The 20 Best Restaurants in Vancouver

A 40-year Chinatown institution serving Cambodian and Vietnamese food, famous for its fried chicken wings and beef luc lac. A friend sends you here without hesitation, this is the real deal. Caveats: it's closed Tuesdays, doesn't take late diners, and lines form at peak, so go off-hours.

Vikram Vij's landmark Indian restaurant on Cambie, known for inventive, elegant dishes like the wine-marinated lamb popsicles. A friend sends you here for a memorable dinner. Good news since the old days: it now takes reservations, so you can skip the legendary no-booking lineups. Dinner only, and it's a splurge.

Chef J-C Poirier's Michelin-starred love letter to Québec feels like a Montreal grandmother's cottage transplanted to Railtown, all gingham and dark wood. Go for the tourtière, the duck with foie gras, and anything drenched in classic French sauce work. The catch: it's a formal prix-fixe experience at a premium price, and tables book out weeks ahead.

Chef Angus An's Kitsilano flagship is the standard-bearer for Thai food in Vancouver, bold and layered rather than dumbed-down for Western palates. Order the crispy oyster salad, the wild boar or beef curries, and let the kitchen push the spice. It's a full-service sit-down room at higher prices than a neighborhood Thai spot, but the depth of flavor earns it.

A tortilleria and taqueria that nixtamalizes heirloom Mexican corn and presses fresh masa in-house, giving it arguably the best tortillas in the city. Order the carnitas by the pound with a stack of tortillas to build your own, or the classic tacos. The menu is tight and the space is small, so it's more about the craft than a big sit-down scene.

The waterfront restaurant that brought Aburi (flame-seared) sushi to Vancouver, with a view of Canada Place and the harbour. A friend sends you here for a special-occasion sushi splurge, especially the Aburi salmon oshi. Book ahead, it's popular and pricey, and the view seats go fast.

This Michelin-starred Main Street room is Vancouver's most exciting modern kitchen, doing hyper-seasonal Pacific Northwest cooking with a wood hearth at its heart. The tasting menu is the move, but the bread and cultured butter alone justify a visit. Reservations are genuinely hard to get, so plan ahead or try for a bar seat.

A Bib Gourmand Vietnamese restaurant run by the Nguyen siblings, serving family recipes with real refinement in a plant-filled Main Street room. The number-ordered menu makes it easy; the shaking beef, imperial rolls, and any of the noodle bowls are standouts. They don't take reservations and the wait on weekends can stretch long, so put your name down early.

A Chinatown gem that fuses Japanese and Italian cooking in a dim, jazz-club-meets-1960s-Tokyo room that's one of the prettiest spaces in the city. The tajarin pasta and anything off the crudo section rarely miss. It's up a flight of stairs with a tight dining room, so it books up fast and isn't great for large groups.

An old-school Cantonese BBQ diner that keeps the roast-meat tradition alive in a retro room with counter seating and Formica charm. The BBQ pork, crispy-skin roast duck, and wonton noodle soup over rice are the reasons to come. It's no-frills and can get busy at lunch, but that's the whole point.

An Italian osteria on Kingsway with a wood grill at its center, turning out rustic, confident cooking in a warm, always-packed room. The spit-roasted and grilled meats, the sugo bianco, and the handmade pastas are the highlights. It's a popular spot that books up, and the lively volume isn't for anyone after a quiet meal.

A tiny Railtown trattoria beloved for handmade pasta that changes with the seasons and a warm, buzzy neighborhood feel. The rigatoni, the meatballs, and whatever fresh pasta special is running are the way to go. The room is small and takes limited reservations, so weekend waits can be long, cramped, and worth it.

A Chinese brasserie that helped spark Chinatown's revival, mixing Shanghainese and Taiwanese street food with a cool cocktail-bar energy. The mantou sliders, shao bing, and sticky rice cake are near-mandatory. They don't take reservations for smaller groups and the room is small and loud, so expect a wait at prime time.

A perennial award-winner for best izakaya, Kingyo delivers theatrical, deeply flavorful Japanese small plates in a carved-wood West End space. Go for the stone-grilled beef, the ishiyaki chahan, and the tan-tan noodles. It's a shared-plates format that adds up quickly, and the popular room means a wait unless you reserve or arrive early.

A long-running Cantonese institution famous for its roasted squab and daytime dim sum served from the cart-era playbook. Come for the squab, the creamy salted-egg-yolk buns, and fresh seafood pulled from the tanks. It's a big banquet-style room that can feel dated, and dim sum gets packed on weekends, so go early.

A cash-friendly greasy-spoon institution famous for its rock-bottom breakfast deal and unpretentious diner energy. The draw is the cheap all-day eggs-and-hash-browns plate with bottomless filter coffee, plus solid diner classics. Don't expect anything fancy or trendy; the value and the throwback vibe are the whole appeal, and it can get busy on weekend mornings.

David Hawksworth's flagship inside the Rosewood Hotel Georgia remains the benchmark for polished contemporary fine dining downtown, balancing refinement with approachability. The tasting menu and the pristine seafood are the draw, along with impeccable service. It's a special-occasion splurge in a somewhat formal hotel setting, so temper expectations if you want edgy or casual.

Vancouver's famous Japanese-style hot dog, topped with things like teriyaki, seaweed and Japanese mayo. A friend sends you to the downtown Burrard Street trailer for a fun, cheap, only-in-Vancouver bite. It's a novelty, not a meal out, and locations shift, so check hours before trekking over.

A Michelin-recommended Gastown room blending French technique with West Coast ingredients and a whisper of Asian influence, set in a handsome brick-and-glass space near Gassy Jack's old haunts. The seafood plates and the cocktail program are both serious. It's a polished, pricey experience geared to date nights rather than a quick casual bite.

Born as a Tofino surf-town food truck, Tacofino grew into a Vancouver staple for West Coast tacos and burritos with big, bright flavors. The fish tacos, tuna ta-ta, and crispy chicken burrito are the crowd-pleasers. It's fast-casual and can be busy and no-frills, but it's a reliable, affordable taste of BC beach food.