Seven great hotel brunches to savour in Vancouver

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Spring is the season of brunch, our favourite meal for celebrating Mother’s Day, Easter, graduations, reunions, anniversaries and all the other festive reasons for enjoying eggs and bubbly in the middle of the day.

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Vancouver has many great, even legendary, brunch restaurants. But there’s something extra luxurious about a hotel brunch. Here are seven of our favourites.

Bruno, Versante Hotel

Executive chef William Lew hails from Fairmont—the Pacific Rim and Hotel Vancouver—so he clearly knows his way around a swanky brunch. Now at Richmond’s stylish new boutique Versante Hotel, he’s cooked up a gloriously bountiful sustainable seafood brunch. There are waffles and other dishes, sure, but brunch is all about the seafood, including chilled shellfish, a salmon lobster benny, tuna and crab poke and an optional add-on of Northern Divine caviar. Our favourite reason to go, though, is what may just be Metro Vancouver’s last buck-a-shuck oysters. clubversante.com/bruno/

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Tableau Bar Bistro, Loden Hotel

Brunch takes on a French accent at the chicly remodelled Tableau. Corporate executive chef Bobby Milheron’s menu includes favourites like the gooey, cheesy croque madame, steak tartare, brioche French toast, salade niçoise and perhaps the city’s best French fries, with or without truffle. Plus you can order pitchers of mimosas for the table or Champagne and other bubbles from an extensive list especially priced for the brunch crowd. tableaubarbistro.com

Forage, Listel Hotel

Chef Welbert Choi is proud of the relationships he’s built with fishers, foragers and farmers, and their staunchly local ingredients are the stars of a brunch that is regularly named among the best in Vancouver. This is a hearty brunch, with dishes like corned bison brisket hash, Fraser Valley duck ragout with lentils and eggs, or B.C. blueberry buttermilk pancakes and Two Rivers sausage. Don’t even try to resist the whisky latte. foragevancouver.com

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Botanist, Fairmont Pacific Rim

Fairmont hotels are famous for their extensive and excellent brunches, and certainly the Hotel Vancouver and Waterfront dish out a great eye-opener. But Botanist at the Pacific Rim also has the fine cuisine of executive chef Hector Laguna and a cocktail program led by international bar star Jeff Savage. Indulge in dishes like short rib poutine or roasted sablefish cassoulet, then order the “Bartender’s Whimsy” and let this talented team delight your tastebuds. botanistrestaurant.com

Carlino, Shangri-La Hotel

Carlino is the new(ish) restaurant at the Shangri-La Hotel, where chef Mark Perrier explores the flavours of northeastern Italy. As you might expect, brunch in this sunny space features Italian-inspired dishes like the chicken cacciatora waffles, gnocchi alla carbonara or the baked eggs with ragu and smashed rosemary potatoes. There’s also a nice selection of Negronis and similar aperitivo-style drinks to whet your appetite and quench your thirst. carlinorestaurant.com

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Mott 32, Paradox Hotel

The Paradox is the new hotel in the Arthur Erickson-designed tower across the street from the Shangri-La, where you will find the opulent Chinese restaurant Mott 32. Dim sum here is simply glorious. Enjoy: siu mai topped with truffle; har gow filled with king prawn; soup dumplings stuffed with iberico pork; or the applewood-roasted Peking duck lacquered to luxuriously crisp perfection (order a day in advance). And who can resist a mimosa cart with oranges squeezed to order? mott32.com

H Tasting Lounge “Secret Garden,” The Westin Bayshore

This is simply one of the prettiest lunch experiences in Vancouver. Crystalline domes with glass sliding doors and comfortable seating for up to six people are filled with spring blossoms and offer beautiful Coal Harbour views. They’re the perfect setting for elevated comfort fare like lobster and prosciutto grilled cheese, caviar donuts, tomahawk steak with truffle fries and an exceptionally creative cocktail list. htastinglounge.com