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Marriott Pinnacle Hotel in Vancouver, B.C.


rkacruiser
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I'd appreciate learning the opinions of those who have stayed at this hotel.  Particularly, what dining options are close to the hotel.  And, what would you recommend.  

 

If you took a taxi to  Canada Place to embark on a cruise, if you recall, what was the approximate cost?

 

Thank you for your input.

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While I haven't stayed there, I can fill you in on location details just fine being a downtown resident... but while cab fare is easy (no traffic, $5-7 but with typical cruise morning delays that could possibly bankrupt you by closing in on the $10 mark!?!?!?), resto reccos require three things from you: how far away YOU define as 'close' to the hotel, a rough idea of the kind food you would prefer to eat/want to avoid, and a ballpark budget.

 

I ask because there are probably a hundred restos that I would consider close enough to walk to - even sticking purely to restos that I personally recommend within 10 mins walk, it's still a list of dozens so if you want the best ones for YOU, I need some criteria to narrow it down;-)

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martincath,

 

Thanks for your response.  I  glad to know that there are many choices as to where to dine.  A 10 minute walk would be fine.

 

Cuisine that I prefer:  Seafood, Steaks and Chops, Chinese, Italian.  Budget:  I dine at McDonald's up through and including restaurants like Flemings or Ruths Steak House.  

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Well, we have Mickey D's up here too but on that end of your price range you should go local and try Timmies instead (well, not for burgers, but for sammiches especially breakfast ones, and coffee/donuts). Most of the rest of it I could probably just point you at Nightingale which is ~240 yards along Hastings from your hotel and does stellar pizzas and pastas as well as a broad variety of other lovely seasonal foods including plenty of seafood! If it doesn't seem quite fancy enough, then big brother Hawksworth is just barely out of your walking distance (11mins door to door) and remains IMO the single best kitchen in Vancouver.

 

Steakhouse-wise if it's Prime beef you plan to order then Hy's and Gotham should both work (NB: if you plan to order NOT the specifically-listed-as-Prime-beef, you should just go to The Keg - same owners as Gotham, the exact same meat & wine is sold for less with included side dishes, but they generally have only a single Prime option if any). Personally I would never waste a good chef on a steak - even the best chefs can't do anything more exciting than simply cook them just how you like them if it's good enough beef - and would instead try making use of all that kitchen talent! There's almost always a sharing beef roast at Hawksworth, sized for 2 to make a meal out of and including sides, often with some tableside service like hand-slicing up a nice Chateaubriand for you. Or if you don't mind shall we say the more interesting bits of the animal - and tastier animals than cows - most carnivorous types would thoroughly enjoy Wildebeest (~15mins on foot, but straight down Hastings so easily found).

 

Chops and Seafood is exactly what Joe Fortes is famous for,  though if you want to focus more on Seafood I'd point you toward Boulevard or Yew a little further away - but if you really want to have the best seafood in the city, Blue Water Cafe is a mile-and-a-quarter so cab fare will be pretty insignificant in comparison to the food bill;-)

 

Italian-wise you have one of the best fancy fine dining celebrity hangouts, CinCin, pretty much bang on 10mins walk away (they have a wood-fired grill so the steaks are well-regarded too) but again if you want even better food, Pino Posteraro is very much a 'chefs chef' and while Cioppino's might advertise themselves as 'Mediterranean' it's more like 95% Italian (and only a few yards further than Blue Water). IMO though the most interesting Italian in Vancouver isn't at the gussied-up fancy downtown joints - depending where you fall on the 'pizza & pasta' to 'offal and beans' end of the scale you may also enjoy (in order of shortest cab ride) Ask For Luigi which is just on the 'wrong side' of Gastown, Osteria Savio Volpe or Crowbar which are both just across the street from each other in the consistently-best-random-restaurant-nook of the city (the Kingsway/Fraser/15th triangle is magical, as even the cheap taco and sandwich spots here are the best in their price range anywhere).

 

Chinese - that's really another whole set of questions and answers as we have enough of it even in the 'white people bits' of downtown to offer many regional restos, but I'll summarize to this map of Kirin for fancy Cantonese, Hon's for cheap Cantonese especially if anyone is a vegetarian, ChongQing for Szechuan, Dinesty for Dumplings, and Peaceful for Northern style (the last two of these are a bit further than 10mins walk, but both conveniently on the way to/from various touristy stuff).

Bon Appétit!

 

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martincath,

 

Many, many thanks!  You have provided a wealth of information that will take days for me to research.  But, I will.

 

I dined at The Keg in Montreal a few years ago and really enjoyed the experience.  Food and service were excellent.  

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No worries. Gotta love the Keg; very consistent, decent steaks at fair prices as steakhouses go and they generally excel on the service front (we've been comped bottles of wine because steaks were a hair overcooked but we opted not to replace them; friends had an entire meal for 4 comped when they ran out of Prime Rib!)

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18 minutes ago, martincath said:

No worries. Gotta love the Keg; very consistent, decent steaks at fair prices as steakhouses go and they generally excel on the service front (we've been comped bottles of wine because steaks were a hair overcooked but we opted not to replace them; friends had an entire meal for 4 comped when they ran out of Prime Rib!)

What might be the cost of a taxi from the Marriott to The Keg?  My very basic cell phone will not operate in Canada.  Will the folks at the restaurant be willing to call for a cab for me?

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7 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

What might be the cost of a taxi from the Marriott to The Keg?  My very basic cell phone will not operate in Canada.  Will the folks at the restaurant be willing to call for a cab for me?

The closest keg branch that I listed above is maybe 600 yards away - unless the weather is just awful, I'd walk it both ways as any cabbie you call will be p*ssed at the very small fare;-)

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I can vouch for Peaceful Restauant for Chinese and so does Guy Fieri 😃. It was a feature on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives, although a different location.  I went to the other location on my last trip to Vancouver and after a 45 minute wait to get a table, had some of the best noodle dishes ever!  

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20 hours ago, martincath said:

The closest keg branch that I listed above is maybe 600 yards away - unless the weather is just awful, I'd walk it both ways as any cabbie you call will be p*ssed at the very small fare;-)

Is this the Alberni location?

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