Breakfast in Vancouver
 

Hi again

In Vancouver our tour stays at the Crown Plaza Hotel Georgia and we will be there for 6 days. Only the first day is organised the rest of the time we get to please ourselves what we do and where we go. Are there any nice places in the area to have breakfast? Are there any convenience stores nearby where you can buy fruit, yoghurt and snacks? We occasionally like to have a glass of wine in our room -is there a liquor store in the area? Any advice appreciated.

Hi , On Robson street 1 block N. from Granville there is a Mark Anthony wine merchant. They have a great selection. You can also go onto mybc.com , our telus phone book. They have listings of all the liquor stores and wine stores. La Provence Marinaside has a nice breakfast. There is also a Nester's market around the corner from here. I would go to Granville Island on your first day and pick up snacks and fruit for your stay. There is a B.C. wine shop at the market as well. A local "find" for breakfast is the Elbow Room on Davie St. The food is reasonably priced, very good and the atmosphere is Bizarre. If you ask for a coffee refill they may ask you " Do I look like your mother? Get up and get it yourself" It's actually a great place to people watch. You could have movie stars sitting next to pan handlers. Sophie's cosmic cafe on West 4th is also a popular breakfast spot.

Sorry, the Mark Anthony's is one block up from Burrard.

There is also a liquor store in Harbour Centre, about a ten minute walk (north) of your hotel.

Hudson's Bay Company, a department store on Georgia and Granville, has a food floor in the basement with various take-away items. There is also a supermarket at the corner of Burrard and Smithe, another ten minute walk west of your hotel.

The hotel itself does a great breakfast buffet.

We enjoyed Paul's Omelettery on Granville, just over the bridge, a short taxi ride from the Georgia, a nice neighborhood place. A block away from your hotel is Griffin's at the Fairmont which serves a very nice breakfast, either buffet or off the regular menu.

Still thinking of liquor stores...there's an excellent one on Alberni, between Bute and Thurlow, maybe a ten minute walk west from your hotel. (I bought a few bottles of wine there last night- that's what made me remember it!)

Yes -- Griffin's has a very nice breakfast buffet in elegant but relaxed surroundings. And the Elbow Room is one of those local urban experiences -- like sandwiches at the Carnegie Deli -- which add colour to one's travels.

Thanks for all your help, it's good to have local feedback.

Breakfast can be quite expensive in hotels in the UK unless you've got a bed and breakfast deal, maybe it's not the same in Canada.

Here supermarkets are allowed to sell alcohol and they usually have a good selection unless you are wanting something special. Looking forward to sampling some Canadian wine.

Re>Breakfast can be quite expensive in hotels in the UK unless you've got a bed and breakfast deal, maybe it's not the same in Canada.<

The fastest way to spend mponey legally in Canada is to buy a glass of orange juice in a Canadian hotel dining room at breakfast time.

Most Canadians do not have a glass of wine for breakfast, but of those that do, many are, in fact, in Vancouver. There's an area called the Downtown East Side, around Hastings and Main, where this is common. Otherwise, the neighborhood does not have much to say for itself.

Canada has four major coffee shop chains, all with pastries and coffee at reasonble prices in surroundings ranging from fine to really pleasant. Starbucks,which I'm sure you know, Timpthy's and Second Cup, both very much like Starbucks, and Tim Horton, which has more of a kitchen, and a wider variety of sandwich-like breakfast items. And donuts.

Tim's is the favorite of Canadian cops.

And there is always McDonalds for various breakfast sandwices.

In the McDonalds range of restaurants, there's a Canadian chain named Harvey's, which has the best combination of low-priced and food quality in cook-to-order breakfasts. Stand at a counter to order, and they'll bring your bacon and eggs to the table when it is ready.

UK lady, if you're in search of B.C. wine, even closer to your hotel than the Mark Anthonys and Bute/Alberni liquor stores mentioned in previous posts is the "Okanagan Wine Shops" boutique wine store in the basement "Marketplace" food floor (also mentioned in a previous post). Many of the leading B.C. wineries ship directly to this store.

<i>&quot;The fastest way to spend money legally in Canada is to buy a glass of orange juice in a Canadian hotel dining room at breakfast time.&quot;</i>

Ha! That is so true, BAK. I will probably never order orange juice at the Pan Pacific again, but their pan fries sure were good.

Not sure if they are located in Vancouver (we will look for it in August when there), but I would recommend Cora's. They are a chain we came across in Nova Scotia and PEI and loved it!

Mark

Unfortunately there are no Cora chains in Vancouver, or anywhere in BC as far as I'm aware.