Mention "West Van" and what may come to mind are sprawling mansions and the Real Housewives of Vancouver.

What you might not think of is a delightful sun-splashed café with an approachable menu.

CV Gallery Café is just that—with killer views to boot.

Located not far from the British Properties in the Westhill neighbourhood at 2240 Chippendale Road in the former home of Fraiche restaurant, the eatery is located within the CV Luxury Design Centre, CV standing for Chateau Versailles. The furniture store offers home-staging services and also carries home-décor items and works of art, with its current collection featuring pieces by renowned Iranian sculptor Sara Rahanjam.

The furniture is an ever-changing mix of classic and contemporary, from art deco dining chairs to all sorts of lighting fixtures, including an enormous crystal chandelier surrounded by three metal rings. Since the café is attached to the gallery, it uses that furniture as part of its seating, so you could find yourself having lunch while seated at the kind of ultra-modern dining set that wouldn’t look out of place in the pages of Architectural Digest.

Chef James Taylor, who discovered a passion for cooking as a kid and got his start at Anton’s Pasta Bar in Burnaby and trained at VCC, worked at Lumiere, Feenie’s, and Cactus Club prior to joining CV Café.

He uses as many organic products as possible, including organic black tiger prawns, in his seasonally changing menu that focuses on light, fresh fare. Items include a 24-hour-braised short-rib sandwich with Brie, caramelized onions, oven-roasted tomatoes, and aioli served on ciabatta ($18) and a spicy vegetarian ratatouille sandwich with basil and pea shoots on Italian flatbread ($15).

Salads range from aerated burrata with field tomatoes, basil, aged balsamic, and cold-pressed truffled olive oil ($5) to smoked sockeye salmon with pickled red onions, crème fraiche, crisps, and saffron aioli ($15).

Organic, loose-leaf tea comes in varieties such as raspberry Champagne, Madagascar bourbon vanilla, and China Mao Jian; to sip with a latte or Americano are a range of Thomas Haas pastries.

Check out these images of the café.