The Lobby

Had a work conference at the pinnacle pier hotel which coveniently offered us a lunch voucher for lunch the lobby restaurant.
While my opinion may be bias because the meal was free, the food was delicious. A bunch of us had different meals but they all looked very good. I had the bouillabaisse soup which was full of flavor and ton of seafood!
Well balanced and cooked, although my bread was kind of burnt on the outside. Surprised that it was still pretty soft though so many the grill was too hot.
It’s easy to get to as it’s right next to the quay by the seabus and lots of space. Big windows for lots of light and nice view of downtown Vancouver from a distance.

We dined here with a Groupon and very much enjoyed the offerings on the three course menu (which we understand is also available without the purchase of the Groupon)
Seafood chowder was our favorite of the starters on order: the aloil accompanying the beef carpaccio was a little strong for our tastes. Both the filet mignon and the pork chop were generous main courses and prepared to our liking. We especially enjoyed the red beet side with the pork chop. The desserts looked fabulous; we loved seeing the effort put in to making the peach panna cotta and selection of chocolate desserts look beautiful on the plate.
It’s not the most beautiful dining room on the North Shore, but the service is good and we love how much effort is spent on presenting the food.

After reading the reviews, I decided to take my mom here for her birthday. I also got a groupon that included a 3 course menu, which was the same as their 3 course menu at the time. I was somewhat disappointment with the food and service. Several things went wrong that didn’t give us a good experience.
The service was quite slow. First the drinks. We waited for about 10 minutes for the waitress to take our order. It took about 15 minutes to get 3 our of 4 drinks. The one missing was the milk for my toddler. My toddler was getting impatient since she waited for a long time.
The calamari looked like a platter of tiny stringy fries. They were so small that I could barely taste anything except the batter.
For my toddler’s meal, unless i read the menu wrong, I order chicken strips with fruit (instead of fries) for her. When it came, it was chicken strips with a big bowl of fries. I told the waitress that I ordered fruit instead of fries She said the fruit will come later. Also, the ice-​cream with the kids meal never come. When we got the bill, we were charged extra for the bowl of fruit.
Both my mom and I ordered filet mignon. She wanted it medium well, I wanted it medium. Both of our steaks came out medium rare. Because we waited for so long to get our dinner, we didn’t bother asking them to make the steaks again, especially my toddler was already whining. My husband ended up eating half of my steak.

Food was decent. Service was professional and friendly. Ambiance — ok, if a bit too open concept and noisy for conversation.
Problem though — the management appear to be scammers.
Visited here as part of a Groupon deal (
), promoting a meal for 2 at a special rate of $ 69, with a stated «value» of $ 115. But on checking the Lobby web site for reservations, an identical three course meal is listed for $ 39 pp (
).
I called Groupon, and was told by a manager that businesses provide the stated value of the deals. Note that the menu provided to Groupon (
) is a virtually identical copy from the Lobby web site — except for the price at bottom, conveniently deleted.
So if a restaurant has to scam customers to get them in the door, what else is wrong there? What other lies will they spin to make a buck?
Thanks, but I’ll spend my money at ethical businesses next time… and recommend others do the same.

We were there for Sunday brunch with a group of 6 + a baby. The food was really good, everyone enjoyed their meals. The truffle cauliflower soup was one of the best soups I’ve ever had. The server was incredibly nice and attentive. The restaurant wasn’t too loud or too busy so it was just a really nice time. Will definitely go back.

The Lobby has improved their product and service a lot since opening. It’s worth a try, especially for brunch.

Had brunch at the Lobby today — breakfast poutine — potatoes Lyonnaise, chorizo sausage, brown gravy, cheese curds, and two medium poached eggs — it was brilliant. Two of the people I was with — my wife and my cousin’s wife — had egg white frittatas that they really liked but I am not really a fan of egg white anything unless it involves meringue. My cousin had bacon, eggs, Lyonnaise potatoes, and toast and I suppose he liked it — I was too enthralled with their brilliant reinvention of poutine to notice. I will return.

Food and service were OK it didn’t impress me much. Dessert was awful. The waitress asked me how was my dessert I told her it was horrible. She offered to change but I lose my appetite already. Are we coming back? Maybe if we don’t have other choice or places to go.

