652693 Tue Sep 15 22:32:38 -0700 2009 16 57 Western Canada 0 5033280 Looking for a decent restaurant with a view of the water in the Canada Place/Gastown area. Has anyone been to "Aqua Riva"? I'm not very familiar with the area - would love to try Boneta, but don't know if it fits the bill for a view. We're thinking either lunch or dinner. Thanks! Tue Sep 15 22:32:38 -0700 2009 247161 KGill 1 5033283 Five Sails has the best view in the area: http://www.fivesails.ca/ Tue Sep 15 22:36:11 -0700 2009 5033280 145820 fmed 2 5033326 whats your faves there? Tue Sep 15 23:30:58 -0700 2009 5033283 103494 howlin 3 5033333 It has been years since I have been (the food was good). It's not a place I normally go to in any case - not really my type of a place (not casual enough for me). Great view though. Tue Sep 15 23:38:24 -0700 2009 5033326 145820 fmed 4 5033339 it looks nice ,prices are up there so the food better be good ..no amazing .ive never herd of it until now .hopefully others will chime in about the food Tue Sep 15 23:50:36 -0700 2009 5033333 103494 howlin 2 5033344 Five Sails has a $45 prix fix dinner that looks good - that might just do the trick. I'll try not to eat too much dim sum at lunchtime (ah, the challenges of entertaining out-of-town visitors!). Thanks, fmed! Wed Sep 16 00:01:01 -0700 2009 5033283 247161 KGill 3 5035434 I had a great westcoast Cobb salad for lunch on the patio by five sails and the view was gorgeous. I have eaten there a few times and was def impressed by the view over food on other occassions. I would go for lunch if it's sunny as the patio is not open at night. Wed Sep 16 17:20:39 -0700 2009 5033344 291954 selena03 4 5039159 Really? The Five Sails website says they are open from 5:30 pm - 10:00 pm, so I assumed they don't do lunch. Hmmm.... Fri Sep 18 06:48:25 -0700 2009 5035434 247161 KGill 5 5042140 there is a patio there...maybe the food comes from the other resto/cafe beside Five Sails....if you go there you will notice that the patio, bar/cafe, resto, are all beside eachother in one area.... Sat Sep 19 10:41:57 -0700 2009 5039159 291954 selena03 1 5033291 You can have a view of my apartment when you dine at Boneta! But really, there is no view from there. It faces south and east on Cordova. Tue Sep 15 22:43:21 -0700 2009 5033280 87054 peter.v 1 5033390 I was VERY impressed with Aqua Riva, and that was after dining the previous night at West, one of my favorite restaurants anywhere (at least while David Hawksworth was running the kitchen). Great view, great menu, great room, great service. I would gladly return my next visit to Van. Wed Sep 16 03:23:58 -0700 2009 5033280 10576 GroovinGourmet 2 5033774 Good to hear about Aqua Riva, GG. We gave up on it years ago as a pay for view not for food resto. They did have one of my favourite bites at Feast of Fields this year though which is also encouraging. Wed Sep 16 07:44:55 -0700 2009 5033390 169233 grayelf 2 5038536 I would second the recommendation for Aqua Riva for the view and good food (good sized portions too which surprised me). The service was good too. The only flaw/downside is the atmosphere. It definately caters to the cruise ship crowd and when I've been there recently there were mostly large groups (30+) which made the room feel a little less than cozy. Thu Sep 17 19:48:59 -0700 2009 5033390 13666 islandgirl 1 5034485 Lift has a great view. Food is adequate, but nothing to get overly excited about. Wed Sep 16 11:17:34 -0700 2009 5033280 127190 Cancuk 2 5035175 alongi the lines of lift, cardero's has a great patio with great views , food is pretty decent and i believe a little cheaper than lift, although i've only had drinks there Wed Sep 16 15:26:04 -0700 2009 5034485 15725 vandan 3 5037056 I always stop by Carderos when in YVR... good atmosphere and eats while the view is great too. Thu Sep 17 10:19:55 -0700 2009 5035175 149353 hclass 1 5039172 Thanks, all. We went to "Aqua Riva". since we were in the area for lunch and I didn't think Five Sails did lunch (their website says 5:30 pm - 10:00 pm). The food was very good - two of us had the halibut, and enjoyed it very much (the risotto was super), and we all enjoyed the fresh bread at the table. To be honest, the view isn't great - Canada Place on one side, but a shiploading yard on the other. There was very little action on the water visble from the restaurant - most of the traffic is on the other side of Canada Place. But the food was good, and the location was convenient for our purposes, so I"m glad we went. Service was top-notch, and the place was very quiet at 2 pm (no cruise ships in port). Thanks again for the reviews. Fri Sep 18 06:54:00 -0700 2009 5033280 247161 KGill