thick, yet worked in this case offering up a firmly crunchy coating.  They were conservative with the gochujang, hence it wasn't dripping with sauce.  As a result it wasn't super spicy either.  The crunchy slaw worked in this burger but I would've liked to see some kimchi instead.

We tried the one pasta option on the menu in the Basil Pesto Fettuccine.  We added a grilled chicken breast for $7.00 extra.   Although a bit saucy, the pasta was quite good.  It was creamy and rich with the definite taste of basil.  The addition of mushrooms and truffle oil did provide the usual earthiness.  Glad they didn't overdo it with the truffle oil.  The pasta was a little past al dente, but that might've been due to our picture-taking.  Chicken was charred and smoky.

Although looking more like a pork chop, I can assure you that the picture is of the Big Easy 8oz Ribeye.  We chose it to be prepared blackened with Cajun butter.  This was perfectly medium-rare being super tender and juicy.  The outside was smoky and charred while the Cajun butter was nicely spiced.  The accompanying mashed potatoes were starchy and potatoey.  Also, charred, the broccolini was still vibrant and crunchy.  Although a delicious dish, it was a bit pricey at $52.00.

For dessert, we tried 3 of them including the Carrot Cake and the New York Cheesecake.  Although fairly moist, the carrot cake was still a bit crumbly.  It was super sweet, especially with the cream cheese frosting on top.  As for the cheesecake, it was pretty dense, but typical for New York Style.  It was plenty cheesy and somewhat aromatic.  I found it to be purposefully sweet, so it was fine.  Both of these desserts were okay, but the next one was my favourite.

That favourite happened to be Stubby's Cookie Skillet.  Crispy on the edges and chewy in the middle, the cookie was on the sweeter side, but the texture really was the key.  On top, we found vanilla gelato and a salted caramel drizzle.  This really didn't need to be sweeter, but hey, it is a dessert.   Overall, the food at Par 4 Kitchen & Bar is decent with some highlights.  Prices are on the higher end, but things aren't cheap these day anywhere.  The golf simulator is fun and a great way to spend some time with friends before, after or during food.  Even better given we are heading into the rainy months.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Golf simulator and other games are a great way to pass the time with friends

- Food is decent

- Nice dining space

The Bad:

- Some items seemed to be too expensive?

- Desserts are pretty sweet, but if you like that, then ignore this comment