Taste of Yaletown is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month, with 26 restaurants in the historic dining district harnessing their creativity into menu combinations that will never be seen again.
"We've been going strong for 10 years," says Annette O'Shea, executive director of the Yaletown BIA,"and every year the restaurants sell out for the two weeks of Taste of Yaletown.
"I think it's because Vancouverites are real foodies, and they know when something special is getting put on the plate."
From Oct. 16-30, chefs and restaurants will have the freedom to serve up any combination of items or courses at the fixed prices of $25, $35, or $45 – meaning diners will experience something unique and carefully selected at each restaurant.
"It's popular for the chefs to participate because they're experimenting and trying stuff. And then you actually see them running around and trying everybody else's restaurants over those two weeks," says O'Shea. "During Taste of Yaletown, they're putting together special menus and special pairings that aren't done ever again. They don't appear after Taste of Yaletown and they don't appear next year either."
New this year is the inclusion of beverage pairings, with sparkling wine and sakes emerging as a bit of a theme. A quick scan of the menus, all posted in advance online at YaletownInfo.com, also reveals octopus as a new Taste of Yaletown favourite, with Italian, French, and Japanese-style versions on offer.
And then there's lunch.
"There's quite a few restaurants this year putting on three-course lunches, which is nice to see," says O'Shea. "It used to be just an evening dining experience, and last year the restaurants wanted to do some lighter meals and quicker meals for people who were on a lunch hour."
Anchored by Michelin star-quality restaurants like Cioppino's, Blue Water, and Minami, the Yaletown dining scene has grown from 40 restaurants to 84 in the past seven years, and O'Shea says interest in the festival has grown with it.
"Really high-end restaurants attract others," she says. "And then of course we're a heritage district. It's a very pedestrian-level, pedestrian-friendly area, right in the heart of the downtown core."
According to the two area hotels, the Opus and Rosedale, visitors have started coming in from the Okanagan, the Island, and south of the border as well.
"That's new," says O'Shea. "That started about two years ago. "They may be coming to Vancouver for other reasons, but they're choosing that time period so that they can try some fantastic, high-end meals."
Participating restaurants include:
- Bistro Sakana
- Brix
- Cactus Club
- DD Mau
- Distillery
- George
- Glowbal
- Good Wolf
- Hamilton Street Grill
- Hapa Izakaya
- La Pentola
- Minami
- New Oxford
- The Parlour
- Provence
- Raw Canvas
- Salad Works
- Simply Thai
- Society
- Urban Fare
- Urban Thai
- West Oak
- Yaletown Brewing Company
- L'Antipasto
- La Terrazza
