New Eats: Notch 8

The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver is unveiling a new addition to downtown’s elegant hotel bar scene—and this one is, well, top notch.

Notch 8 was so named after a train’s highest speed, a nod to the Fairmont’s rich past as a Canadian Pacific Railway hotelier. Inside, the atmosphere is highly Hemingway—décor is bygone-era luxe with safari stylings (zebra-print chairs) and Art Deco nods (dramatic light fixtures that evoke dandelions gone to seed). The drinks are classic, and chef Cameron Ballendine describes the menu as comfort food (promising words coming from a man who’ll send hotel guests room-service cherry crumble, with a Nutella, peanut butter and banana sandwich for the kids).

The coolest feature? A back room with a cigars-and-cognac atmosphere and walls thickly stocked with vintage books (we checked; they’re real). —Adrienne Matei

Notch 8, 900 W Georgia St., Vancouver, 604-684-3131, www.notch8-dining.com