flat of strawberries from golden ridge farm

Rather, this is upscale fare and a constantly changing menu. It doesn’t feel as laid-back and informal as the “dinette” name and whimsical website imply unlike bygone diners, this isn’t a place you’ll find bottomless cups of drip coffee. The Royal Dinette space, meanwhile, is brighter than before, with light-grey wooden tables, minimalist cage light fixtures, gold-painted columns, and jars of pickled vegetables on display next to bottles of wine. Owned by the Donnelly Group, the latter continues to operate upstairs. The restaurant has taken over the ground floor of Blackbird Public House. He even recognizes his suppliers on a blackboard by the bar, listing “friends” like Salt Spring Island’s Foxglove Farm, Surrey’s Hazelmere Organic Farm, Maple Ridge’s Hannah Brook Farm, and many more.

What you see on the menu at Royal Dinette is rooted in the same farm-to-table philosophy as Farmer’s Apprentice Gunawan uses, plays with, and celebrates what’s in season and what he can get from nearby producers. Maybe what makes his latest venture manageable is that he’s not reinventing himself. It’s hard to see how Gunawan has any time to take on yet another project, but here he is, working with head chef Jack Chen to offer lunch and dinner to a whole new clientele of food lovers with expense accounts. Right next door, the pair recently opened Grapes & Soda, which places as much emphasis on inventive food-and-wine pairings as it does on nurturing people’s inner oenophile. The former executive chef of Wildebeest and, prior to that, West runs Farmer’s Apprentice in South Granville with his partner, Dara Young. Gunawan is making a name for himself-quite literally his name is emblazoned on the window of his new Dunsmuir Street restaurant-by being an ardent supporter of all things local and organic. Try taking a client or colleague for a nice dinner within walking distance of your glass tower and chances are you’ll end up in a chain restaurant or a hotel dining room.ĭavid Gunawan’s Royal Dinette changes that.

Anyone who works in the heart of Vancouver’s financial district will tell you that dining options in the ’hood are limited.

Flat of strawberries from golden ridge farm