This new restaurant is selling chicken Marsala with a side of Surrey pride
'Surrey is overlooked on far too many occasions,' says Dominion Bar and Kitchen manager
Savouring Surrey is a week-long series looking at the history and the future of Surrey through its many restaurants and the people who make up the diverse community.
One of the newer food and beverage spots in Surrey is the Dominion Bar and Kitchen.
One thing is for sure, the owners really, really want to be in this fast growing city.
Their website states: "Proudly Surrey, Uniquely Surrey."
Surrey pride
The restaurant sits at the base of the new Civic Hotel, a 23-storey tower, next to the 52-storey residential tower at the Surrey Central SkyTrain station.
The hotel and restaurant, part of the Century Group, have put their roots down for good in this spot, says Darren Pierce, the general manager.
"We are very proud of the neighbourhood we are in. The concept is to create a restaurant and a bar for the local people. [This city] is overlooked on far too many occasions, and Surrey has some negative connotations. That's not the case. We are proud of it."
Another reason for opening the Dominion was to give people a reason to stay in Surrey instead of heading into Vancouver for their dining and entertainment.
"We wanted to create a downtown feel in your local neighbourhood. It is one of the comments we hear, 'It reminds me of someplace downtown,' so we do try and bring that vibe."
Variety is the spice of Surrey
Darren has managed the restaurant for the past year and has already seen a lot of change in Surrey — the opening of Kwantlen Polytechnic University, an increase in the number of highrise buildings in the city and the rejuvenation of the SkyTrain station.
He said customers come to the hotel from all over Surrey, including students and local business owners. Surrey is extremely diverse meaning customers also come from all over the world.
Darren enjoys meeting new Canadians because he too immigrated to B.C. 15 years ago from Ireland.
"I love nothing more than sharing my experience, how I got here and hearing how they got here. It's what this country was built on, everyone coming together. A lot of people can relate back to Ireland for some reason."
The restaurant also boasts another newer Canadian, executive chef Rajeev Arora.
He was born and learned his trade in India and spent time in Hong Kong. There were stints on cruise ships, cooking shows and now he's put his roots down in Surrey where he works to keep the menu a constantly shifting collection of dishes that reflect his own tastes and the tastes of the people who visit and share their thoughts.
One of the menu highlights is a Jägermeister-brined chicken breast in a Marsala mushroom cream sauce. What else would you expect from an Indian-born chef?
Other stories in the Savouring Surrey series:
- Take me out to the Round-Up, where baseball and comfort food combine
- Surrey's Indian cuisine: Food solace for the new girl in town
- Afghan Kitchen's unique culinary offerings keep business and family together
- So you think pizza is Italian? Surrey says think again