Heard about Chef owner Hawksworth on TV, then read up on his restaurant and decided to give it a try, given all the great reviews. Well, YOU CAN TRUST the great reviews. We came here for dinner last night and it truly was an amazing dining experience from start to finish.
We were driven there by the Fairmont Pacific Rim courtesy BMW and were greeted promptly by 3 bell staff at the door of the Rosewood Hotel Georgia (where this restaurant is located). They opened the doors to the BMW in their crisp uniforms - I have travelled the world and stayed at many 5 star hotels but I must say, last night, I felt like a movie star! We were then shown the way to the restaurant, which took us through this beautifully designed hotel, renovated from a historic building.
Once we arrived at Hawksworth, we were greeted promptly by friendly hostesses who showed us to a lovely table, located in a corner, which gave us a great view of the dining room. There were several separate rooms, but each was decorated elegantly.
Our waiter, Josh, was knowledgable, attentive and pleasant, without being intrusive. One of the sommeliers came up to us and offered to explain the wine menu (more like a book!) and help us pick a wine. My husband, being a wine connoisseur and a certified sommelier (hobby), had already picked out a wine but he enjoyed conversing with her over wine choices, and there were many! Throughout the meal, many different servers brought us our food and each and every one of them was very knowledgable about what they were serving us. The maitre d came by several times to pour our wines and made sure all was fine. The attention to details by every staff was very obvious.
The food was absolutely outstanding!!!!! There was not a single misstep in any of the food we ordered. Let's start with the house made bread basket - yes, you do have to pay for it but for a measly $4, you get this basket of warm, amazingly soft and tasty bread that is made in house. I would definitely recommend you start your meal with this. The olive bread was my favourite (warm, soft and chewy on the inside but a lovely crunchy crust on the outside). I had the Japanese squid appetizer - the squid was cooked to perfection - tender and beautifully presented. My husband's lobster and my daughter's green pea veloute were enjoyed by both. My daughter does not usually like peas but she loved this veloute and ate it all - now that says something!
My daughter and I shared the prime rib and my husband had the lamb loin. The meats were so tender that you could cut it with a butter knife! The lamb loin is marinated overnight, so the flavours were incredible. The prime rib was so juicy and flavourful, we had no problem finishing all 24 oz! The potato and carrots that accompanied the prime rib were no ordinary potato or carrots - I don't know how they made carrots so tasty but they were!
Despite the big meal, we really wanted to try their desserts because they all looked so good. Fortunately, all the desserts we tried were very light and refreshing, so we had no problem finishing all of them! My coconut chantilly with a passion fruit jelly was divine! The passion fruit jelly was so flavourful, it reminded me of the tropics. The other 2 desserts were lovely as well (vanilla bavarois and a hazelnut milk chocolate wafer with orange and sesame).
All in all, it was a truly amazing meal. From the service, to the ambience to the food and alcohol, all was PERFECTION! Expensive? Yes, slightly more than what you would pay in a regular restaurant but not more than what you would in an upscale dining establishment. Worth it? ABSOLUTELY!
We look forward to our next visit to Vancouver, just so we can come here for dinner again.