List your favorite Vancouver & Victoria Restaurants here! (please)
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List your favorite Vancouver & Victoria Restaurants here! (please)
I've looked through some old threads and checked out some tour books and Vancouver Magazine, but I would love to get some more current input from Fodorites. Any price range, any cuisine. We like to visit restaurants that are "typical" to the area that we are visiting, especially ones that use fresh, local ingredients. If there are regional specialties, or "street food" that you generally can't get anywhere else, we would love to try those, too. We also enjoy Pan-Asian-type places.
In Vancouver, Raincity Grill is on our radar screen. We also plan to visit Granville Island. I haven't done much research on Victoria restaurants yet.
We will be spending 3 days in each city, so both lunch and dinner suggestions are welcome!
In Vancouver, Raincity Grill is on our radar screen. We also plan to visit Granville Island. I haven't done much research on Victoria restaurants yet.
We will be spending 3 days in each city, so both lunch and dinner suggestions are welcome!
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Victoria - Agree with NW Wanderer for Italian Il Terrazzo
http://www.ilterrazzo.com/
http://www.ilterrazzo.com/
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In Victoria we went ro the Empress for Lunch. If you like Indian food the Bengal Tiger at the Empress is wonderful atmosphere great food served buffet style. Because it was lunch it wasn't that expensive
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The Cannery, at the eastern end of Burrard Inlet.
Fair drive from downtown, extraordinary views of sunsets over the harbour.
Last time I checked, you could take a seaplane from downtown across the inlet to the restaurant.
BAK
Fair drive from downtown, extraordinary views of sunsets over the harbour.
Last time I checked, you could take a seaplane from downtown across the inlet to the restaurant.
BAK
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On Vancouver Island, the Aerie is wonderful for a special night out. It is a Relaix & Chateau hotel. It is just a little ways outside Victoria.
BTW, the best place on Vancouver Island (in my opinion) is Tofino if you have the time.
BTW, the best place on Vancouver Island (in my opinion) is Tofino if you have the time.
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A great lunch spot, though hard to find, is Salt (www.salttastingroom.com). They serve little but cured meats and cheeses and is a perfect place for a light meal prior to dining out that evening in one of Vancouver's fine dining establishments!
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Everyone's listed some great restaurants. Someone had recommended Hon's to us for authentic Shanghai-style Chinese food, and we liked it so much, we went several times. The fish was fresh and delicious. Hon's is across the street from Hotel Listel.
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Thanks again for these and the suggestions on other threads. We have just returned and I thought I would update this thread for anyone searching for restaurants in these two fine cities in the future. I must say that we did not have a bad meal in either Vancouver or Victoria. I should note, though, that we were staying at the Westin Bayshore in Vancouver, so most of our choices there were mostly because of proximity. The weather also made outdoor dining a pleasure. A quick recap:
Vancouver-Dinners:
Raincity Grill: Food was excellent and well-presented. Our waiter, however, had a very bad attitude. FWIW, we saw and heard other servers interacting with patrons, and it seemed that ours was not representative of the all the waitstaff. It kind of diminished our overall experience there, though.
Lift- Great food, architecturally interesting building, beautiful views, wonderful staff. All this and just a 15-second walk from our hotel. We returned here for afternoon cocktails as well.
Tapastree - on a quiet, leafy section of Robson St., also a short walk from our hotel. This was probably our favorite dinner of our entire trip. I think we covered a good percentage of the menu. We love small plates dining.
Mr. Pickwicks Fish and Chip on Denman - one of us were in the mood for fish and chips. Very casual and comfortable place, with a great selection of fish. We made the mistake of over-ordering. One piece of fish per entree would have been more than enough, especially if (like us) you are not used to deep-fried food. It was delicious, though.
Vancouver- Lunches:
Cardero's. Great views, service, food. I was not impressed with their menu, frankly, but the food turned out to be so well-prepared and fresh, that it won me over.
