Botanist Does Boozy Brunch Right

When it comes to brunch, I’m usually more of a three-cups-of-coffee kind of gal (and then later on, a what’s-with-these-heart-palpitations kind of gal). But when someone slides up to your table to serve you small-batch custom punch with house-made seasonal tinctures and a branded ice cube, it feels like a good time to reassess one’s choices.

In fact, the whole Botanist brunch experience is an excellent opportunity to reflect and ask yourself questions like: Why don’t I drink a chilled brandy maple chai tea every morning? And how can I find friends who are rich enough to take me here every weekend? At $62 per person, the restaurant’s punch-centric brunch probably won’t become your Sunday morning ritual, but the leisurely two-course breakfast makes for the ideal special occasion feast. (And if that special occasion is just “celebrating that bar director Grant Sceney invented a breakfast cocktail that blows mimosas out of the water,” we’re not here to judge.)

The boozy brunch includes a glass of B.C. sparkling wine to quench your thirst on the long walk to your table before your selection of the punch options du jour. And for something to soak it all up, you’ll pick something from the “Morning Stretch” menu (go savoury with options like hand-cut beef tartare on sourdough, or sweet with a stack of caramelized banana brioche French toast) and another item from the “Harvest and Hunt.” We’re not quite sure what the connecting theme is through ol’ H&H, but executive chef Hector Laguna has packed that section of the menu with a real dream team of dishes. Between cinnamon-sugar streusel pancakes, squid-ink-tempura fish and chips, wild mushroom risotto or the crab and avocado Benedict, we’ll need another round of punch so we can raise a glass to the struggle to choose just one. 

Full menu here if you want to peruse your options before you enter the Fairmont Pacific Rim’s hallowed halls. Botanist brunch runs every weekend from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.. 

Botanist at the Fairmont Pacific Rim
1038 Canada Place, Vancouver, botanistrestaurant.com