Fusion restaurants in Canada
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Mint
This loungey late-night hang-out is popular with bar staff winding down after their shifts. But they don't just come to bitch about their non-tipping customers; Mint offers an eclectic, finger-licking menu of Nepalese, Tibetan and fusion delicacies that runs from spicy lamb cooked with apricots to almond-and-cashew pesto fettuccine. There's an equally diverse menu of regular DJ performances.
reviewed
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Caribou Restaurant & Wine Bar
Between the confusing haze of wide-set freeways and boxy mega-marts lies one of Thunder Bay’s best dining options. The facade positively reeks of franchise banality; however, the inside is filled with one-of-a-kind touches like white-clothed tables and designer stemware.
reviewed
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C
Beckta Dining & Wine
This excellent upmarket option puts an original spin on regional cuisine. The inspired five-course tasting menu ($79) is the collective brainchild of the chef and sommelier. Ingredients are unpronounceable, which must mean they’re gourmet. A second location – dubbed ‘Play Food & Wine’ – has recently opened in the Market district, and offers similar fare with a tapas twist.
reviewed
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Monsoon
Clean Zen lines, outrageous tropical flowers and mid-century modern designs mix harmoniously in this sexy subterranean lounge. The menu offers a downpour of flavors, listing the likes of halibut seared in ginger-saké sauce or Bangkok bouillabaisse along with lemongrass sorbet to refresh your palate between glorious courses.
reviewed
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Toast
Beyond velvet curtains is an artsy, old-fangled bistro that’s best for weekend brunch: $12 for eggs Benedict or French toast with cranberries and cream cheese. Relax on the velvet antique couch or dine at one of the Formica tables, and if there’s a wait, check out the local art on the walls.
reviewed
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By the Way
An Annex fixture, this cheerful corner bistro has a fusion menu that leans towards Middle Eastern. Although there’s plenty of meat on the menu, vegetarians won’t go hungry. Service is A+ and the wine list features Niagara ice varietals and labels from far-flung Oregon and Australia.
reviewed
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Abigail’s Party
A romantic little tapas and wine haunt that creates its own atmosphere depending on the crowd filling its handful of small, candlelit tables. The idea here is to sit back, order some tapas plates and explore the wine list at your leisure. The barbecue beef brisket and Moroccan chicken dishes are great if you’re particularly hungry, but the lamb sausage corn dogs and duck confit sliders are ideal for sharing: although since you’ll find three of each on the plates, a fight over the final one is highly likely. Make up with a bottle from the blackboard of ever-changing wine specials and an Abigail’s Mohito or three.
reviewed
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Boneta
Typifying Gastown’s extensive transformation, this old bank building – one of the oldest in the city – now houses a bold-but-casual eatery where the chef’s ever-fertile imagination is sparked by regional seasonal ingredients. Expect taste-tripping riffs like smoked bison carpaccio with sherry vinaigrette or grilled rack of lamb with curried cauliflower. There’s a small but excellent wine selection but start with a cocktail or two: the bar is far from being an afterthought here and the mixologists are expert. Plans were afoot at the time of research for a possible move to a new location, so call ahead to check.
reviewed
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Burgoo Bistro
With the feel of a cozy, rustic cabin – complete with a large stone fireplace – Burgoo’s menu of comfort foods with a twist aims to warm up those long North Van winter nights: the Guinness-infused Irish stew, spicy apricot lamb tagine or smile-triggering butter chicken with brown basmati rice would thaw a glacier from 50 paces. There’s also a wide array of house-made soups and heaping salads. If all you fancy is a few beers, dip into the dark and hoppy Burgoo Brew or the rich and blackcurranty Middle Mountain Black Mead. There’s also live jazz on Sunday nights to keep your toes tapping.
reviewed
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Timbre
A couple of blocks north of the SkyTrain station, this buzzy, wood-lined neighborhood resto-bar is a popular weekend brunch spot, when the hungover locals drop by to address their night-before excesses. The highlight of the main menu, though, is the Gut Strut Jambalaya, heaped with scallops, prawns and smoked chicken. The beer list might appeal if you’re heading the hair-of-the-dog route – the bottled BC treats often include Phoenix Gold Lager and Phillips Blue Buck Ale – while Wednesday night is reserved for good-value beer and burger specials (usually around the $12 to $14 mark).
reviewed
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Bao Bei
This chic-but-welcoming Chinese brasserie soon lured the hipsters when it opened in 2010. From its prawn and chive dumplings to its addictive short-rib-filled buns, it’s brought a welcome contemporary flair to eating out in the area, combined with an innovative approach to dishes and ingredients: top-of-the-range organic meat and sustainable seafood are used throughout. It’s easy to find yourself seduced by the relaxed, candlelit ambience, especially if you hit the excellent cocktail menu. Reservations not accepted so avoid peak 7pm to 9pm dining times, if possible.
reviewed
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Japadog
You’ll have spotted the patient lunchtime line-ups at the three Japadog fusion hotdog stands around town (the one at the corner of Burrard and Pender Sts is usually the least crowded), but these celebrated, ever-genki Japanese expats also opened their own storefront here in 2010. The small menu is almost the same – think turkey smokies with miso-mayo sauce and bratwursts with onion, daikon and soy – but there’s also a naughty choc-banana dessert dog. The tiny round tables are usually taken, but the take-out window does a roaring trade. Cash only.
reviewed
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Regional Tasting Lounge
An intimate, mood-lit dining room with an innovative menu approach: every three months it adds a new regional focus, which brings taste-bud-hugging treats from different parts of the world. Foodie focuses have included Italy, Spain, Greece and New Orleans, but there’s always a selection of Pacific Northwest classics if you want to taste-trip BC, too. Small plates are popular here, so consider ordering to share. There’s a three-course $29 tasting menu available daily plus a full bar: the cocktails here, including the lovely pistachio sour, are recommended.
