Eat Your Lunch Out: Top 10 power lunches in Vancouver

Photo courtesy Hy's Steakhouse

Sandwiched between breakfast (the alleged “most important meal of the day”) and dinner (the meal that seems to get all the attention), there’s no good reason to overlook lunch.

Lunch can be the midday bright spot in the workday, or where you linger on a day off. From where to settle in for a marathon chat sesh with the ladies who lunch, to handy spots for quick bites, we’re exploring lunch of all kinds, all around Vancouver.

Here are the top 10 power lunch spots in Vancouver.

YEW seafood + bar

Jess Fleming/Daily Hive

When you’ve got a $23 grilled cheese sandwich on your lunch menu named for a Vancouver business mogul, and a couple of tables that “belong” to some serious movers and shakers around town, you know this is a serious lunch spot. Lunch at YEW at the Four Seasons is definitely a power move, and the food matches the mood: Seriously good seafood-centric fare.

Address: 791 West Georgia Street, Vancouver
Phone: 604-692-4939 (4YEW)
Twitter: @FSVancouver

Hy’s Steakhouse & Cocktail Bar

Fewer restaurants have successfully bridged “old school” with modernity like Hy’s. The venerable steakhouse has been a special occasion spot for decades of Vancouverites, but also provides an elegant option for a refined business lunch. If you haven’t been in a while, be sure to take note of their thoughtful remodel, particularly the expanded upstairs area. And if you need to break the tension, a basket of their signature cheese bread and the performative aspect of tableside Caesar salad service both give you something (great) to talk about.

Address: 637 Hornby Street, Vancouver
Phone: 604-683-7671
Twitter: @Hys_Steakhouse

Royal Dinette

Royal Dinette (Lindsay William-Ross/Daily Hive)

For a business lunch with a contemporary food-focused feel, head to Royal Dinette. This bright, welcoming room on the ground floor of the Blackbird pub includes a top-notch bar, pasta-making station, and terrific prix fixe or a la carte lunch options.

Address: 905 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver
Phone: 604-974-8077
Twitter: @RoyalDinette

Gotham Steakhouse

The lunch menu at Gotham focuses on elegant midday standards, like a sumptuous Lobster Cobb Salad, fried chicken, a prime beef burger, and a steak sandwich. Luckily, their dinner menu is available anytime by request, so if you are meeting here for lunch and want to dig into one of their celebrated steaks, just ask.

Address: 615 Seymour Street, Vancouver
Phone: 604-605-8282
Twitter: @GothamVancouver

Glowbal

The flagship Glowbal group restaurant at the base of the TELUS Garden building in downtown is dressed to impress, thanks to its two storeys of tables, semi-open kitchen, glimmering fireplaces, and steaks in glass-topped cases set out like diamonds. While there’s a bit more style than substance here, it’s a great spot to make an impression if you are dining for business.

Address: 590 West Georgia, TELUS Garden, Vancouver
Phone: 604-602-0835
Twitter: @Glowbal_Group

Hawksworth

A photo posted by Hawksworth Restaurant (@hawksworthrest) on Jul 4, 2016 at 1:03pm PDT

You’re a lucky person, indeed, if your business lunch is at Hawksworth. The reigning beacon of contemporary high-end dining in Vancouver, David Hawksworth’s eponymous downtown restaurant inside the Rosewood Hotel Georgia is a prime choice for a sophisticated midday meal.

Address: 801 West Georgia Street, Vancouver,
Phone: 604-673-7000
Twitter: @HawksworthRest

MARKET by Jean-Georges

Take the elevator up to the third floor from the lobby of the swank Shangri-La Hotel and tuck into MARKET by Jean-Georges. If you are squeezing this lunch in between meetings, take note of their savvy “express lunch” option, which gives you two or three courses from a prix fixe menu and promises to have you out the door on schedule.

Address: 1115 Alberni Street, Vancouver
Phone: 604-695-1115
Twitter: @MARKETjg_Van

Bauhaus

A photo posted by Bauhaus Restaurant (@bauhausrestaurant) on Jul 16, 2016 at 7:30pm PDT

About to do some business with a hard-to-please foodie? Or have you always wanted to try German fine dining? The award-winning Bauhaus in Gastown is an impressive lunch choice. Their midday menu of “mittagstisch” (lunch) includes a range of traditional and seasonally-driven fare, from salads to spatzle.

Address: 1 West Cordova Street, Vancouver
Phone: 604-974-1147
Twitter: @BauhausRest

Oru at the Fairmont Pacific Rim

Chances are you already know how posh the vibe inside the Fairmont Pacific Rim’s Lobby Bar is, so imagine that cool opulence upstairs at Oru, the seafood-focused restaurant with prime views of Coal Harbour. From lighter lunch fare like soups, salads, and sandwiches to heartier mains, Oru’s thoughtful Ocean Wise menu has something to satisfy anyone at the table.

Address: 1038 Canada Place, Vancouver
Phone: 604-695-5557
Twitter: @FairmontPacific

Miku

A photo posted by Miku Restaurant (@mikurestaurant) on Jul 29, 2016 at 9:44pm PDT

Lunch with a view and elegant Japanese fare? Miku fits the bill perfectly. The waterfront restaurant offers a stylish modern decor and stunning Coal Harbour vistas, along with beautiful sushi and Japanese cuisine that perfectly exemplifies the best of what Vancouver has to offer.

Address: 70-200 Granville Street, Granville Square (Canada Place Way and Howe Street)
Phone: 604-568-3900
Twitter: @mikurestaurant

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