Railtown Catering; Photo: Jelger + Tanja Photography
The Easter weekend falls March 29 to April 1, 2024, which means it’s time to start booking your Easter gatherings at local restaurants. Establishments in town are offering Easter brunches and dinners in true Vancouver style, with a focus on diversity, local ingredients, and sustainability.
Photo: Oceans 999
No establishment in town does Easter buffet brunch (March 31 from 10:30am to 2:30pm, $104 per person, $100 for seniors, $52 for kids 6-12, children 5 and under are free) as extensively as Ocean 999 at the Pan Pacific Vancouver. The impressive spread includes a selection of juices, baked goods (e.g., assorted croissants, muffins, danishes, and scones), a range of salads (e.g., kale Caesar, a roasted carrot salad, spring greens), charcuterie and cheese, fresh seafood (e.g., iced jumbo prawns with cocktail sauce), sushi, omelettes made-to-order, soup, Asian-inspired dishes, a variety of entrees (e.g., chicken cordon bleu), children’s favourites (e.g., mac ‘n’ cheese) and a carvery station (e.g., lightly smoked beef striploin, harissa-spiced leg of lamb). And don’t forget the many desserts, including a doughnut wall, carrot pineapple cheesecake, and Nanaimo bar jars. This well-loved Easter destination—with great views of the water and mountains—definitely pulls out all the stops for this celebratory brunch.
Photo: Dockside
With gorgeous views of False Creek, Dockside’s location on Vancouver’s waterfront will take your Easter Brunch to the next level. This restaurant in the Granville Island Hotel features an annual Easter Brunch Buffet ($89 per adult, $45 for children 6-12, children 5 and under are free). This year it takes place March 31 from 10am to 2pm, and covers everyone’s favourite brunch items. Guests can start with the cold station with options such as prawn cocktail, charcuterie and cheese boards, beet salad, and Caesar salad. Mains include breakfast classics such as breakfast sausages, smoked bacon, scrambled eggs, buttermilk biscuits with sausage gravy, and breakfast potatoes with chili lime salt and herbs. There will also be an eggs benny station and a ham carvery with mustard jus. Treats will encompass a chocolate fountain, a cookie decorating station, and various desserts. Add-ons include cheese fondue, tableside steak tartare, and crab legs with drawn butter and hollandaise.
Botanist
Photo: Botanist
Known for their devotion to local ingredients, sustainability, and organic agriculture, Botanist in the Fairmont Pacific Rim is quintessentially Vancouver. They’ll be offering their special Easter Brunch March 30 and 31 as well as April 1. Brunch will consist of three-courses ($89), beginning with a “Morning Stretch,” featuring dishes such as hand-cut beef tartare, burrata salad, and steamed mussels. The “Main Event” selections range from oven roasted ham with pomme purée, roasted root vegetables, honey mustard, and apple butter to a lobster benedict with poached eggs, béarnaise, and sautéed mushrooms. You’ll end your meal with a dessert like mascarpone cheesecake with passionfruit mango curd, toasted coconut meringue, and tropical fruit compote.
Photo: Bacchus
Situated in the Wedgewood Hotel, Bacchus Restaurant is an enduring establishment due to the calibre of its European-inspired cuisine that showcases local produce and sustainable seafood. This Easter, they are showcasing two special dining experiences. The first is a three-course Easter brunch on March 31 from 10:30am to 2pm (90-minute seatings, $72 per person, $42 for children 12 and under with a reduced menu). First course options include creamy potato soup and baby shrimp cocktail while main selections range from lamb shank ragout to French toast with cherry compote, candied pecans, and vanilla whipped cream. Dessert is either carrot cake or a Swiss roll with strawberry cream and rhubarb.
Bacchus is also serving an Easter Afternoon Tea on March 30 and 31 (2pm and 2:30pm seatings, $72 per person), which comes with gourmet savoury selections (e.g., English cucumber and cream cheese on sourdough, albacore tuna sandwiches with capers and dill), baked scones with clotted cream and house-made preserves, and sweets (e.g,. strawberry swiss roll). You can add Kaviari caviar or bubbly to make your Easter tea even more special.
