Photo: Notch8’s Festive Afternoon Tea
One of the rites of December is nearly upon us: gathering with family and friends over a lavish holiday meal. Restaurants in the city are dreaming up menus for afternoon teas, brunch buffets, and multicourse dinners for celebrating the festive season.
Here are 10 to consider booking for your upcoming holiday feast:
From our partners:
Showcase Restaurant & Bar
Photo: Showcase
Showcase Restaurant & Bar, located in the Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown, is offering multiple ways to feast this holiday season. From December 5 to 16, they’re serving up a weekday holiday lunch buffet ($49 per person with advanced reservations; $55 for walk-ins), which includes a coffee crusted beef striploin and salmon en croute. Christmas Day features two options: the first, a brunch buffet (11am to 1:30pm, $95 per person), which ranges from roasted turkey to chilled crab. And finally, the Christmas Day dinner ($75 per person) is a three-course menu. Options for each course include acorn squash risotto and slow roasted citrus brined turkey with sour cream and soffritto cornbread.
H2 Kitchen + Bar
Photo: H2 Kitchen + Bar
With its gorgeous Coal Harbour Location, H2 Kitchen + Bar, found at The Westin Bayshore, is an excellent holiday choice. They’re hosting a Sunday Supper Series in December (4, 11, 18, 24, and 25), which features a special holiday meal of smoked turkey roulade with cornbread stuffing, crispy Brussels sprouts, red-skinned mashed potatoes, buttered green beans, sage jus, and cranberry gastrique. A selection of curated wines are $45 per bottle. The meal can be enjoyed individually ($39 per person) or served family style ($139 for 4 people with creamy celeriac soup as well). H2 is also offering a Christmas Day Brunch with Santa ($125 per adult, $55 per child 5-12, under 5 free), which comes with a wealth of dishes, such as Fraser Valley turkey with fresh herbs and signature stuffing, assorted dim sum, a roasted ribeye carving station, freshly shucked oysters, and a decadent spread of desserts. And Santa will be greeting children in the lobby.
Glowbal Restaurant
Photo: Glowbal
Santa is going to be very busy this holiday season in Vancouver attending various delicious holiday events. Glowbal Restaurant is holding a Santa Brunch Buffet ($85 per adult, kids under 12 $30) December 17 and 18. Both their heated patio and interiors are fully decked out, transforming the restaurant into a winter wonderland. Santa will be in attendance and happy for photo opportunities. Selections are vast, and include a chilled seafood buffet (e.g., snow crab and a smoked salmon platter), a carving station with roasted prime striploin and slow roasted turkey, an omelette station, cold buffet classics (e.g., charcuterie and cheese), hot brunch favourites (e.g., eggs benedict, double smoked bacon), truffle mushroom spaghetti, and many desserts (e.g., chocolate tarts). Their ‘Tis the Season cocktail list includes Jingle Juice, mulled wine, and gingerbread eggnog.
Carlino
Photo: Carlino, Pear Pressure
The room at Carlino, located in the Shangri-La Vancouver, is dreamy, making it both elegant and cozy for a holiday meal. Plus, the food, inspired by Italy’s Friuli region, is heavenly. Both Christmas Eve and Day feature special holiday selections, such as Pacific octopus carpaccio with caper and olive vinaigrette, crisp guanciale, sweet paprika, and sourdough; Yarrow Meadow’s duck breast with grilled endive, frico duck fritters, glazed sour turnip, radish sprouts, and cherry jus; and apple strudel with cinnamon gelato and maple syrup glaze. Meanwhile their Christmas Day brunch menu consists of a seafood platter for two; roast turkey for two with Brovada e Muset and chestnut stuffing, roasted Brussels sprouts, turkey gravy, and cranberry sauce; and a maple gubana with green apple, pecans, and brandy vanilla ice cream. A lovely cocktail to enjoy for the holidays would be the Pear Pressure with Jamaican rum, rye whisky, spiced pear, and blueberry leaves.
Honey Salt
Photo: Honey Salt
From December 21 to 26, Honey Salt at Parq Vancouver will have a festive three-course menu ($88 per person, $40 for wine pairings), which starts with a choice between lobster mac ‘n’ cheese, a winter harvest salad, and a half dozen BC oysters. It then moves onto either roasted turkey roulade, pan seared scallops, or a 63 Acres striploin, before finishing with baked apple pie with vanilla bean ice cream or a Christmas log. The restaurant is also hosting a special gingerbread house building session ($30 per house) December 14, 11, and 18 (starting at 3pm). All supplies and tools provided; plus, there are winter cocktails for the adults. Email hsbookings@parqvancouver.com to reserve a spot.
