Grain Tasting Bar pairs cocktails with local edibles

The Hyatt Regency Vancouver (655 Burrard Street) recently renovated and relaunched its lobby bar and lounge, complete with a new name—Grain Tasting Bar. 

Grain Tasting Bar (which has nothing to do with bread or cereal) caters to the downtown business lunch crowd and offers an urban retreat for evening dinner and drinks. Diners can grab a stool at the sleek, reflective bar; sit comfortably in plush, low-slung chairs in the lounge area; or sit down at one of the many reclaimed-wood dining tables lining windows that look on to Burrard Street.

The menu ($6 to $22) created by executive chef Thomas Heinrich is all about sharable dishes that pair well with cocktails, beer, and wine. Many of Grain Tasting Bar’s suppliers are local, and that’s reflected in the menu: wood-oven pizzas loaded with meat from Oyama Sausage Co., salads topped with pulled pork from the Fraser Valley’s Gelderman Farms, and house-smoked Skuna Bay salmon. Cheese and charcuterie also feature prominently on the menu, and cheeses from Little Qualicum Cheeseworks and Salt Spring Island Cheese Co. are served with house-made mustards, chutneys, and pickles.

The cocktail program ($9 to $12) features twists on classic bar drinks. Grapefruit bitters give an otherwise typical Manhattan a citrusy kick; the Terminal City Old Fashion replaces sugar with Canadian maple syrup; and the refreshing Ginger Pear Martini will make faithful apple martini drinkers forget all about that neon green sipper

Grain Tasting Bar carries local craft beers, and all wines (starting at $9 by the glass) are from the Okanagan Valley.