I'm hungry in Vancouver, help?

August 13, 2005 1:17 PM

What are the best places to eat in Vancouver?

I just recently moved here and am living a nomadic existence while I wait to settle into a longer-term place, so I'm eating out a fair bit. What places would you recommend to eat at?

I'm partial to East Asian cuisine, and would particularly like to know of good Japanese and Korean places, but I'd be interested in suggestions from any part of the world, cuisine-wise. I'd prefer stuff that's in the medium-range price-wise, if possible, but don't let that stop you from suggesting a really great high-end restaurant that I should try.

posted by Big Fat Tycoon to food & drink (25 comments total)

I've had mostly good results asking for recommendations on the Chowhound boards. There is a Canada section, which includes boards for questions about Montreal, Toronto, and the rest of Canada (which includes questions about Vancouver, obviously).

There is plenty of cuisine-specific information to browse there. I have found it more productive to solicit multiple specific recommendations, instead of asking one broad question.
posted by nobodyyouknow at 1:50 PM on August 13, 2005

I was really impressed by The Sequoia Grill, in Stanley Park.
Hardly the same thing, but you must visit La Casa Gelato, too.
posted by Aknaton at 1:58 PM on August 13, 2005

You should check out VanEats.
posted by pascal at 2:25 PM on August 13, 2005

I forgot Vij's, which I heard to be one of the top 3 Indian restaurants in North America. It was definitely yummy!
(Not to be confused with Vik's in Berkeley CA, though that's good too.)
posted by Aknaton at 3:08 PM on August 13, 2005

guu and hapa izakaya are both good for japanese.
that vaneats site has mini reviews of both.
posted by juv3nal at 3:14 PM on August 13, 2005

sequoia grill's food is ok, but you're mostly paying for the sunset view there. which is definitely worth it if you're taking out-of-towners there in the summer, but I wouldn't recommend going there in the rainy season.
posted by juv3nal at 3:19 PM on August 13, 2005

I can recommend low-to-medium range stuff (I'm a starving grad student ;) ). I'll also be paying attention to this thread, as I'm fairly new to the area too (moved to Vancouver in April).

For really good, really cheap Indian food, check out Curry Point in the UBC Village.

Shabusen (two locations: Granville Street and Burrard Street) is great for all-you-can-eat sushi and korean barbecue. The quality is surprisingly good considering it's AYCE. Lunch is really affordable (~$12). Dinner costs twice as much and there is lots more choice, but I find it's not worth paying th extra money.

If you want to try somewhere REALLY special and REALLY expensive, there's Lumiere (in the Kitsilano area). I have never been but everyone I know who has raves about it. I'm planning to try it during Dine Out Vancouver in February.
posted by sanitycheck at 3:30 PM on August 13, 2005

Places I like in the Vancouver area:
- All-you-can eat sushi at Sui Sha Ya in Richmond
- The Reef, caribbean food (better is the one in Victoria...the Black Bean Humous there is amazing)
- Thai Away Home on Cambie for...wait for it...thai food
posted by Kickstart70 at 3:37 PM on August 13, 2005

Check out the multitude of Vancouver threads. Click on your Vancouver tag, and you'll be directed to a few more. There are oodles of good gyoza places on the North part of Robson, a fantastic ramen place on the corer of Robson and Denman, Vij's and his casual next-door counterpart or Maurya for Indian, Tropika for Malaysian, The Reef for caribbean, Chambar for Belgian, and I think the better thai place is Simply Thai on the corner of Hamilton and Davie. Oodles of sushi places; I'm not partial to the all-you-can-eat because you can get so-so sushi all over the world.
posted by fionab at 3:50 PM on August 13, 2005

Stephos in the west end for Greek.

I always liked The Eatery on West 10th near Arbutus for sushi, though the prices are steep Van-wise and with so much to choose from...
posted by dreamsign at 3:52 PM on August 13, 2005

More potentially useful recommendations and opportunities to ask questions at the eGullet forum dedicated to Vancouver, British Columbia, and Western Canada.
posted by nobodyyouknow at 3:57 PM on August 13, 2005

If you want dirt cheap sushi try Sushi King on Granville (now I don't know the address exactly but I think it is close to Granville and 57th. All I know is that it is on the east side of Granville street between 49th and the river. Their sushi is about the same price as most places in Vancouver but the pieces are enormous! It's mostly a take-out place but you can eat in if you don't mind plastic plates and the like.
posted by madokachan at 4:32 PM on August 13, 2005

Oh, and if you like Indian food there is a great vegetarian buffet at "All India Sweets" on the SW corner of Main and 49th. Save room for the gulab jamun for dessert - it's included in the buffet and it's to die for. And I forgot to mention that it is really cheap.
posted by madokachan at 4:34 PM on August 13, 2005

I like this 24 hour vietnam place on Broadway & Cambie. Very very very fast. I'd also like to re-emphasize that it's a 24 hour place.

For "cleaner" vietnamese food, I like this place on Main and 18th ave (just were Main St. curves).

Sun Sui Wah is very consistantly good for both dim sum and dinner. A little expensive, though.

Dun Huang on Broadway and Laurel-ish has cheap, good dimsum.

I'm beginning to quite like the King Fortune on Burrard and Alberni (2nd floor). Good presentation, quality's ok. A little pricey.

There's this place called Samba off of Robson and... Thurlow(?) - it's right behind a Sportcheck or Sportmart or something. All-you-can-eat Brazillian barbeque. Some days are better than others (ie., they have game).

There's an African place on 4th, a block or two W of Macdonald. I liked it, but don't know enough about African food to comment.

