48 hours eating and drinking in downtown vancouver, canada

Vancouver.

Vancouver has a great reputation for eating and dining. On a recent work related trip, Mr. Sazy Rock and I took the opportunity to test whether that reputation had merit. I thought that it's a fun eating city. I did gain five pounds in a span of 48 hours. But, I did it so you don't have to.

Top Restaurants

I absolutely enjoyed our meal at Blue Water Cafe + Raw Bar. They knew how to highlight the quality of the seafood found in the area. A full review may be found here.

Chambar Restaurant was a great place to get some moules frites. A full review may be found here. 

We enjoyed a simple but complex brunch at Farmer's Apprentice (although I don't know whether this place is considered part of downtown). My Berkshire pork dish was perfectly seasoned and came with a buttery biscuit, poached eggs, turnips, grilled radicchio and cream. Mr. SR's beef bavette was cooked medium rare and came with perfectly cooked fried eggs, roasted beets and smoked potatoes. It was evident that that the chef really put a lot of thought in putting the dishes together. I do recommend this place. But, beware, the place got full quickly because it was such a tiny place.

Berkshire Pork at Farmer's Apprentice.

Bavette at Farmer's Apprentice.

Affordable Eats

New Town Bakery and Restaurant - This small place in Chinatown was a great place to taste Filipino style spicy pork bao. The dough was light but thick and the meat flavorful.

Spicy pork bao.

Bread and Meat - This place near Gastown and Chinatown had a short sandwich menu but the porchetta sandwich we shared was tasty. The meat was seasoned well but needed more crackling for the crunch. The ciabatta bread had a nice crunchy crust. Although it was enjoyable, I must admit that the porchetta sandwich from Roli Roti at the San Francisco Ferry Building Farmer's Market remains at the top on my (porchetta sandwich) list.

Porchetta Sandwich from Meat and Bread.

Bestie - This Chinatown establishment served currywurst. The sausage was full of flavor although lacked a little snap when I bit into it. The three cheeses used were rich and adequately stinky. Most of the fries also had a nice crunch, which was extraordinary given that they were drenched in sauce. Mr. SR and I enjoyed this dish. We also enjoyed meeting one of the owners, Clinton, who provided us with more leads to follow during our eating and drinking trip.

Currywurst from Bestie.

Hon's Wun Tun House (on Robson) - As our fourth lunch of the day, Mr. SR and I couldn't really eat as much as we would have liked. But, we still managed to try shrimp and pork siu mai (big, tasty and freshly made), pork potstickers (delicious with a nice crunch at the bottom), and roast belly pork (savory but the skin needed crunch). 

Potstickers from Hon's.

Roast Pork Belly at Hon's.

Shrimp and Pork Siu Mai at Hon's.

Kingyo - Although we already had a full dinner at Chambar, one of the bartenders we met earlier in the evening highly recommended Kingyo for izakaya in the West End. Although Los Angeles is home to all manners of Japanese food, we thought it prudent to check out Vancouver's izakaya scene anyway. We only got to try a Chicken Karaage because we already had dinner. But, we were glad we made room for this dish. The chicken pieces were large, crunchy outside, and perfectly seasoned. We almost did not need to sprinkle the different salts served with the dish. We could also tell that the chicken were freshly fried, and used the tastier and juicier dark meat. 

Chicken Karaage at Kingyo.

Craft Cocktails

L'Abbatoir - Many folks we met recommended this place in Gastown and, now, so will I. The place was mostly a restaurant but it had a tiny bar, which held about 10 people. Luckily, we were able to snag a seat and chat up Shaun, the bartender. He was very knowledgeable about his liquors and his cocktails. The sazerac he made for me was delicious although he made it in a way that I have not seen before -- he muddled a lemon peel with the sugar. It was still tasty. The Ford's gin martini Shaun made for Mr. SR was excellent and had the right slick of lemon oil across the surface (just as the hubs liked it). Shaun also had a beautiful glassware collection, which I openly admired. He was also kind enough to allow us to taste a Benedictine liquor from the 1960s, which was a rare and sweet treat.

Martini (foreground) and Sazerac (background) at L'Abbatoir.

The Diamond - Located across the street from L'Abbatoir, many folks also recommended this bar to us. The bartenders were friendly and chatty, which we appreciated. The sazerac was tasty but a bit on the sweet side and Mr. SR's bramble was refreshing.

Bramble at The Diamond.

The Distillery - Located in Yaletown, this place made their own gin and vodka. Mr. SR ordered a martini using their house made gin. He thought that the licorice used in the botanicals made his drink too sweet. The sazerac I ordered was too sweet and I suspect it was because the bartender used a bit too much simple syrup. (I'm not a fan of simple syrup in my sazerac.)

Sazerac at The Distillery.

Chocolate

Thierry - To cap a long day of eating four lunches, pre-dinner cocktails, dinner, and post-dinner izakaya, Mr. SR and I decided to have a hazelnut and chocolate cake (chocolate marquise) and hot chocolate at Thierry. The cake was rich, sweet and had a nice wafery base. I would have stuffed it all in but my stomach couldn't fit more chocolate goodness despite my pleas to "get in my belly." The place also had plenty of other cakes and pastries including macarons and financiers. 

Chocolate Marquise at Thierry.

Other Places We Did Not Get The Chance To Try

It really was a shame that we only had 48 hours to eat and drink in this city. Although we managed to give it the old college try, we still could not go to as many places as we wanted. In addition to the many other restaurants and drinking establishments in downtown, we also missed the following:

Keefer - Many of the bartenders we spoke with recommended this craft cocktail place in Chinatown. Sadly, there was only so much booze we could consume.

Bao Bei - Some proprietors also recommended this Modern Chinese cuisine restaurant. Apparently, they also make delicious cocktails. Sadly, they were only open in the evening and we only had two nights to eat.

Hawksworth - many folks recommended this (almost) fine dining restaurant. Sadly, we could not get a reservation at a decent hour.

Have you dined and imbibed in Vancouver? Which places did you enjoy?