Vancouver boasts a diverse culinary scene. During my eight-day stay in Vancouver, I had the opportunity to try different restaurants almost every day. Since I tried so many, I've categorized and listed 17 restaurants in Vancouver that I recommend!
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Japanese Cuisine
Japanese cuisine in Vancouver has its own unique characteristics, distinctly different from what you would find in Japan or Taiwan. This isn't limited to just one restaurant; rather, every Japanese restaurant here seems to share a similar flavor profile. It appears that Japanese cuisine has evolved locally, developing into a new cultural experience. This is quite different from the Americanized Japanese food you find in the United States. Generally, I'm not a fan of Americanized flavors, but in Vancouver, it's different. I find it to be a unique and interesting culinary culture.
Guu original
- Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Price: $$$$
Vancouver has many Japanese izakayas, and Guu Original is the one I think is a must-visit in the downtown area. This restaurant specializes in yakitori, which I already enjoy. I tried many dishes, and they were all excellent. The signature Yakiudon is seasoned perfectly and unforgettable, and the premium beef tongue is also incredibly delicious!
Guu Garden
- Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Price: $$
Guu Garden specializes in Japanese set meals and bento boxes. Although the Yelp reviews appear to be fairly average, we went there for a business lunch and felt it deserved a higher rating. My Japanese colleagues also praised it as good Japanese cuisine. I ordered the Sukiyaki lunch set, which was very satisfying.
Black Rice Izakaya
- Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Price: $$$$
This izakaya is quite popular, and the wait time can be long. While waiting, you can order a beer at the bar. The portions are not large, but the food is quite tasty. We ordered fried baby octopus and skewers to pair with our drinks, and finally, we ordered a beef and assorted mushroom ishiyaki to fill us up.
Guu Garlic
- Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Price: $$$$
This is also a restaurant in the Guu series, and it seems to be slightly less crowded than the others, so the wait time isn't as long. They serve non-grilled dishes here. We ordered house sake, takoyaki, mentaiko kimchi yakiudon, and a mixed oden.
Zakkushi japanese restaurant
- Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Price: $$
This restaurant on Denman Street is one of the few known for its Japanese barbecue. The place is small, so seating can be hard to come by. Compared to other barbecue places, it's quite economical, with the signature set costing only ten dollars.
We ordered two types of yakitori sets to try, including the signature $10 set and the more upscale premium set. While the $10 set was already great, the price difference truly showed in the premium set, making it hard to go back to the basic one. The premium set was so delicious that we couldn't resist ordering more of our favorites from it, like the chicken liver and chicken meatballs. If you want to try some sake, you can order the sake flight, which allows you to choose three different types from the sake menu.
Jinya
- Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Price: $$
This is a popular ramen shop. We arrived quite early, just as it opened, but we were already only able to get seats at the bar. Their specialties are ramen and gua bao, which are beautifully presented and taste quite good, though they are better suited for those who prefer stronger flavors.
Shizenya
- Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Price: $$
One evening, we randomly chose this restaurant near our hotel for dinner. It was filled with locals rather than tourists. This restaurant focuses on healthy Japanese cuisine, using brown rice and plenty of vegetables. I ordered a sashimi donburi and a hand roll, and even the miso soup included a large amount of vegetables. After several days of indulging in heavy meals, this felt very refreshing.
Brunch Restaurant
Vancouver has quite a few popular brunch spots that are worth a visit if you get the chance. This time, I had the opportunity to try four of them.
Flying pig
- Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Price: $$$$
Flying Pig is a popular brunch restaurant in Vancouver with several locations. I dined at the Yaletown branch.
I actually had dinner at Flying Pig. For the appetizer, I ordered the Salmon Sampler, which included salmon fillet, as well as pickled and smoked salmon. Everything was delicious, and the portions were quite large, making me realize it might not have been the best choice for an appetizer. Because the weather was very cold, I also ordered a Pea Soup, which turned out to be much tastier than I expected.
Both main courses were delicious. One was Seafood Pappardelle, and the other was Pork Poutine. Poutine is a specialty in Vancouver and can be found almost everywhere. It basically consists of fries topped with various cheese and meat sauces. The flavor was excellent, but it's a very high-calorie dish!
