Where to eat in Vancouver and Victoria?
Hi Eaters!
Does anyone have any recommendations for restaurants either in Victoria or Vancouver BC? I'm here for a conference but have some vacation in a few days when I am done. Great sushi or dim sum joints are always appreciated as well as any other gems. Downtown Van or Victoria please and thanks.
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20 Comments:
Try Japanese Village on Broughton and Vista 18(for the view) in Victoria. And then give me a call and I'll sell you a Great Condo with Harbor Views to die for!!
Good Luck & Happy Eating in Victoria!!
wgrier at 10:23PM on 05/13/09
I'm from Vancouver here are my suggestions:
Sushiyama VERY reasonably priced and always good:
try the Garlic Tai (Red snapper in roasted garlic ponzu sauce)
371 East Broadway (just east of main street)
Vancouver, BC V5T1W5
Tel: (604) 872-0053
High End AMAZING sushi:
Tojos:
1133 Broadway West (broadway between Oak & granville)
Vancouver, BC V6H 1G1
(604) 872-8050
http://www.tojos.com/
Chinese:
Ho Tai Kee: Now New Garden or something or other - same peps though.
I've been going for 20 years. Homemade noodles & wontons. BBQ Pork crazy good. All dishes great. Cheap. Mean girls, but sweet!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
236 E Broadway (Broadway, between main & kingsway)
Vancouver, BC V5T 1W3
Tel: 604.876.7755
Vietnamese:
Thai son: Great soup, noodle bowls & shortribs.
373 Broadway East (just east of main street)
Vancouver, BC V5T 1W6, Canada
(604) 875-6436
These places are just outside of d/t van. JUST GO.
I can recommend more let me know. Got good recommendations for mexican, tapas, indian, - all really.
HAVE FUN!
mrstkach at 12:16AM on 05/14/09
I haven't done this for a lot of years, but, back when, we truly enjoyed a true British Tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria.
suegsf at 12:22AM on 05/14/09
mrstkach--bring it on! I have heard of Tojos--I suspect it might be out of my grad student budget. Good quality Mexican would be great too.
wgrier-thanks for the Vic reccomendation! see above comment about grad student budget--I doubt I could buy a closet from you!
suegsf--never had proper tea, another great idea!
BananaMonkey at 12:50AM on 05/14/09
Hey Banana Monkey, Tojo's is out of my budget as well but I thought I'd throw it out there. The rest of the suggestions I've given you are very good prices. Here's some more.
Sushi Downtown:
Just discovered this little gem. REALLY GOOD!
Oysi Oysi
1136 Alberni Street
Vancouver, BC
Mexican La Casita (in gastown)
Great atmosphere, better than average prices and GREAT food.
101 W Cordova
Vancouver, BC
Tel: 604-646-2444
http://www.vancouverslop.com/ is a great site for finding restaurants.
have a great day. chow.
mrstkach at 11:41AM on 05/14/09
We spent a scant 24 hours in Vancouver recently. We had a great meal at Raincity Grill, 1193 Denman St., West End, 604.685.7337. Fresh, local food and wine overlooking water. Very nice. A little pricey.
lambowner at 11:52AM on 05/14/09
Check out Chef Rob Feenie's place!
Take a picture if you see him!
http://www.cactusclubcafe.com/locations
http://www.cactusclubcafe.com/locations/bc/victoria
hungrychristel at 12:14PM on 05/14/09
Though I have never been, many friends and family swear by Vij's. Only open for diner, no reservations, and always a line, it has an international reputation as one of the best Indian restaurants North America.
http://www.vijs.ca/index_in.htm
jason at 12:41PM on 05/14/09
@jason--I saw this guy on the Vancouver ep of No Reservations with Tony Bourdain--it looked fantastic!
Oh heavens...I'm going to want to extend my trip! Tojo's was on that episode as well. Perhaps I'll look deep within my remaining credit and see if I can splurge on one of these places!
So many options. Thanks much for all of your suggestions!
BananaMonkey at 2:40PM on 05/14/09
@bananaMonkey - my sister-in-law lived in Vancouver for years, and I have several friends who live there, and they all rave about this place. Even the line is a fun place to be, and the owner often brings appetizers out to those in line. He is also well known for mixing and meeting with the guests, and everyone I know who has eaten there has raved about the food.
