When you’re staying at a boutique hotel, you might not want to venture too far out when looking for a weekend brunch. Based on my stay at Opus Hotel in Vancouver, the closest restaurant was La Pentola, conveniently located on the ground floor of the hotel. Do the brunch eats here mark the start of a great day or should you venture elsewhere in Yaletown to get your brunch fix? Read on to find out.
Food and Drink:
Team Tastic came here for a Saturday brunch and I had a great taste of the following:
- Latte ($4.50)
- Kaiserschmarrn ($14)
- Breakfast Risotto ($18)
- Shortrib Benedict ($16)
The Latte was nothing special. It had more froth than an average art-less latte though it did have a good balance between milk and espresso. At $4.50, I wouldn’t recommend this drink as something to look forward to.
Latte
The Kaiserschmarrn was something I hadn’t yet seen on a brunch menu. This was a Northern Italian pancake served with chantilly cream, house nuts, and jam preserves. The pancake was like a thicker pound cake with the taste of pancakes. The syrup was baked in and the whipped cream and jam on the side made for a fun eating experience. These were very filling and would probably fill anybody up if this was all they ate.
Kaiserchmarrn
Kaiserchmarrn Sides
The Breakfast Risotto was served with smoked bacon, peas, scallions, poached egg, and parmesan. The presentation here was very pleasant and I’m happy to say La Pentola made plating risotto look interesting. The rice had just enough texture and was full of stock flavour.
Breakfast Risotto
The Shortrib Benedict was my favourite item of the meal. This came with potato rösti, poached eggs, peas, roasted root vegetables, and hollandaise. The eggs were yolkporn-worthy and the presentation with the vegetables made everything look extra delicate and artful. The shortrib was a bit dry in some places but this was compensated with the bursting volume of yolk. The potato rösti meant this wasn’t as filling as regular bennies with hashbrowns so you may want to look into splitting the Kaiserschmarrn if you’re looking to get full.
Shortrib Benedict
Features:
La Pentola is a traditional-looking Italian eatery. The tiling and decor give the space a quaint look and but because most of the restaurant is below ground-level, there isn’t as much natural light as regular ground-level restaurants. For what’s available though, there are a lot of windows. There’s also a cool pots and pan chandelier atop the bar you’ll want to see for yourself. There’s seating for about 80 guests among tables, booths, and the bar.
Inside La Pentola
Washrooms are located down a long staircase and here’s something interesting: There’s only a clear glass window separating the men’s and women’s washrooms and I’m pretty sure if one looked hard enough, they could see through the window to the other gender’s washroom. Hopefully something can be done about that though I don’t think it’s something everyone will notice given the amount of mirrors and design of the washroom.
Inside La Pentola
Service:
Service was great at La Pentola. Our server came back to check on us a couple of times and water top-ups happened quite frequently. There’s definitely an upgrade in service here versus Ciao Bella and I’d liken it to be similar to Savio Volpe. It wasn’t too busy here on a Saturday brunch so I could see you walking in here with a group of up to 8 and being able to get a table.
Final Thoughts:
One-liner: Finer brunch that doesn’t get marked up too much due to being part of a hotel
Highlight: Shortrib Benedict
Estimated cost per person: $25-$30
Would I go back? Yes.