Vancouver Recs Please!

[liveloveat34]

I've been looking at the western canada board for over a month after booking a weekend trip from nyc. My bf and i are staying at the pacific palisades hotel. We will be in YVR for 4 short days, Friday we are flying in around dinner time so we are planning to go to one of the izakayas, either Guu or Hapa. Maybe Go Fish and Vijs the second day. Sunday- maybe a Bin or Chill Winstons or Boneta (Simon raved about his last meal there). We are specifically looking for regional cuisine (like aurora's?) and we love trying new food and are very advenurous eaters. Chill Winstons has caribou carpaccio, but does anyone have any other rec's? Input on the mentioned restaurants would be much appreciated! thanks vancouver hounds!

[Cancuk]

For one night, you should do a full Gastown eatery:

Start with Oysters and a glass at So.Cial (1.25 a shuck from 3-7), then head to Chill Winston for a appy (try the Scallops), Boneta for dinner, then, if you can manage it, down the alley to Salt for some local chesse/meats and a flight of wine. A perfect afternoon.

You can also substitute Cobre, the new "nuevo Latin" restaurant that has recently opened half a block east of Chill. Ate there the other night, good stuff... although the wine list is weak.

I second (or 10th) West. Superb restaurant, best example of regional cuisine in Vancouver. If you can't get in there, go with Bishops for the same regional style... they were the first to do it.

[kushbaby]

Definitely WEST for regional food.
GUU is one of the first IZAKAYA's in Vancouver. They have three locations, each one is a little different. Another good Izakaya is Kingyo. I've been to HAPA many times but ever since they expanded the service went down but the atmosphere is great.
Check out this site for all top rated restaurants.
http://www.vanmag.com/restaurants/res...
this magazine is great for all sorts of tips as well!

[liveloveat34]

thanks you all for the recs! i think chambar is def in the itinterary as well as chill winston...we are debating between both guu and hapa for friday night, so far i'm leaning towards guu on robson...i'll def be sure to post reviews on all the places we go to :-)

[CanadaSweetheart]

I would highly recommend Chambar. It's a new Belgian restaurant, very hip/funky space.. interesting menu featuring local ingredients (try the venison carpaccio!)

If you like dimsum, definitely try Imperial Chinese Seafood Restaurant. I've had dimsum all over the world and this is definitely near the top of the list.

Enjoy Vancouver!

[Simon]

Chambar is great.

And, yes, definitely Boneta.

Salt and Chill Winston are both really fun too.

[pants]

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/439917

this is my report from this past weekend - great eating!
didn't make it to boneta but heard about some intriguing cocktails with maple syrup...

[Bob Mac]

I am envious pants....salmon burger, sun, the water and a bottle of my favourite B.C. pinot gris [the varietal which I contend BC does the best]...that is my idea of a Sunday afternoon indeed

[pants]

yep - it was pretty sweet! i think it's my favorite wine from BC as well, although the recently released burrowing owl pinot gris is pretty amazing!

[Bob Mac]

agreed - acquired a case of each but enjoyed them too much...all gone...blame it on the summer heat [smile] ...very similar styles distinctly different from Nichol, Alderlea etc...

[liveloveat34]

thanks so much for the reviews! i'll def make sure to post after the trip

[Spiritchaser]

WEST! Incredible. We actually changed flights so we could stay in Vancouver overnight just to go and wow, it was worth it.

[liveloveat34]

how far in advance must reservations be made? we are going on the21st of this month...

[Spiritchaser]

I think you could get a reservation in time for that. They were very accomodating for us. If you decide to go please post what you thoght when you return.

[GroovinGourmet]

West should be at the top of your list. Some of the finest regional/seasonal cooking in North America.

[victoriafoodie]

I can highly recommend Bin 941. Had an excellent dinner there the other night and a fantastic bottle of wine with it. What I liked was the tapas-style food, where everyone got to have a few tastes of several different dishes, the open-concept kitchen, and the neat twists they put on each item. What I didn't like was the music being too loud and the place being so tiny (like the waitresses have to be under 130 pounds or they couldn't actually fit in between the tables).