Great Spaces: Inside Vancouver’s Dear Gus Snack Bar

Vancouver’s Dear Gus is small—the entire restaurant is only 513 square feet. Gus himself, who inspired the name of the Mount Pleasant snack bar, is also small: he’s owner Rachel Lee’s bunny. But you can’t call the fare served at this European-inspired space rabbit food. “It’s a snack bar, but I didn’t want anyone to leave hungry,” Lee says. It’s a simple ask, and one that perfectly suited chef Jorge Tuane’s culinary sensibilities.

“The menu itself is tailored in a way that it can be executed by one chef, because it’s a really, really tiny restaurant,” says Tuane. That means the dishes require plenty of pre-opening prep, but only a few steps to plate (you won’t find a pair of garnish tweezers here). The food isn’t precious, and that matches the casual vibe. “I like dishes with interaction—dip bread, scoop mussels with broth, use your hands, get yourself dirty,” says the chef. Options like marinated prawns, oysters with pomegranate chili vinaigrette and tagliatelle with morel mushrooms are straightforward but soulful.

Interior designer Gillian Segal looked to European wine bars and her own travels for design inspo, and aimed to give the space the patina and storied feeling of a heritage hidden gem. Thrifted dishware (“Stuff you would find in your grandma’s house,” says Lee), oak wainscoting, a checkered tile bar and stone tables bring texture, and funky lighting makes the cozy spot feel lived-in. For finishing touches, Segal and her team headed to the grocery store to source olive oils and condiments to display… or not. “We must have done a good job,” the designer says with a laugh, “because when we brought it all in, the chef was like, ‘Can I use this?’” No space—or ingredient—is wasted here.

HARD ROCK

All of the café tables were custom made from stone remnants sourced from a local slab yard. “We wanted it to feel collected, and also waste less materials,” says designer Gillian Segal. The chairs were also salvaged from a vintage dealer.

SOME BUNNY

The rabbit imagery is understated yet adorable—Gus is pictured in some of the restaurant’s wall art, and bunnies are printed on the wine glasses.

NEW GROUND

You’ve likely seen her residential work in this magazine before, but Dear Gus is actually the first restaurant that Gillian Segal and her team have ever taken on. “It was the perfect foray into restaurant design… a bite-sized restaurant,” she says.

ON THE BORDER

Instead of traditional wainscoting, Segal went for a unique checkerboard look inspired by historic European buildings.

BRUSHED UP

Influenced by painters like Matisse and old picture books like Madeline, Vancouver artist Chelsea O’Byrne hand-painted the grape detailing around this arched mirror.

PICTURE PERFECT

Vintage art sourced secondhand is displayed among postcards from owner Lee’s travels to Europe. “It’s an eclectic little mix, and feels like it’s been there forever,” the designer says.

On the Menu

Mussels

As the menu came together, one of owner Lee’s requests for chef Tuane was the incorporation of nduja. Dear Gus’s mussel dish is served in a spicy nduja tomato saffron broth, and it’s unsurprisingly Lee’s favourite thing to order in the sun-drenched, open-air space. “The broth is a little heavier, and you can pour it right onto the bread—it’s absolutely delicious,” she says.

Housemade Bread

Tuane worked at Vancouver’s AnnaLena for five years—“so that was his bread standard,” says Lee with a laugh (Michelin-starred AnnaLena is known for its insanely good torn bread). Tuane’s bread, made fresh daily, is establishing its own stellar reputation. “Even though it’s just bread and butter, it’s probably our top-selling dish—some people come and just get the bread, it’s that good,” Lee says. “I think having a good bread and butter really sets a standard… I like that it’s our star.”

Peas

The restaurant introduced its pea dish this spring, and it’s a quiet winner for Tuane. “It’s an easy dish to skip,” he admits, “but people who order it really enjoy it.” Brilliant green peas, fava beans and fermented rhubarb float atop a creamy cashew gazpacho. Don’t sleep on this refreshing, hearty chef fave.

This story was originally published in the September/October 2024 issue of Western Living magazine.