Giovane Caffè

An Italian coffee bar at street level in the Fairmont Pacific Rim in downtown Vancouver, with a deli case, a bakery counter and a circular room off to one side for people who came to talk.

Espresso first, in the Italian sense

Giovane's drinks are classic Italian cafe orders and their modern espresso variations rather than named filter brews or single-origin pour-overs. The positioning is unapologetically for espresso purists: coffee first, pastries and sandwiches alongside, with the feel of a contemporary caffè rather than a specialty-roaster showcase.

Non-coffee drinkers are not stranded. Hot chocolate is a genuine order here, and coffee and tea round out the list, so joining someone for a drink does not have to mean espresso. On the sweet side the case runs to croissants, tarts, bars and cakes, with Torta Caprese, a gluten-free chocolate torte, as the one dessert worth crossing the room for.

Coffee bar, deli, bakery and a Conversation Room

The cafe sits at street level with doors onto both a main downtown street and the hotel lobby, which is why it works for hotel traffic and walk-in city use at the same time. The concept is four things at once, coffee bar, deli, bakery and retail section, working together instead of a narrow espresso counter.

The room was designed in 2009 by McFarlane Green Biggar Architecture + Design, and the 3,400-square-foot project extended to bespoke furniture and branded pieces, from mugs and cake boxes to uniforms and a customized Vespa, so the brand is built into the room rather than applied to the menu. The layout is L-shaped and not especially large, with seating at the front and a side counter. Off it sits the Conversation Room, a circular area of high chairs and side tables facing a glass wall, kept for quieter talk and longer stays.

Hot chocolate, panini, then Torta Caprese

If you are not ordering coffee, start with the hot chocolate. If you are, expect Italian espresso-bar service rather than a named roaster or a pour-over menu.

Food goes further than pastry. The deli and bakery side carries panini, a changing daily pizza and salads, and the Pollo Panini on focaccia, with chicken, arugula, sundried tomato, prosciutto and cheese, is the one to order if you want the kitchen at full stretch; vegetarian and meat panini both appear on the list. Finish with the Torta Caprese. Croissants, tarts, bars and cakes fill in the rest of a path that runs comfortably from espresso and pastry through light lunch to dessert.