The St. Lawrence restaurant in Vancouver, seen here on July 1, 2020, has embraced an intimate dining experience with wooden dividers instead of plexiglass.Of all the fine-dining experiences in Vancouver, the kitchen bar at St. Lawrence is one of the most intimate.
Some are scaling back and offering more comforting, affordable fare. In Copenhagen, the world-renowned Noma has reinvented itself as an outdoor wine and burger bar. But in Vancouver, upscale restaurants, while not exactly thriving, are surviving. St. Lawrence, Bishop’s, Tojo’s, Cioppino’s, Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar, Kissa Tanto, Mott 32, Le Crocodile, Pear Tree, L’Abattoir, Hawksworth, Five Sails, Elisa and Blue Water Cafe are all up and running. Giardino is one of the only notable white-cloth exceptions, but it plans to resume operations on July 15.
The Boulevard experience is a “little less theatrical” these days – the tasting menu, tableside services and shared seafood boils are on hold for now. “Some people have come back three or four times,” chef-owner Pino Posteraro says. “They get caviar, lobster, uni, spot prawns – the best of the best. People still want to be tantalized. They cannot travel. They’re starving – emotionally – to go out and eat in places. I don’t think COVID took away anybody’s curiosity or desire to eat good food.”There have been adjustments to the menu at St.