We’re looking forward to the modern dim sum joint currently in the final stages of construction in the old Second Floor Eatery location off Robson (808 Bute Street). It’s called Blossom Dim Sum and Grill.

This project should pique the curiosity of Vancouver diners for several reasons, chief among them being the inherent awesomeness of dim sum and the rarity with which it is connected to considered bar programs, high calibre service and sun-soaked patios. It appears Blossom will hit that trifecta.

The second-storey address is pretty large, spreading out over 6,000 sqft with an open plan bar and lounge area; a high-ceilinged, heavily windowed dining room hung with over a dozen brightly coloured parasols and dominated by what is very possibly the largest television screen I’ve ever seen in a restaurant; a beautiful 38-seat patio that peeks through several high rises to the North Shore mountains; and a very slick little private room.

Second floor restaurants can be tricky things, especially when the entrance is tucked away around the corner from the main thoroughfare it overlooks. To wit, Second Floor Eatery didn’t last long, and neither did its predecessor, All Star Wings and Ribs. But given the right concept, the right team and the right time, anything is possible.

Blossom is the passion project of Eric Yang, formerly the General Manager at the high-end Mott 32 restaurant in Vancouver’s Trump International Hotel & Tower. He has a fine dining service pedigree and some deep-pocketed partners. Joining him to help run the floor is Giampaolo Posteraro, the affable son of none other than legendary local chef/restaurateur Pino Posteraro of Yaletown’s award-winning Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill. Giampaolo has been raised in the trade, having spent over a dozen years working for his father before moving on to Ambleside Earls. Though still very young, he has about him the aura of a reliable front-of-house soldier.

I met them in the space a few weeks ago when the space was an aromatic hive of menu testing and construction. The bar area looked to be nearly finished but (save for the parasol installation and the gigantic TV) they hadn’t really started on the dining room, where several cooks were gathered to chat and chopstick through each other’s experiments.

I don’t know much about the menu at this point, but I’m told to expect plenty of hand-made dim sum together with lots of grilled meat and fish, plus several raw bar dishes and Chinese specialties served with western twists. Posteraro is developing the drinks program, which he described to me as extensive.

Opening day should come in the next week or two, with dinner service only to start.

Blossom Dim Sum and Grill

Neighbourhood: West End

808 Bute St.