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Festive dining is made easy this year with these top picks from Vancouver-area favourites
Whether you’re planning to stay home and cook up a storm or head out on the town, indulge in these delicious eats in and around the city this Christmas season.
Taking away the mess and stress of holiday cooking, Railtown Catering’s turkey-to-go packages make their grand return. The fully-cooked meals offer all the festive favourites, including a super-tender sage-roasted turkey and a bounty of classic sides like brioche stuffing, sweet potatoes and an ooey-gooey classic pecan pie for dessert. Packages are available in two sizes: the full package, which includes a whole turkey, feeds 8 to 10 for $379.00, and—for smaller gatherings—the team offers a half-package that feeds up to five for $279.00. Both offer plenty of opportunities to add additional sides and double up on desserts. In addition, the team has curated a collection of B.C. wines and craft beer, available for purchase as well.397 Railtown Street, Vancouver; Orders placed online by Friday, December 17th at 10:00am for delivery or pick-up
Canada’s first-to-market luxe charcuterie board experience in a box, embraces the return of togetherness this festive season with a new holiday collection, with each box personally hand-wrapped with custom ribbon and ??gold-foiled gift tags. The Graze Company’s complete holiday collection includes their limited edition graze holiday box with a 375ml bottle of Domaine Bousquet organic malbec, three charcuteries, four cheeses, housemade French onion dip and truffle hummus, serving two to four for $230. Their ‘Graze Holiday Box’ is available in a mini-size for one at $42, and a small size that serves two for $110. 5279 Still Creek Avenue, Burnaby; Order online for delivery or pick-up
The downtown restaurant has transformed its outdoor patio into an elegant holiday winter wonderland that offers guests the opportunity to gather with friends, family and coworkers for parties and get-togethers, plus take cheeky seasonal selfies among the holiday backdrops. The festive al fresco patio offers festive libations like mulled wine, gingerbread eggnog and jingle juice.590 West Georgia Street, Vancouver; Details online
Truffles Fine Foods’ ‘Holiday Heat at Home’ dinner packages for four are tailored to suit any guest, with traditional turkey or a plant-based roast for $160. Paired with fresh sides that include creamy roasted garlic mashed potatoes, shredded Brussels sprout slaw and more. You can also treat yourself and your guests with a yummy vegan or traditional charcuterie box, bottles of B.C. wines and a holiday floral bouquet. 8286 Sherbrooke Street, Vancouver; Order online for delivery or pick-up
Debuting a new seasonal menu, The Wedgewood Hotel’s Bacchus is helping guests cozy up by introducing a sumptuous new dinner menu. Chef Montgomery Lau’s new culinary collection celebrates the very best of the seasons via starters such as maple ginger butternut squash soup with alderwood-smoked scallop, squash à l’étuvée and so much more. 845 Hornby Street, Vancouver; Reservations online; Available from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. nightly
This season, the Fairmont Empress will be giving a festive twist to their world-renowned afternoon tea service ($89 for adults and $45 for children), with Christmas-themed bites and local carolers performing on select dates. 721 Government Street, Victoria; Details online
Notch8 Restaurant and Bar at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver is bringing back its festive afternoon tea ($69 for adults and $34.50 for children), with a themed ‘Winter Wonderland’ service. 900 West Georgia Street, Vancouver; Details online
Fairmont Vancouver Airport will be featuring two festive tea options this holiday season, with a traditional festive afternoon tea ($69 for adults and $35 for children), where tea-goers can enjoy a wonderful variety of holiday-themed treats paired with a uniquely yuletide assortment of Lot 35 teas. And, for parents looking to introduce the kids to Santa Claus, there’s the festive afternoon tea with Santa ($79 for adults and $49 for children). Enjoy a festive selection of sweet and savoury bites, followed by a stop at Santa’s remote workshop, located in front of the fireplace in Fairmont Vancouver Airport’s lobby, for photo ops and Christmas gift wish lists. To help support the local community, Fairmont Vancouver Airport will be donating $10 from every Santa experience to Canuck Place Children’s Hospice.3111 Grant McConachie Way, Richmond; Details online
Available Christmas Day only, the culinary team at Fairmont Empress will prepare a festive Christmas buffet feast ($139 for adults and $70 for children), located in the iconic Crystal Ballroom. With seatings available at 2:00 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., diners will enjoy a variety of classic holiday favourites, as well as chef-attended carving, seafood and children’s menu stations.721 Government Street, Victoria; Reservations required; Details online
Notch 8 Restaurant and Bar will feature a two-course festive lunch ($45 per adult and $22.50 per child) this holiday season, perfect for hosting colleagues, friends or family. Diners will enjoy a quick and easy set menu with a main course of Fraser Valley turkey and a sweet finish of Notch 8 plum pudding. 900 West Georgia Street, Vancouver; Details online