Salt Tasting Room - Gastown. Okay, it was a hot week in Vancouver, so the alley where Salt is located was especially ripe, smelling of garbage and urine. Once you get past that, though, the place is a joy. In addition to the charcuterie choices, the toasted sandwich with a side soup and salad was excellent.
Granville Island - grazing on purchases from different stands.
Lonsdale Quay - same as above.
Victoria:
Dim Sum at Mon Kee - we were hungry and found ourselves in Chinatown, so wandered upstairs for some Dim Sum, not expecting much because I hadn't researched this place in advance. We were pleasantly surprised.
Aura - We were staying at the Inn at Laurel Point, so we had to try their in-house place. The food was wonderful. We sat on the patio, where they give you blankets on cool nights because their patio heaters are very stylish, but don't give off any heat.![Imported](https://www.fodors.com/community/images/smilies/imported/smiley.gif)
The Keg: we usually try to avoid chain restaurants, but MIL really likes prime rib (for some reason, restaurants where she lives in Germany don't offer that cut) and remembered enjoying her prime rib at their Niagara Falls location, so there you go. We all had prime rib and it was fine.
Zambri's - a little, non-descript-strip-mall neighborhood Italian place that was very good. The waiter told us that they are moving locations, so look for that in the future.
There were so many other places that we wanted to try, but the timing and location didn't fit our schedule. Overall, though, we ate very well and were happy with our choices. We also drank only BC wine and beer, which we enjoyed immensely.
Vancouver-Dinners:
Raincity Grill: Food was excellent and well-presented. Our waiter, however, had a very bad attitude. FWIW, we saw and heard other servers interacting with patrons, and it seemed that ours was not representative of the all the waitstaff. It kind of diminished our overall experience there, though.
Lift- Great food, architecturally interesting building, beautiful views, wonderful staff. All this and just a 15-second walk from our hotel. We returned here for afternoon cocktails as well.
Tapastree - on a quiet, leafy section of Robson St., also a short walk from our hotel. This was probably our favorite dinner of our entire trip. I think we covered a good percentage of the menu. We love small plates dining.
Mr. Pickwicks Fish and Chip on Denman - one of us were in the mood for fish and chips. Very casual and comfortable place, with a great selection of fish. We made the mistake of over-ordering. One piece of fish per entree would have been more than enough, especially if (like us) you are not used to deep-fried food. It was delicious, though.
Vancouver- Lunches:
Cardero's. Great views, service, food. I was not impressed with their menu, frankly, but the food turned out to be so well-prepared and fresh, that it won me over.
Salt Tasting Room - Gastown. Okay, it was a hot week in Vancouver, so the alley where Salt is located was especially ripe, smelling of garbage and urine. Once you get past that, though, the place is a joy. In addition to the charcuterie choices, the toasted sandwich with a side soup and salad was excellent.
Granville Island - grazing on purchases from different stands.
Lonsdale Quay - same as above.
Victoria:
Dim Sum at Mon Kee - we were hungry and found ourselves in Chinatown, so wandered upstairs for some Dim Sum, not expecting much because I hadn't researched this place in advance. We were pleasantly surprised.
Aura - We were staying at the Inn at Laurel Point, so we had to try their in-house place. The food was wonderful. We sat on the patio, where they give you blankets on cool nights because their patio heaters are very stylish, but don't give off any heat.
![Imported](https://www.fodors.com/community/images/smilies/imported/smiley.gif)
The Keg: we usually try to avoid chain restaurants, but MIL really likes prime rib (for some reason, restaurants where she lives in Germany don't offer that cut) and remembered enjoying her prime rib at their Niagara Falls location, so there you go. We all had prime rib and it was fine.
Zambri's - a little, non-descript-strip-mall neighborhood Italian place that was very good. The waiter told us that they are moving locations, so look for that in the future.
There were so many other places that we wanted to try, but the timing and location didn't fit our schedule. Overall, though, we ate very well and were happy with our choices. We also drank only BC wine and beer, which we enjoyed immensely.
![Imported](https://www.fodors.com/community/images/smilies/imported/smiley.gif)