Editorial review•May 5, 2026
Coal Harbour has a habit of producing rooms that look like ambition and feel like airports — all glass and waterfront light doing the emotional work nobody behind the design bothered to do. The Sequel Kitchen Bar, in the Cardero Building, reportedly resists that template. Chef-owner Kingsley Ho conceived the place as a deliberate continuation of his Story Café in Richmond: same foundational instincts, sharper execution. By most accounts, the room holds up its end of that premise — textured walls that absorb rather than reflect the weekend jazz, a wraparound bar that gives the space a structural center, and lighting described consistently as warm in the way that actually flatters the people sitting under it rather than just softening the edges. This is the kind of tonal range — equally plausible for a Friday date or a quiet Tuesday — that is genuinely difficult to calibrate, and the Sequel appears to have calibrated it.
The menu is built around a small number of dishes that diners return to. The Beef Pappardelle — wide pasta with seven-hour braised short rib, cherry tomatoes, arugula, demi-cream sauce, and goat cheese — is consistently cited as the kitchen's clearest statement of intent: rich in construction, with the tomato and arugula reportedly keeping the dish from tipping into heaviness. The Scallop Ceviche, built on Hokkaido scallops with jalapeño, pickled shallot, fresh citrus, and pink salt, reads as the counterpoint: cold and precise where the pappardelle is slow and layered. The Signature Risotto, featuring seared tiger prawns, more Hokkaido scallops, broccolini, and housemade pesto, is where the kitchen shows range. On the wine side, the Ogier Côtes du Ventoux Rosé tracks well against the seafood dishes; the Chloe Pinot Noir is the call if you're ordering the pappardelle.
Live jazz runs Friday and Saturday evenings — book then if you want the room operating at the pitch it was designed for. Bar seats are worth requesting for a two-top: close enough to the room's energy without losing the ability to have an actual conversation. The Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards nomination for Best Brunch suggests the kitchen maintains its standard across dayparts, but dinner is where the atmosphere completes itself. Graham's Tawny 10 Year is on the list; at this price point, it's the kind of ending that costs less than it should.
Sophie Laurent, Food Editor