The Botanist at Fairmont Pacific Rim will celebrate the holiday season with a prix-fixe three-course brunch menu ($78 per person), featuring a selection of carvings including oven roasted prime rib, oven roasted lamb leg and favourites such as crab and avocado egg Benedict and sablefish cassoulet, complete with a welcome glass of sparkling.1038 Canada Place, Vancouver; Details online
Fairmont Vancouver Airport’s highly-anticipated Christmas Day Brunch ($105 for adults and $52.50 for children), returns with live music and an extensive menu sure to satisfy every palate. Served family-style, diners will indulge in the culinary team’s assortment of Ocean Wise seafood, savoury selections, sweet treats and so much more. 3111 Grant McConachie Way, Richmond; Details online
The culinary team at Arc Restaurant inside the Fairmont Waterfront looks to put a festive spin on the ever-popular ‘bottomless brunch’ ($99 for adults and $49 for children) this holiday. The Christmas Day event will feature unlimited festive selections such as roasted turkey with all the trimmings, eggnog smoothies and duck leg confit poutine. 900 Canada Place Way, Vancouver; Details online
Q at Fairmont Empress will have festive dinners available both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The Christmas Eve Dinner ($175 for adults and $87.50 for children), features a four-course menu with the option to add wine pairings. Whilst the restaurant’s Christmas Day dinner ($195 for adults and $97.50 for children) boasts an elegant five-course set dinner menu with the choice of entrées such as roasted breast and leg of free-run turkey with all the trimmings or pan-roasted sablefish with chanterelle risotto. 721 Government Street, Victoria; Details online
Notch 8 Restaurant and Bar at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver has a Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner available this holiday. Their Christmas Eve Dinner ($109 for adults and $54.50 for children) will feature a delectable three-course dinner with choices of entrée, such as rotisserie turkey, classic prime rib or truffle risotto. Whilst their Christmas Day Dinner ($119 for adults and $59.50 for children) will be one to remember, where diners will enjoy a four-course prix-fixe menu featuring a selection of festive entrées.900 West Georgia Street, Vancouver; Details online
Leave the cooking to Botanist’s executive chef Hector Laguna this season with his ‘We’ll Take it From Here’ tasting menu ($148 per person), featuring dishes such as the Wagyu flank tartare, homemade burrata salad, Dungeness crab, king salmon and dry-aged duck, all finished off with executive pastry chef Kate Siegel’s chestnut cake with whisky-candied orange ice cream. 1038 Canada Place, Vancouver; Details online
The Fairmont Vancouver Airport’s chef Ruth Wigman mixes holiday traditions with culinary prowess to create a Christmas Eve dinner ($108 for adults and $54 for children) and a Christmas Day dinner ($89 for adults and $45 for children). Experience new twists on holiday favourites with a prix-fixe menu including duck confit pithivier with burnt orange vinaigrette and gorgonzola, sea salt dry-brined turkey with apricot and sage stuffing and an egg nog tiramisu with a salted croissant crisp.3111 Grant McConachie Way, Richmond; Details online
Arc at the Fairmont Waterfront brings festive cheer to the holiday season with special Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner menus ($129 for adults and $69 for children six to 12 years old, with children under 5 eating for free). Featuring a four-course plated dinner, the special prix-fixe menus start with cream of mushroom soup, followed by a selection of appetizers such as the confit kobacha squash or scallop and smoked pork belly. Diners can then select from a variety of main course dishes, with options including traditional roasted turkey or the Angus beef two ways, with the evening finishing with a sticky gingerbread pudding.900 Canada Place Way, Vancouver; Details online
This year, the culinary team at the Fairmont Empress want to make Christmas dinner about spending time with loved ones with their festive turkey dinner to-go ($450, serves eight to 10 people). The dinner includes herb-brined and slow-roasted turkey, sourdough sage stuffing, rosemary and garlic-roasted mashed potatoes, maple roasted roots and a rich turkey gravy. 721 Government Street, Victoria; Details online
Notch 8 Restaurant and Bar at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver brings back their Christmas turkey dinner to-go ($499, serves up to 10) this holiday season, with detailed heating and service instructions included. It’s the perfect way to enjoy a festive dinner with family and friends without all the fuss!900 West Georgia Street, Vancouver; Details online
The culinary team at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport’s Globe@YVR has three Christmas dinner options available for to-go this holiday season. Offering both a full turkey dinner ($399, serving eight to 10 people), and a holiday ham dinner to-go ($429, serving eight to 10 people). In addition, the culinary team is offering a Christmas dinner for two to-go ($99), the perfect option for couples or those that are unable to travel home for the holidays. Globe@YVR is also offering a variety of holiday to-go party platter selections, perfect for this year’s festive celebrations. With options such as the artisanal meats, pâté and cheese platter ($85) and the decadent desserts platter ($53), get ready to dance around the Christmas tree in style with these ultimate smorgasbords.3111 Grant McConachie Way, Richmond; Details online
