Most people know that the most delicious meals happen at MICHELIN restaurants and the most relaxing stays happen at MICHELIN hotels.
But finding a MICHELIN restaurant inside a MICHELIN hotel? That’s a rare experience.
Now imagine three MICHELIN restaurants inside a single MICHELIN hotel. That’s truly remarkable.
Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver is one of those extraordinary experiences. The hotel itself has earned well-deserved recognition on its own, and separately, three restaurants in the building have attained the same high standards.
The dining selection at the hotel spans the world, drawing flavors from several continents. From Europe, Bacaro, led by Top Chef Canada winner Chanthy Yen, serves Venetian-style Italian cuisine. Going over to Asia and South America, The Lobby Lounge & RawBar by Youssef Jbari offers Japanese - Peruvian Nikkei sushi. For guests who want a North American experience, Botanist by Hector Laguna serves contemporary Canadian flavors that focus on the best local product, from both the land and the sea.
Below, we dive into what makes each MICHELIN spot so special.
Fairmont Pacific Rim sits in the heart of Downtown Vancouver, steps away from Vancouver Harbour. It’s a visual masterpiece, with not only luxurious modern art and architecture, but also sweeping views of the waterfront, the North Shore mountains and city skyline.
Led by General Manager Jens Moesker, the hotel has become a hub for culture, dining and wellness. The team delivers thoughtful and personalized service, aiming to anticipate needs before they are expressed. That feeling of a pleasant escape extends to the Fairmont Spa (with a rooftop terrace and private cabanas) and the hotel's art. “Guests are often surprised by the richness of the cultural and artistic experiences,” says Moesker. “From the moment you enter, you’re immersed in art - whether it's the large-scale digital installations, the rotating contemporary works, or our live performance programming.”
But what truly sets it apart from most other hotels is that the Fairmont Pacific Rim has three MICHELIN-recommended restaurants, while most other hotels do not even have one.
The hotel’s exceptional dining program is led by Executive Chef Damon Campbell, an alum of The French Laundry. Rather than being in competition with each other, the three restaurants complement each other and serve entirely different cuisines. Moesker says, “there’s a great deal of knowledge sharing - whether it’s about local producers, sustainability initiatives, or new techniques. It's a reflection of Vancouver’s dynamic culinary landscape.”
Botanist
Hector Laguna
Set in an airy and bright environment, Botanist is a nature immersion that truly appreciates the Pacific Northwest, focusing on seasonal ingredients from the land and sea, while incorporating a wide range of flavors from German to Chinese to Mexican to Indian.
With changing ingredients based on the season, Laguna believes more in outstanding ingredients rather than outstanding dishes. He explains, “we always have duck on the menu. We cook it in so many different [ways]. We cook it with spaetzle, which is German. We cook it with mole, which is Mexican. We're cooking with XO sauce. Sometimes we smoke it. Sometimes we dry it longer, sometimes less. Sometimes it’s farming, sometimes it’s wild foraging. It really goes with the season.”
Bacaro
Chanthy Yen
Inspired by the casual small plates and wine experiences of bacari in Venice, Bacaro offers a rare taste of cicchetti-style dining in Vancouver with a Pacific Northwest twist. Fresh off of a life-changing Top Chef Canada win, the inspiring Chef Chanthy Yen continues to lead his team to “cook with intention,” focusing on the story of the ingredients and using them seasonally, consciously and sustainably (a mindset that he will carry over to his upcoming Cambodian restaurant Touk).
At Bacaro, he’s excited by dishes like grilled sea bream and the cicchetti menu with baccalà mantecato, sarde in saor, and mozzarella in carrozza. He adds, “a must try is Bigoli con Anatra; fresh pasta coated with a savoury sauce of ground duck ragu, liver and warm spices like cinnamon and mace, then topped with Parmigiano Reggiano and shaved truffle. It’s a plate of pure comfort with honest flavours.”
