By Catherine Dunwoody
One of downtown Vancouver’s favourite hotels now offers even more reasons to want to hang here. New restaurant and bar, Botanist, has taken over the former Oru restaurant, and has refreshed the palette of the Fairmont Pacific Rim.
With four diverse spaces made up of a dining room, cocktail bar, glassed-in lab, garden, and a champagne lounge, Botanist wowed me from the get-go.
Executive chef Hector Laguna, formerly of stints at both Toronto’s Susur Lee restaurant and at Vancouver’s Hawksworth, has created a botanical-centric menu that’s bursting off the page and plate with colour, texture and taste. Clearly dialed-in to what our region offers when it comes to its world-class culinary ingredients, organic regional produce, sustainably sourced meat and seafood – Chef Laguna has found his sweet spot running the show here at Botanist.
Signature items include roasted root vegetables, perfect micro spring greens, and fresh seafood like his mother’s recipe for charred octopus (that has a chorizo dressing that will blow your mind).
Local suppliers Botanist works with include Sky Harvest, Barnston Island Herbs, Organic Oceans, Village Farms, and Blue Sky Ranch.
Wine director Jill Spoor’s boutique terroir-driven wine program supports sustainable, organic and biodynamic farming and winemaking, while head bartender David Wolowidnyk has built a cocktail list that is as fresh as the daisies that are in one of his signature creations.
Chef Laguna sums it up well: “I believe that food influences us emotionally; it can comfort, calm, satisfy and bring joy, all in one meal. It’s about watching someone take their first bite, and know(ing) that I’ve made their day even a little bit better, and I look forward to bringing that to the plate at the Botanist.”
Botanist at Fairmont Pacific Rim
1038 Canada Place
Vancouver, BC
botanistrestaurant.com
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