Photo: The Acorn
Plant-based cooking in Vancouver draws upon the bounty and fresh quality of the city’s local ingredients. The Acorn Restaurant in Mount Pleasant on Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 2pm features an à la carte brunch menu, with creative dishes like a savoury waffle with fried oyster mushrooms, maple espelette mustard pickles, fermented chili, and koji gravy; and a cassoulet with navy beans, cauliflower mushrooms, carrot, and salsify chips. Or, what would be particularly lovely for Easter Brunch would be opting for their Chef’s Menu ($45 per person, full table participation required, coffee or tea included) where you enjoy a family-style multi-course brunch menu that makes use of the best of local seasonal ingredients.
Photo: Ophelia
For an elevated Mexican spin on your Easter brunch, consider visiting Ophelia in Olympic Village. Chef Francisco Higareda finds that perfect balance between high-end execution (from his time working at Michelin-star restaurants in France and Spain) and accessible cuisine. Brunch on March 30 and 31 will be no different, with starters like ahi tuna tostada and a soup with corn tortillas, avocado, chicharron, sour cream, and pasilla chili broth. Brunch entrées include huevos divorciados, with sunny side-up eggs, refried beans, chorizo, diced potatoes, tortilla, salsa roja, and salsa verde; and enchiladas gratinadas with braised chicken, poblano sauce, gratin cheese, roasted corn, and refried beans. End your Easter brunch with chocoflan or churros.
Delara
Delara; Photo: Tara Lee
The cooking at Delara is truly revelatory, with a careful melding of the flavours and textures of fresh ingredients, many of them sourced from local producers. Their Persian interpretation of brunch showcases the talent of the kitchen in simple, yet deftly executed plates. They include a Persian breakfast that comes with a soft boiled egg, flatbread, feta, butter, jam, and a salad with barberry dressing; koofteh (meatballs) with seedy sourdough flatbread; and roasted chicken leg with barberry sauce, crispy saffron rice, and a salad of mixed greens and herbs. Walnut, date, and honey baklava or chocolate and halva cake would be the ideal finish to your brunch.
Photo: Kirin Restaurants
Dim sum, with its wide assortment of delicacies, makes for a lavish Easter brunch. Kirin Restaurants has a location downtown and Richmond, offering mid-day dim sum you can enjoy any day of the Easter weekend. The downtown establishment, for example, has two page of dim sum selections to choose from, including classics such as steamed prawn dumplings (har gow), steamed pork and Sakura premium pork dumplings topped with flying fish roe, sticky rice with pork and dried scallop wrapped in lotus leaf, and chicken feet steamed in black bean sauce. In celebration of Easter, you could order the egg custard tarts, the thousand tier cake, or the black sesame paste rice balls topped with crushed peanut and sugar.
Photo: Wildlight Kitchen + Bar
One of Vancouver’s newest and most West Coast brunch options is Wildlight Kitchen + Bar, found at UBC. Chef Warren Chow takes sourcing seriously, with a focus on fresh seasonal ingredients from local producers. You can enjoy brunch March 30 and 31 with delicious options like a duck confit cassoulet; a hanger steak skillet with chorizo and Yukon gold potato hash, chimichurri, and a sunnyside egg; and a Dungeness crab cake benedict with housemade cheddar biscuits and uni hollandaise.
To-Go Dinner Options
Railtown Catering; Photo: Jelger Tanja Photography
If you’d rather enjoy your Easter dinner at home, establishments in town are offering to-go packages that will have your guests raving over your spread. Railtown Catering is taking orders for packages that just require reheating. The menu includes honey-glazed bone-in ham with caraway mustard; scalloped potatoes with gruyere; braised red cabbage; roasted root veg with caramelized shallots, mushrooms, and asparagus; hot cross buns with whipped butter; and rhubarb crumble with vanilla ice cream. The meal comes in a small size (4-6 guests, $299) or a full size (10-12 guests, $439). You can also add rosemary-crusted leg of lamb or AAA prime rib roast. Orders must be placed by 10am on March 26, with pick-up March 31 and April 1 from 11am to 5pm (delivery available for an extra charge).
Meanwhile, Mon Pitou, the charming French bakery/bistro, is not only selling hot cross buns for Easter, but also Easter Dinner for four ($150) for pick-up March 31 at 5:30pm. The charming meals comes with a marinated chicken (must be cooked by you), garlic mashed potatoes, a mixed green salad with a bottle of champagne vinaigrette, mushroom gravy, hot cross buns, a coconut cream pie, and a bottle of San Pellegrino sparkling water. Add-ons available are mac ‘n’ cheese, roasted tomato bisque, and lasagna.