I think the average rating of 3 ½ stars is pretty accurate for this establishment.
My son and I decided to play in the hotel pool before dinner since we’d had a late lunch, so we didn’t get to The Lobby until a little after 10 (yes, I let him stay up a bit later on vacation days). The bartender informed me that the dinner menu had ended at 10 and that appetizers only were available until 10:30. This limited our menu options, but as I wasn’t gunning for a full meal, I wasn’t too disappointed.
I debated between the mussels and jicama fish tacos before settling on the tacos to try to eat a bit «lighter». I ordered my son’s staple, the chicken tenders, which the server scaled down to a kids’ portion (but only after I inquired about getting a half order — if there is already a kids’ portion, why wasn’t it offered outright?).
The fish tacos (will post picture later) came on thinly sliced jicama rather than tortilla shells, which was fine by me. There were 4 mini tacos, each with a strip of lightly battered cod, dressed with pickled fennel slaw and pico de gallo. The server offered freshly ground black pepper, which I accepted. Overall, the tacos were pretty meh. The fish was fresh enough, but lacked seasoning (a little dash of salt goes a long way, people). Furthermore, the pickled fennel was so tart and acidic that the dish was just begging for some crema or tartar to balance it out. (Hey, I watch Chopped way too much, but I totally get it now.) The dish wasn’t disgusting by any means, but just left so much to be desired.
My son’s chicken strips were pretty burnt and if I were Robert Irvine or William «Jack» Degel, I would have yelled at the chef and said «there’s no way I’d let that out of the kitchen!» But I let it pass since the kitchen was closed and I was just too darn tired to say anything. My son’s refusal to eat the chicken strips pretty much spoke for how those turned out. I didn’t think they tasted THAT bad, but he’s the chicken tender expert. The fries that came with the tenders were extremely salty — not sure if they were supposed to be like that («sea salt french fries») or if they accidentally double-​dosed the fries instead of salting my fish.
Server was friendly enough and accommodating, and I’m pretty sure she moved as fast as she could since she was the only one working, so I can’t really comment on that aspect.
Anywho, if I was staying at the hotel again with nowhere to eat, I wouldn’t necessarily turn this place down… But I’m sure there is better to be found in the area.

Ate here for my first time today and tried out the dine-​out menu.
— started off with the beef carpaccio … it was excellent
— followed with roast rack of lamb cooked medium rare … not great, not bad. Just good.
— chocolate cheesecake for dessert … portion was really big. Very tasty, but very rich. Would have loved a scoop of ice cream in place of the side of whip cream.
Overall, it was a good meal considering we had the dine-​out deal but I would not go there for dinner without there being some sort of special. There are far too many better options in North Van at that price range.

Best place to eat and drink in North Van! And the Moscow Mules are Awesome!!! Thank you Kyle!

Have been a customer since day one 30+ visits. Menu never changes and the thing I did go there for has changed. My favourite used to be the fish and chips. The recipe has changed and sure it’s lighter (and now tastes fishy) but not very good especially after having the original recipe. The original lobby fish and chips recipe was the only recipe that could come close to Coney Island fish and chips in white rock in my opinion. Yesterday we went there to see if anything changed it was the same I had the chicken avocado sandwich nothing worth mentioning. However the yam fries were pretty good but the chipotle dipping sauce was awful and hardly touched by my sweetheart and I we both agreed there’s something in the recipe that shouldn’t be. Making good chipotle is very basic stuff even a microwave chef could do better then what was produced for our meal.
Good points the location, view, nice hotel, and if your just looking for tea they have a great box of select teas you can smell and take your time to pick from.
We seldom go there anymore not even once a month we used to go almost 3 – 4 times a month at the least.

A lot of restaurants in the city offer a Sunday prime rib special and since my parents live on the North Shore, we decided to check out The Lobby at the Pinnacle Hotel at the Pier. The price was reasonable and the portion size was decent. Along with the prime rib, you also get mashed potatoes (yum!), Yorkshire pudding (not usually my thing but this one was really good!), vegetables (broccolini, purple carrots), there’s also a nice portion of horseradish and mustard on the side.
We all commented that it could’ve used more gravy. It was pre-​poured on the plate but not quite enough for the size of the meat so would’ve been nice to have it on the side and you can pour as you like. Also, it was obvious that the prime rib was cut well ahead of time as it wasn’t very moist, so a little bit dried out from probably sitting under a heat lamp… just our guess. It was still good, just could’ve been better!
The restaurant itself is nice, right by the water at the pier although no view from the restaurant. The place still looks really new and not super busy, but again, Sunday night. Service was decent although she did forget about my tea. The bread they give you while waiting is fresh, baked in house.
For dessert we tried the chocolate mousse and the matcha green tea tiramisu. Chocolate Mousse, yum and a bit more dense. Matcha tiramisu, so-​so, more of a mousse so I’m not sure what part was tiramisu.