The Victor
Photo: The Victor
In celebration of their 5-year birthday and the holidays, The Victor at Parq Vancouver has dreamed up a special menu available December 18 to 22. It’s served family style ($150 for 2 people), and starts with a welcome drink of mulled wine. From there, you’ll sup on all sorts of goodies: their signature cheese and onion bread; Caesar salad; lobster and crab bisque; a 24 oz prime rib au jus with Yorkshire pudding, crispy Brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, and creamed horseradish; and crème brûlée donuts and petits fours. Additions and upgrades include Northern Divine caviar, a jumbo prawn cocktail, half a Nova Scotia lobster, and a 28 oz USDA prime porterhouse.
Sequoia Company of Restaurants (The Teahouse and Seasons in the Park)
Photo: Sequoia Company of Restaurants
The Sequoia Company of Restaurants is hosting Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners at two of its establishments. At The Teahouse, they’re serving a three-course menu ($68 per person) December 24, with tempting options such as their beloved mushrooms stuffed with crab, shrimp, and cream cheese; pan seared steelhead with roasted fingerling potatoes, ratatouille, and chimichurri; and dulce de leche apple tart with vanilla gelato. Christmas Day dinner ($98 per person) is also three-courses (with an amuse bouche and a palate cleanser) with similar options, such as roasted turkey with mashed potatoes, traditional stuffing, maple glazed yams, and Brussel sprouts. The menus at Seasons in the Park are priced the same, with many overlapping items or ones with slight tasty variations, such as prime rib with garlic mashed potatoes, honey glazed carrots, Brussels sprouts, Dijon mustard, Yorkshire pudding, horseradish, and demi-glace.
Diva at the Met
Photo: Tara Lee
The well-appointed Diva at the Met in the Metropolitan Hotel Vancouver has numerous holiday options this year. They’re offering a Festive Lunch ($55 per person) from December 1 to 23, which consists of a three-course repast that will draw upon classic holiday favourites while also giving them a global reimagining. On Christmas day and evening, they have a five-course menu ($99 per person), which begins with a choice between heirloom beetroot carpaccio and a butternut squash and apple bisque; then between a seared bay scallop or cured pork belly; and next between root vegetable tagine, filet mignon, or Rossdown Farms free range turkey with chestnut and apricot stuffing, sage pan jus, and cranberry compote. Dessert is sticky toffee pudding or dark chocolate trifle.
Bacchus Restaurant & Lounge
Photo: Bacchus
The lush surroundings of Bacchus Restaurant & Lounge are the perfect setting for a holiday celebration. As usual, they’re celebrating the Christmas season in a lavish way, starting with a Nutcracker Afternoon Tea ($70 per person) that runs Saturdays and Sundays from now until December 21 (2pm or 2:30pm). The tea comes with a selection of gourmet sandwiches, such as classic egg and arugula salad on brioche; pastries and sweets such as a hazelnut chocolate tart with almond streusel; and, of course, scones with clotted cream and assorted preserves. On Christmas Eve, their dinner service will include a Christmas turkey feature. Christmas Day is an elegant affair with a three-course brunch ($79 per person, $40 for children 12 and under) with dishes such as roasted wild mushroom and truffle velouté; rosemary pepper prime rib with roasted Yukon Gold potatoes, caramelized Brussels sprouts, and peppercorn sauce; and festive mignardise. Christmas Dinner consists of four courses ($199 per person, $75 per child 12 and under) and includes various choices such as tuna tartare with avocado, tamari, tempura crumb, and wonton crisps, as well as sage butter brined turkey breast with confit turkey leg, honey roasted root vegetables, chestnut stuffing, garlic mashed potatoes, and turkey jus.
Fairmont Hotel Vancouver
Photo: Notch8
The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver has a variety of delicious ways to celebrate the season. Notch8’s Holiday Afternoon Tea ($69 per adult, children $34.50), available from now until December 30 (Thursday to Sunday, excluding December 24 and 25), comes with tea sandwiches like festive ham with winter spice squash butter, and apple gastrique on Pullman bread, as well as an assortment of sweets such as a candy cane macaron and chestnut éclair. There’s also a special kid’s menu. Notch8 is holding a festive lunch buffet ($89 per adult, $44.50 for kids 12 and under) December 9, 16, and 19-23, which includes a seafood spread, charcuterie and cheese, soups and salads, hot items, such as roast turkey and maple roasted root vegetables, and desserts such as eggnog cheesecake. In addition, there’s a Christmas Dinner ($99 per adult, $49.50 per child) December 24 and 25, which is a three-course meal with selections that range from an onion and potato tart to pan seared scallops with lentil de puy, braised endive, and citrus emulsion. Meanwhile, the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver’s Pacific Ballroom will be the location for their Christmas Eve dinner buffet ($169 per adult, $84.50 for children 12 and under), which is a very impressive spread, including West Coast chilled seafood, a salad station, a dim sum steamer station, a turkey and ham carving station, mains, items for children, and many, many desserts. Finally, the Christmas Day buffet ($199 per adult, $99 for children 12 and under), also in the Pacific Ballroom, comes with a similar wide array of items.
By Tara Lee
Source Inside Vancouver
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