Where to Eat in Vancouver: Fairmont Pacific Rim Lobby Lounge and Terrace

Guest article by Alexis Hinde, sharing the scoop on where to eat in Vancouver.

Dining out with kids doesn’t have to mean a trip to a family restaurant or a noisy play place. While that kind of thing can be great (who doesn’t like food in a pirate ship?), if you’re like me, sometimes you yearn for a more urban, adult-oriented space.

Luckily, our almost-three-year-old (AKAThe Imp) is a pretty calm kid who will eat just about anything, so we’re able to take him almost everywhere, including lunch at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Lobby Lounge and Terrace.

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The Lounge is a very grown up-space, with a first impression of modern simplicity and casual elegance.

It’s a vast room, but they’ve done a great job of separating the restaurant from the high-traffic lobby. While remaining open enough for great people watching, the seating area is broken up into more intimate groupings with a long central fireplace as a defining feature. It’s very lounge-y, with low tables and couches, and–The Imp’s favourite–groovy chairs that spin around.

Kid-friendly restaurant

Though the restaurant doesn’t exactly shout “kid-friendly,” it is. While I didn’t notice any highchairs or booster seats, the friendly servers immediately brought colouring pages and crayons for The Imp to keep himself busy. And at one end of the lounge there’s a bookshelf filled with art and coffee table books. Not standard kid tales, but The Imp was fascinated by a collection of Monet’s paintings while we ordered drinks and looked at the menu.

West coast and sushi

The food is high-end west coast fare with global influences: edamame and noodle bowls, samosas and butter chicken, cheese and charcuterie, as well as more standard salads and sandwiches.

Since The Imp has a dairy allergy, we stuck with sushi and had real crab California roll, tempura prawn roll, and spicy tuna roll. Delighted with the bright orange chopsticks, The Imp dug in with gusto. We enjoyed the manila clam miso soup, and tried to get a bite or two of sushi before The Imp ate it all himself.

The chefs have put their own spin on edamame, drizzling it with a garlic sesame oil, which I found a bit too oily for my taste, but overall the food was well prepared, beautifully presented and delicious.

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Food worth the price

It wasn’t cheap. Our meal, which included two alcoholic beverages, was almost $70, including tax and tip. But as a special treat in a quiet, grown-up space where there’s enough going on to keep our busy toddler occupied, it was totally worth it!