reviewed
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Bin 942
This tiny but exceedingly cozy lounge is a convivial late-night hangout if you fancy a few dishes of food and a bottle or two of wine with chatty friends. Among the best ‘tapatizers’ are sashimi-style ahi tuna and portobello mushroom cutlets, which pair perfectly with a select array of good beers – the Russell Brewing Cream Ale is best – and a compact but well-chosen wine list of Australian, Californian, European and BC tipples. Expect to stay for a few hours if you’re in the mood for a relaxing wind-down.
reviewed
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Glowbal Grill Steak & Satay
Casting a wide net that catches the power-lunch, after-work and late-night fashionista crowds, this hip but unpretentious joint has a comfortable, lounge-like feel. Its menu of classy dishes fuses West Coast ingredients with Asian and Mediterranean flourishes – the prawn linguine is ace and the finger-licking array of satay sticks is a recommended starter. Check the glass-walled meat cellar on the counter and choose your desired steak cut, and make sure you head to the back-room Afterglow bar for a nightcap.
reviewed
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Explorer’s Cafe
This fantastic restaurant features comfort food from all over the globe (including a meatloaf called ‘the mattress’). The walls are covered with an incredible range of souvenirs including African tribal masks and photos from Arctic expeditions. Meals range from savory Southeast Asian noodles to spicy Caribbean cuisine, and the menu boasts the largest wine list north of Via Allegro (ie Toronto). Dubbed ‘the shack in the back,’ the place is set back from King St; if you’re a good explorer, you’ll find it.
reviewed
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Wild Rice
East meets west here in a loungey, minimalist reinvention of the traditional Chinese restaurant. Fusing classic dishes with unexpected culinary influences from around the world – think tuna tataki (lightly seared tuna) lettuce wraps or wild boar with jasmine rice and plantain chips – this is a popular late-night hangout on weekends. Once you’re done stuffing your face, you can work your way through the comprehensive martini list as you slide gracefully off your chair.
reviewed
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Judas Goat
This smashing 28-seat, mosaic-and-marble nook became a local foodie favorite soon after its 2010 opening. Named after the goats used to lead sheep off slaughterhouse trucks, it’s nailed the art of small, simply-prepared but invitingly gourmet tapas treats like beef brisket meatballs, lamb cheek wrapped in Savoy cabbage and scallop tartare with pork rinds. You’ll also find a good wine and Spanish sherry drinks list. Arrive off-peak to avoid line-ups: there’s a 90-minute time limit for diners.
reviewed
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Ouisi Bistro
Vancouver’s most authentic Creole and Cajun menu in a casual, bar-style setting, Ouisi (as in ‘Louisiana’) chefs up adventurous dishes like habanero coconut chicken, cornmeal-crusted trout and vegetarian étouffée for those who like a taste-tripping dinner – also consider one of the New Orleanian sandwiches for a hearty lunch. The large menu of accompanying malts and bourbons plus regular live jazz spices things up, while weekend brunch offers hot fusion riffs on trad breakfast dishes.
reviewed
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Clove
Not your traditional Indian eatery, expect wider Asian contemporary and fusion tapas influences here that will have you wondering exactly which ethnic food group you’re dining from. Start with tender gyoza or some edamame wraps before moving on to the eye-rollingly good butter chicken (made with addictive candied almonds). Whatever you have, make sure you follow it with a delectable chai crème brûlée. The room is warm and intimate: hang at the long bar or canoodle at a tiny table.
reviewed
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Metro
This chic West Coast eatery – think stone-slab walls and polished wood floors – near the Touristinfo Centre offers a galloping romp through contemporary Canadian fusion cuisine. Its unusual pay-by-the-ounce approach to meat and fish can be pricey if you want to sample a few different flavors. If you’re put off by the giant 50-item selection, head to the swanky oyster bar and shuck your way through a few, complemented by a fruity bottle of BC wine.
reviewed
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Atelier
The brainchild of celebrated chef and molecular gastronomy enthusiast Marc Lépine, Atelier is a white-walled laboratory dedicated to tickling the taste buds. There’s no oven or stove – just Bunsen burners, liquid nitrogen and hot plates to create the unique 12-course tasting menu. Each dish is a mini science experiment that toys with texture, taste and temperature, and pushes the limit of ‘normal’ cuisine (think taco ice cream). This isn’t fusion, it’s fission.
reviewed
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Pourhouse
Like a cool reinvention of an old-school saloon (without the kitsch) this swank resto-bar has a solid spruce wood counter, century-old light fittings and a clever row of repurposed radiators dividing the drinking from the eating areas. If you’re not just here for a tipple – reinvented classic cocktails like ‘Gold Fashioned’ are a specialty – aim for a table and tuck into gourmet comfort dishes like cassoulet-style pork and beans or local-beef sloppy joe.
reviewed
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Voodoo Grill
Attractive young servers, thumping electronica and wildly elcectic decor set the stage for this buzzing fusion restaurant. African and Asian statues peer down at the tables and the dining room is done up in dark, rich tones. Specialties here include filet mignon from the Charlevoix region, mixed seafood platters and huge savory Asian soups. After a big meal, diners can burn off the calories at the Chez Maurice nightclub upstairs.
reviewed
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Escabeche
Arguably the best restaurant on the whole Niagara Peninsula, the fine-dining room at the opulent Prince of Wales Hotel takes its food seriously. The contemporary menu offers taste inventions like a tart of locally cured prosciutto, cacciatore sausage, tomato and mascarpone, followed by roast lamb with fine mustard, fingerling potatoes and baby amber turnips in ice-wine-braised shank jus. Leave room for dessert (you’ve been warned).
reviewed
