Eatery - Cafe Medina (Vancouver)

556 Beatty Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 2L3 (Neighborhood: Downtown)
Pricing - $/$$ | Dining - Casual | Cuisine - Brunch
www.medinacafe.com

The morning that my friends and I left Vancouver was a sad one - we were reluctant to go back to California then where a cool wind couldn't nip at our nose and sushi was good everywhere you went (and competitively priced). What we weren't sad about, however, was that we had made brunch plans at Cafe Medina. It was a small storefront but we eventually got ourselves and all of our towed luggage in. They sat us without fuss despite our probably annoying carry-ons all around us. A simple but delectable menu was given to each of us and soon, we were served.


One of my friends typically has a breakfast of granola, fresh fruit, and yoghurt, all of which were offered here and happily ordered them. The waffle sounded like it had a nice crunch to it, and despite the deceiving size, the serving of fruit and yoghurt was manageable. My other friend got the Tagine (2 poached eggs, spicy tomato stew, red pepper, merguez sausage, Moroccan olives, cilantro, hummus, and raita with grilled Foccacia), a menu item I personally had been eyeing as well. Full of flavor, this is not one to be missed. I got a quick taste and was immediately drawn to all the seasoning in the stew.


My own entree for that morning was their Saumon Fume (toasted ciabatta, fried egg, smoked salmon caper cream cheese, sliced avocado, arugula, peppadew, and artichoke salad). For some reason when I read the description, I had thought it was going to be one whole sandwich with everything in it. However, I was happy to see that wasn't the case and my long plate had to be photographed in sections to aptly capture the food items. The toasted ciabatta was just perfectly crunchy and soft in all the right places. Vancouver's smoked salmon hadn't disappointed yet, and Cafe Medina was not one to go against that; with caper cream cheese, it was just divine. As for the salad, well it was the first to go! Very lightly dressed, it gave a lot more focus to the natural flavors of the vegetables which was a welcome thing. I wish I could come here for brunch more often!

Photography by Minerva Thai.