1st time Vancouver Visitors - 1 Week - Advice

[CiaoCane]

I have been researching your board & commend your community for offering such an informative & helpful resource here. I have compiled a list of places from this board & seek advice to narrow down our choices or add to them. We prefer nothing too formal, nor too hole-in-the-wall. Price is not an issue, but we do not want to have a 3+ hour formal meal on this trip. I am an adventurous eater, not so much my Spouse, so anything too exotic (including Indian, dim sum, sushi!) is out, but Thai, Vietnamese, and Chinese is OK. I also note we do not want to go anywhere that conversation is difficult, or is a bar more than a restaurant, but trendy, new, modern places are something we do like, we just don't want to end up trying to dine with loud thumping house music & a loungey crowded singles scene. We are staying downtown & will be traveling by Taxi so we would want to stay fairly central to that area.

Our favorite food is Italian, we travel to Italy often and our favorite restaurant in NYC is Babbo if that is any reference. Here are the places we have selected, I know it is a big list! If any of these should be avoided or recommended I greatly appreciate the assistance.

Cioppino's
Lupo
La Buca
La Terrazza
Campagnolo
Cin Cin
Amacord
Nook Pizza
Chambar
La Brasserie
Bin 941 Tapas
Nu
Tapastree
Refuel
Twisted Fork
**Note: I LOVE **really** spicy Asian food, def looking for a good place for this
Red Door
Sala Thai
Chili House Thai Bistro
Phnom Penh
Joe Forte's
Fish House
Coast
Goldfish Pacific Kitchen
Rodney's Oyster House
Lift
Joey's
Earl's
Cactus Club Cafe
Keg Steakhouse
Gotham Steak
**Note: I have never been to an Izakaya, are these mostly bars?? Can someone elaborate on this type of dining?
Hapa
Zakkushi
La Casa Gelato

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La Buca Restaurant
4025 MacDonald St, Vancouver, BC V6L2N8, CA

Tapastree Restaurant
1829 Robson St, Vancouver, BC V6G 1E4, CA

Campagnolo
1020 Main St, Vancouver, BC V6A, CA

La Brasserie
1091 Davie St, Vancouver, BC V6E1M5, CA

Rodney's Oyster House
1228 Hamilton, Vancouver, BC V6B2S8, CA

Goldfish Pacific Kitchen
1118 Mainland Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 2T9, CA

La Terrazza
1088 Cambie Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 6J5, CA

Twisted Fork
1147 Granville St, Vancouver, BC V6Z1M1, CA

[BaronDestructo]

And, oh yeah, for spicy check out Peaceful Restaurant at 532 West Broadway. Northern Chinese cuisine with some muslim influence. Terrific noodles. Get the beef roll. The chili chicken is not for the faint-hearted.

[grayelf]

Hey Baron! I agree with you about Zakkushi having better food, though I've not been to the Denman outpost. Since the OP's going to be downtown, I probably should have said to go to both and compare :-). The other two Zakkushis seem less "trendy, new and modern" to me is all.

I've heard others say that La Buca didn't blow them away but of the 8 or 9 times I've been (three times dining a la famiglia), we've only had two dishes that disappointed (a prawn app and a meat sauce pasta).

I love Peaceful too but I must say I wouldn't recommend it for its spicy food as I've never even broken a sweat there :-). I do like the 1000 chili chicken dish but it's not really spicy, and often doesn't have enough hua jiao (peppercorns) to give a good tingle, unless you ask specifically. I recently tried their water boiled fish and it was the same thing: nice flavour but no kick and no buzz. Lots of other good dishes though, particularly if OP is interested in Xian lamb dishes or the specialty hotpots.

[CiaoCane]

Wow, much appreciation for such detailed insights. I have so far pared the list down to these places for definites:

Cioppino's
Lupo
La Buca
Adesso Bistro - looks v good-thanks!
Chambar
La Brasserie
Fish House
Hapa
Zakkushi

Bishops seems to fall into my list for too formal for this trip, but it certainly appears to be a beautiful restaurant.

No comments yet on these places, are they too touristy? Am I missing anyplace great that I have not listed? We do need to visit at least one or two excellent seafood places, I am not sure that Fish House is it? My comment about the noise level for conversation did not refer necessarily to a place so quiet you can hear a pin drop, rather a place that allows conversation without having to scream and long waits in thick crowds.

Nu
Lift
Joe Fortes
Coast
Gotham
Tapastree
Rodney's Oyster House
Nook Pizza
Twisted Fork

Thanks again for all your help!

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La Buca Restaurant
4025 MacDonald St, Vancouver, BC V6L2N8, CA

Tapastree Restaurant
1829 Robson St, Vancouver, BC V6G 1E4, CA

La Brasserie
1091 Davie St, Vancouver, BC V6E1M5, CA

Rodney's Oyster House
1228 Hamilton, Vancouver, BC V6B2S8, CA

Twisted Fork
1147 Granville St, Vancouver, BC V6Z1M1, CA

[BaronDestructo]

grayelf's comments are spot-on although I'd be more likely to recommend Zakkushi over Hapa (the scene is great but I find the food only so-so). Wasn't blown away by La Buca when I went and had a downright terrible meal at Altro Buca. Of the restaurants you've yet to receive input on:

Nu: The only thing I remember about the few times I've visited were their very uncomfortable chairs. It's been a while though.

