Is This the Best Caesar Salad in Vancouver?

My mom once told me to “eat something green every day,” and it’s basically the only nutrition advice I follow. (Quick Q: what… are…. vitamins?) Which is why I wound up with a caesar salad on my table during a recent leisurely lunch at Botanist—my flimsy attempt to be responsible.

The green-ness of the salad was probably not enough to counterbalance the literal ball of cheese and two glasses of sparkling wine that were also part of the meal, but let the record show I tried… and would absolutely try again. This caesar salad ($23) is an absolute knockout: crunch ribs of romaine, artfully drenched in a white anchovy and Meyer lemon dressing that take humble lettuce to new umami heights. A sprinkle of smoked salmon roe brings a hint of brine and smoke to each bite. And it’s absolutely coated in grated parm—which is the irrefutable best way to serve up a salad.

There’s obviously a lot to love on the menu at Botanist, green or otherwise. (The service, too, of course—there’s a reason it snagged a hospitality award from North America’s Best Bars.) My dining companion and I followed things up with a  lobster risotto ($44) that was creamy, earthy and filled with hearty, buttery chunks of perfectly seared lobster meat—a dish decadent enough for its own separate “Best Thing I Ate” entry. And the seasonal cranberry pavlova ($14, served with chantilly cream and mulled wine ice cream) was sensational, too.

But the punchy, bright, elevated caesar is the one I’ll be coming back to, for, uh, nutrition reasons. Mama knows best, after all.

Botanist
1038 Canada Pl.
botanistrestaurant.com