Let us know where you go, and how it works out!
jason at 2:48PM on 05/14/09
Yes please do a recap when you get back.
tatianak at 3:43PM on 05/14/09
If you're interested in Vij's but not so much the lineup, Vij's Rangoli next door also has *fantastic* food but as a smaller, more casual establishment. Another big perk is that it's open for lunch and has a little covered patio. Cheaper too!
http://www.vijsrangoli.ca/
It's not actually downtown, but you can just grab one of many, many buses to Granville x Broadway and walk a few blocks.
milkytea at 4:01PM on 05/14/09
@hungrychristel: I hope you didn't mean to imply that Cactus Club (a local mega-restaurant chain) is owned by Rob Feenie, because that would be incorrect. After being ousted at his former restaurants, Lumiere and the eponymous Feenie's (both have been taken over by Daniel Boulud, with the latter becoming DB Bistro), Feenie has simply partnered with CC in terms of consulting on their menus.
Vancouver is rich with Japanese food, Victoria not so much. In Vancouver, I suggest checking out the burgeoning izakaya (Japanese bar food...tapas style) scene which developed here. Guu with Garlic (downtown, on Robson near Denman is my favorite. Nearby, Kingyo on Denman is another good one, if the lines at Guu are too long. Hapa Izakaya (also close by) is a slightly more upscale choice than Guu, with another location on Yew St, in the Kitsilano area if you're across the bridge from downtown.
For just plain sushi, I prefer Zipang Sushi on Main St. and The Eatery (W. Broadway near Alma St....terrific food if you can stand the loud atmosphere and college crowd).
Spicy Court Chinese Restaurant (Cambie St. near W. 41st Ave) has decent dim sum, or Kirin (the one inside City Square on Cambie St.) if you're willing to splurge a little.
Indian food is a must in Vancouver, as well as Thai. Sala Thai on Burrard St (downtown) and Sawasdee (on Main St, near King Edward St.) would be my picks. For Pacific Northwest cuisine, I second the suggestion of Raincity Grill. Great view, again downtown in the West End. If you do check out one of the many chain restaurants, the aforementioned Cactus Club is the top of the pack (I find Earls, Joey Tomato's, White Spot, et al to be generally disappointing and boring at best).
There are also some excellent French and Italian places, and I suggest you check out Dine Here to plot your restaurant hopping as you go along. Bon journee!
KidPresentable at 1:54AM on 05/15/09
For a really cheap, quick bite to eat try Ezogiku, if you don't have any of their stores where you're from. They are a ramen-ya chain; meals costs ~$8-10/person. They make a really great bowl of hiyashi chuka soba (cold noodles served with curly (Chinese) noodles vs buckwheat), various types of ramen, curry rice, and, of course, gyoza. There are a couple of locations iirc.
My only complaint is that their portions are a bit large...
Cassaendra at 7:38AM on 05/15/09
@ KidPresentable
I stand respectfully corrected! How shameful of me :P
I haven't been there but merely heard of it; I live in the praries, I'm a fan of his style though
hungrychristel at 9:48AM on 05/15/09
I am overwhelmed! Thanks all so much for taking the time to lay out some options! I will definitely re-cap. In my mind, Van was the place for Chinese and Japanese food, I had completely forgot about the rest of the South Asian community here that must also be producing great food. I am conferencing at the UBC campus and living on the cheap-bagels, cheap cheap sushi and conference food to save my pennies until the weekend and next week. Then the b/f flies out to join me and we begin our culinary adventure!
BananaMonkey at 10:12AM on 05/15/09
Sum sui wah on Main & 18th for great dim sum.
sugartoast at 11:44PM on 05/15/09
Victoria - get to Old Vic Fish & Chips. Lightest batter since my last high grade tempura appetizer, and a saucy waitress who knew how to flirt back.
Nursie at 2:04AM on 05/16/09
Hi All, The eating adventure is not yet over--I'm back in Van after a great few days in Victoria and camping in Port Renfrew. We have had some fantastic food thus far, even popping into the Cactus Club for dessert a few nights ago. We went to Kirin for Dim Sum (twice--couldn't resist and we were in the neighbourhood) and Ebisu for a great sushi dinner. In Victoria, we had a night of camping and camp food and instead of eating out, had a glorious seafood cook off with local oysters, crabs and sweet shrimp.
We're having a wonderful time, and I thank you all heartily for your kind recommendations. It's off for a treat of a seafood dinner tonight, and then sadly back to Ontario tomorrow. Happy Thursday eaters!
BananaMonkey at 7:22PM on 05/21/09
Hi again everyone--one final thanks for all your suggestions. We ended the trip with a treat from the b/f, a lovely seafood feast at Coast, in the uber trendy (and sort of soul-less) Yaletown district in Downtown Van.
BananaMonkey at 9:24PM on 05/22/09