Scoozi's
- Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Price: $$
Scoozi’s has high ratings from locals on Yelp, and it's reputed to have the best Benedict in downtown. Despite being located in a tourist-heavy area, it doesn't seem as well-known among tourists, so it's much less crowded. The Salmon Benedict with croissant was delicious and large enough for two people to share. Before we left, the restaurant even gave us a complimentary treat.
Twisted fork
- Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Price: $$
Twisted Fork is a brunch restaurant that's very popular with tourists, and the wait times can be quite long. I ordered the Salmon Benedict and Banana French Toast, both of which were delicious. It's definitely a great restaurant, but the long wait times can be a bit much.
Cafe Medina
- Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Price: $$
This is the most popular brunch restaurant I visited, and it took two attempts before I finally got in. However, the food lived up to the expectations and did not disappoint. If I have the chance, I would definitely come back again.
This restaurant's menu is entirely in French, but it has English descriptions underneath. They have many well-known dishes, and this time we ordered Les Boulettes and Saumon Fumé. Les Boulettes are lamb meatballs, and Saumon Fumé appears to be a salmon Benedict, with a milder flavor. Finally, you must try their famous dessert, the Belgian Waffle with white chocolate, pistachio, and rosewater—it’s absolutely delicious.
Other Cuisines
Rodney's oyster house
- Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Price: $$$$
Rodney's oyster house is a seafood restaurant with one location in gastown and one in yaletown, we went there once each.
When dining in Yaletown, I had dinner and ordered a Caesar, clam chowder, mussels, and seafood pasta. The Caesar was quite large. The clam chowder was pretty standard but still good. The seafood pasta was the most impressive, with plenty of scallops. The portions were generous, and the ingredients were fresh and delicious.
At the Gastown location, I went for happy hour with the main goal being the Oyster Happy Hour. The fried oysters and garlic shrimp were also happy hour items and tasted great. Since I was still a bit hungry, I ended up ordering a pot of mussels as well.
Spring and Autumn Hot Pot
- Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Price: $$$$
Vancouver actually has many Chinese restaurants. Spring & Autumn Hot Pot is reputed to be the best hot pot in Vancouver, known for its high-quality live seafood. We decided to give it a try. We ordered the Sichuan spicy broth and pork bone broth, along with the signature assorted meatballs, fatty beef, fish paste, and live shrimp. The broths were excellent, and the ingredients were incredibly fresh and delicious.
Green leaf brewing co
- Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Price: $$
This place is located in Quayside Plaza and specializes in beer. I did a beer tasting here, choosing four different beers: Lloyd’s Lager, Pie Hole Pale Ale, Lolo Stout, and Lamb of God Sour Stout. The first two are their signature beers, and I chose the latter two because I like stouts. In the end, my favorites were the Lager and the Lolo Stout.
If you don't want to drink beer on an empty stomach, you can use a discount from their partner restaurant to buy pizza from Bowen Island next door. The pizza tastes pretty good too!
Granville island market
Oyama Sausage
- Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Price: $
Previously, I introduced Granville Island. There are so many snacks to enjoy at the Market, but I'll mention a few of my favorites. My top choice is Oyama Sausage, a butcher shop with various salami. They offer samples on-site so you can take your time choosing, and the staff is great at recommending based on your preferences. The first time I visited, I saw elk and bison salami, which I thought were quite unique, so I tried them both. I found the bison salami to be really delicious. I ended up buying 100 grams each of bison salami and house prosciutto to take back to the hotel and enjoy.
Celine's fish and chips
- Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Price: $$
Additionally, the fish and chips vendors here are very popular. One evening, I had dinner at Celine’s Fish and Chips, ordering the cod and chips. You can also buy a London Fog (Earl Grey tea with milk) from the nearby tea shop to go with it.
Nando's
- Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Price: $
This is actually a chain rotisserie chicken restaurant that I already liked. It's relatively rare in North America, so I was excited to see it in Vancouver and had lunch there.
Further reading
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