“Oh! It’s the aboriginal food place!”

“I’ve always wanted to try it!”

“Yeah!”

And that’s how a terrific dinner at Liliget Feast House began.

The restaurant claims to be Canada’s only aboriginal cuisine restaurant, and I’ve yet to see the claim refuted. It lurks in the basement in a small building on west Davie St, and as you descend the stairs into it, you feel like you’re entering another world: subdued lighting, quiet music, native artwork, and a dining area crafted almost entirely from river stones and wooden planks.

The seating areas are recessed down into the floor, so sitting down at most of the tables involves lifting a hinged flap of the table enough to slide your legs underneath and then lowering it back down again. Most tables were accompanied by wooden coat hooks on the wall, which is a convenient extra on a wintery night.

The food . . . where to start. Upon reviewing the menu it seemed a travesty not to order the Liliget Feast for Two, so of course that’s what happened.

Bannock fry bread with smoked salmon cream cheese
Alder grilled salmon fillets with dill sauce
Alder grilled buffalo sausage and smoked venison strips with a kind of blueberry chutney
Alder grilled mussels and oysters (noticing a pattern?)
Baked sweet potato
Wild rice
Carrots and beans and cabbage

All were a delight to the palate, and the recommended pairing with a Granville Island Kitsilano Maple Cream Ale was also good advice.

When dessert time arrived, given the experience so far, how could we not order the traditional dessert of Sopalali Berry Mousse? The waiter returned and found us devouring the dessert, and he couldn’t hide his surprise. “I always thought soapberries were sort of an acquired taste, but I guess you like them?” I wouldn’t recommend them to everyone, because the flavour is a little bitter, but it was definitely worth a try at least once, and it’s not quite like anything else I’ve ever tasted.

All in all, well worth a visit. The manager recommends reservations on most nights, especially if you’re with a group, but the advance planning is well worth it. . . .