10 Delicious Ways to Celebrate Galentine’s Day in Vancouver

Celebrated on the day before Valentine’s Day each year, Galentine’s Day is all about “ladies celebrating ladies” and is “the best day of the year.” That’s according to Leslie Knope, played by Amy Poehler on the beloved TV series Parks and Recreation. She describes the holiday like this: “Every February 13th, my lady friends and I leave our husbands and our boyfriends at home, and we just come and kick it, breakfast-style.”

This year, celebrate all the wonderful women in your life by doing one (or several!) of these delicious activities with them.

1. Linger Over Brunch

As Leslie Knope famously asked, “Why would anybody ever eat anything besides breakfast food?” Brunch is the perfect Galentine’s Day meal because it allows you to sleep in, then drink mimosas and eat breakfast food. Word to the wise: Make a reservation or be prepared to spend a long time waiting in line. Some of the city’s most popular brunch spots include Jam Cafe, Medina, Yolks, Chambar, Fable Diner, Maxine’s, Their There, Nero Belgian Waffle Bar and vegetarian favourite The Acorn. The bottomless weekend brunch at ARC is filled with tempting mini dishes such as pulled pork benedict, pancakes with chocolate hazelnut sauce, chili maple brussels sprouts, lobster mac and cheese, chicken and waffles, and berry smoothies. We’ll leave the final word to Leslie’s boss, Ron Swanson: “There has never been a sadness that can’t be cured by breakfast food.”

2. Take a Cooking Class

Sign up for a cooking class with your BFF. The Dirty Apron Cooking School offers instruction for every type of cuisine you can think of: Italian, French, Thai, seafood, vegetarian and vegan. Other classes focus on tantalizing topics such as how to pair wine and food or how to cook meat perfectly. At the end of each class, all the students feast on their own creations—along with a glass of wine or two—in the communal dining room.

3. Drink Coffee with an Adorable Animal

Gather your gal pals and book a time slot at Catfé, which finds homes for cats from Heart and Soul Dog and Cat Rescue, or The Bunny Cafe, which is filled with adoptable rabbits from the Rabbitats Rescue Society. Each cafe also serves vegetarian snacks and drinks. But be warned: After meeting all the cute critters, you might find yourself signing some adoption papers for a new furry friend.

4. Enjoy High Tea

Don a floral dress and a fancy fascinator, then head out for high tea with the ladies. Tea at Notch8 in the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver takes place in an elegant private dining room, and the restaurant offers different themed teas throughout the year, such as the Lunar New Year afternoon tea (until February 22). Other top spots for high tea include The Secret Garden Tea Company, a cozy spot in Kerrisdale; Parisian-style tea room Ladurée, with its focus on macarons; old-school Bacchus in the heart of downtown; quaint Adonia Tea House in Kerrisdale; charming La Petite Cuillére in Mount Pleasant; and whimsical Neverland Tea Salon in Kitsilano.

5. Sip Hot Chocolate

It’s hard to imagine anything more appealing on a damp and gloomy West Coast afternoon than sipping a decadent hot chocolate with your favourite gal pals. Vancouver’s 16th annual Hot Chocolate Festival is on until February 14. This year, 100 businesses are taking part, everything from chocolatiers and bakeries to cafes and ice cream shops.

6. Have Dinner & Drinks During a Movie

Fifth Avenue Cinemas is an adults-only venue, meaning you can bring both your alcoholic bevvy and your food from the lounge into the theatre with you. And because no children are allowed, the theatre tends to show more complex, thought-provoking films than the usual multiplex sequels, prequels, remakes and reboots.

7. Indulge in Doughnuts

 

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Instead of a pub crawl on Galentine’s Day, organize a doughnut crawl with sweet stops such as Lee’s Donuts, Mello, Lucky’s Doughnuts, Duffin’s Donuts and Oohlala Donuts. Perhaps venture over to West Broadway to the newly opened Krispy Kreme. And, of course, some doughnut-aholics can’t miss a stop at Tim Hortons. As Homer Simpson once pondered, “Doughnuts. Is there anything they can’t do?”

8. Dine at a Food Cart

 

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On a sunny day, grab a meal from a food cart, find a seat on a nearby bench and enjoy the people-watching. Check the Street Food App to see which carts are operating at any given time. Perpetually popular choices include Japadog, Disco Cheetah, Chickpea and Mom’s Grilled Cheese Truck.

9. Play Arcade Games During Dinner

 

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Nibble on nachos, sweet and spicy wings, pork belly bao buns, jerk chicken rice bowls and Wagyu burgers in between playing classic arcade games—Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Pong, Guitar Hero, Mario Kart, Mortal Kombat—at Greta. And because video games are even more fun after a few tipples, enjoy a cocktail, glass of wine or beer at the same time.

10. Do a Food Tour

 

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Food tours aren’t just for tourists. Lace up your walking shoes and explore some of the city’s tastiest offerings with Vancouver Foodie Tours. The Gastronomic Gastown tour includes three tasting locations, the Downtown Asian Eats tour includes four stops and the Granville Island Market tour includes a whopping 10 stops. No matter which tour you and your friends choose, wearing stretchy pants is highly recommended.