Lisa Henderson and Larry Nicolay, former owners of Tofino’s superb Raincoast Café, are opening a new restaurant at 3250 Main St. called Latitude. Located in the old Budapest Restaurant spot, the totally redone room will see 46 seats with a 6 seat marble bar and a small patio out front. The design is coming courtesy of Evoke ID, the design firm responsible for such Vancouver rooms as Glowbal, Sanafir, The Cascade Room, and the new Irish Heather (Evoke principal David Nicolay is Larry’s younger brother). I’ve been told that we can expect plenty of walnut, concrete, and marble in a modern space. The concept is wine-forward, with 15 whites and reds by the glass picked from the Americas (from BC all the way down to Chile and Argentina), and affordable food reflecting the same journey. Such a broad theme which will afford them quite a lot of…ahem…latitude.
They secured the location back in October, and have been toiling hard on it ever since (a new roof ain’t no picnic). If all the ducks are aligned, Latitude should be ready to go before the beginning of May. I was a huge fan of their first restaurant in Tofino, so I’m really excited about this one.
We wish Lisa and Larry our former neighbors, all the best in their new digs. We miss eating at Raincoast which was our “go to” on rare nights off. Artie and Lisa
In all honesty the new Irish Heather is a monstrosity. Walnut and Concrete wine bar on Main st. I hope they do well but I think they picked the wrong neighborhood. It’s Main st. not Gastown. Soma was a great spot, similar concept and they died. Best of luck.
Sounds interesting. In all fairness, Soma’s location was a bit hidden, I only stumbled upon it while looking for something else. Foot traffice-wise, Soma was at a loss as well.
The Cascade Room is pretty successful, so I am sure this new joint will be a welcome addition to the array of establishments on Main.
For concrete, check out Ping’s.
If anything, the concrete/walnut thing suits Main moreso than Gastown.