Hart House Restaurant

A contemporary West Coast restaurant in a beautiful Heritage Mansion, overlooking Deer Lake in Burnaby. Since opening as a restaurant and wedding venue for 30 years, it has been the location of unforgettable ceremonies & receptions. Hart House Restaurant is close to Burnaby Village Museum. Vancouver International Airport is half an hour away from the venue.

Facilities and Capacity

The main restaurant accommodates 80 guests seated, and 100 guests reception-style. An exclusive booking of the restaurant can be combined with an outdoor ceremony (rainy day ceremony option: our Rosedale Room located on the 2nd floor).

Starting in mid-May of each year, the marquee tent can accommodate up to 200 guests with a seated reception. Wedding ceremonies are performed on the lawn overlooking Deer Lake. The tent features crystal chandeliers, a draped ceiling, a dance floor and stunning views of the grounds and water.

Evening bookings start at 5:00pm and conclude at 12:00am. Tented daytime bookings are available on Sundays with a seven hour timeframe anytime between 12pm and midnight.

Extensions of bookings are available but are subject to additional rental fees or minimums.

Couples that want to book a ceremony only (without food and beverage reception) can do so on Saturdays between 10:30am and 12pm.

Deer Lake Park offers a wide variety of beautiful backdrops for wedding photography. Enjoy a photo session in the park while your guests mingle by the lake with cocktails and delicious canapés.

Services Offered

The experienced event planners will help couples in planning their entire event. The event manager of Hart House Restaurant will take care of every detail to ensure your celebration is flawless and enjoyable. In addition, venue is happy to provide couples with a list of vendor referrals for decorators, wedding commissioners, DJ, and more. Services provided by the venue include the following:

• Round Tables and white padded folding chairs
• Ceremony set up with white chairs and clothed signing table
• White square linens, including cloth napkins (floor length linens available with extra charge)
• China, flatware, and stemware
• Dance Floor
• Set up and cleanup (restaurant's own equipment only)
• Guest book table, cake table, gift table with white linens
• Complimentary bride’s waiting room with floor length mirror for tented and restaurant weddings
• Planning assistance and vendor recommendations
• Podium
• Microphone and background music (indoor only)
• Free parking

Cuisine

Their Executive Chef creates menus that are sustainable and sourced locally. He believes that quality ingredients are essential in creating a fantastic dining experience. Their menu features Mediterranean Inspired Cuisine with a focus on the freshest regional and seasonal produce. Hart House Restaurant is a proud member of Oceanwise.

Hart House Restaurant provides all food and beverages, with the exception of wedding cakes. A fee will be charged for the cutting and plating of wedding cakes. No charge will apply to cupcakes or faux cakes. Food and beverage minimums apply to all bookings.

All menu details are finalized one month prior to the event. If a plated menu is chosen, main course choices must be pre-ordered and submitted to Hart House no later than 10 days prior to the event. They recommend scheduling at least one face to face meeting with one of their planners before invitations are printed and mailed. Menu prices are subject to change; the availability of menu items can vary depending on the season. In lieu of menu tastings, they offer a complimentary a la carte dinner for the bride and groom in their restaurant, once the wedding is confirmed. This offer is subject to a minimum size of the planned event, and applies to food only.

History

New Westminster businessman Frederick Hart purchased the 13-acre estate in 1906, and leading architect Frank Macey designed the Tudor revival building. The Montague Moore family purchased the estate in 1916 and developed the garden. Standard Oil executive Ralph Baker purchased the property in 1950 and started the process of modernizing and improving the facility. The modernization process was continued by the Charles Riley family after they purchased the estate in the mid-1950s. In 1979, the Corporation of the District of Burnaby purchased the property, and it was occasionally used as a film set for productions starring personalities such as Bette Davis and James Brolin. The District approached Paul Smolen, Hart House's current owner, about considering the prospect of opening a restaurant at the estate. Paul Smolen, along with his partners, opened Hart House in 1988.