The gourmet meal/grocery service makes festive celebrations easy via customizable, heat-and-eat bundles available for December delivery this season. Tractor at Home’s holiday meal packages contain enough food to comfortably feed four hungry adults and offer a mouth-watering array of delicious, seasonally-inspired, locally-sourced dishes in both traditional and vegetarian (from $109 to $139). The traditional holiday bundle ($139) showcases local Rossdown Farms garlic lemon butter turkey breast, mashed potatoes, turkey gravy and all the fixings, while the vegetarian bundle ($109) includes a lentil walnut loaf, maple glazed Brussels sprouts, beet pecan salad, rosemary lemon sheet pan vegetables and pomegranate-glazed carrots, with both bundles including a classic apple crisp as a dessert course.Details online
Le Tigre is expanding its catering options with two holiday packages of fan favourite dishes and all-new plates this season. Traditional casual eats offered include Chashu-style pork belly, house pickles and lettuce wrap, and the Korean fried chicken that Le Tigre patrons have come to love. The small package ($110, serving two) includes one salad, two appetizers, one main and one dessert, whilst the large package ($250) includes two salads, five appetizers, two mains and two desserts. All items in the multi-course family-style sets are fully cooked, so customers must simply heat and serve.958 Main Street, Vancouver; Order online for pick-up and delivery
Removing the hassle from the holidays and helping hosts spend more quality time with friends and family, PICA is offering holiday dinner to-go packages ($109, serving two). Featuring a ready-made feast, the packages include a choice of mouth-watering main dishes such as roasted turkey breast or braised short rib, with all the trimmings including lemon thyme-glazed winter vegetables, holiday stuffing and more. And, for dessert, take your pick of chocolate layer cake or noir ganache, and traditional sticky pudding with butterscotch caramel and crème Chantilly.1505 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver; Order online for pick-up
Helping folks get into the festive spirit, Main Street Brewing is offering holiday gift boxes to surprise the beer lovers in their lives with one-of-a-kind, cover-all-the-bases gifts. The boxes come in four sizes ($40, $50, $70 and $120) and include a variety of beer—including its exclusive new limited-edition, bottled 500mL Bière de Coupage—and glasses as well as locally made snacks, sweets, hot sauces and more. Optional add-ons from providers like Indigenous World Winery, Fable Diner, Kasama Chocolate, Laid Back Snacks, Foglifter Coffee Roasters, Señor Nuts and more are also available.261 East 7th Avenue, Vancouver; Order online for pick-up
This season, this nose-to-tail neighbourhood eatery offers up a new menu of can’t-miss dishes, creative cocktails and decadent desserts. Available for dinner service Wednesdays through Sundays, the new lineup of seasonally-inspired dishes by chef and owner Chris Lam and his team includes octopus carpaccio, eggplant parm ‘double down’, rabbit gnocchi and soft-shell crab, among the many delicious eats.1869 Powell Street, Vancouver; Reservations online
Spicing up the festive season, Potluck Hawker Eatery has launched several new ways to enjoy its award-winning southeast Asian creations. Featuring three different crab feasts (from $165, feeding four), available over three different weekends, each meal features a whole crab with either rice or noodles and four sides, including roti canai with curry dipping sauce, fish sauce caramel chicken wings, green papaya and beet salad, egg fried rice with uni paste and tobiko, and an exclusive ‘Ovaltine-milo Icebox Cake’ by The Dessert Club.3424 Cambie Street, Vancouver; Pre-orders online
Take home a sophisticated holiday package with Savoury City’s turkey to-go spread ($275, serving six). Featuring a selection of chef-prepared holiday favourites, like a pre-carved slow-roasted turkey, brined with herbs and lemon, and sides including roasted garlic mashed potatoes, classic herb stuffing, green bean almondine and more, with desserts including an abundant selection of seasonal sweet treats, squares and cookies. All items are conveniently packaged in oven-safe containers and come with simple heating instructions for effortless preparation and minimal clean-up.3925 Fraser Street, Vancouver; Order online
This holiday season, Juke Fried Chicken’s crowd-favourite turducken makes a festive return, with an exclusive limited run for the holidays with the turducken meal kit ($199, feeding four). Each kit includes a three-in-one showstopper centrepiece featuring roasted turkey, duck and chicken, an array of hearty and unique seasonal sides like leek and sausage stuffing, Brussels sprouts with bacon jam, as well as detailed instructions from Juke’s chef and co-owner Bryan Satterford. 182 Keefer Street, Vancouver; Order online
Looking for the perfect holiday brunch? Cocktails and Canapés is serving up the ultimate Christmas ‘brunch’n boxes’ ($120, serving four) to keep you merry and bright. Each box contains waffles with whipped dulce de leche, house organic croissants with Qualicum Bay brie, roasted ham and fig jam, house baked cranberry cinnamon and molasses loaf, local fruit paired with a bottle of Hatch B Secco ’19 and freshly-squeezed orange juice.686 Powell Street, Vancouver; Order online
This Christmas, guests are invited to gather around the table with friends and family to enjoy a three-course Christmas Eve dinner ($65 per person) and Christmas Day service ($95 per person) at Seasons in the Park and The Teahouse.
