Having just scored the grand slam of culinary awards, newcomer Nu's awards are richly deserved. The wine list is phenomenal, and it is fast gaining a reputation for its excellent cocktails (Jay Jones is the resident mixologist). The service is second to none and the food a dream. The only downside is the eclectic interior, thankfully there is a patio with an amazing view. Order a Windsor and watch the sun set. Pure bliss.

1661 Granville St, Vancouver;
tel: 604 646-4668

www.whatisnu.com/

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The Naam is a gem. It's the quintessential Vancouver restaurant, filled with everyone from grannies to stoned teens.

Go to Kits beach for the early evening, then walk towards the restaurant, have dinner then get back to the beach for a summer sunset.

Top items:
Organic Blueberry Milkshake
Naam fries with Miso Gravy
Buddha's Feast stir-fry

The Miso Gravy is so popular locally that you can buy it in many shops and the restaurant itself.

2724 West 4th Avenue, Kitsilano;
tel: 738 7151;
www.thenaam.com

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Granville Island Market is a must with its live theatre, restaurants and craft shops.

Open 7 days a week from 9am-7pm.
www.granvilleisland.com/en

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You cannot go to Vancouver without eating at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Gastown. It's a living museum of Canada's colourful past and has brilliant food.


 

Suite 210 - 55 Water St.
Tel: (604) 684 1287
www.oldspaghettifactory.ca

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Award winning Malaysian restaurant with the most amazing seafood, reasonably priced, friendly and efficient staff. No bookings taken, just turn up and add your name to the blackboard. We eat there every time we are in Vancouver. Delicious Sambal Tiger Prawns and Abundant Seafood platter...mmm

820 West Broadway;
tel: 604 731 6333

1096 Denman St;
tel: 604 683 3333

3003 West Broadway, Kitsilano; tel: 604 734 3005

www.bananaleaf-vancouver.com

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Resting against the beach logs on this Kitsilano neighbourhood beach and watching the sunset, you will experience all the quintessential elements of Vancouver at once. The beach, a view of the mountains, the ocean air, and a purely laid-back West Coast vibe. To make it even better, stroll along barefoot with a specialty coffee or smoothie from any of the local cafes and take in dinner at the Naam restaurant a couple of blocks away, where the service is so refreshingly unhurried it IS the evening's entertainment. Namaste!

www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/community_profiles/kitsilano;
Naam restaurant: 2724 West Fourth Avenue, Kitsilano;
tel: 738 7151;
www.thenaam.com

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This hippy veggie restaurant is open 24/7 and is such a great place to spend a relaxing evening. There is excellent food from around the world and charming service from friendly owners and waiting staff. Meat eaters and veggies alike will delight in the menu. I've been there twice and both times there have been queues out the door late into the night!

Kitslano Bay
2724 West Fourth Avenue;
www.thenaam.com/

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Food for the soul as well as for the body is available on Granville Island. Artists' and artisans' studios and shops, BC crafts, galleries, professional theatre(s), high quality (musical) buskers, possibly the best art college in the country (along with a gallery), the Fringe Festival, the Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival, and lots of family entertainment sponsored by Granville Island Management. It's a good thing that the public market is nearby to provide sustenance and energy for those who want to available to take advantage of some or all that Granville Island offers.

www.granvilleisland.com

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I had an excellent meal here. Sashimi, lobster and a tuna steak. This is a good restaurant, has a great fresh fish menu and a good wine list. It's also very reasonably priced in comparison to eating in London. But that whole Yaletown area is like a baby Shoreditch, an uber-trendy outpost in a frontier town.

1095 Hamilton St;
tel: 604 688 8078;
www.bluewatercafe.net

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Great restaurant where the super chefs of tomorrow are being trained for a tiny fraction of the price you would expect for aplace of this quality. The standards are very high and the service is great. Also has a great bakery. A little known secret in Vancouver.

1505 West 2nd Avenue (just before entrance to Granville Market);
tel: 604 734-4488;
www.picachef.com

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A lovely cafe in Downtown Vancouver, right across from the Art Gallery's Hornby entrance. It has the best muffins around, made with maple syrup (of course) and little containers of maple spread are free at the till. Excellent prices too, considering the location. And right next door is a place that sells the best lattes in town.

769 Hornby Street (between Robson and Georgia);
tel: 604-682-6175;
mapledelights.com

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Joe's Grill is the one of the best breakfast/brunch places I've ever been too. The service is quick and friendly, the prices are cheap, the portions are big and most importantly, delicious!!

It's a perfect place to sit and watch the world go by, read the papers or eat away a hangover!!

1031 Davie St.
Tel: 604 682 3683

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This incredible food market is packed full of fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, ice creams, pastas, cakes and much more. You can enjoy a huge variety of cuisine so make sure you arrive with an empty stomach or you'll be missing out. While the guide books tell you to take a bus or ferry, the walk along the waterfront from Science World is a pleasure.

Situated in False Creek, #50 bus

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Its a market and entertainment area. You can pick up fresh seafood (including live lobsters and crabs!), look at exhibtions or go for a drink. It also has an organic market with a lot of choice - its an amazing place and good value for money

Accessible by bus, train, car, boat, bicycle or on foot;
www.granvilleisland.com

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A place where you can roll up a doobie and smoke it hassle free. You can't buy any there so don't ask as it is still nominally illegal.

301 West Hastings Street

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Brew pub and restaurant with good micro-brew beer and food at reasonable prices. Great location in Gastown with harbour views, and good atmosphere.

375 Water Street, Gastown;
tel: 604 689 2739;
www.steamworks.com

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Coffee place on Commercial Drive. Good coffee, great staff.

1745 Commercial Drive;
tel: 604 253 7017

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If you want to see artists and bourgeousie come together in what used to be a down and out area, try Main st/Mt. Pleasant. There's a cluster of hipsters, boutiques, coffee shops and ethnic restaurants that give the atmosphere of the way Vancouver once was: countercultural.

Main St. spans from our 'skid row' area on Hastings up to an Indian district. There's everything in between, including expensive character homes.

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Commercial drive is a piece of unique heritage in an area of the world that is dominated by chain stores and coffee shops. The Drive is bucking franchises in favour of amazing shops and stores that are complete one offs.

Start by stocking up with fresh breads, fruits, herbal remedies and more, punctuated by a few coffee breaks along the way in one of many of the NON franchised coffee shops. Then finish your experience in one of the fantastic restaurants (many with outdoor heated patios) dotted along Commercial.

La Grotta del Formaggio is a treasured local purveyor of the best new-world Italian Deli sandwiches and cheeses. If you like kitsch then Urban Empire is the place for you - a shop filled with wonders and surprises. Havana is a great restaurant for good (if not traditional) Cuban food and it has a great photo gallery at the back. Waazubee is also a good rest stop or even better dining experience with a wide range of veggie dishes.

This all comes from a person who doesn't even live in Vancouver. Guess it must be great eh?

Between Broadway and Venables;
www.thedrive.ca

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A superb little Indian restaurant in the South Granville area, run by a charming man with a spooky photographic memory. The food, atmosphere, crowd and bar are all stylish but low-key and unpretentious. Around the corner from Vij's is the Stanley Theatre, formerly an Art Deco picture palace and now the flagship venue for the hopelessly middlebrow Arts Club Theatre Company. Vancouver's restaurants help to make up for the city's appalling lack of a cultural life.

1480, West 11th Ave;
tel: 604 736 6664;
www.vijs.ca

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