In this post I was playing the role of arm candy for my friend Sylvia, who is the head of UBC pediatrics. One of her responsibilities is to organize their annual grad dinner, which includes picking the venue, the menu, and the drinks.
This year she decided to book with Fairmont Waterfront, seeing an increase in the event’s attendance by 200 from the year before. She ultimately choose the dinner venue based on an evening we shared together earlier in the year during Dine Out Vancouver 2024. Then and there we dined at their lobby restaurant Arc and had such a good time. The staff were courtesy, the food was delicious, and the atmosphere jovial. So enjoyable that Sylvia ended up booking with them, only to learn that the kitchen team for the conference centre was different than that of Chef Adam Middleton and the Arc kitchen team.
Nonetheless it was still a great choice as on the night, all the guests were happy and impressed by the lavish reputation of the Fairmont. Sylvia herself told me she was especially impressed during the planning portion, as she was invited down to the hotel to see the space and sample the would-be wine and food options. Trying each, like you would at a wedding cake tasting, before making her ultimate selection. But I digress, more on that later.
On the evening of, guests checked-in and were given the ability to mingle within the corridor of Fairmont Waterfront’s left lobby wing. Servers brought around sparkling wine and mocktail options on trays.
This space also served as a cash bar where highballs and classic cocktails were being mixed. As the date of the show runner, I got drink tickets and indulged in a dirty martini or two.
At the centre of the ballroom foyer was a handsome charcuterie platter. A help yourself food station of cured meats, firm and soft cheeses, sweet spreads, pickled vegetables, crisp crackers, and chewy bread.
Here, there was also a photographer on location taking professional head shots for the guests. And I took advantage of that service for myself.
When time, guess were invited to enter the ballroom, where all tables were set with white table cloths, a full collection of dinnerware and glasses. Attendees were invited to check the seating chart at the entrance to find their places based on name card.
I won’t be going into detail of the exact ceremony, but there are a lot of awards and applause given. And in truth, not knowing anyone in the crowd, I was only here to support my friend and eat some fine dining banquet food.
The perk of being a guest of my friend’s was being seated at the head table; and being able to partake in any of the table bottles of wine: a rose, white, and red.
For appetizers we started with a golden beet salad with burrata over a pool of pesto and golden raisins. This was a sweet start that tickled the appetite with its pleasant and familiar flavours. A little too much pesto that had much of it being left on the plate. Some bread would have been nice here, but sadly I ate all of my breadbasket bun to start, well before.
There were two entree options. I went with the Baked chicken breast with mashed potato as the safe bet, but found the white meat as tough as I feared, and its flavour dull. The shrunken piece of chicken skin over top was what gave it its seasoned flavour, but there was not enough of it to go around. The seasonal side vegetables and mashed potato sitting in the jus however were perfectly prepared and what gave bites of chicken character.
In hind sight I should have gotten the Ling cod with roasted potato as the fish was tender, the flavours well crafted, and this ended but being the favourite of our table.
For dessert there was a Chocolate raspberry cake that everyone adored. Thick chocolate that you sucked clean off of your spoon, with an additional sheet of chocolate over topped. Lightened with sweet cream and given a tart freshness from the berries, this one is for the chocolate lovers.
In short, this was a great banquet venue and all the guests were a buzz over it. The bar has been raised for next year.
Fairmont Waterfront
900 Canada Pl, Vancouver, BC V6C 3L5
604-691-1818
fairmont.com/waterfront-vancouver