By Lauren Southern (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: February 5, 2014
I recently attended a work party at EXP Restaurant + Bar. Considering I work at a game store, this was certainly an appropriate theme. The restaurant, only a block or two away from the Chinatown Skytrain stop, almost always has a wait, and considering it was a weekend it was longer than usual. When we finally entered we were put on a list and left to admire the colourful room full of glowing lights, screens with video game play, and weapons from what looked like Final Fantasy or Gears of War hanging on the walls. Once we had taken everything in and gotten used to the blaring Legend of Zelda “Song of Storms” dubstep remix, we picked up controllers to play Metal Slug on an Xbox set up at the front of the restaurant hooked up to a flat screen.
The wait was only around half an hour or so, but the crowd in the room definitely kept things interesting, from one guy arguing with himself, to a large crowd leaving the restaurant dressed up as characters from different games and shows. Once the cosplaying crew had left, we were brought over to our table and greeted by a waitress who looked almost identical to Lily from How I Met Your Mother (apparently she prefers “that chick from Buffy”). She was extremely friendly, in fact the whole staff were very accommodating despite how busy the place was. After some chit-chat they brought out our main “quests and potions” menus then left us to order.
The names that had been given to the different drinks and entrées were quite amusing: the popular anime show Attack on Titan had been changed into “Attack on Tacos,” and there was the legendary Triforce burger which had the symbol burned onto the patty.
We started off with some “First Person Shooters” each buying rounds of starter Pokémon shots, which were $5.50 each. Colourful shot glasses were brought to the table with Charmander a bright red, Squirtle a deep blue, and Bulbasaur a neon green. Charmander was a mix of Raspberry Sour Puss, Jack Daniel’s, and Fireball. It was far too strong for my liking but certainly fitting for a fire Pokemon. We all agreed that Bulbasaur was the best tasting out of the three, a Smirnoff Red Label, Bols Melon and Lime Juice mix.
Super Smash Nachos was our first order from the “multiplayer” menu to munch on while waiting for our main quest. After ordering, we watched the Resident Evil gameplay that was being shown on multiple screens around the room. Whoever chose the gameplay deserves props, considering the guy in the video played through the entire game only kneecapping zombies. His struggle was quite amusing to watch from a fellow gamer’s perspective.
Our appropriately named Super Smash Nachos finally arrived: a mix of cheese sauce, corn tortillas, jalapenos, tomatoes, green onion, sour cream, and salsa — I would definitely recommend them. While munching on nachos and having fantastically nerdy conversations, we finally decided on what to order for the main course. Considering I’m a fan of the game and love poutine I ordered the “Prince of Poutine” burger for $12, a beef patty with fries, cheese, and gravy on top. To make it even better, for an extra two bucks I added bacon. What more could a girl want in life?
While I can’t perfectly review what my co-workers ordered, we agreed the best items were the “Mach Pizza Fries” (skinny fries with pepperoni, spicy Italian sausage, mozzarella, pizza sauce, and fresh basil for $12 and the classic Triforce burger (beef patty, crispy chicken breast, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and roasted garlic). According to the menu it’s “a burger that requires Courage to order, Wisdom to approach, and Power to defeat” and $15 to buy.
Overall this restaurant has put a lot of effort into making the ultimate nerd experience. They also host trivia nights and game tournaments. I give mad props not only to the creativity of it all but to the phenomenal service and food as well. One last thing: I would have mentioned dessert if I could put into words how delicious it was. The best advice I can give you is to go with a large group of friends and try it all! Questing is always easier in groups, and the restaurant gives an EXP share, so you and your friends will level up in no time!
