Vancouver restaurants

Nothing can hold a candle to VanEats. And in print, one of our most trusted sources is Vancouver Magazine’s restaurant guide.

But setting these luminaries aside, here are some our favourite Vancouver restaurants.

WEST TENTH:

West of Alma, 10th becomes quite a foodie scene, especially once you get up the big hill.

Pair Bistro at the corner of Alma — one of our favourite West Coast restaurants, excellent local and organic ingredients, excellent local wine list, very very nice and not exhorbitant. Delicious.

Provence Restaurant on West 10th is wonderful unpretentious french, great for weekend brunch, lunch or dinner. But what you might want to do is order one of their picnic baskets – avail as a return-to-them-when-you’re-done basket or as a knapsack — and take it down to the relatively nearby beaches at Spanish Banks. (15 mins walk down a steep hill, or a quick drive and easy park) We’ve done this ourselves and also given picnic baskets as presents and everyone has loved them. If brunching we think they have the best croissants in Vancouver and recommend their basket of baked goods.

Mix bakery has excellent pastries, sandwiches and cookies.

Pane e Olivo has wonderful breads, olives (as per the name) and spreads. Pricey but worth it. Great way to assemble a picnic on the beach.

OTHER WEST SIDE RESTAURANTS:

La Quercia – on Fourth just east of Alma. A small Italian restaurant with terrific food and great service, a mix of pastas and interesting meat dishes. Hard to get a table so reserve.

La Buca is similar to La Quercia (and in fact the two restaurants share some common ancestry). Really delicious, very intimate space. On MacDonald at 24th.

West – on Granville at 13th, the best fancy meal we’ve had in Vancouver (thanks Mum!) An investment.

Trattoria Italian Kitchen – on Fourth just west of Burrard. Really delicious Italian food, especially good if you go with a group and order an assortment of pastas “family style”. A totally lovely restaurant, fantastic food, and quite a bargain. No reservations for dinner, though, which is a bit of a drag.

Aurora — not quite West side (on Main at Broadway) but just amazingly good W. Coast/Cdn cuisine, wonderful seasonal/local ingredients, really very very good and not that expensive (about $50 pp) UPDATE: Closed.

Zest — Japanese tapas at 16th & Macdonald. Just tried it last week, brand new and excellent — best implementation of the Japanese tapas phenomenon here. Or try same idea at Yoshi on W. 4th at Arbutus or (downtown on Robson or Thurlow) Guu. Midprice.

Vij — on w. 11th, Vancouver’s most celebrated Indian. Indian-western fusion.

Tomato – on Bayswater at Broadway. A very simple but useful neighbourhood restaurant, with the basics — good breakfasts, burgers, sandwiches, and simple salads and entrées. Not a destination but a good place to stop if you’re wandering along Broadway. Easy with kids.

DOWNTOWN/YALETOWN/WEST END:

C Restaurant — sibling of West, excellent seafood.

Raincity Grill near Stanley Park on Denman. Good longtime standby. Excellent brunch.

Delilah’s — just of Denman under the coast hotel near Stanley Park. Yummy, cosy/romantic space. UPDATE: Again, not what it used to be.

Wild Rice (Pender & Caroll in downtown east side) — excellent trendy Chinese fusion, very hip bar scene, sketchy part of town that feels creepy but is safe. Park across the street at Tinseltown.

DIM SUM:

A must-do is Dim Sum. We just went to Sun Sui Wah Restaurant at 102-4940 No. 3 Rd., Richmond, 604-273-8208. Closer by but a little less celbrated is the one on 3888 Main St., 604-872-8822 and Also recommended by Vancouver magazine: Kirin Seafood, 201-555 W. 12th Ave., 604-879-8038 and 200-7900 Westminster Hwy., Richmond, 604-303-8833. President Chinese Seafood in the Radisson Hotel, 8181 Cambie Rd., Richmond, 604-279-1997.

BRUNCH/BREAKFAST:

Our favourite is Zen on Yew Street between First & York near Kits beach. A diner kind of thing, excellent choices. Insane on the weekend. UPDATE: After a sale, Zen has gone downhill. Too many TV screens, and the deliciousness has gone out of the pancakes and egg dishes.

Trafalgar’s on 16th and Trafalgar is convenient, has excellent baked goods. Next door’s “Sweet Obsessions” (same owner) is an excellent spot for dessert.

Cafe Medina on Beatty Street between Pender and Dunsmuir has a truly mindblowing breakfast dish, the fricasée, which consists of a skillet full of argula, applewood cheddar, apple pieces and shortribs (oh yeah!) topped with two fried eggs. Every delicious thing, even more delicious together. They have other delicious lunch and breakfast dishes too but this is the only thing on the menu that I’ve actually had to discuss with my therapist, that’s how obsessed I am.

Elixir in the Opus hotel at Davie and Hamilton in Yaletown. French, excellent breakfast, supposedly a good dinner too but we’ve never done it and has an INSANE bar scene as the night wears on. Their pancakes with basil-lemon goo are awesome.

WITH KIDS

There are a number of casual chain restaurants that are relatively easy to eat at with kids. Our favorite is now Brown’s, which has nearby locations at 4th & Vine and at 10th & Alma and a weekend brunch. Also nearby is Milestone’s on 4th at Bayswater, which has a daily breakfast/brunch option starting at around 10.

Sophie’s Cosmic Cafe, on 2095 W. 4th avenue, attracts huge crowds for breakfast on the weekend but is easier during the week. Kids love the crazy décor.

For little kids, nothing can beat Little Nest on Charles off Commercial Drive, in East Van.

First posted on August 24,2005