The Lobby Lounge & RawBar
Youssef Jbari
How special can a hotel lobby be? This restaurant is one of the most delicious and beautiful lobbies anywhere. Equipped with soaring ceilings, live music and a marble bar, the restaurant atmosphere makes any diner feel important. They feel even better once they have the food. Chef Youssef Jbari’s unique sushi experience is sustainably sourced and influenced by Japanese - Peruvian Nikkei cuisine, aiming to balance tradition and innovation, as well as precision and creativity.
Some dishes he’s most excited about include the shellfish ceviche with ají amarillo, king salmon tiradito with tiger milk dressing and the tuna carpaccio with black truffle yuzu emulsion. Jbari explains, “these dishes reflect the core of our concept: delicate technique, premium ingredients and flavour profiles that are both comforting and unexpected. They showcase the fusion of Peruvian heat and citrus with Japanese elegance and restraint.”
How does being in Vancouver affect your restaurant?
Hector Laguna: Affected in a very great way. Diversity is huge. We cook Pacific Northwest. Pacific Northwest is not necessarily a recipe. We cook local, grabbing things from the backyard, fishing, harvesting or wild picking. I like to cook a lot of what we see around the city. We do a good amount of Asian flavors, Indian flavors, so we represent the region. Not just the flora and fauna, but the community itself.
Chanthy Yen: Vancouver is an amazing city with so much to offer. Diversity in cuisine is the standard here, and with our bounty of seafood and produce, there is a limitless amount of unique flavours to play with. We have travellers and residents from all over the globe, and I am glad that at Bacaro, we get to offer them a little bite of authentic Venice by way of the West Coast.
Youssef Jbari: Vancouver is a dream for any chef working with seafood and seasonal produce. The access to incredibly fresh ingredients and the diversity of the local palate allows us to create bold, globally inspired dishes that still feel rooted in the Pacific Northwest. The city’s appreciation for refined, high - quality food gives us the freedom to innovate while staying true to our Japanese - Peruvian influences.
How do you collaborate with the hotel and other restaurants?
Hector Laguna: I'm definitely very lucky because I get to be in a beautiful place. Working with the hotel has been such an amazing experience. We get all the support, and at the same time, we are our own space.
Chanthy Yen: The relationship amongst chefs from Botanist and The Lobby Lounge & RawBar has been a dream. We see them in our restaurant and our team frequents theirs. Not only is there ongoing support amongst our establishments but together we get to represent a hub of creativity and collaboration, being inspired by each other under the same roof.
Youssef Jbari: Chef Damon Campbell, our Executive Chef at Fairmont Pacific Rim, has been an incredible mentor and guide, encouraging creative dishes, ingredient-inspired cuisine and continuing to evolve the RawBar. That kind of support from the hotel side allows me to focus fully on the craft and experience. Being new to Canada and Vancouver, I relied on Chef Hector Laguna at Botanist and Chef Damon as my ingredient bible. They helped me source hard to find produce and proteins, and more importantly, guided me in understanding the expectations and preferences of the Vancouver diner.
What’s a standout memory or something that makes your restaurant special?
Hector Laguna: For me, cooking is all about memories. It's all about bringing people to the table, having them have a good time. Being able to serve people flavors that have a memory. For my lamb barbacoa, a super traditional dish from the town I am from, a couple from Mexico said, "you took me back home." And that, to me, is probably one of the best compliments I've ever gotten. I get to transport people back. [Botanist] is a really open kitchen, so I get to see a lot of first bite faces, and that is fantastic.
Chanthy Yen: The owner’s childhood memories in Venice - sitting on a worn stone staircase, eating mozzarella in carrozza, while the adults stood nearby, sipping wine and spritzes and sharing cicchetti around makeshift tables fashioned from wine barrels. That sense of spontaneity, connection and simple pleasure is exactly what we tried to capture at Bacaro. It’s less about formal dining and more about embracing the Venetian way of gathering - standing shoulder to shoulder, sharing bites and stories over great wine.
Youssef Jbari: One evening, a guest commented that our Shellfish Ceviche evoked memories of dining in Lima, while the presentation and refinement reminded them of Tokyo. That single comment encapsulated what we aim to do: create a seamless cultural bridge through food. It’s these emotional connections and the sense of surprise and delight that make our restaurant truly special.
