Bel Cafe in Kitsilano and Downtown Vancouver is a great cafe for a nutritious and casual lunch. Before the pandemic, it was one of my go to lunch spots in Downtown. They have great daily deals – including BOGO pastries, drink upsizes and more. If you’re feeling peckish they have a great curated lunch box to choose from. I went by last week to try out Bel Cafe’s three new sandwich offerings that they just put on the menu.
Both locations of Bel Cafe are currently open with limited cafe seating. I find that their lunches are great to-go as well, so I usually just grab and go. However, if you can get a seat, the ambiance is always great at both locations. The Kitsilano one in particular has stunning floor to ceiling windows which make for a great people viewing spot.
Bel Cafe – New Sandwich Offerings
There are three new sandwiches on the menu: Roast Beef, Roasted Eggplant and Smoked Turkey Bacon Club. The Roast Beef ($12.00) features slow roast roast beef, horseradish aioli, mushroom duxelles, Mt. Moriarty cheese, and pickled onion on a French baguette. The beef was tender and I like the kick from the horseradish aioli. A solid and filling lunch option!
The Smoked Turkey Bacon Club ($11.00) features turkey breast, bacon and onion jam, vine ripe tomatoes, butter lettuce, grainy Dijon mustard and jalapeno aioli on sourdough bread. The sandwich was grilled to perfection! Look at those gorgeous grill marks. The turkey was moist and tender. The jalapeno aioli has a great kick that went well with the sandwich. This was my favourite but I do have a personal bias for sourdough.
The Roasted Eggplant ($10.00) is the new vegetarian option. It features roasted eggplant, honey, piquillo pepper hummus, Mt. Moriarty cheese, pickled fennel, arugula, cucumber and smoked almonds. It is a mild sandwich with a great earthy taste. I found the bread to be on the harder side, and this sandwich was my least favourite of the three.
Overall I really like the three new sandwich offerings from Bel Cafe! The cafe is a great option for lunch. They are also participating in the Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival, so don’t forget to pick up one of their drinks to try!