Ferris' Upstairs

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Again and again, Ferris’ Upstairs is worth the climb

Ferris’ Upstairs

536 Yates

4pm-later Tuesday-Saturday

382-2433 ferrisoysterbar.com

Time flies. October will see the third anniversary of the opening of Ferris’ Upstairs and I still think of it as a new place. I clearly haven’t been there enough. Not only do they serve plenty of my beloved oysters, but the selection of beer and wine is a good mix of local and imported, and as far as cocktails go, the folks at Ferris’ Upstairs are masters of the three “M”s—mojitos, margaritas, and, martinis—and they are always a double. Less family restaurant and more lounge-like than downstairs, there exists an intimate-yet-friendly, casual air about the place and the servers display a confidence that comes from knowing that the kitchen can and will consistently perform. For maximum enjoyment, I recommend starting with some drinks and smaller items, and of course, sharing. But be warned: you might not get past the appetizer section and fresh sheet. It’s that good. Most, if not all, of the items ordered upstairs are made right there, in a small open kitchen that once catered art openings when the long, tall, exposed-brick room housed the Upstairs Gallery. A sofa section by the window is a particularly sought after spot, ideally suited to sitting, sipping and snacking.

Munchies include fish crackers (you know, the orange ones kids love) and spicy pickled green beans ($2) and don’t forget the pita with three spreads—minted feta, cumin spiced homous, and olive tapenade ($9). My favourite of the special snacks was the marinated picholine olives ($5). Picholines are firm, green olives and with the kitchen as matchmaker they may have found their lifelong mates—fennel seed, pernod and orange zest. Luckily, this is easily reproducible at home; I think I’m in love.

Speaking of love, who doesn’t occasionally crave the taste and texture of the raw oyster? O.K. I know, it’s one of those love-it-or-hate-it things. In fact, the friends we dined with don’t even eat oysters, and this is still their favourite haunt. But for those of us who include these little muscular beasties-from-the-sea on our favourites list, Ferris’ is as good a place as any to get ‘em. Have them with fresh horseradish, raspberry mignonette, and/or homemade spicy cocktail sauce ($2 each or $20/dozen). As expected, they were perfectly executed—detached completely from the shell for easy sliding, no shell fragments, and they were left in their salty brine (a note to the to the uninitiated: it’s a no-no to rinse raw oysters before eating them as this washes away much of the salt water, replacing it with tap water, thus dulling the experience). The tangy and peppery raspberry mignonette was a perfect early-summer accompaniment.

For those of you who prefer their bivalve mollusks cooked, feast on one or more of seven baked varieties ($3 each or $16 for one of each). Ferris’ Grill downstairs has a longer list of cooked oyster options, including pan-fried with garlic toast, the oyster burger, oyster soup, and eight baked varieties. Meanwhile, upstairs, while having a more scaled back menu, doesn’t simply pick and choose the best sellers from the larger menu, no siree. There are seven varieties of baked oysters upstairs, with only the classic Rockefeller in common. This lends a certain exclusivity to upstairs. Only there can you feast on the southern inspired campfire (stout and bourbon BBQ sauce), the coastal Webster’s boot factory (crab, smoked salmon and cream cheese) or the simple seahorse (horseradish butter and lemon). I’d love to go on describing them but I suggest you get down (up) there yourself and investigate.

The special sheet provided us with most of our slightly larger items, including the potato corn chowder ($9)—savoury simplicity in a bowl, with one huge, pan-seared scallop in the center. Another special we couldn’t resist was the stilton crostini ($8), which arrived looking more the size of a large bruschetta over a pile of fresh greens; large slices of diagonally cut, super-fresh and toasty baguette was topped with melted stilton cheese, proscuitto, caramelized apple and lavender honey. Wow. The regular menu features a yummy roasted chorizo sausage flamed in brandy and served with apricot Dijon for dipping and the fresh sheet this night featured a roasted Italian sausage with perfectly executed new potatoes seasoned with chimmichurri ($9). The regular menu also features plenty of mouthwatering items we didn’t get to—fresh salads such as the Caesar with crisp prosciutto ($9) as well as a creative list of sandwiches, and main meals such as wild salmon ($18) baked eggs ($12) and braised beef short ribs with truffled mashed potatoes ($18).

I think it’s time to go back. Again and again. M