Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver, Canada, is a beautiful park that is a favourite for both locals and visitors.

With over 50 hectares of land, it is also the highest point at about 400 feet above sea level.

We drive by QE Park a lot, whether it’s going downtown or going for Vietnamese. Bon Café, at the corner of Main and 33rd, is where we usually go. I can get my fishcake sandwich there and share an iced drip coffee with Dad.

33rd Avenue is a great way to go places east-west in town, less busy than, say King Edward (which is 25th) or 41st which for some reason I really don’t like.

Queen Elizabeth Park is said to be the geographical heart of Vancouver. So it’s special in many ways. Especially being so close to home, it’s one of the places we go to for special occasions, like my mom’s birthday.

Seasons at Queen Elizabeth Park

The restaurant Seasons sits at the top of the park and has impressive views. People often come to eat more because of the view and ambience than the menu. The food is West Coast and the menu has reliable favourites, well-presented and classy rather than trendy.

I’ve only been there a handful of times and it’s always for lunch. Same for my mom’s birthday this year.

We booked a table for the four of us for lunch. It was a grey overcast and still somewhat bright day. Flowers were in bloom which we enjoyed before and after lunch. The lower gardens were once a quarry mine which supplied the construction of the city’s roads. These beautiful landscapes are popular with tourists, making this park one of the most visited, and for wedding photography.

The restaurant has a lot of natural light, especially if you book or get a table by the window. The food and the service are good. There are gluten-free and vegetarian options, which are not surprisingly in Vancouver though still welcomed.

And of course we had dessert.