Ah, patios. As soon as the sun and warmth return to Vancouver, people flock to restaurant patios like migrating Canada geese returning to Lost Lagoon. Patios have come a long way since the early 80s, when most were unlicensed and had, on average, a maximum of one or two tables. Even better, the food being offered at restaurants with patios has become laudable in its own right. And, while a few restaurants with patios—especially those close to water—still rest on their geographic laurels, more are trying to throw shade on the views with their edible attractions.
My third annual patio feature (see 2014 and 2015 for more options) looks at some of the city’s prettiest—and tastiest—patios.
Beach Bay Café
1193 Denman St. | 604-685-7337 | BeachBayCafe.com
Since executive chef Felix Zhou took over the kitchen here a few months ago, Beach Bay has become a dining destination worthy of visiting even without the stunning views from the patio overlooking English Bay. With the help of senior sous chef Michael Winning, Zhou churns out dishes like the groan-inducing lobster and asparagus, a minimalist pairing that sees butter-poached Nova Scotia lobster paired with buttery shaved asparagus (yes, it’s a wee bit buttery) over a mustard emulsion that saves you from drowning in the afore-mentioned butter. Or, go with the divinely simple radish salad with kalamata “dirt” and almond slivers, drizzled with herbed oil.
Bar manager Adrian Lindner, who’s also a sommelier, crafts cocktails that play delightfully with the seafood-forward menu. Try the Floral Excuse, with its refreshing mix of gin, lillet, elderflower and juniper, or the Herbal Negroni, with sorrel and orange bitters.
Bonus: the brunch menu, which includes eggs benny, fish and chips, and a smoked salmon sandwich, is available seven days a week.
Ancora
1600 Howe St. | 604-681-1164 | AncoraDining.com
Despite the beauty of its large, shady, waterfront patio, it’s really hard to scoff at anything about this restaurant. The concept, Peruvian-Japanese cuisine, is delivered with panache by executive chef Ricardo Valverde and raw chef Yoshihiro Tabo. Dishes like the Dungeness crab causa, finished with olive emulsion and a runny quail’s egg, are delicious and classic in presentation. More innovative items like the seared scallops with pork belly and peach-jicama salsa, are comforting enough to tempt even the least adventurous eater. I would also highly recommend just coming in to partake of raw items, like the salmon tartare with aji amarillo, the pickled mackerel with sansho pepper, and one of the trio of ceviches.
GM and wine director Andrea Vescovi holds the keys to an excellent wine list and cocktails, by new bartender Phillip Karatsyupa, are heavily influenced by craft vodka and sake (sometimes combining the two), as well as several intriguing variations of the Pisco Sour, the national drink of Peru.
Desserts, by pastry chef Amy Lee, range from light coconut custards with mango pearls and passionfruit sorbet to chocolate mousse and gently-spiced piccarones with dulce de leche.
Brix and Mortar
1138 Homer St. | 1137 Hamilton St. | 604-915-9463 | BrixAndMortar.ca
It’s been in operation for more than a decade, and after its massive renovation and restructuring, Brix and Mortar (formerly Brix Wine Bar) now offers not one, but two stunning patios in Yaletown. On one side, there is the glass-ceiling and brick-walled garden patio accessed from Homer Street, complete with fairy lights and English garden accents. On the other, a massive open-air patio (covered and heated, natch) overlooks Hamilton Street, perfect for people-watching.
It would all be nothing, however, without the food and drinks to match. The contemporary Canadian menu features favourites like the lamb bacon salad and the smoked sablefish gnocchi with pinot gris cream. Wines are available by the glass and flight, as well as several featured reserve bottles available by the glass each night, thanks to the Coravin wine system.
Thierry
1059 Alberni St. | 604-608-6870 | ThierryChocolates.com
There’s no water view and it’s fairly small, but this patio boasts some of the sweetest flavours in town. Pastry chef and chocolatier Thierry Busset not only crafts some of the best macarons, truffles and brandy snap tuiles in the city, he also serves a fantastic lunch menu that features a niçoise sandwich, quiche Loraine with thick chunks of bacon and mushrooms, and hot chocolate flavoured with your choice of caramel, Basque chili or hazelnut. Even better, this is the considered one of the finest coffee houses in the city, and the house blend espresso is rumoured to be able to revive both the hungover and the comatose. It also doesn’t hurt that this is a licensed establishment, meaning you can enjoy a glass of Sancerre with that slice of mille feuille.
Miku
#70 – 200 Granville St. | 604-568-3900 | MikuRestaurant.com
Sushi is so ubiquitous in Vancouver as to be almost passé, but I never get tired of the beautiful Aburi sushi and innovative fare at this upscale Japanese restaurant that inhabits the former Aqua Riva space at the base of Granville Street, directly on the water. The sweeping views are rather nice, especially on a sunny day, but it’s the pressed salmon or mackerel sushi (among others), topped with thin rounds of jalapeño and seared with the secret Miku sauce, that will bring you back. Need something more hearty? Try the sake and soy-braised beef shank with pickled wasabi, the miso-baked sablefish with prawn tempura, or the massive chilled seafood platters. Pair it with something from the extensive sake list for a nice after-work tipple.
Here are a few more patios worthy of repeat visits:
Sister restaurant to Miku, this massive, walled, garden patio in Yaletown has some of the same aburi-style dishes, as well as items like the Brome Lake duck confit drummettes, the crunchy Hokkaido scallop roll and the Aburi rib-eye steak with tamari veal jus.
Classic French bistro fare, monster grain bowls at lunch, and some of the best trout tartare in the city make this Coal Harbour a fantastic destination day or night.
Sustainable, local, foraged and contemporary are the bywords at this Robson Street institution thanks to chef Chris Whittaker, and the interior courtyard patio with its picnic bench seating is as Canadian as it gets. The fresh, cheesy pan bread with spiced honey is a joy for the ages.
Gastown doesn’t boast many patios, but of the few there are, Tacofino’s is one not to miss. The massive restaurant and taco bar has a small, brick-lined patio facing onto Blood Alley that features string lights and solid tequila and mescal-based cocktails that pair nicely with the al pastor and fish tacos.
Sometimes you just want a burger and beer, and someplace to throw the kids to shut them up. Order the West Coast chowder and “The Works” burger, and a local beer from R&B, and watch the kids make sandcastles from the sunny patio at the Jericho sailing centre. You’re welcome.
Anya Levykh is a freelance food, drink and travel writer who covers all things ingestible. In addition to obsessively collecting cookbooks, she is a judge for the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @foodgirlfriday.
