High-End Vancouver for large groups

[jennifer42]

Looking for high-end restaurants in Vancouver that can accomodate a group of 40 on a Sunday night (I'm booking for June). Restaurants near the Hyatt Regency are a plus, but we can go out of our way for something truly great.

I'm finding that most of the high-end restaurants lean toward Italian (that I can find), suggestions for non-Italian restaurants would be much appreciated.

Here's what I've checked out so far:

reFuel - not formal enough
Market - doesn't look like they'd have space for 40
La Buca
Campagnolo
Chambar - a possibility
Lumiere / db Bistro - my favorite of the choices so far
L'altro Buca
Salt - will have to go to, but not a fit for this event
Cibo - a possibility
Cioppinos - a possibility
Boneta

Thanks for the help!

[gourmet wife]

To add to your list, Five Sails, Le Crocodile, Diva at the Met. Mistral is also good, a little less formal but the chef does come from a michelin star background before making Vancouver his home. From the OP's list, I would consider Cioppinos, Market, Lumiere/db Bistro. Market does have a private room, I'm not sure how big it is.

[Sam Salmon]

Not Campognolo-bare cement/stripped wood aren't what you're looking for.

[selena03]

Market has 2 private rooms one for 10 and the other to 14. They have banquet rooms but it won't be the same menu as what is offered in dining area however does come from the same kitchen.

Another prospect you may want to add to your list: Coast, a seafood restaurant also on Alberni.

[fmed]

Chambar uses Medina for private functions and can sit 24 max (but 40 in cocktail party mode)....I don't know know if they do buyouts at Chambar itself. The hotel restos are your best bet for a group that size (Cibo, Market, Diva, etc).

[grayelf]

For non-Italian, what about Bishop's? Not sure they could fit 40 of you in the back room but it would be great.

Not specifically with large groups in mind but check out this link too for other ideas: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/562282

[NoMoreSnuggles]

My first choice for a group that size would definitely be Blue Water Cafe. I would also consider Gotham - i've had wonderful meals at both restaurants, both of them routinely handle large groups and have larger private dining rooms. C might be a possibility as well. As someone else mentioned, hotels are usually a good bet - my somewhat ordered list would be Yew (Four Seasons), Five Sails (Pan Pacific), Cibo (Moda), VOYA (Loden), Fleuri (Sutton Place), Diva (the Metropolitan) and Bacchus (Wedgewood).

[jennifer42]

Update:

We ended up at Joe Fortes with a party of 34 for our dinner. Not as high-end as we were initially planning, but service and food were excellent. The head waiter assigned to our group was exceptional.

For our cocktail party, we had a rooftop party catered by Copper Alley Events. Again, food and service were exceptional. Monica was a pleasure to work with. She came highly recommended in the area and was a great find.