Marking 20 years of meaty meals
Steakhouse and celebrity mainstay embraces the ethos of low-key extravagance
At Gotham Steakhouse, bigger has always been better.
From the cavernous restaurant’s Art Deco-inspired decor, to the generous (read: very shareable) portion sizes — and even on to the outsized personalities of its staff — a visit to this downtown steak house means embracing the larger side of dining.
“Gotham was modelled on the ‘American-style’ steak house, similar to a Morton’s or Ruths’ Chris: the à la carte menu, really big steaks, bold red wines, and classic cocktails,” Megan Buckley, the chief operating officer for Hy’s of Canada, explains.
When the restaurant first opened in 1999, the idea of a south-of-the-border-inspired steak house still was rather unique in Vancouver, according to Buckley.
“The original concept, born in the height of the dot-com boom, was to provide a truly luxurious experience — one that had never quite been seen before in Vancouver,” she says.
Safe to say, it caught on. Situated between the Regis Hotel and the Hudson’s Bay department store in a heritage building located at 615 Seymour St., the eatery is easy to walk by if you don’t know what you’re looking for. But, through its suitably oversized front doors, there’s a major menu element that brings people back again and again: the beef.
“Prime Grade beef was the centrepiece of the first menu, focusing on the best quality that could be found in Canada,” Buckley explains. And, at a time when more people are embracing vegan diets, and more restaurants are responding with greener menu items, the eatery’s management is unapologetic about the emphasis on all things meat.
“The beef is the finest prime grade,” Buckley says proudly of the 60-day, dry-aged Canadian meat. “We have never cut corners, never will.”
In fact, if anything has changed at Gotham in the past 20 years, it’s that it has, somehow, only gotten, well, meatier. The Tomahawk, a hulking steak sourced from Ontario beef that weighs in at 48 ounces and a budget-busting $175, is perhaps the perfect example of this.
“We’ve added bigger steaks, more variety in cuts. Added more seafood and fish, and more variety and choices on the menu,” she says of the additions.
Buckley says the restaurant isn’t looking to adapt to any buzzy food trends any time soon.
“We always look at what’s going on in the industry and whether there are trends or new things we should consider, but use our own high-water marks to compare to what we believe the restaurant should achieve,” she says. “We’re very confident in who and what we are.”
That reliability has, perhaps, played a part in Gotham being known as a go-to for visiting celebrities and foodies, alike. The dark, private decor also likely helps boost that star factor, as well.
When asked for a roster of recent A-list guests that dined at Gotham, Buckley pointed to Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson, comedian Bill Hader, Shirley MacLaine, Jason Priestley, Cary Tagawa, Elias Petterson and Brock Boeser of the Canucks, the cast of the shows Riverdale and Supergirl, Patrick Warburton, and Supernatural’s Jensen Ackles and Jared Padelecki.
“We’re low-key,” Buckley says of its reputation as a Hollywood North hot spot. “There’s a genuineness to how people feel — they can relax, and know we won’t exploit their patronage or loyalty.”
As for the plans for the restaurant looking forward toward the next 20 years, Buckley says another Gotham could one day be a reality. Maybe.
“We’d love to have another Gotham, but it needs to be the right time and place,” she says.
“Just like it was in 1999.”
GOTHAM GIRL COCKTAIL
house first opened in 1999, there are some things that have changed.
And, one of the areas of regular updating, insiders say, is at the bar.
“Wine and cocktails have evolved with popular tastes and current trends, but always represent the best of the best,” Buckley says.
In order to mark the restaurant’s milestone 20th anniversary, the bartending staff at Gotham created a special cocktail they’ve dubbed, The Gotham Girl. The drink will be added to their regular cocktail list following the celebratory year.
“The Gotham Girl is a nod to the Art Deco feminine icon that represents our brand. She’s confident, intelligent and fun-loving, and so this drink embodies those characteristics,” Buckley explains.
Here’s how to make one at home:
While the Gotham Steakhouse and Bar menu’s star — the beef — has stayed much the same since the steak