White Goose Bistro

8 Reviews on “White Goose Bistro”

• Lizwannop

  We watched our servers eat fries off of our plate in the kitchen, our server also dipped a fry ate it and then refilled the dip before serving it to us. Another server ate something from a customers plate and then licked his finger and then ate more. They were serving the multiple meals that they were eating from. We also saw the cook eat something using his fingers as well. We were so surprised and almost got up and left. We stayed and ate because we were starving… But would neverGo back and would not recommend it.

  April 6, 2016, 1:38 am

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• Rory Gallagher

  Great PR on the news. Kicking the Salvation Army in the gut on Christmas was really well done. Just because you offered to give food out to people in need doesn’t mean you’re better than anyone else. You’ve shown your marketing and sales intent in a really condescending way

  March 26, 2016, 6:53 am

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• Prince Gastronome

  Prince Gastronome. Ive decided this will be my last review of White Goose. Am I bored? No. Has their quality fallen? Of course not. But talking and posting about White Goose Bistro by this point is like walking up to random strangers and discussing how awesome Star Wars is. I mean everyone gets it, were all on the same page. Its one of those natural laws we accept as fact. Grass is green; water is wet; sky is blue; women have secrets; White Goose is an amazing restaurant. In my recent article covering the Northern Taste challenge, I compared head chef Ryan Cyre to Thannos from Guardians of the Galaxy. White Goose had the best table at the recent Summerfest Taste Pavilion and won the recent BCNE Northern Taste Challenge. My recent visit to their actual restaurant was marked by a visit by actor Ron Perlman and celebrity chef/author Bob Blumer. And even with those eminent patrons, Ryan still made a point to approach my table personally to discuss a dish I had ordered. There are great chefs in Prince Georgefactbut I have yet to find one with the passion for food like Ryan. He lives and breathes good food. I doubt he sweats sweat; more likely he sweats bchamel sauce…which…admittedly sounds disgusting, but you get my point. And he gathers around him colleagues who match his passion, who strive for that high quality. This includes his sister, running front of house, who could also be a better baker than him. In a previous review I had mentioned that White Goose was a revolutionary experience for such a small town, nailing a coffin in the accusation that restaurants in Prince George cannot be and should not be critiqued on the same grounds as those in Vancouver and that local restaurants can never hope to achieve the echelon of quality boasted by the likes of celebrity chefs and Michelin star establishments in larger cities. I also mentioned that White Goose should be that special place you take your loved one for birthdays and anniversaries, and not where you take a girl you met the day before on your first date. Its a foodies heaven, and when I die far in the future from, hopefully, a failed heart after a night of constant debauchery on my 99th birthday, and I gain the Matrix-like ability to construct my own heaven like Robin Williams in What Dreams May Come (I’ll miss him), there will be a spot where a White Goose will sprout…because it wouldnt be a heaven without it.And that would be the end of it, a proper close to the review, but I love gushing about the food. I started with the grilled polenta served with a mouth-watering porcini mushroom reduction and followed that with seared tuna with grilled risotto. The main was also fringed by a fistful of spring beans, which I usually dont finish but totally cleaned up. There was a dessert, I remember, but didnt take a photo of it, chocolate cake with butter pecan sauce I believe. Now dont get me wrong, I still love North 54 and Twisted Cork, but I plan my year around the days I can save up for White Goose. Its just worth it. And returning back to the Star Wars metaphor, sure, every year films get made that win best picture Oscars, and thats all good, but Star Wars is just…well…Star Wars….unless JJ Abrams screws it up…which he totally could. Just saying.02 Mar, 2014Prince Gastronome. The best restaurant in Prince GeorgeTo quote Yoda, blown your mind would be. Given my last update, this shouldve been as obvious as the needle in Philip Seymour Hoffmans arm (too soon?). All callousness aside, White Goose Bistro has always remained my favorite restaurant in town, though not as Ive admitted my most frequented location. Its distance from my house coupled with my obligations to my reviews has prevented regularity. When accommodating visitors, White Goose is the first place mentioned, the first visited, and the one I prefer during celebration. Already my yearly birthday tradition, I plan on eventually calling on it for Mothers Days, Easter, Thanksgiving, Earth Day, Palm Sunday, Ramadan and, what the hell, lets include Kwanza and Arbor Day. White Goose Bistro is the place one looks to if theyre a foodie, a true foodie. Boston Pizza be damned, I embrace the title, and no other restaurant relishes in satisfying ones curiosity more. Its also the only restaurant in town with a chefs menuan actual tasting menuwhere youre up to the chefs whims that day. If food can be considered art then what White Goose Bistro brings to the table is truly worthy of framing, at least more than Warhols stupid Campbells Soup can. The common question asked, one repeated with my recent CBC interview, was can restaurants in Prince George be measured against the best in larger cities like Vancouver or Calgary. Even if I could mention more than one as proof, I would probably still mention only one. White Goose Bistro. We have other places, amazing locations worthy of recommendation, more than enough to justify my argument that we can ask for more and do indeed get it, but simple questions often require simple answers and mine only has three words. The best restaurant in Prince George, White Goose Bistro.08 Sep, 2012Prince Gastronome. THIS