Lift: Like Earl's and Coast, a step above fast food. Unremarkable, although the view is nice.

Joe Fortes: Another big meh.

Gotham: A pricey favorite of many, but I've yet to be impressed. I prefer Hy's on Hornby.

Tapastree: Hit and miss with a definite bohemian vibe.

Rodney's Oyster House: Fun. Sit at the bar and watch them shuck our oysters or grab a table and order a dozen on the half shell followed by a nice steamed crab.

Nook Pizza: Haven't been but I've heard very good things.

[waylman]

If you like Italian definitely hit Cioppino's and/or La Buca. I had a really great meal at Adesso Bistro recently which is also Italian. http://www.adessobistro.net/

[anewton]

I am surprised that Bishop's did not make your shortlist. It is the original Vancouver 'locavore/localvore' spot, and I have never seen a bad review of the place on this board or anywhere else. Really good place to sample local ingredients, i.e. salmon, halibut. Maybe a tad formal for your parameters, but certainly a good choice for a representative 'Pacific Northwest' meal.

[grayelf]

Thanks for providing a "straw dog" for local Hounds to comment on -- you've obviously done your homework and it gives a great idea of what type of resto you might like. I'll just comment on the ones I know FWIW:

Cioppino's -- excellent Mediterranean food with focus on Italy -- lovely pastas, fish; I've never had a bad meal here though I've had the odd weak appetizer. Bring $$$$ especially if you plan to drink wine -- beware asking for wine suggestions as they will be good but prohibitively expensive.
Lupo -- haven't been to the new incarnation but it would be perfect for you location-wise
La Buca -- my favourite Italian in Vancouver (that I've tried, obviously!) but it is a bit of a cab ride away
La Terrazza -- not a fan, I've had very drab meals here and gave up on it a couple of years ago, also seemed overpriced to me
Campagnolo -- a bit hit and miss but a fun vibe and when they're on, they're on -- new well respected chef too
Cin Cin -- haven't been for a hundred years
Amarcord -- went once, can't remember what I ate
Chambar -- I love this place but it can be a bit sceney and loud (I have tinnitus so I notice), less so and quite bearable in the "belly" of the restaurant
La Brasserie -- fun place, tasty Franco-German food, no resos so go early or late to avoid a wait -- I've been hearing good things about their brunch which might be worth a shot
Bin 941 Tapas -- super tiny, can get very loud, food is up and down (I've had great and mediocre dishes), go really early to avoid waits
Refuel -- same folks as Campagnolo but not Italian, slick room on the west side ($15 cab ride?), similar comments
**Note: I LOVE **really** spicy Asian food, def looking for a good place for this
Spiciest place I can think of is Alvin Garden Hunan but it is a serious schlep or an expensive cab ride away in Burnaby; other options for Sichuan also far away though if you could bear to take the Skytrain you might like S&W Pepperhouse in Richmond -- these are all holes in the wall though.
Red Door -- only went once, struck me as very watered down but I'm not a fan of the pan-Asian thing
Sala Thai -- blanket comment for all Thai in downtown -- not really worth your time, sadly -- Thai is weak in Vancouver -- you might want to try Maenam on 4th near Refuel because it is more modern and trendy but I haven't been blown away (drinks were the best thing on offer IMO).
Phnom Penh -- people swear by this Cambodian/Viet resto which has been there forever doing a roaring trade; I go relatively often as it is convenient for us with some friends but I've never been blown away. It is also a somewhat grungy HITW on a street that is otherwise completely dead and unappealing at night, FYI. I do like the deep fried wings and squid but again, not world changing for me.
Fish House -- lovely setting, nice service, tasty food as long as you stick to simple preps of sea creatures, a bit expensive for what it is
Goldfish Pacific Kitchen -- pretentious, kinda good take on pan-Asian, way overpriced, sceney room that gets very loud
Joey's -- overpriced, unimaginative chain food
Earl's -- see Joey's
Cactus Club Cafe -- see Earl's
Keg Steakhouse -- see Cactus Club
**Note: I have never been to an Izakaya, are these mostly bars?? Can someone elaborate on this type of dining?
Hapa
Zakkushi
I love izakaya dining but it is a bit more pubby/barry than your typical Japanese resto -- mostly small plates, different stuff like oden, things on sticks. The two you've picked are somewhat less so, and there are others that are more elegant if you are interested. I'd probably avoid the Guus given your "quiet" criteria. Hapa might be a good fit for you, especially the Yaletown one from what I've heard (I've been to the Robson one).
La Casa Gelato -- actually quite close to downtown, though there is nothing else nearby; not the best gelato you'll ever taste but might be worth a stop if it was on your way to somewhere else -- I'd likely not make a special trip.

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Maenam
1938 W. 4th Ave, Vancouver, BC V6J 1M5, CA

Alvin Garden
4850 Imperial St, Burnaby, BC V5J, CA