The Living Room restaurant and bar can be found inside the bright pink Hotel Belmont at 654 Nelson Street and Granville. Now, if you live in Vancouver, consider when you last visited Granville Street. This entertainment strip may not necessarily be top of the mind for Vancouverites looking to dine but the Living Room space is uniquely liminal, shifting from dining room to dance floor while serving lunch, brunch, and dinner as well as Happy Hour specials.
Eclectic Eats
The flexibility of the space is likewise found in the menu. It’s a common requirement of hotel restaurants to be all things to all people, or, guests. And the somewhat eclectic menu is certainly reflective of the fact that the Living Room is a hotel restaurant and so has to cater to many tastes. There’s a sumptuous salmon dish which comes with a house-made corn nage with saffron alongside a Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich as well as Thai Green Curry and Chicken Karaage.
“We are a Pacific West Coast hotel and restaurant,” Chef Ameeruddin Zain explains. He also infuses “an undertone of French influence, in terms of techniques and methods applied in the kitchen.” This French influence comes from Zain’s own culinary background. Chef Zain came to the kitchen a little later in life. He started when he was 29 after a chance meeting with Marco Pierre White in Nottingham, England. Previously, Zain has worked at local and acclaimed spots like Le Crocodile, AquaFarina and C-Prime Modern Italian.
Classics, New Additions, and Living Room Libations
There are some more traditional British pub items as well like the Fish & Chips. Particularly notable are the delicious mushy peas. The Steak & Chips actually come with a side of painstakingly-made pavé potatoes which are fried as thick and delectable “chips.” On Sundays, they’ve also added a classic Roast Dinner with all the fixings. The comfort food served is diverse but united by the theme of home-cooked classics. At the Living Room, you can settle in on one of their couches, put your cocktail down on a coffee table, and enjoy the home-y but hip atmosphere.
The playful cocktail menu at the Living Room includes some cheeky takes on classics like the New Fashioned which is made with Ron Zacapa Rum instead of the traditional bourbon or rye. The Elderflower Sour has fragrant and floral elderflower liqueur as well as Lillet. The most Instragram-able drinks on the menu are certainly the Communal Cocktails. The White or Rosé Sangria which comes in a big table-side drink dispenser. While the “trees” come with four hanging drinks each.
The Living Room is owned by At Home Hospitality, made up of Ted Wilkie, Mike Rose, and Justin Mensah-Coker. They’re the same group behind Prophecy and the Banter Room. Their fingerprints can be seen in the bright colours used in the interior design. As well as in the mix of touchable textures like velvet mixed in with wallpaper and neon. The Living Room also has some curious design touches. There’s a wall of old fashioned phones, and lamps mounted upside down to the ceiling. These give an Alice in Wonderland feel in keeping with the decor of Hotel Belmont.
Lunch, Brunch, and Live Music
Recently, the Living Room launched a lunch service. Now, those who work nearby in the downtown core, or even on the edges of Yaletown, can grab a quick but hearty Cobb Salad or Belmont Steak Sandwich. Another new branch of the Living Room menu is brunch. Theirs features classics like a Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict, Chicken & Waffles, and a decadent Banana Fosters French Toast. Whether you’re finishing a rowdy night with brunch, or just getting started with a round of Espresso Martinis, the Living Room shifts to suit your needs.
Regardless if they’ve got a DJ spinning beats late at night for a hotel house party or are playing Sunday football and serving buckets of beer, the Living Room has that signature at-home hospitality. As Chef Zain explains, he loves to see his food “bring friends, family, lovers, business people together around a table – it creates a convivial atmosphere where there is great bonhomie among people.” For locals and visitors to Vancouver alike, “that is what we are there for, to cook for them on their special and ordinary days. Create a culinary and hospitality memory for them.”
