Griffins at the Hotel Vancouver (900 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, phone 604-684-3131) is a decidedly upscale and yet casual restaurant in the sumptuous Hotel Vancouver in the middle of downtown. Most of the patrons at lunch were wearing business attire, but this was not surprising considering that the restaurant is located very close to Vancouver’s main business and financial district. The attraction here is the lunch buffet which is a somewhat formidable $27, but at this price offers a good degree of quality as well as the expected quantity. Pictured below are some of my choices from the buffet table: there is a variety of cold and hot selections including seafood, salads, soup, cuts of meat and pasta dishes, as well as some very tempting desserts.

Canada Place (web site, 780-999 Canada Place, Vancouver, (604) 775-7200) is Vancouver’s trade and convention centre, located on the waterfront in Vancouver’s downtown business district. Home of the very fancy Pan Pacific Hotel (which is where many celebrities and hockey players stay while they are in town), Canada Place is well known as a Vancouver landmark for its rooftop sails. The same building contains Vancouver’s cruise ship terminal and attractions such as the CN Imax Theatre, food court, and fine restaurants. The modern architecture of the building (pictured below) is worth a visit in itself.

 

Da Gino Ristorante Italia (475 West Georgia St, phone (778) 371-7355) is a welcoming Italian restaurant across the street from the Vancouver Main Library downtown. The pristine white tablecloths, wine glasses, and suit-attired servers gave me the impression that this is a “fine dining restaurant” but looking at the prices I was pleasantly surprised. For lunch, entrees were in the $10 – 14 range, and for dinner I think they aren’t much more. I really enjoyed my clam linguini (which had another, fancier Italian name which I can’t remember). Clams were served in their shells on a bed of perfectly al-dente pasta. Yum!