by Andrew Morrison | So I was given a tour of the most highly anticipated restaurant in recent memory the other day. Yup, the three year wait for the return of David Hawksworth’s food is finally coming to an end. The place was buzzing with saws, banging with hammers and generally giving the clear impression of its happy imminence. Hawksworth in the as yet unfinished restoration of the Rosewood Hotel Georgia should open shortly. It’s a week out at the earliest.
It was a thorough tour, but I obliged their request to not take any pictures that would reveal any of the three rooms in their entirety or the private York Room upstairs. I was not permitted to take any photos of the pool, the outdoor terrace and bar, the Spanish Ballroom, the cafe or the stunning lobby of old, restored…like, wow. But I managed to shoot 35 frames nevertheless.
The restaurant isn’t finished yet but I’d eat there, happily and tonight in its 40 seat Pearl Room under the stunning centerpiece chandelier. I’d subject myself to courses next door in the 30 seat Art Room, sitting next to the commissioned work by local art heft Rodney Graham and served by Chad Clark’s staff. I wouldn’t mind hearing sommelier Terry Threlfall popping corks and to taste David’s cooking again. No. The din of workmen and staff in tank tops and t-shirts training at barman Brad Stanton’s 8 seater and getting into the sawdust of an Old Fashioned would be just fine.
I want to eat at Hawksworth. I want it to be good, maybe even the best. And I think it can. It probably shall…
So excited for this restaurant – thanks for sharing these photos. If anything, the anticipation is even higher now that I’ve seen this tiny glimpse!
As I pass-by The Hotel Georgia every day on my way to work, I have been waiting for many months (with baited breath) for this to re-open. This … THIS is my kind of place! Oh, yes!
I am hoping that I shall encounter a single, heterosexual, well-evolved Colin Firth/”Mister Darcy”/”Mark Darcy” type in such a venue. Perhaps they’ll offer such on the menu.
Do you think they’ll serve my “favourite” swill, Pabst Blue Ribbon, there?? (No? Aww! Such a pity!)
😉