The options for New Year’s Eve dinner are manifold. New Year’s Day meals? Not so much.

With so much attention focussed on celebrating the evening, the day after tends to be quite neglected.

After the big night, most places will be closed. But there will be a number of eateries that will be open for some meals, such as Palate Kitchen and the ever-popular Jam Café which will be serving brunch. And there are a handful of places that are offering some special options.

Of those, here are some suggestions for meals you can kick off 2021 with.

Notch 8

900 West Georgia Street

This travel-inspired dining spot at Hotel Vancouver is serving New Year’s Day brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. from January 1 to January 3. That’s right—three days of brunching.

The brunch menu consists of à la carte sharing plates that run the range from small dishes—winter panzanella salad (roasted squash, Brussels sprouts, apple, baby kale, and more) or cheeseburger sliders—to medium—fried chicken and waffle (with sausage and bacon gravy, and a fried egg) or bison carpaccio (with blue cheese, hazelnuts, and more)—to the large: crab louie salad, soba noodle power bowl, or braised beef short rib and eggs. And the requisite bubbles.

Guu Garden

888 Nelson Street

New Year’s Day is a bigger celebration in Japan than Christmas. Unlike other Asian countries which celebrate the lunar new year, Japan celebrates the solar new year with Oshogatsu, a multiday celebration beginning on January 1. One of the traditional ways to mark the occasion is to have osechi (or osechi-ryori), which are traditional food items that can be kept for several days without refrigeration (as the traditions date back to pre-refrigeration time periods) and have symbolic meanings.

Many Japanese restaurants in Vancouver are closed on New Year’s Day. However, one place that is offering osechi for takeout is Guu Garden, either as regular ($50) or vegan ($35). Limited quantities are available for pickup each hour on New Year’s Day from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. or by delivery. Reservations are available by phone (604-899-0855), email, or DM on Facebook or Instagram. (This special offering isn't listed on its website—only on its social media.)

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJcCPUAsGYG

Juke Fried Chicken and Chickadee

182 Keefer Street

Chinatown joint Juke Fried Chicken and adjacent cocktail bar Chickadee are teaming up to offer something many people will need to start their year off right: the January 1st Hangover Kit. This recovery package includes two-pieces fried chicken and waffles, Caesar with nuoc cham mix, and a choice of vodka or gin mini bottles.

It’s available for pickup or delivery but note that it’s only available in limited quantities.

Potluck Hawker Eatery

3424 Cambie Street

Seatings for this Southeast Asian munchery’s brunchfest are pretty much all booked but you can still order takeout the day of (by phone or in person, no online orders or delivery). But the good news is that there are a number of new items that will be coming soon to the brunch menu, including: Ramly smash burger (quarter pound beef wrapped in two egg omelettes, cheese, shreddice, and secret sauce with Malaysian shaker fries), grand slam silog (Ray’s tocino, lumpia Shanghai, Spam fries, daily ensalada, garlic fried rice, sunnyside egg), fisherman’s breakfast poutine (fries, cheese curds, white pepper uni gravy, Dungeness crab, poached egg), and char hor fun (wok-fried fresh rice sheets with soybean gravy, beef and prawns, pickled chili, and garlic oil).

B House

2270 Commercial Drive

In a smart move to support social distancing, this Asian-influenced West Coast restaurant is serving its New Year’s Eve menu on New Year’s Day as well. Its three-course meal ($45) starts off with chicken pho; followed by a choice of Surf ’n’ Turf (AAA top sirloin with prawn thermidor sauce, mashed potatoes, and seasonal vegetables), stuffed wild sockeye salmon (with artichoke, baby potatoes, seasonal vegetables, and more), or vegan meatloaf (Beyond meatloaf, kabocha mash, seasonal vegetables, and more); and finishing with a chocolate molten brownie, along with a glass of sparkling wine.