Vancouver Restaurants

  1. Alibi Room

    Snake up past the Water and Carrall Sts intersection to find this convivial resto-lounge, where the design and film industry crowds congregate at long tables sharing comfort food and bitchy stories about work. A cozy place on a rainy day, nosh here includes classics with a twist such as vegetarian meatloaf with sweet potato mash, and macaroni and cheese tossed in crab-and-shrimp cream.

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  2. All India Sweets & Restaurant

    This is the best of the string of good-value Indian family restaurants lining Main St's Punjabi Market area, with a giant 45-item buffet of vegetarian and nonvegetarian dishes and a continually replenished supply of naan to soak up the sauces. The ambience - chipped 1980s tables and chairs - is nothing to write home about, but the welcome is warm and the food will fill you for a day.

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  3. Asahi-Ya

    You'll be rubbing shoulders with chatty Asian language students at this friendly and decidedly unpretentious Japanese diner. Good value sushi and sashimi classics are fresh and well-presented, but it's the hearty cooked combo meals - especially the sizzling chicken teriyaki - that will bring you back for more. If it's crowded, there are several other good value Japanese and Korean eateries dotted nearby.

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  4. Aurora Bistro

    Many foodies come to SoMa for this bistro. Chef Jeff Van Geest takes the region's best seasonal ingredients and transforms them into instant favorites that would cost much more at more fancily located restaurants. Faves include cornmeal-crusted Fanny Bay oysters and a wild maitake mushroom risotto that's highly recommended. The BC-only wine selection is tip-top.

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  5. Belgian Fries

    The concept is pure genius: take fresh cut spuds, fry them, fry them again, toss, salt and serve in a paper funnel. You then dip the beauties into one of a dozen hot or cold mayo-based sauces, including wasabi, hot garlic, Jamaican heat and curry/chutney. What could be better? Beer, which you choose from the Storm brews on tap or the bottled Belgian lambics.

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  6. Bin 941

    Funky, bohemian and packed every evening, this late-night, cave-like nook is centered on a candelabra-lit tapas bar and lined with tiny tables. The food is all about hedonistic sampling and taste-tripping small plates - east-west crab cakes or slow-roasted pork tenderloin are recommended - and, like the restaurant itself, there's a small and quirky but perfectly formed wine list.

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  7. 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.

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  8. Bishop's

    A pioneer of fine West Coast cuisine with international flourishes long before the fashion for delectable local ingredients took hold, chef-owner John Bishop is still at the top of his game. In an intimate elegant dining room, the weekly-changing menu can range from duck confit salad to steamed smoked sablefish and an addictive maple walnut tart. The service here is pitch-perfect and you can expect Bishop himself to wander over to welcome you.

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  9. Bistrot Bistro

    Jostling for attention with Kits' other new eateries, this snob-free Euro-bistro is at the top end of the French peasant food chain. Fusing robust rustic ingredients with an arsenal of flavor-revealing preparations, you can expect apple-sweetened pork tenderloin still simmering in its skillet and the kind of hearty boeuf bourguignon that would make lesser chefs weep. Considering the quality, this place is outstanding value.

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  10. Blue Water Café

    This high-concept seafood restaurant is Vancouver's best posh oyster bar and the pinnacle of Yaletown fine dining. House music gently throbs through the cobalt-blue interior, while seafood towers grace the outdoor patio tables. If you feel like an adventure, head straight to the semicircular raw bar and watch the chef's whirling blades prepare delectable sushi and sashimi, served with the restaurant's signature soya-seaweed dipping sauce.

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  11. Bridges

    You'll easily spot this bright yellow, shed-like bistro as you pass over the Granville Bridge on your way here. In summer, it offers one of the best sunset patios in town from which to enjoy standard but well-executed classics such as chicken quesadillas, fish-and-chips and hearty thin-crust pizzas - the smoked salmon variety is recommended. Diners can also escape the patio clamor at the quieter, more upscale upstairs dining room.

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  12. C Restaurant

    This pioneering seafood restaurant overlooking False Creek isn't cheap but its revelatory approach to regional fish and shellfish makes it the city's best seafood dine-out. You'll be hard-pressed to find smoked salmon with cucumber jelly served anywhere else, but there's also a reverence for simple preparation that reveals the delicate flavors in dishes such as local side-stripe prawns and Queen Charlotte scallops.

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  13. Charlatan

    Reflecting a recent drink-and-dine resurgence on the Drive, the old Bukowski's bar was transformed into this laid-back pub-style hangout, quickly embraced by the locals. Sports fans can perch at the bar under a flatscreen TV to catch a game; drinkers can hit the patio to watch the buzzing streetscape; and diners can chow down on quality comfort food such as crab cakes with avocado salsa and mussels in exotic broths.

