Gastown’s newest martini bar and restaurant opens October 23, with a former chef de cuisine of Michelin-starred Kissa Tanto in the kitchen.
The Moon Martini Bar & Restaurant is opening at the edge of the neighbourhood at 59 Powell Street, with two concepts under one roof.
Head Chef Felix Maristany grew up Cuban-American in Miami, cooked in kitchens in Spain, and has spent decades in some of Vancouver’s top restaurants.
He trained at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts, worked as sous chef at Cioppino’s, then became chef de cuisine at Kissa Tanto.
His menu here leans on fermentation and preservation, catching seasonal ingredients at their peak and carrying them through the year.
Co-owner Sonia Symoom says the menu is “borderless, drawn from nostalgia and the places we’ve been rather than a single cuisine.”
So expect the menu to change quite regularly.
The 1,632-square-foot space splits into two experiences.
The 27-seat dining room is built around a fully open kitchen, with a seasonal à la carte menu or a multicourse selection the chef picks for you.
Up front is Moon Bar, a lobby bar meant for dropping in.
Martinis anchor the drinks list, with the classics done straight alongside rotating, unexpected versions, plus signature cocktails, spirit-free drinks and bar snacks.
Bar manager Zoe Bates was a top-four finalist in World Class Canada this year, after designing drink programs at Ellipsis, The Westin Bayshore and Sula.
General manager and wine director Claudia Fandino, formerly of Published on Main, Barbara and Burdock & Co, built a wine list around smaller organic producers, with sake and a tea list made with O5 Tea.
There’s also a wine you can only get here.
The team worked with BC producer Ursa Major on Good Job, a single-barrel, 50/50 Chardonnay and Muscat made exclusively for the restaurant.
“We named it Good Job as a nod to striving, momentum and achievement, and to celebrate the 18-month journey of bringing The Moon to life,” says co-owner Wyatt Rybchinsky.
Symoom and Rybchinsky lived in Gastown for years before landing the space.
This part of Gastown has been seeing quite a change, with Amber Kissa and Celeste Cafe moving in this summer.
The Moon will be joining other recent Vancouver openings like C Market Coffee, Danbo Express and Yoona’s Cafe.
For more new and upcoming food spots in Metro Vancouver, take a peek at our tracker here, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
Address: 59 Powell Street, Vancouver
Google decides which local food news you see. Tell it you want Noms
One tap adds Noms Magazine as a preferred source. No signup, no email.