Au Petite Chauvignol, on E. Hastings street (between Hawks and Campbell avenue), was a little out of the way for us, but we soon found this wine and cheese bar to be well worth the journey.

Prosciutto wrapped chicken breast: truffled potato gnocchi, carrots, red wine jus

The sweetness of the red wine jus paired the prosciutto wrapped chicken breast was really well because the sweetness jus counterbalanced the saltiness from the prosciutto. The tenderness of the chicken and the slight crisp from the prosciutto added a little play on texture that we enjoyed very much. The main draw of this dish was actually the truffled potato gnocchi. The chewiness of the potato gnocchi definitely surprised us sold us from the first bite. Glazed with a bit of red wine jus, the potato gnocchi was hands down my favourite part of the meal.

Advertised as Vancouver’s best mac and cheese, I couldn’t resist ordering the classic four cheese macaroni. Indeed, this dish was fantastically cheesy. I could smell and see different kinds of cheese (Gruyere, white cheddar, orange cheddar, and stilton) from pulling a fork full of macaroni up into the air. The first bite was a pretty much like a warm cheese explosion in my mouth. I also enjoyed the arugula and radish salad more than expected as it helped combat the richness of the macaroni and cheese.

La Sauvagine from Québec (back), Bleu Des Basques from Pyrénées, France (right), and Sainte-mainte Caprifeuille from Loire, France (Left)

We ordered a cheese plate to finish off our meal. The first one we tried, was the La Sauvagine, a cow cheese from Quebec. La Savagine was very creamy and medium firm in texture. The Bleu des Basques from Pyrénées, France was also very creamy in texture, however, it was much more firm than the La Sauvagine. It was a typical sheep cheese with a rich blue cheese flavour. Lastly we tried Sainte-Maure Caprifeuille, a goat cheese from Loire, France. The Sainte-Maure Caprifeuille has a unique texture as it has a chalky centre which gets creamier as it move towards the edge. We enjoyed the goat flavour very much.

If you are looking for comforting dishes, carefully selected cheeses, and a nice glass of wine, I would recommend  you to try Au Petite Chauvignol. Whether or not you are a cheese lover, I would urge you to try it anyways as the other selections on their menu are also well crafted. They have a unique cheese selection, which changes seasonally. Overall, I give Au Petite Chauvignol 7 out of 10.

Sincerely,

Oli