Moltaqa in Yaletown Bar

Vancouver has some amazing restaurants and drinking establishments, both at the high and low ends of the price scale.

Best Places to Eat and Drink

For the best places to eat and drink throughout the Lower Mainland, check out the following:

Top Restaurants in Vancouver

Below are just some of the region’s culinary and experiential highlights.

Coal Harbour

Dahlia Restaurant – French and Italian cuisine at the AZUR Hotel at 833 West Pender Street.
H2 Kitchen + Bar – a great restaurant at 1601 Bayshore Drive that specializes in smokehouse-style cuisine. If you like rotisserie chicken, brisket, barbecued ribs and other similar dishes, you’ll love this place! It also has an exceptional outdoor patio in the summer.
H Tasting Lounge – located at the Westin Bayshore Hotel, this really nice restaurant is home to the Winterlust domed-dining experience between late fall and early spring.
Nightingale – located at 1017 West Hastings Street, this high-end restaurant is headed by chef David Hawksworth.
P2B Bistro – at the Pinnacle Harbourfront Hotel near the Vancouver Convention Centre.
Showcase Restaurant – a classy West Coast-style restaurant at the Marriott Pinnacle Hotel on West Hastings Street not far from the Vancouver Convention Centre.

Commercial Drive

Social Restaurant – global fusion food with a rooftop patio at 1812 Commercial Drive.
Violeté – a bistro at 1380 Commercial Drive serving food with Italian and Spanish flavours.

Yaletown

Moltaqa – a Moroccan restaurant at 1002 Mainland Street.
Tutto – an impressive Italian restaurant at 901 Homer Street in Yaletown.

Downtown Vancouver

Alouette Bistro – a stylish French restaurant inside the Executive Hotel Le Soleil at 567 Hornby Street.
Gotham Steakhouse & Bar – an upscale steakhouse in a restored building at 615 Seymour Street.
Hydra Estiatorio – upscale Greek and Mediterranean food at 475 Howe Street.
Kobe Japanese Steakhouse – a teppanyaki experience with flair at 1042 Alberni Street.
Linh Café – Vietnamese favourites with a French influence at 1428 Granville Street.
Moxies – a contemporary chain restaurant with a location at 180 West Georgia Street.
Top of Vancouver – near Gastown with memorable and revolving 360-degree views of the city.

Other Vancouver Neighbourhoods

Dockside Restaurant – a popular place on Granville Island.
La Casa Gelato – situated at 1033 Venables Street, this spot draws fans from all over town to its 500 flavours of ice cream and gelato.
The Teahouse – a fancy place for a meal in Stanley Park.
Vij’s – located at 3106 Cambie Street, it’s arguably one of Vancouver’s finest East Indian restaurants (and definitely the most famous).
Yuwa – an upscale Japanese restaurant at 2775 West 16th Avenue in Kitsilano.

Popular Vancouver-home-grown trendy chain restaurants to check out include Cactus Club, Earls and The Keg Steakhouse.

In addition to everything above, there is also Guilt & Company. Located at #1 Alexander Street in Gastown, it’s a bar, not a restaurant. It’s the best place, however, for live music which it offers almost every day of the year.

The above is just a tiny sample list of restaurants we recommend. The Lower Mainland offers many more exceptional bars and restaurants too. Be sure to check out the best places by region at the top of this page too.

Food and Restaurant Festivals

A number of special restaurant events take place in Vancouver. They include the following:

Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival – special hot cocoa creations at participating cafes and coffee shops in January and February.
Dine Out Vancouver Festival – special menu deals at hundreds of restaurants across the Lower Mainland from mid-January until the beginning of February.
Greater Vancouver Food Truck Festival – a series of food truck events at various locations in the summer.
Koolfest – special summer drinks at participating cafés, chocolatiers and other businesses in Metro Vancouver in July and August.
Taste of Abby – a fall food festival in Abbotsford celebrating the harvest season and local foods.
A Taste of the Valley – a food and drink sampling event at Chilliwack Heritage Park in late winter.
Vancouver Ribfest Events – festivals with barbequed food, live music and other activities in Port Moody, Langley, Mission and Chilliwack.
Brewery & the Beast – a high-end food and drink culinary event in Vancouver.
Korean Food Festival – also known as Kimchifest and the K-Food Festival, it’s a Korean-themed event in Burnaby.
Capilano Mall Foodie Fest – a food-themed festival with vendors, live music and kid-friendly activities at Capilano Mall in North Vancouver.
Taste of Yaletown – special menus at participating restaurants in Vancouver’s Yaletown district in October.
Richmond’s Asian Feast Dining Festival – a seasonal initiative promoting Chinese and other Asian restaurants in the City of Richmond. (It doesn’t take place every year, but it has sometimes in the past.)