IS MY REVIEW OF WHITE GOOSE’S DINNER SERVICEWhen nominated for an Academy Award alongside Daniel Day-Lewis, George Clooney immediately conceded. He knew Daniel was as solid as the statue the latter would eventually win. That being said, George had also conceded the weekend box office when his film The Perfect Storm was released against Mel Gibsons The Patriot, despite the former turning into a worldwide blockbuster. George should know to not throw in the towel before time runs out.This will make sense.After reading this review, one might believe that further entries of dinner services–searching for the best restaurant in town–might be as pointless as Mormon pamphlets handed out at a Porn convention. As you might have figured out, its going to be difficult concealing my praise for White Goose Bistro, the latest in my stage 2 reviews, but that shouldve been as obvious as the ending of Twilight. Prince George is odd in that if you drive a specific path through town, it will appear an illuminated and flourishing example of Canadian urban development, predicated by you adorning horse blinders through the journey. Turn your head or make a wrong turn and youd quickly smack into dilapidated streets and unkempt sidewalks that would make an Iraqi businessman nostalgic. One of these rare exceptional streets is 3rd Avenue, so it shouldnt come to anyones surprise to find North 54, Nancy Os, Cimos, and White Goose all within walking distance on this single road. Of them, White Goose features the most unattractive facadeunattractive may be a poor choice of words; Im going to be eventually praising White Goose, so let me change that to rustic. Its not ugly, but the front is slightly overwhelmed by Nancy Os down the block. With White Goose, this is offset by a pleasant rustic interiorwait, I meant that as actual praise. It doesnt have the expensive look of Twisted Cork but its perfect for intimate dinners of 2-6 people. The kitchen was quiet; the music was inoffensive. I had plenty of elbow room. I even had a place to mount the camera. Yes, camera. One of the points covered in my CBC radio interview, but one mostly found on the cutting room floor was the possibility of prestige following my entrance, like I had turned into some kind of local presence in the restaurant circuit, like a made man walking into a New Jersey pizza parlor, a hush filling the room like a fart after the bathroom door is opened. I scoffed at such an idea, but also stated that that if my presence warranted some recognition and respect that I would not object to it. If being a food critic merits better service, why would one complain? But Chris, youd scoff, Thats unprofessional. As a food critic, you deserve no special treatment and should conduct yourself anonymously in order to generate an honest, objective review. My first response would be to correct the last comment; I have never deceived anyone about my propensity to be subjective. Judges should be objective; critics are not. Second, yes I admit that if a critics presence is discovered or expected, said critic might and should expect special treatment in order to generate a more positive review. This can almost be seen as bribery. In response, I can offer a perfectly professional and honest answer…in that I am fine with that. Anyways, despite being tempted by dozens of enticing menus choices, one known to me beforehand instantly hooked me, my mother, and my sister upon viewing, the chefs menu. However, I need to go on a little rant to people that had called it a tasting menu. Its not. A tasting menu lists five to seven courses, two or three of which you have choices in, but you know beforehand what to expect. At Gordon Ramsays at Claridge’s, we had a fixed Amuse Bouche, a choice of two appetizers, a lobster ravioli, a pallet cleansing sherbet, a choice of mains, and two desserts, one of which was also a choice. The plates were small. Readers may not be aware of what a chefs table is. Youll find this in only a few prestigious locations and only in those with confident head chefs willing to put their money where their mouths are. Claridge’s had one, but you were required to book at least six patrons for it. A chefs table is located near the kitchen, or often enough, inside of it, commonly filled with furnishings to make Trump blush. Youre served at the chefs whim. You eat what he serves when he serves it; theres no option. The value and praise is almost always earned. I have never had the opportunity to find a chefs table, not even in Vancouver. What White Goose offers is not a tasting menu or a chefs table but a hybrid. You arent assigned special seating but are still served at the chefs whim. And if this doesnt sound like a great idea, then you were probably one of the people that sold their Apple stock in the 90’s. For three hours, we ate, and drank, and communed with each other and the staff. The waitress was also the host, with more experience and composure, relating tales of dishes and dinners worthy of record, than a Wall Street lobbyist. We took note of the little touches, the careful pouring of water to ensure no ice fell into glasses, the removal of our cutlery at the end of every plating, to know exactly when to leave us to our meal and when to remain and chat about the intricate details of every dish, which she always knew. Even outside of the quality of the meal, this is service to remember, the kind that warrants patronage upon returning, where you know their name and ask for it. There was food to.Without a menu reference, it was difficult to specify the individual ingredients. There was duck, chicken, and lamb. We had pasta, potatoes, and pastry. There were nuts. There was chocolate. There was port reduction and caramel sauce. Right from the initial plate, I noticed my knife was duller than cardboard, but when it sliced though the pastry like a hot katana through ninja, I knew I was in for something special. Pastry so often has a tough base, as the bottom is overcooked compared to the rest. I knew there was some culinary voodoo going on there.About the only dish I could criticize was the salad, a word I accent because of irony. With a side of green, the