Bel Café Downtown — Restaurant in Vancouver

Prettier in Pink hot chocolate $8.00 total Passionfruit Cheesecake $6.50 + GST Kale & Farro Salad $13.00 + GST

Finally had the chance to try the Prettier in Pink white hot chocolate that I missed last year for the Hot Chocolate Festival, and I absolutely love it! The rose flavour is intense 💕💕. I didn't notice the raspberry, but I didn't mind that. The texture is light and the sweetness is subtle 😊. I would like to try a thicker, richer version of this. I wonder if they will make one like that next year 😋.

The macaron carried a lot of fruity and tangy flavour which was very nice. However, it's a bit on the sweet side with the thin layer of jam-like filling which may bother some who are very sensitive to sweetness.

Because their hot chocolate suited my palate so well, I decided to go back to the cashier and try more food!

Passionfruit cheesecake: The centre was a passionfruit mousse texture and the outer layer was cheesecake, wrapped around with a very thin layer of white chocolate. Sprinkled on top was a bit of white chocolate shavings which melted immediately when it touched my tongue, reminiscent of snowflakes falling onto the skin. The base is cookie-like and there is a hint of coconut flavour. I loved eating the cake while the tarty passionfruit was still there, before tasting more of the coconut when the passionfruit mousse ran out at the end. .

Kale & Farro Salad: This was good too. The bowl was filled to the brim with kale and topped with enough almond pieces and bread crumbs for a crunchy experience 😋. Another citrus flavour with honey lemon vinaigrette (yay!). Wish there was more dressing. I got avocado for an additional $2. There's also the option of adding chicken but not sure for how much.

Service: There is no table service aside from bringing the salad to my table. Complimentary water is at the cash register area.

I enjoyed everything I tried so I will definitely come back to try...

We’ve been coming here for breakfast and and lunch for years—we love their food and bakery pastries. However, the parking and traffic in downtown have become difficult and expensive, which is why we hadn’t visited in a while. But while running errands in downtown recently, I decided to stop by, and I was reminded of how much I love this place. So much so, that I ended up visiting twice this week! Many reviews mention that the prices are on the higher side, but I found the quality and pricing to be very competitive, especially with their daily deals, which are great value. On Tuesday, I had a breakfast sandwich and drip coffee. The breakfast sandwich was exceptional, elevating simple ingredients to a new level. The combination of flavorful mushrooms, crispy bacon, soft eggs, and fresh arugula on the perfectly fresh bread was hard to beat. The drip coffee was equally impressive, with its fruity notes and excellent balance. On Friday, I bought two bakery items to take home: a vegan Earl Grey loaf and Cherry, Dark Chocolate & Vanilla Pain Suisse! They looked beautiful and fresh. For breakfast, I enjoyed the daily deal—avocado with fried egg on sourdough toast and another drip coffee. Once again, I was not disappointed. The egg yolk was perfectly runny, and the toast was spot-on. However, there is some room for improvement. After placing my order, no one called out when it was ready, so I ended up waiting longer than necessary on Tuesday. Today, they forgot to include my coffee. It feels like there’s a lack of attention after the...

I always prefer to support local business however, local businesses must do a better job in weeding out staff that brings their business down. Went on June 1st around 11am (Saturday morning). Wanted to sit and dine in as it was empty however, the place was a mess. Crumbs of food on all tables, floor and chair along with previous customers used tissue just laying about. The two staff behind the counter were chatting away, completely uninterested in their job let alone offer a greeting.

They persisted to complain about their wages and tips loud enough for the whole cafe to hear, saying how they deserve so and so dollars and how management should leave their tips alone.

Why do you think you deserve anything more? It’s a job, if you put in mediocre effort, you get mediocre pay. The fact that these two staff were all high and mighty not to mention entitled, was the epitome of what Vancouver has become. Self righteous, entitled brats who complain it’s hard making a living here yet, they do not want to put in the work either. Blows my mind.

The one staff in the kitchen who was a visible minority, was cleaning and keeping busy while the two front of house staff continued to yap away, completely uninterested in anything related to their job. This was my first and only experience with Belcafe but it was so much, that it only took this one experience to deter a local from...