If you’re wondering what the Fairmont Waterfront breakfast looks like, this is the post for you! We recently had the pleasure of staying here for a staycation and every morning we went down to ARC Restaurant for a lovely breakfast. You might remember we enjoyed our breakfast at the Peninsula so let us take you now as we dine here.
FREE DAILY BREAKFAST
Once again, we took advantage of our American Express Platinum card’s perks and booked a room through the Fine Hotel and Resort program (FHR). As with all FHR bookings, a free daily breakfast is included. Our welcome letter said “Daily breakfast for two: Through ARC or In Room Dining” but when I asked if there was a dollar limit, I was told $35 per person, daily.
We definitely went over $70 after tax daily but every morning, the server told us the bill was taken care of. We just opted to leave a cash tip. Upon checking out, we saw that all breakfast charges had fallen off our bill. Excellent! We had been worried about the Fairmont Waterfront breakfast as it’s very easy to exceed the $35 limit even by order an breakfast item and a coffee. It’s nice to know that this was a true free meal and you don’t have to worry about going over your dollar amount.
Note only the American Express Platinum (or Centurion) card can give you access to the Find Hotel and Resort program. If you’re into traveling and want to unlock unique perks at hotels across the globe, consider signing up for the card.
FAIRMONT WATERFRONT BREAKFAST
ARC Restaurant has a famous breakfast buffet on Saturday and Sundays. We did not opt to eat the buffet but rather every morning, we ordered from the breakfast menu. On the Saturday we were there, the restaurant was packed with the buffet diners. Be sure to make reservations on the weekend!
The buffet menu is larger than the a la carte menu btu we still found plenty to eat there on the mornings that we stayed.
THE FOOD
A Croque Madame! This delightful French item is hardly on Vancouver menus. This came with a side salad (with vinaigrette) which balanced out the heaviness of the sauce. The sauce was very nice and added a lot of flavour to the bread. The egg and ham were high quality. We would recommend this.
This French Toast seemed like a light meal choice at first. However, it actually is far more filling than it looks. Definitely be aware that this packs a punch – it is very filling and we couldn’t finish this. The French Toast is not overly sweet and if you need the extra sweetness, you can pour more of the chai crème anglaise on top. Choose this dish if you have a sweet tooth.
The Longshoreman sounds fancy but it’s just a meal of bread, protein, potatoes and eggs. It is pricey ($29) for what it is – this is a dish you could make at home yourself. However, if you’re looking for something that tastes close to what you’d make at home then get this. Note that they cook their bacon very crispy so if you still like it a bit fatty and chewy, make sure to request that.
So Salmon Eggs Benedict is one of our favorite breakfast things. Therefore, we had HIGH expectations for this dish. Thankfully, it surpassed all our expectations! The Hollandaise sauce was a nice thick texture without being overpowering. The salmon was nice and fresh. The side salad added an extra kick of freshness to this dish. Delightful!
The Beef Shortrib Skillet was such an amazing dish. If you’re someone who is OK with a chunk of hearty beef in the morning, be sure to get this dish. The meat is amazingly tender and sits on a bed of mushrooms, onions and potatoes. Definitely not a light dish but you will not need to eat lunch after this!
FAIRMONT WATERFRONT BREAKFAST CONCLUSION
We thought the food here was very good. It wasn’t quite Peninsula Chicago level of quality and service but for Vancouver, it is definitely very high up. Having the free breakfast every morning was a very good deal. Most days we just opted to skip lunch as we were full enough.
The food portions were very generous. Even the drinks like hot chocolate was very large in size. We balked at the price initially -$7 for hot chocolate- but it was actually closer to two cups of hot chocolate so we were happy.
ARC is right by the water so it is a very nice date place or a great place to bring out of town visitors. Be sure to make your reservations!
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