Going to Vancouver this weekend for work, will probably go to Tojo's sushi bar one night but am open for any suggestions for dinner and brunch.

I was only in Vancouver for 4 or 5 days, but I loved Le Crocadile for dinner. It is a French Bistro-type restaurant and I can honestly say I had one of the best meals I've had in North America there. (I remember it having a good wine list and a very good reserve wine list, if interested in a more special bottle.)

I really enjoyed Vancouver! Have fun!

a

If you do a search on WS you will find a very detailed list from Mishy. Wrote it last year.

We much preferred Victoria to Vancouver, but enjoyed downtown Vancouver. Gastown was series of ripoff shops. The waterfront park is a don't miss. If you head North from Vancouver towards Whistler, don't miss Shannon Falls.

Where to eat in Vancouver:

Best restaurant in town: Lumiere, 2551 W. Broadway, 604-739-8185, in the style of Charlie Trotters or French Laundry, with a chef who appears able to match those guys (they're friends of his), West Coast contemporary food, amazing presentations, tasting menus only, bit pricy at C$85-125, but worth it IMHO. Reservations must be made immediately; they sell out every night.

Close Second: West, 2881 Granville St., 604-738-8938, also West Coast contemporary, just gets better and better, beautiful presentation, everything extremely well prepared, beautiful room.

Best sushi: Tojo’s, 202-777 W. Broadway, 604-872-8050, people fly up from LA (well, Hollywood) to eat here, and it's as good as sushi can get in North America. If you're adventurous, ask for seats at the sushi bar, and let Tojo feed you with whatever he thinks you'll like. Unforgettable.

Best Chinese: Sun Sui Wah, 3888 Main St., 604-872-8822, great food, great service, lots of fresh fish (from tanks in the restaurant), reasonable price for that quality.

Best Italian: Bis Moreno, 1355 Hornby Street, 604-669-2812, new kid on the block, tasting menus 3-8 courses, mix and match if you like (I DON'T recommend the pasta tasting menu; not enough variety IMO), everything delicious, some things remarkable. Right across the street from the old best Italian, Il Giardino d’Umberto, 1382 Hornby St., 604-669-2422, which is still great for more traditional fare (and some not so traditional).

Best fish/seafood: C Restaurant, #2- 1600 Howe St., 604-681-1164, remarkably fresh and flavorful, some tables have great views but the food is what you want to come here for. Very skilled and imaginative chef.

Best French: Le Crocodile, 909 Burrard St., 604-669-4298, very Alsatian, complete with snooty and sometimes indifferent service. We love going here anyway. Close in quality, but a small step down, is Pastis, 2153 W. Fourth Ave., 604-731-5020.

Best East Indian: Vij's, 1480 W. 11th Ave., 604-736-6664, not really authentic, but way BETTER than authentic, kind of West Coast fusion, uses best/freshest ingredients, a real tour de force in eating, unforgettable, but one snag: no reservations, and always a line-up at peak times. But if you go early or late (call first to see how long the wait will be), it's great dining, with food so interesting it's hard to make up your mind.

Best steaks: Hy's (on Hornby St., haven't got address or phone number, but easy to get from book or your hotel; this is a Vancouver staple), as good as Morton's, Ruth's Chris, etc., but with more reasonable portions. Real old-school steak house.

All great restaurants, but Vancouver's got a very large numbers of eateries per capita. Others worth checking out (and I don't mean to make them sound less than excellent; the ones above are at the top of their game right now):

- Raincity Grill,1193 Denman St., 604-685-7337, real West Coast fresh, great wine list, knowledgeable wine service

- Bacchus, 845 Hornby St., 604-608-5319, in the Wedgewood Hotel, a bit formal, but everything is really good, about as good as a hotel kitchen can be.

- Bishop’s, 2183 W. Fourth Ave., 604-738-2025, for many years Vancouver's best restaurant, West Coast contemporary, fabulous fresh preparation; as good as always, but the bar has been raised by the previously-mentioned places, and so Bishop's suffers by remaining constantly good.