Asa sushi in Kerrisdale is fantastic. Definitely under-rated. There's also the Shota across from Asa - very good quality, but very pricey. There's another branch somewhere, too. I've not been a fan of the Kamei Sushi-s, but the Royale on Burrard & Robson-ish is ok.

If you want LOTS of sushi for CHEAP and don't really care about (or appreciate) quality, Samurai on 41st & Cambie has gianormous portions and it's dirt cheap.

OTOH, Shiru Bay - The Chopstick Cafe in Yaletown (Hamilton and something - it's next to a Starbucks [yeah, like *that's* useful for directions) is izaka-ya (Japanese modern fusion tapas). Very very good. Excellent selection of Top Shelf sake. Also very very expensive.

The Indian Oven on 4th and Burrard (2nd floor) is quite good, as well. Very Western friendly but entirely authentic.

The Naam on 4th (and a few blocks E of Macdonald) is a nice vegetarian restaurant.

For Malay/Thai, I've always liked Tropika. I remember that there was one on Broadway but I can't seem to find it anymore. There's one on Cambie a few blocks South of Broadway. The Banana Leaf on Broadway (a few blocks E of Oak?) is ok, too.

As for Korean food, my sister swears by the one on Cambie a couple of blocks N of Broadway across from the new Best Buy.

For steaks, Bogarts on Broadway and Burrard-ish has a nice atmosphere. The management loves me and my friends (free dinks, &c) for some reason.

Steamworks at Gastown/Waterfront Station has been a staple for me and my friends for years (they used to live on the 'shore and me "overtown" - so it was convenient, but now that we've moved and don't rely on public transportation [aside from myself], not so much - but they *do* have a decent oyster bar).

Sailor Haggar's on 2nd St. (North Van) about a few blocks W of Esplanade has (had? been a while) really fantastic fish & chips.

The Picnic on Granville and 18th-ish (???) is a fun place for lunch - they're supplied by Meinhardts which is right next door.

There are a *ton* of places around Robson/English Bay and, of course, in Richmond but I don't have a lot of firsthand experience nor can I remember the majority of their names.
posted by PurplePorpoise at 4:51 PM on August 13, 2005 [1 favorite has favorites]

Oh - Tojo's on Broadway around Granville is *excellent* Japanese. Highly recommend.
posted by PurplePorpoise at 4:52 PM on August 13, 2005

Thanks for the recommendations. I actually tried to check out Sakae on Thurlow, but it was closed, so I wandered next door to the Samba Brazilian steakhouse and had the Rodizio buffet which was quite good.
posted by Big Fat Tycoon at 5:12 PM on August 13, 2005

If you want LOTS of sushi for CHEAP and don't really care about (or appreciate) quality, Samurai on 41st & Cambie has gianormous portions and it's dirt cheap.

avoid that place. the last thing you want a place selling you uncooked seafood to smell like is rotting seafood. and it smells like that all the time.
posted by juv3nal at 6:20 PM on August 13, 2005

Terra Breads on Fourth Ave. at Balsam IMO has the best bread in the province; they make amazing cinnamon buns, scones, sandwiches, etc. Not just good--amazing. You can get coffee and juices. Limited seating. Always busy. Great, informal place for breakfast and lunch. They have an outlet in Granville market, as well. Capers, a block east on Fourth, is also good. Want upscale dinner? Bishop's is another block east.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 7:00 PM on August 13, 2005

The management loves me and my friends (free dinks, &c) for some reason. posted by PurplePorpoise at 4:51 PM PST

*cough*
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 10:21 PM on August 13, 2005 [1 favorite has favorites]

I can't believe nobody mentioned Tojo's until comment 15. I haven't had better sushi anywhere, ever.
posted by escabeche at 11:21 PM on August 13, 2005

tojo's is pretty overrated unless you go for the omakase.
posted by juv3nal at 11:46 PM on August 13, 2005

Calvin's Cafe, in Dundarave.
Bravo Cucina, on Lonsdale.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 11:50 PM on August 13, 2005

escabeche: I would hardly call Tojo's "mid-range"...
posted by sanitycheck at 11:54 PM on August 13, 2005

*cough* posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 10:21 PM

In my defence, I'm Chinese so I can't pronounce 'R' ... or something...

good catch

We celebrated a friend of mine's bday at Bogarts tonight, actually, the prime rib was awesome.

Found a new place - Cotton Club cafe just at the entrance to Granville Island. It's mediteranean - the food was good, the portions large, the waitresses pretty, and (the food) extremely affordable. Most importantly, pitchers of Heffenweisen (and other Granville Island Brewing Company brews) were $10. No joke. That's their everyday price. Big pitchers. For some reason, they're switching from med to mexican in a couple of weeks...

Speaking of cheap beer, the Rugby Club on the corner of Broadway and Oak (2nd floor - some people have a damnable time trying to find it for some reason) has decent food and very very inexpensive drinks. However, there's a three drink max unless you order food. You can get a lobster tail for a two/three bucks (price depends on time of day) if you order an entree, side, and an appetizer. The entrees are very reasonably priced. The atmosphere is ok, booths, benches, raised tables, "outdoor" patio. I find that it's sometimes hard to go out to dine alone, but the Rugby Club's ok on that front.
posted by PurplePorpoise at 12:48 AM on August 14, 2005

If you want to try something really unique, go to the Liliget Feast House at 1724 Davie Street, for traditional First Nation's cuisine. The bannock served with salmon spread is so delicious as is the steam herring roe with drawn butter. Try the feast platter which has grilled salmon, oysters, mussels, venison, buffalo sausage and rice. Finish with an order of soapberries - a taste you'll never forget. ;)
posted by KathyK at 6:14 AM on August 15, 2005