Three days into our trip, we had eaten well. Excellent Indian, Cambodian, Chinese and seafood. But we were still lacking something truly unique. We found our singular experinece on the West End at Dolly Watts’ Liliget Feast House, “the only restaurant in North America with Northwest First Nations cuisine.” Raised in the interior of British Columbia, she introduced the aboriginal food of her youth to Vancouver over 11 years ago. The entrance to the distinctive subterranean restaurant sports a mural by Skoda. The awning features the owner’s supernatural white owl family crest.

On the descent into the dining room is this example of the vibrant First Nations art that appears throughout the feast house.

Liliget Feast House features decor like no other restaurant, including wooden walkways, pebble floors and a system of staircases, plus cedar-plank tables with sunken legroom and mat seating.

Each meal comes with a complimentary basket of bannock bread, which are like plain beignets. The bread comes with dill-dusted smoked salmon-cream cheese spread.

Sopalali punch (C$2.95) combines sopalali and cranberry juices, plus ginger ale. Sopalali is a bitter cousin to the cranberry. This photo also captures a mug of Granville Island Brewery Kitsilano maple cream ale (C$4.95).

The best way to sample the flavors of First Nations cuisine is to order the Feast Platter for two (C$53.95). Served in a decorative “canoe,” there are portions of alder grilled wild salmon, butter-pecan bay scallops, mussels, marinated duck breast, marinated rosemary venison strips and buffalo smokies (AKA sausages), sweet potato tarts topped with shaved hazelnuts, a wild rice medley, seasonal vegetables like corn and zucchini, wild blueberry sauce (for the meats) and dill sauce (for the seafood). I’m exhausted just describing the platter.

Here’s a closer look at the festive seafood: alder grilled wild salmon, butter-pecan bay scallops, mussels, plus a sweet potato tart topped with shaved hazelnuts, wild rice medley, seasonal vegetables and dill sauce. The highlights were the smoky grilled scallops and the tart, which was like a miniature sweet potato pie, only not quite as sweet.

Here’s a closer look at the festive meats: marinated duck breast, marinated rosemary venison strips and buffalo smokies, served with another sweet potato tart, wild rice medley, seasonal vegetables and wild blueberry sauce. The meats probably edged the seafood: char-grilled and succulent. The blueberry sauce added a nice sweet note.

On a surprisingly familiar dessert menu, the only First Nations option was the Sopalalli Mousse (Yel’iss). According to the menu, “In ancient times, this dessert was whipped by hand inside the feast house. First the Chief dipped his wooden spoon into the big bowl of sopalalli mouse. Afterwards, those with lower status dipped their spoons into the bowl. The bushes usually nestle under jack pine trees. They have fragrant, velvety leaves and the bush is about 4 feet high. The berries are picked while green, pink, orange and red. They can be whipped from a puree with water and sugar and topped with blackberry-apple syrup in a sugar rimmed glass.” The dessert was interesting, but not really my thing. Still, I’m glad I ordered it instead of another slice of chocolate cake.