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Antoinette Bruno
The vintage-Asian interior and modern Chinese cuisine at Chef Joël Watanabe’s Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie are funky and eclectic. Dishes are a riot of textures (crunchy bread and melting pork butt), flavors (rich duck and umami-packed shitakes), and colors (hot pink pickled onions juxtaposed with soft green cucumbers and lipstick-red chilies). The food deftly navigates Eastern and Western waters; Wanatabe’s menu is at once familiar and something new—for diners on either side of the Pacific. And whether diners go for tartare or wontons, they’ll feel better knowing that all of Bao Bei’s proteins are well-treated and its seafood sustainable—and served at a price point nearly every Vancouverite can afford.
Recommended:
Chef Lee Humphries grew up in England, the son of vegetable farmers, but the transplanted Vancouverite has turned his attention from the soil to the sea for C Restaurant. As the founding restaurant of Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise Program, C takes its seafood seriously—where it comes from and its sustainability street cred. Since taking over the kitchen, Humphries has introduced a greater variety of land-dwelling proteins to the menu, pairing the restaurant’s ocean-sourced stars with the likes of shaved Iberico ham, unctuous pork belly, and lamb sirloin.
Recommended:
Around the corner from Vancouver’s Blood Alley (whose history is more awash in mystery and misinformation than the red stuff), Cork & Fin Chef Elliott Hashimoto serves simple, seasonal, and fish-focused fare—as the name implies. Go for fresh-off-the-boat seafood towers and oysters on the half shell—and a good time, which won't be a problem if you order from the “Cork” portion of the menu. The restaurant has a strong by the glass program, serves fun wine flights, and offers wine pairings with a nightly prix fixe menu.
Recommended:
Five Sails isn’t your typical hotel restaurant. After working as the Pan Pacific’s hotel chef for years (and falling madly in love with the hotel's director of catering), Chef Ernst Dorfler got the girl and bought the Five Sails space, where he now enjoys complete creative freedom with his talented wife and partner, Gerry Sayers. That freedom translates into a beautiful, fine-dining expression of Pacific Northwest cuisine, with Dorfler’s native Austrian accent woven into the menu. Diners can expect to carve into game, like quail and local venison, eat Pacific seafood, and happily devour delicate, flavor-forward pastas. And no meal at Five Sailswould be complete without the sweeping views of the bay and surrounding mountains.
Recommended:
Three-year-old chef-owned La Quercia is steeped in tradition. Co-chefs Lucais Syme and Adam Pegg embrace historical culinary details in preparing their elegant Northern Italian cuisine. Take their Sole in Saor, a dish originally designed for long voyages at sea. The chefs sear fish and then lay it to rest for a week under a bed of onions cooked in wine and vinegar; the flavor of the dish intensifies and grows funkier (and tastier) by the day. The cuisine approach and professional waitstaff at La Quercia lean toward fine dining, but house-made pastas and sumptuous meats are served in a small, low-key space. Diners can choose from menu items scribbled on black boards, or for a more spontaneous meal, request to eat alla famiglia for which Syme and Pegg whip up à la minute three-course selections from regional products hanging around the kitchen.
Recommended:
Chef Angus An’s Maenam is a house of curries—and a must-stop if you're traveling to Vancouver. While most Thai restaurants base their sauces on industrial curry pastes (it’s often cheaper and certainly less labor intensive), this David Thompson protégé imports chilies and lemongrass (and other secret ingredients) from Thailand to blend into his house-made curry pastes, along with oil from freshly cracked coconuts. The resulting curries are intense but balanced—an exercise in maximizing and building layer upon layer of flavor. And even though the curries have an international provenance, An serves all local proteins in his modern, black-leather-clad temple to Thai cuisine.
Recommended:
Pork is the reigning protein at Chef Robert Belcham’s Refuel. And each Thursday he and his staff refuel their pantry supply by butchering a local heritage pig and transforming it into four types of sausage, charcuterie (think ham, sopressata, and saucisson sec), and any number of delicious cuts. The modern-casual space welcomes non-pork lovers, too, who can dine on any number Italian-inspired plates—seasonal ravioli, risotto, salads, gnudi, and polenta (the last comes topped with delicate morels and fava beans or hefty hunks of kielbasa; the choice is yours). Regardless of a dish’s focus, Refuel’s MO is local and sustainable, and its cuisine embraces the flavors of the Pacific Northwest (with an added dash of porcine deliciousness).
