AUTHOR BIO: Mei Chen has worked for nearly a dozen start-ups in as many years, taking her to several West Coast cities. While she’s sure her current day job is permanent, she also has her eye on Carmel.
I used to live in Portland, and on nights when the city felt a little too self-serious, I would cross the river for Vancouver. The waterfront always sold me first: long walks past the pier, a breeze off the Columbia, and a lineup of places that seemed built for eating, not just looking at your plate.
Over time my forays stopped being detours and became a habit, because the restaurants here feel hungry in the right way: ambitious without the performance, welcoming and never arrogant. You can do a square pie and a pint with a view, or a chef cooking like the season matters, or tacos that taste like someone grew the vegetables and drove them to the kitchen at 9 a.m.
Vancouver is a city that rewards curiosity, and it keeps adding reasons to come back. After years of doing just that, I’ve assembled my list of the best restaurants in Vancouver right now.
3 Howls Remedy House
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This restored Victorian on Main Street is a cocktail bar that pairs a plant-forward menu with its own 3 Howls spirits, which the bartenders actually talk you through like they mean it. The room leans gothic—low light, vintage touches—and the drinks skew amaro-curious without being homework. Dinner holds its own, so the plan to “just grab one” never survives the first round.
Best for: Cocktail flights with real dinner
Amaro’s Table
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Genaro “Geno” Amaro’s modern American spot is where fried chicken shares the stage with steaks, big salads, and a bar team that makes an actually balanced whiskey sour. Service runs sharp at both locations, and the menu reads like someone edited it for Tuesday night, not just anniversaries. It is familiar food done with discipline, the kind that keeps a neighborhood coming back.
Best for: A sure-thing dinner with spot-on cocktails
Cecilia
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From the Amaro team, this waterfront all-day restaurant treats brunch like an Olympic event: Dutch babies, fried chicken and waffles, and a line that moves (albeit slowly). Evenings switch to seafood and a legit bar program, so the day never peaks too early. Groups fit easily, and reservations spare you the lobby loiter.
Best for: Waterfront brunch that rolls into dinner
The Chef Thai Cuisine
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This Mill Plain staple cooks from an exhibition kitchen, which is a nice way to say your pad kee mao arrives hot enough to prove it just left a wok. Curries, grilled salads, and noodles come fast, with clear gluten-free and vegetarian options that aren’t afterthoughts. Ask for your spice level and they actually hit it.
Best for: A dependable Thai fix any night of the week
Dediko
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Ella Bakh’s Georgian restaurant teaches by feeding—khachapuri that lands glossy and hot, hand-pleated khinkali that leak broth exactly once you learn the fold-and-bite. The menu even prints pronunciation keys, a small mercy for those of us who still say “kha-cha-what.” The Georgian wine list rewards curiosity without punishing your bill.
Best for: Khachapuri, khinkali, and a cozy date
Elements Restaurant
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Chef-owner Miguel Sosa runs a small dining room where the board shifts with what’s fresh at the market and plates read composed instead of fussy. Seared fish comes with real pan work, long braises show restraint, and vegetables get treated like they matter. Book it when you want intention without the tasting-menu lecture.
Best for: Seasonal, chef-driven menus
La Sorrentina
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Daisuke and Amy Hernández Matsumoto turn out classic Neapolitan pies and Southern Italian plates with a neighborhood energy that makes regulars out of strangers. Dough and sauce stay traditional, while specials and occasional classes keep the room engaged. Weekends fill early because sell-outs happen.
Best for: Classic Neapolitan pies in a family-run spot
Little Conejo
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Owners Mychal Dynes and farmer-chef Mark Wooten built this taco-and-mezcal house on in-house masa and produce from Wooten’s Phantom Rabbit Farm. The trompo al pastor earns its keep, and the carrot “pastor” proves the vegetables aren’t just side work. By sunset the mezcal list does the talking and the dining room feels like a house party.
Best for: Agave spirits and tacos that taste like the farm
Los Alambres Kitchen
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Vancouver’s Mexico City play is famous for machetes the size of your forearm, griddled to a crisp and stuffed to order. Street-taco plates and churros round out the move, with salsas that let you choose your afternoon. Portions are generous, and the weekend line says the locals already know.
Best for: CDMX-style machetes and a casual feast
The Sedgwick
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Chef Tim McCusker’s share-plate menu cherry-picks memories and travel into a greatest-hits list that actually works table-wide. The bar program is built to match, so you end up splitting octopus, fries in duck fat, and a drink you’ll remember. It feels celebratory without the speech.
Best for: Global small plates and cocktails
Nonavo Pizza
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Owner-chef Joey Chmiko fires blistered, airy pies with toppings that change when the farms do, and the salads are better than they have to be. The room is compact and the oven is quick, which is why tables turn and two-pie orders disappear. Arrive early if you like your wait times short and your crusts leopard-spotted.
Best for: Wood-fired pizza with market-driven toppings
Sool Korean Kitchen
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Hazel Dell’s Korean go-to covers the bases—LA galbi, kimchi jjigae, seafood pancakes—and sends out banchan like they want you fed before you order. Tables are roomy, hours run long, and there is soju if your night needs a lane change. It is the kind of place families adopt and friends recommend.
Best for: Comforting Korean staples with room for a crowd
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