Dine Out Vancouver 2015: Baru Latino

It's that time of year again! I'm sure for all the fellow foodies out there, Dine Out Vancouver Festival is like a second Christmas, the perfect chance to try something new, have a really good value meal, or just to pig out for no reason. Perusing the menus was half the fun, so this year after endless clicking and scrolling, I decided to kick off the event with Baru Latino. 

I braved my tastebuds and opted for the Chili Prawns to start. The heat was actually very tolerable in this dish, especially paired with the lime. Only downside was that it was quite small.

Chili Prawns

I chose the Paella Baru for my main course as it was a cocktail of many things that I love - chorizo, seafood medley and salsa. The flavour in the rice was well infused and there was a good amount of seafood mixed in there, but it just didn't have that wow factor to it. I found it kind of odd that this dish was served with flatbread since it there wasn't really any excess moisture that could have been used for dipping. I also would have appreciated a nicer presentation but I guess for Dine Out purposes they just make this in a big batch and scoop it onto a plate?

Paella Baru

There was only one dessert option and it was by far the best dish out of the three. The flan was incredibly thick and creamy bursting with caramel flavour. However, as the flan itself was very sweet already, I think it could have gone without the berry reduction on top. I did like the smear of mango sauce though as it was very refreshing and added a little extra tang to counteract the heaviness of the flan.

Latin Flan w/ Caramel 

From the food aspect I still enjoyed my dining experience at Baru Latino. Service was friendly but our food took a painstakingly long time (half an hour!) to arrive. I'm in no hurry to come back for a follow up visit, and would probably list this place under my "been there, done that" checklist.

Taste: ★★★☆☆

Environment:★★★☆☆

Service: ★★☆☆☆

Price: $$$

Baru Latino

2535 Alma St

Vancouver, BC