- Glowbal, 1079 Mainland St., 604-602-0835, more of a see-and-be-seen place, where all the in-town celebrities seem to end up; food is good, interior decorating is really nice, but we've been here once and no desire to come back

- Piccolo Mondo, 850 Thurlow St., 604-688-1633, excellent Italian, great wine list.

- Blue Water Café, 1095 Hamilton St., 604-688-8078, excellent seafood, great raw bar (many varieties of oyster, all fresh), same owner as West.

You'd get some arguments, I think, about the best French or Italian-- everyone's got their favorites-- but I think most locals would agree that the list I've given you represents the best restaurants in Vancouver, with probably more that should be added.

Last year I dined at Lumiere in Vancouver. Good food, but to compare it with the French Laundry I can't agree. On a scale of 1-10 Lumiere is an 8 while F.L. is a 10. Others may differ but I've dined at both places.

Definitely agree on Vij's. Perhaps the best Indian food I've ever eaten. Get there early and stand in line. Otherwise you may wait up to two hours for a table. If I get back to Vancouver, I won't miss dining here again.

The market on Granville Island is a must. Lot's of great local fresh produce, seafood and meat. It beat Seattle's market hands down.

Vancouver is a very nice cosmopolitan city. I found Victoria to be much more touristy and not my cup of tea. Worth a day trip but I prefer the city. Someday I hope to get out to the Wiccanninnish Inn on the island. I've heard it's a great place to stay.

I wish I could remember some of the places we ate in Vancouver. But, let me tell you that the food there is awesome. I'd listen to Mr. Seaquam, he knows of what he speaks & has plenty of dining around experience.

Have fun, Vancouver is great.

Seaquam, thanks for the tips, I have eaten ate at Raincity Grill, Piccolo Mondo, Blue Water Café, Il Giardino d’Umberto and Le Crocodile, wanted to try Lumiere and C Restaurant, never heard of West or Bis Moreno but I am now anxious to try. I am also curious about Sun Sui Wah we have usually gone to the Pink Pearl for dim sum but never really looked for anything else. I have not been to Vancouver in over a year, cannot wait.
Gigond_Ass, I could not agree more, I much prefer Vancouver to Victoria, and the Grainville market is great, I buy a whole salmon every time I go.

Hope you have a great time here. This is a busy weekend for us, landshark, but next time you're headed this way, give me a bit of notice and perhaps we can get together.

You drink wine, right?

This weekend is very full, we get in Friday night, work all day Saturday, fly home on Sunday.
Do I drink wine? That would be a resounding yes

Just had dinner at Tojo's here in Vancouver, easily among the best sushi bars anywhere in the world.

Tojo's is in a class of its own. It's WOW sushi.

We think so too.

Landshark, did you sit right at the bar? We find that that's just a little too adventurous for us. We prefer a table and a menu.

Man all this sushi talk makes me want to try DC's Kaz Sushi Bistro. mmmmmm-sushi

I love sitting at the bar, you get to see him make his magical preparations right in front of you. When you let him make whatever excites him, it is very imaginative and oh so good. I have been there quite a few times and he has rarely repeated anything.

We may have to go to Tojo's our next trip and sit at the bar.

Rumor has it that we are planning to meet friends from NYC in Vancouver for a long weekend.

We promise to give Seaquam and Sylvia fair warning before we descend upon Vancouver.

We just ate at West, great food, nice service, good wine list, and overall very enjoyable meal.

Tonight a so-so dinner at Glowbal here in Vancouver

Never heard of it. I'll make sure to pass if I ever do.

If you're in town much longer, try Cin Cin or Vij's or Provence Marinaside or Bin941 or Seasons in the Park or the Salmon House or La Terazza or Villa de Lupo or William Tell or Diva at the Met or Bishop's or Le Crocodile.

Another great meal at Tojo's here in Vancouver