dish was dominated by a tender leg of duck. Yes, duck, the culinary litmus test I had mentioned earlier, and here is where White Goose slightly disappointed, though my sister and mother stressed their disagreement with my view, I dont like eating meat off bones generally and the idea of extracting tiny ones from my mouth ,which I did, was not particularly appealing. This was redeemed with the follow-up pasta, which was as large as a half order at Cimos. The women started to feel the pressure and were unable to finish the two middle two plates, rationing room for dessert while I mowed down all the dishes undaunted. I could offer a critique about the portions, assuming I had an issue with their impressive size. Maybe I do, perhaps they could have been a bit smaller, but conceding this as criticism is like saying Gary Oldman is too good an actor. Three hours later, I had eaten enough to pass a small Fiat. It was revolutionary experience for such a small town, nailing a coffin in the accusation that restaurants in Prince George cannot be and should not be critiqued on the same grounds as those in Vancouver and that local restaurants can never hope to achieve the echelon of quality boasted by the likes of celebrity chefs and Michelin star establishments in larger cities. If you still claim to preach that gospel, then you sir will never appreciate such fine cuisine. I honestly got annoyed with an argument I had with someone claiming, using his decades experience as a restaurant owner as proof, that restaurants in PG could never compete with those in the south. My counter at the time was that no matter how much you polished such a statement, running a McDonalds in downtown Vancouver does not grant you the authority to dismiss my claim. Its an insult to people like Ryan Cyre and his family to have a supervisor of hamburger flippers, still required to sport a name tag, declaring like a booming voice from Mount Franchise that a local restaurant can never hope to compete with the quality of Vancouver. I dont want that individual to ever go to White Goose. Leave it to those that can distinguish ground beef from green slime, to those that consider good service to mean something other than two packets of ketchup instead of one. White Goose does not cater to those with prostates the size of canned hams, the heartbeats of hummingbird with more butter in their veins than the plumbing at an adult movie theater.Ill let that last one sit for a minute.To everyone else, White Goose Bistro throws down the gauntlet like I had never seen before, easily matching the best of Vancouver. As good as Chambar? Close, perhaps Chambars plating edged a little bit and their duck was orgasmic, but even they could learn a thing or two from White Goose. The best in town? Im not allowed to say yet, and to be honest some places are designed to attract a more casual atmosphere. I wont expect this kind of food from Sliders or Nancy Os, but that doesnt mean they dont earn your support as well. Like I mentioned with North 54, White Goose is where you go to take a date you wish to impress. Its intimate atmosphere should be a guaranteed score…At least I would hope so. Ive never tried it.DECOR: 8PLATING: 8SERVICE: 10FOOD: 8.5VALUE: 10OVERALL: 8.9 out of 1024 Feb, 2012Prince Gastronome. Once again, I wandered the streets of downtown Prince George. And once again, I aimed for one specific restaurant and ended up in another. I had never heard of the White Goose Bistro and it’s a damned shame. A corner restaurant across the street Kalo Donair, White Goose gets high marks for presentation and service. I was alone for the entire length of my stay but as readers are no doubt aware, this is not a guarantee for attention. Thankfully, I was constantly looked after. The White Goose is slightly festive but not overtly so. The seats are small but comfortable and the tables are well spaced. Although with the illusion of a higher seating capacity, I would wager no more than 30 people could squeeze into this place. The overall dcor looked so professional, I was momentarily worried that I’d walked into a franchise-a smaller, more inviting variation of a Moxie’s. The dishes are similar as well, but the White Goose raises the bar significantly with a dozen dishes I wanted to try right then. There was the main menu, the specials menu, AND an express lunch menu, the latter promising a meal in ten minutes for ten dollars. I was immediately drawn to the three mini burgers, sampling buffalo, cow, and ostrich meat. However, I settled on the special, a steak and mozzarella panini. Now, although once could call it a panini, this felt more like a flatbread cheesesteak, something I have no issue with. At fifteen dollars, it was priced around the same as the Moxie’s cheeseteak, but what I was served was nearly twice the size. The flatbread was flawlessly toasted, pressing shredded steak with melted cheese, edged by a helping of fries and a leaf salad drizzled with caramelized balsamic. Everything was made to perfection. It’s difficult for me to find fault with the White Bistro. As a negative, it’s some distance away from home, placed in a neighborhood which could be better. Parking nearby is free and once inside, the professional atmosphere offers a genuine feeling of confidence that your time and money will be well spent. As proof, I am hoping to find excuse to return to the White Goose and try those burgers. I will also add that I entered during lunch service. Glancing at the dinner prices, I hope the quality of those dishes justify the cost. At 198 francs ($40), you can get an 8 oz ostrich steak with a risotto cake accompaniment. At 40$, I hope the bird is brought out, named, baptized, and then killed on the spot for my amusement-it’s teeny beaked head staring at me during my meal. Just saying, 40$ can be a lot for a piece of a big chicken. Still, I do want to try it.Also in full disclosure, White Goose technically has no goose plate, though it does have ostrich, chicken, and duck. I am sure for 50$, the head chef would happily kill and serve you a swan. Food: 5/5Service: 5/5Value: 4/5 White Goose Bistro1205 3rd AvenuePrince George, BC V2L 3E6(250) 561-1002

