Lupins Café is one of the several eateries at Grouse Mountain that you can dine at. It is a good choice whether you want to purchase a snack item or order a nice meal. After seeing and doing all of the attractions and activities we wanted to and walking in the cold, rainy weather, going to Lupins Café was refreshing.
Lupins Café is located on the main floor of the Peak Chalet. It has huge picture windows and two dining areas. One dining area is inside and the other is outside. Whether you dine inside or outside here, you will be able to overlook the mountains and valley.
The inside dining décor has alpine features such as high cedar beams and knotty wood walls. There was also tracking type lights that are attached to beams above that dimly light the dining room. I would estimate that there 35 tables in this dining area. In addition, the tables and chairs are wood with black steel for legs. The tables were both round and square and you could seat four people at each. The outside dinning area has a few plastic tables and chairs and patio umbrellas. However, that day no one was eating outside because of the foul weather. Lastly, there is a counter where the liquor bottles are behind but it is not a "true bar". It is just an area where the bartender/worker can make your drink. At this place, you have to drink your beverages either in the inside or outside dining room area.
This restaurant was very clean from the carpet to the tables to the bar area. It is also very organized. I saw a blue velvet curtain that separated the dining area in the back near the bar, from where I saw workers coming and going.
Our waiter here was attentive, courteous and polite. He didn’t rush us to order right away either. However, we did right away order hot chocolate to warm us up from the inclement weather. All of us (three of us) sipped that chocolate liked it was going out of style. It was simply delicious!
After we looked at the menu for a while we decided to whet our appetites by ordering some savoring looking meals. My partner and I shared two items. We ordered the New Orleans muffatetta sandwich and cheesy potato skins. Our friend, Gabi, ordered BBQ Ribs that came with a baked potato.
Our New Orleans muffaletta sandwich was gorgeous to look at but it wasn’t the best to taste. I am sure other people would have enjoyed it but we weren’t that crazy about it. It was an assortment of Italian deli meats and cheese stacked on crusty bread with an olive and pepper spread. The meats and cheese were fine but the olive and pepper spread was way too strong tasting. It overpowered the taste of the meats and cheeses. But the cheesy potatoes were fabulous. The potato skins were topped with roasted peppers, scallions, bacon and a four-cheese mixture. The sandwich cost $10.50 and it was huge and the potato skins were $11 (Canadian).
Our friend’s BBQ ribs were enormous. I don’t know if you remember the Flintstone cartoon, but part of the opening of the show had Fred putting a huge piece of meat (which had rib bones sticking out from it) in the back of his car, and it caused the front end to go up in the air. Well, this is exactly what our friend’s meal looked like. It truly looked like something that came from a dinosaur or moose or some other strange animal. I was watching other people’s faces when the waiter brought this meal to our friend. Their faces were worth a million dollars. Most of them had bugged out eyes and the jaw dropping look. Anyway, Gabi ate her meal and enjoyed it! The cost of this entrée was $14 (Canadian).
Although our sandwich wasn’t the greatest-tasting, this place had other sandwiches and meals that were quite good. I mean, our friend loved her BBQ meal. In addition, the mountain scenery is spectacular, and the waiter was attentive and polite. Therefore, I recommend this restaurant.
Lupins Café is open both in the summer and winter. It is located at 6400 Nancy Green Way, North Vancouver. The general phone number is 604/984-0661. The directions are as follows: Cross the Lions Gate Bridge. Take the North Vancouver exit to Marine Drive, then turn north (left) at the first intersection, Capilano Road. Stay on Capilano Road for 5km (3.1 miles) until the road ends at the Grouse Mountain parking lot.
By public transportation, take the SeaBus to the Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver. Take bus #236 to the Grouse Mountain parking lot. An alternative is to take bus #246 on West Georgia Street across the Lions Gate Bridge to Edgemont Village. From there, transfer to bus #232 that will take you to the Grouse Mountain parking lot.