Looking for some good restaurants in Van that are known for good food, without the suit and tie.
(jeans friendly....but not fast food) Any suggestions?
wow. this thread will be big. i guess it would help a bit to a certain location that you will be around and what kinda food you like.
sha lin noodles on broadway.
stephos on davie st
antons on hastings
hons and various locations.
We're staying at the Fairmont Waterfront.....walking distance or short cab from there.
Likes.....steak, seafood, prime, ribs, pasta type of cuisine.
[a href="vny!://www.foodvancouver.com/"]vny!://www.foodvancouver.com/[/a]
[a href="vny!://www.vancouver-bc.com/dining/"]vny!://www.vancouver-bc.com/dining/[/a]
Thanks for the links SD.....very thoughtful! We were looking for some input from people who have actually been to some of these places. (sometimes different from the reviews).
Hi P.C.:
Here are my picks:
1) Best Old Skool Italian- seriously retro and full of Italian families and full-patch H.A. bikers
grrrrreat pasta, steak and ribs
Nick's Spaghetti House
631 Commercial Drive
2) Best Noodles (I agree with Kingy on this one)
Sha Lin Noodle House
548 W. Broadway
3) Best Old Skool Chinese- also seriously retro and full of Canadian Chinese families
Foo's Ho Ho
102 E. Pender
4) Best Cappuccino and Panini combination- neat greco-roman atmosphere
Cafe Calabria
1745 Commercial Drive
5) Best Old Skool Cappuccino- full of Italian and Portuguese guys shooting pool
1150 Commercial Drive
WOW.... thanks Lil Me
These places are more than a 'hop skip and a jump' from the Fairmont?
Oh, Mr Lil Me says he likes Goodfellas at 1078 W. Pender downtown. Authentic Italian in a casual setting.
P.C. wrote:
[div style="font-style: italic;"]WOW.... thanks Lil Me[/div] [div style="font-style: italic;"] [/div] These places are more than a 'hop skip and a jump' from the Fairmont?
--
short cab ride. 10 minutes?
SPEAK Mr. Lil Me......[img style="CURSOR: pointer" onclick=url(this.src); src="vny!://www.cheesebuerger.de/images/more/bigs/c008.gif" border=0]
Woo Hooooo....kicked you to 100 !!!! [img style="CURSOR: pointer" onclick=url(this.src); src="vny!://www.cheesebuerger.de/images/smilie/musik/f020.gif" border=0]
Mr Lil Me is busy packing for his next adventure. But he will keep yelling out suggestions as they come to him.
Thanx! I'm karma rich! If this was a Bollywood movie, I'd be outside dancing in the rain.
thanks P.C. I do my best. I try.
Lol SD.....and you do a fine job I must say ! I didn't mean to belittle your awesome skillzzzssss.
I was looking for more of a 'local' experience. We're not packing the ball gowns and the tux's, but still want a nice place with exquisite food, without having to put on the 'Ritz'.
On Rachel Ray's show about something under 20 bucks or something, can't remember now. Well just my luck (as if I can't avoid anything about Vancouver ever) she was eating around places in Vancouver. Anyway she loved this restaurant by the Granville Market. Its a cooking school that serves 5 star meals cheap. She liked it. It looked good. You get to watch the students and everything.
She went here:
[a href="vny!://www.picachef.com/restaurant.html"]vny!://www.picachef.com/restaurant.html[/a]
Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts.
I'm all out of ideas now, I'd just wander the city until something looked good.
Don't care if it's under 20 bucks, but that sounds interesting SD......do tell more !
I used to know every nook and cranny of Van....but I've been gone too long.
The very reason for the post is, that we don't want to do a lot of wandering. What's good, what's close, what doesn't require formal wear. [img style="CURSOR: pointer" onclick=url(this.src); src="vny!://www.cheesebuerger.de/images/more/bigs/c008.gif" border=0]
oops my bad the show is spend 40 bucks in a day or whatever
That culinary place has a monday special:
[h2]2-FOR-1 Special[/h2] Join us MONDAYS for our 2-for-1 special. During this special, 2 people can dine on our regular 3-course set menu price of $24 for lunch and $36 for dinner. Price excludes beverages, service charge and applicable taxes. Please note that during this special, reservations are highly recommended and are limited to six people per party.[/p]
Another long list of places:[/p][a href="vny!://www.frommers.com/destinations/vancouver/171_inddin.html"]vny!://www.frommers.com/destinations/vancouver/171_inddin.html[/a]
OK....bless yer cotton socks for trying.....but it seems I'm left with 2 'out of towners'. I guess we'll be playing it by ear. Thanks for all your input though !!!!
On that note, I'm off to la la land.
cool.
Me too except my sleep is the roar of an engine and the BBC world service on the radio. I'm off to work.
mortons' or gothams steakhouse
feenies' (iron chef feenie)
there are really good restaurants in gastown which is very near by. spaghetti factory is cheap and pretty good.
My tip: Avoid restaurants Downtown. They charge an arm and a leg and the food is mediocre. You can find some gems but often than not, I find if you get away from the city centre, you can usually get good food.
There is a Pacific Institute of Culinary Art in the heart of Downtown itself. It's no longer on Granville Island but there's a bakery by the institute there. If you want to try bakery, you can go there. If you're visiting Granville Island, I suggest you check out the soup bar there... there's chicken pot pie in a bowl. Delicious. DO NOT eat the fries and chips. Icky. Check out the brewery while you're there. They've got a tour of the place.
Chinatown is fantastic for Chinese food. Hons is pretty good. There's also one on Robson Street itself. Cheap and a lot of variety. If you want Malaysian or Thai, there is Tropika and Thai House on Robson Street. They have some lovely lunch specials.
Old Spagetti Factory in Gastown has got some good lunch menu combos. Avoid the Thai and Japanese restaurant there. YUCKOMETER.
For something special, you have to try out Gotham Steakhouse. Yes, it's downright pricey but if you want to hang with the right crowd and be seen (and maybe see some celebrities), it's the place to go. There's also the Keg.
Have fun!
mm chinese food... mmm
Since you are asking for restaurants a "hop, skip, and jump" away from the hotel without having to take a cab. I've eaten at all these places and they were all very good.
Water Street Cafe (300 Water St.)
Chill Winston (3 Alexander St.)
Jules Casual French Bistro (216 Abbott St.)
Annex (307 W Cordova)
Curious (52 Powell St.)
J.J.'s Dining Room (250 West Pender St. @ the Vancouver Community College, must phone 604-443-8479 to book)
If you are willing to take a 10 min. cab ride, other great places that I return to time and time again are Parkside (1906 Haro St.), Trafalgar's (2603 W.16th Ave.), Sequoia Grill ( Ferguson Point, Stanley Park Drive), Vij's (1480 W. 11 Ave.) and Cafe Luxy (1235 Davie St.).
I agree with J.J. Dining Room. The food is made by students and they've got good deals. Book early. Same with their bakery department, you can get some really nice donuts and bread there. The cafetaria at VCC also offer some cheap lunch during lunch hour.
OK PC, Ill admit you had a thread around now..
I missed this it seems like? Although it does seem familiar.
You may recall purelife started a thread on Good Eats around Vancouver.
Thanks again all !
We ended up eating at the Aqua Riva 2 nights in a row. The first night was excellent....food and service. The second, not so good. The waitress was too busy drooling over the fellow in our group that had also eaten there the first night and had left a tip that covered (in her words) half her mortgage. It was hard to get her attention the 2nd night with him there......lol