Recommended:
As a fourth generation pastry chef, Thomas Haas knows something about tradition. He also knows when to throw out the rule book and improve upon a classic. Although his pastry case is stocked with staples like macaroons, croissants, financiers, chocolates, and cakes, Haas brings fresh perspective to each of his desserts. His Coffee Macaroon comes with a surprise coffee bean hidden in its center, delivering a bitter, crunchy hit of flavor. And his Almond Croissant is twice-baked (he starts with a perfect croissant, splits it in half, fills and brushes it with almond cream, rolls it in almonds, and bakes it again), and it’s one of the most superb confections you can imagine—enjoy one (or two) with a cup of coffee at one of two Vancouver retail locations.
Recommended:
Amid the hectic bustle and modernist aesthetic of Tropika, Vancouver's favorite spot for classic Malaysian-Thai food, waiters whisk by with heaping plates of crab legs and rich soups trailing steam. K.L. Crab (a.k.a chili crab) is the celebrity dish on the menu, with good reason—crushed, dried shrimp sauce coats the enormous Dungeness crab, which is fried at an ultra-high temperature. The brittle shrimp coating gives way with a crunch to succulently tender crab meat. Tropika's chili crab is reason enough to travel to Vancouver.
Recommended:
A longtime fixture of the Vancouver dining scene, the jovial and passionate Vikram Vij opened his namesake restaurant in 1994, showcasing Indian cuisine made with exacting French technique. An upscale-modern Indian chef (one of a generation), he’s reorienting and refining Indian cuisine and how it’s appreciated on the North American continent. To show his loyalty to his adopted Vancouver, Vij gives local rainbow trout a bold Eastern kick with mustard seeds and curry leaves. Spicy Lamb “Popsicles” are an expression of Vij’s best Gallic and Indian charms, and savory Poached Jackfruit is a clear reminder that Eastern flavors dominate the menu’s style and seduce Western diners who crave something more (much more) than tikka masala.
Recommended:
Settling on a on a single dessert at Yew Restaurant and Bar may lead to a sweet conundrum. Not to worry, Pastry Chef Bruno Feldeisen has crafted a playful dessert tapas menu of sparkling, bursting liquid ravioli and cheesecake lollipops (among other sweet bites)—all available for a sinless $3 each or three for $8 … who’s counting, right? But big flavor comes in larger packages, too. Feldeisen’s velvety Duck Egg Custard elevates played-out crème brûlée to new crave-worthy heights, and his Chocolate Crunchy Bar is an unassuming brown brick (and the most luscious, creamy candy bar you’ve ever eaten). We didn’t have a chance to taste Chef Oliver Becker’s savory creations at Yew, but they lean Pacific Northwest, with a fine selection of oysters and seafood and local produce and proteins.
Recommended:
L’Abatoir is an homage to Vancouver’s butchery district of yore. And though blood isn’t pouring out of this made-over historical building (decorated with Jonathan Adler-esque brown and white tiles, stainless steel accents, and brick walls), Mixologist Shaun Layton is pouring, mixing, and shaking some of the best cocktails in town. His drinks range from a quirky Spot of Tea with British flavors of Pimm’s, gin, and marmalade to trendy barrel-aged libations and crowd-pleasing summer cocktails. Our favorite drink, the Meat Hook, is twist on a classic Red Cook with a lingering smoky finish and men’s club vibe. It’s the perfect way to celebrate (or forget) L’Abbatoir’s past.
Recommended:
You can’t escape the beauty of Vancouver at the Pan Pacific hotel. While it’s conveniently located next to the Vancouver Convention Center and the city’s cruise ship dock, its most fortunate positioning is on the bay, offering incredible views of the water, islands, and mountains from every corner of the hotel. And if a view of the water isn’t enough, guests can plunge into the eighth-floor salt water pool and Jacuzzi (while still drinking in the landscape). Chef Ernst Dorfler’s Five Sails not only provides dinner guests with a panorama, but also offers a window into the product-driven cuisine of the Pacific Northwest. And if guests want to feel as beautiful as their surroundings, they can check into the Spa Utopia & Salon (British Columbia’s largest spa space), where packages and à la carte massages, facials, manicures, and more will have you feeling picturesque in no time.
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