New Eats: The Heatley

Affordable, accessible and welcoming, the Heatley is for casual weekday family dinners.

This new Strathcona gastropub is just the kind of cool, doors-open, unpretentious neighbourhood joint that makes you feel immediately relaxed. Owner Michael Brennan is responsible for most of the spot’s woodwork, choosing to decorate with a vintage jukebox, piano and guitar (causal acoustic entertainment is on the docket) and a full-wall folkloric mural by Ola Volo (the Kazak-Vancouverite illustrator also behind this summer’s Folk Fest design). Food is homey and delicious; crispy chicken with creamy polenta and Brussels sprouts, and steak with mash and kale. Don’t miss the prawn ceviche coconut milk, cuke, lime and tortilla chips to start. Desserts like rhubarb pear crumble could’ve been made by your mom. A small but effective list of wine, cider and beer and some just-slick-enough cocktails (we liked the Apparition—tequila muddled with rosemary syrup, cucumber and lime juice topped with tonic) hit it home.

The Heatley’s your new no-time-to-cook no brainer. —Adrienne Matei

The Heatley, 696 E Hastings St., Vancouver, 778-558-0745, www.facebook.com/theheatley

Photo: Michelle Sproule, Scout Magazine