The Teahouse’s Christmas Eve dinner menu offers a choice of appetizers, including seafood saffron chowder, stuffed mushrooms or harvest salad, entrées like slow-roasted prime rib, roasted turkey with all the trimmings, seared arctic char and torta Milano, dulce de leche apple tart or eggnog panna cotta for dessert. For Christmas Day dinner, guests will enjoy an amuse-bouche of smoked salmon mousse and a mid-meal palate cleanser of green apple sorbet with mint oil and a choice of seafood saffron chowder, stuffed mushrooms or harvest salad as appetizers, slow-roasted prime rib, roasted turkey with the fixings, seafood trio of seared arctic char, prawns and scallops or mushroom conchiglie as entrée choices and torta Milano, dulce de leche apple tart or eggnog panna cotta for dessert.Ferguson Point, Stanley Park, Vancouver; Details and reservations online
Seasons in the Park’s Christmas Eve dinner menu lets guests choose from a selection of appetizers that include roasted parsnip soup, harvest salad and mushrooms, main courses such as oven-roasted turkey with all the fixings, prime rib, grilled steelhead salmon and mushroom ravioli, and a choice of pumpkin bread pudding or chocolate truffle cake for a sweet finish to the evening. Their Christmas Day dinner menu includes an amuse-bouche of duck confit tart, mid-meal lychee sorbetto palate cleanser and a choice of appetizers like roasted parsnip soup, harvest salad, mushrooms or Dungeness crab cake, entrées including oven-roasted turkey with all the trimmings, prime rib, ponzu sablefish or butternut squash ravioli, and a choice of pumpkin bread pudding or chocolate truffle cake for dessert.Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver; Details and reservations online
Cardero’s and The Sandbar will also be getting into the holiday spirit on Christmas Eve with live music and turkey feature entrées available on Christmas Eve, in addition to à la carte dining options, but will be closed on Christmas Day.
Available from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day, Five Sail’s five-course festive menu features dishes like foie gras and quail Ballotine, beef consommé, roasted turkey breast, truffle pomme purée, cranberry compote christmas jus and so much more. 999 Canada Place, Vancouver; Reserve online
Gift yourself ease this holiday season with festive meals for your home, office or anywhere else you are set to celebrate this festive season. The festive office turkey to-go feast ($52 per person) is hot and ready-to-serve, and includes mouthwatering maple-brined roast turkey with all of the traditional fixings, and a selection of delicious homemade desserts, with specialty menu items such as country roast ham or braised beef available for an additional charge. The festive turkey to-go menu ($52 per person) includes slow-roasted carved turkey, three starter salads, choice of three sides, and a selection of homemade desserts.30 Smithe Street, Vancouver; Details online
New Westminster’s Longtail Kitchen is offering take-home festive roast chicken meals for the holiday season, with a slow-roasted Farmcrest chicken marinated in coconut cream, fish sauce and palm sugar. Guests can also take home a whole chicken with a side of nam jim jaew dipping sauce ($32), or make it a set meal of a half chicken with rice, house-pickled carrots and daikon, and fresh cucumber and lettuce ($18).116—810 Quayside Drive, New Westminster; Details online
Freebird at Home by Maenam spices up the season with its exclusive takeout festive feast. Their holiday meal set provides at-home comfort and joy with a whole Asian-style salt-cured roast chicken, crispy sticky rice made with chicken drippings and other delicious seasonal fixins, fried Brussels sprout salad and hazelnut Mor Kaeng custard for dessert ($70, feeding two to three). 1938 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver; Details online
Enjoy traditional festive favourites and new foodie-inspired options that save you all the prep time by letting Edge Catering do all the work for you this holiday season. Featuring traditional turkey dinners with port gravy, sourdough, apple and cranberry stuffing, locally grown maple squash, and more, plus holiday themed canapés and sweets, Edge has got your Christmas covered. And if you’re looking for a festive alternative to turkey, indulge in a decadent feast of braised beef short rib with port jus, Yorkshire puddings, Yukon gold mashed potatoes, locally grown maple squash, ancient grains, cranberry, wilted kale and winter vegetable in thyme butter (pictured above). Finish with a cranberry apple walnut galette with Chantilly cream or an Edge signature sticky toffee pudding with toffee sauce (this is so good!). $130 for 2 and $380 for 6—just heat and serve!1927 E Hastings St. Vancouver; Details online