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  14. Chill Winston

    Sit on the sprawling fan-shaped patio and squint your eyes and you might almost be in Paris (you'll probably need to be a little merry with drink, too) at this leading exemplar of Gastown's new look. Inside, it's all polished wood floors, exposed brick and a loungey fusion menu of house-smoked salmon and crispy crab cakes. A popular after-work hangout for local business-types, this is a chatty spot to line your stomach for a pub crawl.

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  15. CinCin

    A favored haunt of Hollywood types, casual yet elegant CinCin is the restaurant where you're most likely to find yourself standing next to Robin Williams at the urinal. Don't let that put you off, though. The Tuscan-brushed seasonal menu often includes delectable Salt Spring Island mussels and tender Fraser Valley duck, while gourmet alder-smoked pizzas are another favorite - the wild salmon variety is recommended.

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  16. Cioppino's Mediterranean Grill

    Not your standard Italian joint, this fine Mediterranean eatery deploys the cucina naturale approach to cooking, which aims to reveal the delicate natural flavors of a wide range of regionally sourced ingredients. The warm interior is the perfect setting to dip into West Coast dishes tweaked with Italian flourishes - try the marinated salmon with potato galette and sour cream - and the international wine list should keep you jolly all evening.

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  17. Clove

    This modern fusion reinvention of the Indian restaurant has a menu that mixes traditional approaches with a host of South Asian flourishes. You can start with a plate of delectable gyoza (fried Japanese dumplings) before moving on to an aromatic pad Thai with prawns, followed by an unusual chai crème brûlée. The room is warm and intimate - you can hang out at the bar or canoodle at a little table - and martinis are a house specialty.

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  18. Dave's Fish And Chips

    Join the throngs of locals strolling the boardwalks in the old fishing village of Steveston then head a couple of blocks inland to this unassuming old-school fish-and-chippery. With a simple interior that hasn't changed in decades, Dave's puts all its effort into what goes on the plate. All the traditional dishes are here, but for something different try the oysters and chips or the velvet-soft battered salmon and chips. Great value.

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  19. Dockside Restaurant

    Wood-grilled steaks, mint-crusted lamb and butter-soft wild salmon are the highlights at this genial dining room adjunct to the Granville Island Hotel . But you can also kick back and enjoy a more casual (and less pricey) meal in the Dockside Brewing Company's microbrew lounge. Both wood-lined rooms have a warm ambience, and the shared waterfront patio becomes a noisy spot on some summer evenings.

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  20. Eatery

    Wooden booths, lava lamps and a neon 'miso horny' sign are all part of the ambience at this pop-culture reinvention of the traditional sushi joint. Bring your manga comic and dip into the giant, well-priced menu of soba bowls, curry-rice and several sushi combos, all washed down with a good selection of Japanese and Canadian bottled beers. There are plenty of vegetarian options, including some shareable platters.

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  21. Elbow Room

    Expect some verbal sparring at this local hangout where the jokily abusive servers will greet you with the line 'Move your ass to the table,' then shimmy over to demand 'Are you ready to order, or what?'. It's all meant warmly - if they don't insult you, they really don't like you - so make sure you give as good as you get. Breakfasts including eggs Benny and 'big-ass pancakes' are legendary here, but the bulging burgers are excellent, too.

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  22. Feenie's

    If you fancy nibbling on a little Rob Feenie but can't afford the prices next door at Lumière, this modern, red-hued diner reinvention is an excellent alternative. A more laid-back bistro approach reigns here, with high-end comfort dishes such as finger-licking pastas, duck confit shepherd's pie and the now infamous Feenie's Weenie - a cheese smokie with sauerkraut that's only available for weekend brunch.

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  23. Figmint

    With its Paul Smith-style striped banquettes and mod, lounge-lovers aesthetic, this hotel restaurant seems to have an identity problem: you'll find bemused tourists wandering in from their rooms, as well as design fans trying to look hip while families duke it out across the aisle. It's best to drop by in the evening, when the place develops a cooler vibe. The menu is heavy on meat treats; the lamb with goat cheese and spinach is a standout.

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  24. Fish House In Stanley Park

    While it can be overrun with tourists in summer, it's hard to blame them for dropping by here for the park's great dine-out views and some of the city's best seafood. The top-end menu changes seasonally, but regular favorites include cedar-planked trout and chili sablefish. There's also a popular fresh oyster bar that attracts in-the-know shuckers. Weekend brunch is a menu highlight: the salmon bagel Benedict is recommended.

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  25. Foundation

    Behind the windows that always seem to be covered in condensation, SoMa's liveliest hangout is a funky vegetarian (mostly vegan) restaurant; it's the kind of place where carefully tousled art students and young intellectuals like to be seen. To fuel all that brainpower, dishes include adventurous treats such as mango and coconut pasta and chunky heaps of cheesy nachos, while the beer comes from city fave Storm Brewing.

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