  November 19, 2014, 5:44 am

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• Dr J

  Good food service subpar. Went here for dinner to check it out after all the great reviews. I mean if prince gastronome loves it it must be to die for right? Well turns out he was right about one thing. The food is excellent. Had the brie appy which was amazing. You have to try it if you go. The entrees were well presented and tasty. But I have to say the service was terrible. They don’t have enough staff and the seating arrangement is just weird. For the amount of money you’re paying you would hope for at least a semi decent interior decor. You won’t find that here. Had to wait 15 min before even getting some water and the menu. Not acceptable. The servers are nice but clearly overwhelmed. There aren’t much people who walk in to dine. Most people had reservations. Its a weird place. For the food its worth going but don’t expect to be impressed by anything else.

  July 20, 2014, 5:55 am

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• Sassy

  Lunch with a friend and split our meals had pulled pork sandwich and Thai prawn wrap. Both were VERY tasty! Both liked the prawn a tiny bit more than pork. They came with both fries and salad!! So nice when u would like some fries but not a mound of them. Service was excellent!!! Good job white goose!!

  June 8, 2013, 4:19 pm

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• Peanut9933

  Worst meal ever. We just went to this restaurant today for lunch and we had the fish and chips and the pulled pork sandwich, they were both horrible, over cooked and bad. it was if they had taken frozen fish and thrown it into year old grease, let it cook for 20 seconds and pulled it out. it was very dark brown, extremely oily inside and tasted awful. the pulled pork was bland and extremely tough. would not recommend this restaurant to anyone nor will i returnfries were ok

  October 8, 2012, 2:03 am

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• Elle

  Delicious! And very unique! Quaint setting and you can be as tame or adventurous as you like. Order just a soup, salad or basic dinner or take a chance and let the chef surprise you with a 4 or 5 course meal! You may get glazed salmon, you may get goose, bison, ostrich or rabbit! All are always delish! Home made creme brle and chocolate cake were to die for! You really can’t go wrong! Give them a chance and you won’t regret it 🙂

  September 28, 2012, 8:02 am

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