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Pax Romana is back.
After closing its original Commercial Drive location in July, the Mediterranean-inspired tapas bar is reopening this Friday, November 6, in a new home just steps away from where it first made its mark on Vancouver’s dining scene.
The new Pax Romana is tucked behind Loula’s Taverna, at the corner of Commercial Drive and Graveley Street, with its own entrance through the alley. And while the address has changed, much of what made the original restaurant a neighbourhood favourite is coming along for the ride.
That includes head chef George Lesner, bar manager Prateek Balraj, and the intimate, slightly cheeky atmosphere that helped distinguish Pax Romana when it first opened in 2023.
“That feeling of the familiar neighbourhood bar where guests have a sort of kinship with a bartender who can observe the entire room was one of the best features of the original Pax Romana, and one we wanted to preserve in the new space,” says Balraj.
The new space also features a mural by local artist Adeline Poufong, designed to evoke the romance and character of the original restaurant.
But the relocation isn’t entirely about preserving the past.
According to Ionian Hospitality Group co-owner Stefano Magagnin, one of the biggest advantages of the new location is a larger kitchen, which will allow the culinary team to expand its ambitions.
“While we truly loved our old home, when the opportunity arose for us to relocate Pax Romana to a new space with a larger kitchen, we couldn’t turn it down,” says Magagnin. “This new location will allow our team to expand the menu and give our culinary team the opportunity to share many more dishes that weren’t technically possible in our former space.”
Lesner’s Mediterranean-focused menu will combine returning favourites with new dishes, continuing the restaurant’s emphasis on small plates designed for sharing.
Familiar options include patatas bravas, served with truffle Manchego, fried herbs, and aioli, and the Basque cheesecake, featuring seasonal fruit, rose Chantilly, and milk crumble.
Other dishes include gambas with Calabrian chili, butter, and Livia bread; couscous with baby scallops, caviar, and pomegranate; and rabbit with roasted acorn squash purée, sobrasada, and Iberian farrotto.
Behind the bar, Balraj is bringing back some of Pax Romana’s signature drinks, including its rum-based Pax Negroni, sherry-accented Pax Martini, and brown-butter rum Espresso Martini. The cocktail list will also feature new interpretations of classics, alongside wines and aperitivi.
The reopening marks another chapter for Ionian Hospitality Group, which operates Sopra Sotto and Loula’s Taverna on Commercial Drive, along with restaurants in Burnaby.
“We feel lucky to be able to write a new chapter for Pax Romana in a familiar space,” says Magagnin. “The roots we’ve put down in the Commercial Drive neighbourhood run deep and it was important for us to remain here as part of such a warm and welcoming community.”
The group is also planning Bar Tifo, an Italian-inspired café, restaurant, and sports bar concept for the same neighbourhood in 2027.
For now, though, the focus is on bringing Pax Romana back to the neighbourhood where it started—complete with its familiar faces, favourite dishes, and a little more room to grow.
Pax Romana reopens Friday, November 6, at 1608 Commercial Drive, with an alley entrance at Graveley Street.