Where to eat in Vancouver’s best food neighborhoods

Sandwiched between mountains and Pacific Ocean waves, Vancouver is most often lauded for its phenomenal natural setting, with its skyscrapers brushing up against the old-growth trees of Stanley Park. But the largest city in British Columbia is increasingly becoming known for dining, too, with the Michelin Guide finally awarding the city a constellation of stars in 2022. Each of Vancouver’s neighbourhoods offers something different — the product of immigration, with over 40% of the city’s residents born outside Canada. Here’s how to navigate its food and drink scene — from the secret speakeasies of Chinatown to the Italian flavours of Commercial Drive.

Granville Island Public Market

Best for: grazing
Just across False Creek from the southern edge of Downtown, this is Granville Island’s popular indoor public market, once home to industrial warehouses and now a culinary hotspot. Vancouverites come to discover the 50-plus food counters, rubbing shoulders with the chefs in their starched white aprons who are here to source the likes of sweet Hungarian paprika or zingy kaffir limes for their restaurants.

Don’t miss dish: The maple-smoked salmon candy from Longliner Seafoods. It’s the smoky, sweet Canadian alternative to beef jerky.

One to watch: Benton Brothers — their cheeses grace the menus of Vancouver’s top restaurants.

Book ahead: The two-hour tour of Granville Island Public Market with Vancouver Foodie Tours. It samples many standout dishes, including the sake-soaked garlic sausage at food stall Oyama Charcuterie Platter.

Chinatown

Best for: secret speakeasies

Waves of Chinese immigrants began settling in Vancouver in the 1850s, seeking opportunities tied to the Gold Rush. It led to the creation of what became Canada’s largest Chinatown, spanning six blocks just east of Downtown. A century ago, during the Prohibition era, illegal drinking dens masqueraded as noodle parlours here, and recently there’s been a revival of hidden speakeasies.

Don’t miss dish: The roast pork on a bed of steamed rice at Chinatown BBQ, eaten against a backdrop of framed vintage portraits.

One to watch: Blnd Tger — order the number seven dumplings to gain access to Laowai cocktail bar, where drinks are infused with bamboo and Sichuan peppercorns.

Book ahead: The art of tea experience at Treasure Green Tea Company, which teaches the delicate craft of loose-leaf tea brewing.

Kitsilano

Best for: indie eateries
The hippies may have moved out after the Summer of Love, but their spirit lives on in tree-lined Kitsilano, on the city’s west side. Fringed with 100-year-old Craftsman cottages, it’s a sandy spot where locals come for a dip in the ocean at Kitsilano Beach in the summer months. It’s known for its inventive, nutritious cuisine that caters to the neighbourhood’s vegan diners.

Don’t miss dish: The modern take on Cantonese-style dim sum at Little Bird. The exterior may seem underwhelming, but locals squeeze in to eat here.

One to watch: Kits Beach Coffee, a vibey coffee spot that recently upgraded from a cart on the beach to a bricks-and-mortar cafe known for its salted chocolate chip cookies.

Book ahead: The small-plate menu at Folke, a plant-based spot where the chefs venture out of the open kitchen to chat with guests. The menu features Jerusalem artichokes in a fiery bravas sauce.

Mount Pleasant

Best for: visiting the Michelin Mile
This leafy residential neighbourhood south east of Downtown is a magnet for families and young professionals, and was officially placed on the gastronomic map when Michelin awarded two of its restaurants with stars: Published on Main and Burdock & Co. At the former, chef Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson combs Vancouver’s forests for ingredients, and his dining room is like a gallery for dishes akin to works of art.

Don’t miss dish: Wild berries married with buffalo yoghurt, sorrel and pineapple weed meringue. This dish helped to secure a Michelin recommendation for The Acorn, a zero-waste, veggie-forward restaurant. theacornrestaurant.ca

One to watch: Sushi Hill, a freshly unveiled Japanese cafeteria featuring seafood such as black throat perch.

Book ahead: Song, a restaurant with a Thai-inspired menu spotlighting favourites like snapper swimming in sweet-and-sour sauce.

Coal Harbour

Best for: fine dining
Surrounded by gleaming glass towers in Downtown Vancouver, Coal Harbour is the place to throw on your glad-rags for a special occasion. It’s located just steps from the marina, where yachts and cruise ships jostle, with the dramatic North Shore Mountains piercing the distant horizon. Miku is Coal Harbour’s must-visit dining experience, a minimal and sophisticated temple to sushi with floor-to-ceiling windows soaking up the waterside views. The chefs in the open-plan kitchen are perfectionists of the highest order, using a technique called aburi to flame-sear their sushi. They take three painstaking days to craft their layered Green Tea Opera Cake — a triumph of sweet pastry, green tea and lashings of gooey chocolate.

Don’t miss dish: The succulent blue shell mussels bathed in a rich coconut curry sauce at Cordero’s Restaurant & Marine Pub — where nightly live music sets hit the right notes.

One to watch: Per Se Social Corner, a popular brunch spot dishing up plates of Dungeness crab and organic Alberta beef burgers, is the latest addition to Coal Harbour.

Book ahead: The chef’s table at Nightingale, a buzzy restaurant serving wood stone pizza, offers ringside seats to watch chefs in action.

Commercial Drive

Best for: Italian flavours
Green-white-and-red flags flutter outside businesses lining this eight-block stretch in east Vancouver, home to a culturally rich quarter known as Little Italy. ‘Commercial Drive’ is the neighbourhood’s official name. Most of its residents arrived after the Second World War, bringing traditions that still flavour cafes, bakeries and family-run trattorias today. This is the place to come for delicatessens serving paninis stuffed with homemade meatballs, and shots of expresso sipped casually at sidewalk cafes. Make a beeline for Bar Corso, a heavenly slice of old-world Italy, offering dishes such as gnocchi, pasta and carpaccio. The crostini topped with smoked bone marrow and onion ash pairs particularly well with a chilled negroni.

Don’t miss dish: The irresistibly sticky, home-baked cinnamon buns at Grounds for Coffee have earned a devoted following, thanks to their seasonal flavours like warm apple pie and spiced pumpkin.

One to watch: Round the night off at The Flamingo Room, a new bar with Miami-inspired interiors featuring pastel walls, hanging lanterns and a jungle of plants, plus live music.

Book ahead: Magari by Oca is a contemporary Italian pastificio, awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand due to its devotion to the time-honoured craft of pasta-making.