The food at Mott 32 Vancouver, where prices are as eye-popping as the decor, is mostly worth it

After months of delays, Chinese restaurant Mott 32 in Vancouver opened in mid-February and, much like the one in Hong Kong, it’s a visual feast for the eyes.

A project of Maximal Concepts, known for Mercedes Me, Brickhouse, Blue Butcher and Limewood in Hong Kong, it is the Hong Kong-based restaurant group’s first foray into the Canadian city, which is famed for the quality of its Chinese restaurants.

It’s an ambitious move intended to disrupt Vancouver’s fine-dining scene with its attention to decor, food and service. However, the restaurant had two strikes against it when it opened: first, it is in Trump International Hotel & Tower Vancouver – where people protested noisily when the United States president’s sons came to officially open it in late February, and which some Vancouverites still refuse to enter – and second, many of its dishes are much pricier than in other top Chinese restaurants in the city, something some diners didn’t feel was justified.