Grand Villa Casino makes for the perfect date night in the Lower Mainland
QUALITY DINING, LIVE ENTERTAINMENT AND FUN ALL UNDER ONE ROOF
The first thing we notice as we cross the threshold of Atlas Steak + Fish is the cool factor. With its mod-retro club chairs, glass-globe chandeliers and gleaming black-glass tilework, this place would be right at home in Vancouver’s sophisticated Yaletown district, or even Rat Pack-era Vegas. Located in the Delta Hotel Burnaby, the restaurant is the latest culinary addition to the Grand Villa Casino experience.
We slip into a candlelit booth and order drinks; a glass of B.C. Cabernet Sauvignon for him and an Anejo Old Fashioned craft cocktail for me, made with whiskey-charred aged tequila instead of the traditional bourbon (and delectable). As a pianist in a cocked porkpie hat plays a tastefully down-tempo version of Guns N’ Roses’ Sweet Child of Mine, we toast to the evening, and to spending this time together. My husband and I never considered going to a casino before, but for our date night, we decided to take a leap and try something different. Looks like it’s paying off handsomely.
For our meal, we split the mouthwatering New York striploin steak and lobster tail with Brie-whipped mashed potatoes, along with a heaping plate of wild mushroom risotto and fluffy house-baked dinner rolls, which are so good I fantasize about filling my pockets with them. We’re stuffed by the end. But what the heck, we don’t do this often. So we steel ourselves and order dessert: Baked Alaska, which our server flambés at our table, in a highly Instagrammable swath of blue flame. As we dig in, the Italian meringue shell gives way to ice cream, lemon sorbet and orange vanilla cake. Win!
Next, it’s off to the casino floor. After a quick I.D.-check at the door (it’s 19+ to play, so colour us flattered), we walk right into the heart of the action. It takes a moment to get our bearings, awed as we are by the thrum of activity and the sea of more than 1,200 flashing slot machines on two levels. Not far from the entrance, crowds are gathered around the table games: blackjack, roulette, craps, baccarat, poker and more.
We decide to warm up on the slots. Wandering among them, we recognize machines based on familiar movies and TV shows – Game of Thrones, Wheel of Fortune®. I hone in on a colourful bank of machines based on Cirque de Soleil’s Kooza™ show, and take more delight than expected in watching it trill, shake and twinkle with coloured lights, as a jester in gold and red grins and gestures, images of gold coins bouncing around the massive LED screen. As gaming newbies, we aren’t 100 per cent sure what’s happening, but we high-five anyway, laughing.
Next up: a short break at Personas, a sleekly appointed restaurant (one of several lounges and eateries in-house) that also hosts live performances, like duelling pianos and cover bands. Tonight, a DJ is spinning and a cluster of guests are dancing in the corner. I order the Pretty in Pink Martini, a raspberry-vodka concoction poured over house-made cotton candy, and he, a classic Negroni. Both are delicious.
By the time we’re ready to call it a night, we’re wishing we had booked a room at the plush onsite Delta Hotel rather than taking a cab home. The casino’s soon-to-open brunch spot, the Villa Bistro, will offer a lobster scramble and brioche French toast, which might make the decision to stay overnight next time a little easier. It’s incredible how much we found to do in just one date night here, and we didn’t even try everything. Linking arms, we head out into the night. There will have to be a next time.
My husband and I never considered going to a casino before, but for our date night, we decided to take a leap and try something different.