Railtown Cafe opens with delicious fresh, local menu

Last Wednesday evening crowds flocked to celebrate the official opening of the newest eatery in Vancouver's developing Railtown community, the Railtown Cafe. 

The crowd gathering to enjoy samples of the delicious food and drinks off the Railtown Cafe menu

Located in a refurbished heritage building at 397 Railway Street, the Railtown Cafe has been trading now for just over a week, serving up delicious breakfast and lunch treats that are already attracting scores of local residents and businesses within the local area.  The group is also devoted to sourcing everything locally wherever possible. This approach ranged from using only the freshest produce including the herbs grown onsite in the Patch Lab, but also to their decor, where they have utilized locally sourced reclaimed wood as dining tables.  

locally sourced goods was the theme seen throughout Railtown Cafe

Open 7am - 3pm, Monday to Friday the Railtown Cafe's breakfast offerings range from espresso coffees and juices and delicious pastries and bagels, but it is the lunch menu that is attracting most of the attention with their sintilating selection of salads and sandwiches.

Some of the  desserts for tasting including cookies and sticky bun

These are not just any sandwiches mind you, but are served up with some of the finest fillings you will find anywhere in Vancouver, thanks largely to the sous-vide cooking technique utilized by the Bocuse D'Or chefs manning the Railtown Cafe kitchen. 

Soup & Salad menu with some of the choose your own toppings 

Sous Vide is French for "under vacuum" and is a method of cooking food sealed in airtight plastic bags in a water bath for a long time (Railtown Cafe slow cooks its meats for 35 hours) at a low constant temperature. The intention is to cook the item evenly, and to not overcook the outside while still keeping the inside at the same "doneness", keeping the food juicy (Wikipedia) The results of this cooking technique are simply stunning. Not only does the meat retain more of the vitamins and nutrients in top form, the textures, flavours and colours are seriously impressive.

The meat heating getting ready to be cut for the delicious sandwiches

With such delicious looking meats resting under the heat lamps on the front counter, it is certainly hard to resist trying them. The poached salmon nicoise and the tender pork shoulder sandwiches were the standouts for me and were both simply stunning. They were packed full of flavour, with their selected ingredients each perfectly balanced to complete one hell of a sandwich. Even the breads used such as the foccacia and olive bread are baked fresh on the premises. 

Making the sandwiches right before our eyes and so many yummy options to choose from including the chicken club sandwich, the tender pork shoulder and the Salmon Nicoise.

However it is more than just quality food that owners the Etuvé Group are bringing to Railtown. With a corporate philosophy of seeking to be a positive force within the community, engaging in a broad array of charitable activities and specifically supporting programs that revolve around providing food to those less fortunate. Railtown and Vancouver's Downtown Eastside is certainly a neighbourhood where such philanthropic enterprises can put this philosphy into action.

If the great turnout on Wednesday and the level of trade over the first weeks  are anything to go by, the Railtown Cafe is sure to be a hit. 

Railtown Cafe 

Location:  397 Railway Street, Vancouver Canada

Hours:  Mon-Fri: 7:00am-3:00pm

Photos by TLMacdonald Photography.  More photos can be found on her facebook page