Canlis touts themselves as contemporary Pacific Northwest fare in a midcentury-modern home. That description right there hits all of the marks for us. The restaurant is in the Queen Anne neighborhood, with views of Gas Works Park and the Cascade Mountains. It was built in 1950 by Peter Canlis and has remained family-owned all this time.

From the moment you arrive in front of the restaurant, everything is taken care of for you and you are made to feel pampered. It’s valet parking, and you are escorted into the restaurant. I can’t remember if we were early for our reservation, but we were likely offered a spot at the bar to grab a beverage before our table was ready. The cocktails were tasty, and we knew we were off to a great start. There was live piano throughout the evening. The views were stunning, and it was so nice to watch the sun slowly set through the evening.

As expected, our fine dining experience at Canlis was top-notch. The staff was amazing, everyone was so friendly and approachable. The food was absolutely divine, a feast for the eyes and stomach. I won’t go into detail for each dish, because there were too many to keep track of. And I’m sure the menu changes often to keep up with the seasons. So enjoy the pictures below!

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Botanist

You can enter Botanist through the hotel, at the Fairmont Pacific Rim. I came in from their street entrance, on Canada Place near Burrard. Up the stairs, you’ll come up the doors and the entrance area is all lush and green with vegetation.

The area we sat in was this beautiful lush little sunroom. I loved the live ceiling, and the greenery spilling out everywhere. There was a lot of attention to detail. The chairs were upholstered with a cute floral brocade fabric. The side plates were made of stone with an etching that I can assume is their logo. The menu had this gorgeous rose gold clip.

There was a set menu for lunch, which sounded phenomenal, but both of us ordered just a single entree. They brought us bread, which I assume is their house-made brioche. It was really nice. Though the bread would have been perfect if it was slightly warmed.

I could barely finish my entree, it was incredibly rich. I ordered the vegetable ragu, ricotta salata, pine nuts, basil, on house-made cavatelle. My lunch date ordered the pan roasted halibut, because it was served with the most insanely delicious mashed potatoes.

As we were wrapping up, our server let us know that they also have experiential drinks at the bar. I cut her off and asked if any of them had smoke in the glasses, and she said yes! Hubby and I love that kind of fun cocktail and tableside sort of thing, so now I’m definitely coming back for a dinner date. I know I won’t have to twist his arm.

Overall, our experience for lunch was great. I loved the decor. The menu selection was diverse, and offered a lot of different options. I loved the plating. The flavours were great. I’m highly recommending the Botanist.

Food: Excellent

Service: Excellent

Value: Excellent

Ambiance: Excellent

OVERALL: Excellent

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