I go to the Pinnacle for lunch dates occasionally. The food is good, prices aren’t bad. Reason I go there is that it’s near the water, it’s new, clean, bright and airy. Not the greatest ambiance. It’s a once every 2 months kind of place for a nicer then average lunch.

My partner and I were staying at the hotel and decided to enjoy The Lobby’s 3-​course meal. We actually really enjoyed it! Everything was delicious (except the spinach salad needed more dressing), the steak was cooked perfectly, and the key lime pie was *muah*!! I took off a star because the service was sloooow and when you’re paying $ 90 for two people, and the restaurant isn’t that busy, service should be fast. The snooty people next to us kept taking pictures of their damn food, which is amazingly obnoxious, but I don’t judge the restaurant for that. Just eat the food, people! You don’t need to photograph every single moment of your lives. I recommend this if you’re in the area.

Breakfast at «The Lobby» is always great. I couldn’t think of a better place to spend my Sunday mornings. The service is great and so is the food. Awesome yet again

Oh I must boost this restaurant’s rating, 2.5 is seriously under-​rated. I was here for brunch last week after a nice hike at Lynn Canyon. They have an amazing brunch menu selection, I wanted to try everything!
Finally settled on the signature crab cake benny — If you love crab cakes and eggs, everyone, this place is a truly hidden gem. The crab cakes are packed with real crab meat, it’s fried just right, not greasy at all, and topped with soft poached free-​range eggs and fresh hollandaise sauce. The eggs were so flavorful, and hollandaise was perfect. It was served with mixed fresh berries and potatoes. And you know what? They take half orders so next time I would go for that, full order was a little too filling. My friend had the smoked salmon benny, and the smoked wild sockeye salmon was soooo lean and tasty. Most importantly, everything is priced right.
The lounge is very cozy, with big TV flat screen, we were watching Euro cup quarter finals. Outside the hotel, there is a massive mess of old ship pieces, quite unsightly but in my opinion, the interior, food taste, and presentation outweighs everything else and it has made into my fav restaurant list. Next time I will try the North van burger, and sablefish.

4 Stars because I had a Travelzoo groupon. $ 49 for 2 persons including 2 appy, 2 entrée & 1 dessert to share.
Crab cake was loaded with crabmeat, delicious. Worth the regular price of $ 16
Filet mignon topped with crabmeat bernaise sauce and also with a red wine reduction. Grilled veggies on the side.
Cheese cake with fresh fruit as dessert
Good execution on all three courses. Good price, nice atmosphere. Service good, our waiter was very friendly. Had a nice stroll around the Lonsdale Quay area before dinner on a nice sunny spring day. So relaxing.

Let me ask you this, Unilocalers: Would you consider a 3 course meal an ‘entrée’?
Ok, how about 12 of them?
I would think so, but I received no love from the server at The Lobby when I proudly presented my Unilocal «Free ‘Appetizer» check-​in reward. She told me that she didn’t think it would apply, but that she’d check with her manager. Whether she did or not I don’t know because she avoided the subject the rest of the night.
We were a table of 12 strong, in for the evening, each ordering a 3-​course ($ 41) Christmas dinner and ample wine, beer and cocktails. You’d think that throwing in a free appetizer that THEY OFFER AS A REWARD would be a no-​brainer.
What gives, The Lobby? Do the right thing. Else Unilocalers gonna Unilocal

I would be prepared to give the Lobby at the Pinnacle Hotel four or even five stars. It’s a nice room, the service was professional and friendly, and the food was fantastic. But. I made a reservation several days in advance for our Thanksgiving dinner date and they still sat us right by the kitchen door. Lovely. Thanks for the clanks.
In addition, there was a ledge right next to our table that doubled as a service station for water jugs and pepper mills and such. I was not impressed with this setup being right there, something I’ve never encountered in any other restaurant; however, I was impressed that all the servers picked up and dropped off these items absolutely noiselessly. But I do still question why this spot was used, when there was a great expanse of bar about 10 feet away, and not near the tables. (We requested a move, but were told they were fully booked.)
I hate to be a crankypants about Thanksgiving, so I will say that our server was the best I’ve had in quite a while. She always had a smile on her face, she had the cutest French accent, and she checked on us for each delicious course — and never when I had just put a big bite of turkey in my mouth. We really did enjoy our meal, especially the pumpkin pie, a version that had just a little tartness to it, and just a hint of spice.
I’m trying to be grateful; I just hate it when bad tables happen to good restaurants.