Earls Ambleside Beach is carving its own identity on the West Vancouver waterfront.
The new location, opening May 9 as part of the Grosvenor Ambleside development, will be the first restaurant Earls has launched in B.C. since 2010.
“Earls Ambleside Beach is our first new concept Earls in Canada,” says Earls’ vice president of brand and marketing, Kristin Vekteris. “What I mean by new concept is that we’re unchaining the chain so every new Earls is designed to that location and to that customer who lives in that area.
Although each Earls will have slight differences, the company wanted to make the Ambleside location an exception and take it even further recognizing the North Shore’s unique history as the original home base for the franchise.
For starters, every other Earls is known as Earls Kitchen + Bar while Earls Ambleside Beach will have its own name. No other Earls has that.
“We knew that we wanted to stay in the North Shore,” says Vekteris. “This location came up and it’s just a stunning location and the Grosvenor Ambleside development is really beautiful and aligned to what we were looking to do.”
Vekteris says the new restaurant will have a “West Coast Modern meets California Beach” ambiance and is created to have different spaces so customers can either casually stroll in from a walk by the seawall or have it as a destination for special occasions.
“We talked about how it can feel like a vacation away from home. You come in and you just really feel that mid-century modern and California beach vibe,” she says. “We really created it so that you can come in multiple times, even in a week, and have different experiences.”
Located by the seawall, every table will have an ocean view peeking out of large format windows. The interior design team, including managing director and North Shore local, Wendy Tait, has gone for a clean look with natural wood and exposed concrete, complemented by fresh mid-century accents and tropical interior plants.
The restaurant can seat up to 189 guests indoors, while the patio can sit more than 80.
For a local touch, Earls has partnered with a handful of Vancouver artists. Works from artists Andy Dixon, Fiona Ackerman, Ben Skinner and an all-female artist collective, Thrive Art Studio, will be featured throughout the restaurant.
“Something that we’re really proud of us is our partnership with local artists,” Vekteris says.
The menu, which was created by culinary development chef, David Wong, and will be managed day-to-day by head chef, Simon Zanotto and executive chef Phil Gallagher, who lives on the North Shore, will feature exclusive dishes such as the Lobster and Pancetta Pizza, Salmon Zen Bowl and The Grilled Avocado Brunch Bowl.
For vegan, vegetarian and guests who are just looking for a healthy option, Earls Ambleside Beach will feature its first plant-based menu section that offers seven vegan-friendly options including The Vegan Avocado Power Bowl,Crispy Tofu Zen Bowl and Spicy Tofu Tacos.
Local wine educator and Earls sommelier David Stansfield curated a wine menu specifically for Ambleside Beach that features wines from across B.C.
As part of their aim to reduce the environmental impact of the beverage program and operations, Earls Ambleside Beach partnered with Trash Tiki to introduce a shelf-stable bottled cocktail range. In addition, the restaurant will also be joining the straw ban movement by eliminating disposable plastics straws from the bar entirely.
In the works for over two years, Vekteris says a lot of people are excited about the opening of the new location.
“We decided not to put up paper (around the site) . . . people are constantly coming up and peeking in and asking us questions,” she says. “People have been waiting to find out what is next for us.”
All will be answered May 9.
Earls Ambleside Beach is located at 1375 Bellevue Ave, West Vancouver, B.C.
