Vancouver’s most popular annual food-related festival starts this week and runs for 17 days. It’s a great event, with a multitude of excellent dining choices and events to choose from (see my Dine Out guide from last week). But, for some of us, a quiet, unrushed meal is what our appetites and sensibilities are calling for. If you’re looking to avoid the feasting crowds and set menus, here are 10 places where you can dine – and drink – in peace.
It’s the West End’s new love, and for all the right reasons. I can’t guarantee there won’t be a crowd, but the food is good (mini Yorkshire puddings, steak and ale pie) and the wine list is better than the many British beers.
North Vietnamese food in a casual, cozy setting on East Hastings. Don’t miss the green mango salad, the earthy, aromatic soups, the wickedly good chicken wings or the truly excellent turmeric-laced sticky rice. Stick with the tea here, it’s imported from owner Rose Nguyen’s home town in North Vietnam and is both restorative and delicious.
I reviewed this charming little bistro just last week, and now is the perfect time to go, as the restaurant will be closed for three weeks, Feb. 4-25 inclusive. With three starters, mains and desserts every night, all available for $35 (or two courses for $28), think of it as your own personal Dine Out on the Drive. Menu is posted daily by 1pm.
“Modern European,” (with a slight bent toward Italy) has never been better. Whipped ricotta, rabbit speck, beef shoulder with Roman gnocchi, it’s all delicious. Cinara is also open for lunch, so for those working in the financial district, it’s an easy walk. The dessert trolley changes daily and wines have reasonable mark-ups.
This Japanese “snack bar” on West Broadway offers up izakaya-style nosh with inventive touches, like the corn “nibblets” fried with cilantro batter, grilled miso-marinated sablefish, octopus slices marinated in plum, or the crispy, sautéed pork foot with soy butter. Did I mention most dishes are under $10, with many in the $5-7 range?
Breakfast all-day is just one benefit of going here, especially if it involves the pulled-pork pancakes with JD-spiked maple syrup. The breakfast banh mi is another winner, as is the Pemberton Meadows beef burger (try it with the tomato chutney).
Sister restaurant to Red Wagon, this tiny French bistro serves up classic like steak tartare, moules frites and duck confit, along with a daily revolving menu of features and excellent by-the-glass offerings.
Because it’s the season for hearty French food. This brand new Kitsilano bistro is a perfect slice of Paris, from the re-purposed Singer sewing tables to the revolving desserts in the carousel and the herbs growing on the wall behind the bar. The food isn’t bad, either.
It’s high-end and frequented by celebrities, but the seafood is excellent and sustainable, and the cocktails make great quaffs at the well-stocked oyster bar. Everything is Ocean Wise and sustainable, and if you’re lucky, the sea urchin will be on the menu.
Vegetarian and vegan fare done up right, the food here is comfortable and hearty, with gluten-free and raw options as well. Try the raw beet ravioli or the beer-battered halloumi, and the chocolate ganache bar for dessert.
• Anya Levykh has been writing about all things ingestible for more than 10 years. Hear her every Monday on CBC Radio One’s On the Coast and find her on Twitter @foodgirlfriday and Facebook.
