Eatery - Seasons in the Park (Vancouver)

Cambie St & W 33rd Ave, Vancouver, BC V5Y 2M5 (Queen Elizabeth Park)
Pricing - $$/$$$ | Dining - Dressy Casual | Cuisine - Seafood
http://www.vancouverdine.com/seasons-park


Who doesn't love brunch? Okay if you don't, but wait. How would you refuse loving brunch in the middle of a gorgeous park overlooking Vancouver? Yeah that's right. You have to. That's what drew us to this place - the fact that it was pretty much on a cliff overlooking the city. What a beautiful idea. Also, it was brunch. Anyhow, my friends and I made reservations for this place before even we had finished our housing arrangements for our trip to Vancouver. When we finally got to the restaurant during our stay, it was quite awesome both inside and out. It also had the air of being only a place where "important" people ate but we were pretending to be high class too that morning, and we did dress the part. Overall, we were still treated well despite our apparent age difference from other diners. I give them kudos for that.


For a nicer restaurant, their bread and butter were quite bland but I tried to pass that over since I was looking more forward to the food. One of my friends ordered the Market Greens Salad (sherry vinaigrette, goat cheese, pecans, beets, and greens), a fun and fresh starter with a nice sweetness from the yellow beets. The other friend got their Truffled Mushroom Soup which made him close his eyes in ecstasy upon first sip. I managed to get a little bit to try myself, and that was surely one very creamy and truffle-rich soup. I loved it. I had been eyeing it on the menu myself but when he said he was going to order it, my eyes shifted to the Tomato & Bocconcini Salad (olive oil, basil, balsamic syrup). The Mozzarella was some of the freshest I've had and was bursting with flavor. The balsamic syrup had the perfect amount of sweetness to complement the cheese's vibrance and the tomato slices' tanginess. I could eat this every morning, really.


So one friend got the Smoked Sockeye Salmon Benedict (with spinach & roast potatoes) which she so happily munched away on that we didn't really take any. The yolks on that benny burst all over the plate in such a bright and creamy yellow that we knew it was good. The other friend got the Seafood Linguine Carbonara (bacon, prawn, snapper, scallops), an abundance of seafood all in one pasta dish. I got a small taste, and it was wonderful. He made happy eating noises too.


My entree was definitely the hardest of them all to eat since I had gotten the Shrimp Pizza (spicy mascapone, fresh dill, and red onion). It came on its own paddle and all the toppings nearly hid the tasty crust. I'm not a fan of pizza but when I do get it, I get it done right. The greens were all so fresh on this pizza that I felt like I was eating a garden with crunchy yet fluffy ground beneath. The dill and red onions showed no mercy on my nostrils and in my mouth. The shrimps' texture was spot on in terms of being cooked to the right doneness. It took me a very long time but I finally made it through the beast. Then, out of curiosity, I ordered their Lemon Sunburst Pie which actually was a fairly measly slice with unnecessary plate decor (it looked more like ketchup & mustard than lemon and raspberry droplets). The filling was great in tartness but the crust was very poor. I kind of wished that I hadn't finished my meal off with the pie because everything else had been excellent. To top off the meal was our after-meal walk around the beautiful Queen Elizabeth Park! What a fun place to dine at.

Photography by Minerva Thai.