I’ve organized the article into Vancouver neighborhoods, highlighting the best restaurants, restaurant bars, specialty coffee places and bars in each zone.

Downtown Eastside

Downtown eastside easily has the most number of food and drink destinations in the city. Unfortunately it’s also the sketchiest neighborhoods in Vancouver. The downtown eastside includes the safer and touristy Gastown to the north and the always adventurous Chinatown to the south. This zone is home to some great cocktail bars including Keefer, Meo and Laowai.

Laowai (251 E Georgia St)

Years in the making, Laowai is a hidden cocktail bar in Chinatown which opened in July 2021. Conceived by Lewis Hart, Laowai is located behind the popular Blnd Tger dumplings. When you enter Blnd Tger, ask for the off menu dumpling to gain access to the speakeasy.

Laowai’s stylish and dark interior was designed by London-based Bergman Interiors. Laowai has tables both near the bar counter and in a more intimate space in the back. There is also a private room used for special events. Lewis Hart explained that Laowai is inspired by 1920s Shanghai, characterized by a booming economy and wild nightlife. The city was a chaotic mix of visionaries and misfits, where the locals and laowai (foreigners in Mandarin, gweilo in Cantonese) were free from the societal restrictions of the Western world. This is the ethos of Laowai, with a menu and atmosphere which encourages its guests to explore and indulge. Laowai’s drink menu reads like a book and is a pleasure to hold and flip through. For each of the signatures, there is an original illustration and story behind the drink. There is a strong focus on baijiu, which is included in several signature cocktails. Near the end of the menu, you will find a list of baijiu you can order by the shot.

During Vancouver cocktail week, Laowai organized a several guest bartending events, bringing in Jesse Vida of Catbite Club Singapore, Bastien Ciocca of Hope and Sesame China, Salmon Guru Madrid, Tato Giovannoni of Floreria Atlantico Buenos Aires and Harry Tham of Clive's Classic Lounge Victoria. In all cases, the afternoon seminars and evening guest shifts were well attended, providing added motivation to local bars to organize more international events.

Guest bartenders Harry Tham and Tato Giovannoni

The Keefer Bar (135 Keefer St)

The Keefer Bar, together with Gastown’s Pourhouse, were the first bars to start the craft cocktail boom in Vancouver around 2010. 14 years later, these bars continue to be reference points for mixology in the city. The Keefer Bar sources ingredients, often with medicinal qualities, from Chinatown’s apothecaries to come up their innovative cocktails.

Led by GM Keenan Hood and Bar Manager Amber Bruce, The Keefer draws in an eclectic mix of Vancouverites and tourists. The long, narrow and darkly lit space is how a classic cocktail bar should be. There are also oddball ornaments, bottles and art to remind you that you’re in Chinatown while you savor one of the team’s prescriptions. From the latest menu, try the Inside Out Old Fashioned (pictured below) with Michter’s sour mash whiskey, Classic Laddie single malt, baby corn gomme, and caraway angostura.

Kissa Tanto (263 E Pender St)

Kissa Tanto elegantly blends the Japanese and Italian flavors to deliver one of the city’s best dining experiences. The name Kissa Tanto is another fusion of Japan and Italy, with kissa refering to the Japanese jazz cafes of the 1960s and tanto simply meaning “a lot” in Italian. The fusion at Kissa Tanto is perhaps inspired by chef owner Joël Watanabe’s mixed heritage (his father is Japanese while is mother is Corsican-French Canadian).

The interior at Kissa Tanto is stunning, with Pete Wells accurately describing the design as a set from a David Lynch movie. The standout on the menu are the tajarin with butter, cheese, miso-cured egg yolk and black truffles. They are things legends are made of and better than most tajarin I’ve had in Piedmont. The whole fried fish at Kissa Tanto was deliciously tender.

Whole fried fish at Tajarin at Kissa Tanto

Bao Bei (163 Keefer St)

A Chinatown institution, Bao Bei is as cool as it gets in Vancouver. Dim lighting, an intimate bar area and delicious Asian sharing plates. The cuisine at Bao Bei is a modern take on casual Asian food. Think dim sum that you'd enjoy eating in the evening alongside well-made cocktails like the red date old fashioned.

The pot-stickers and dumplings are the highlight of the menu. Don't miss the steamed pork, betel leaf, cabbage and fuzzy melon dumplings. Another must-order dish is the crispy tofu, garlic sweet soy, and fresh water chestnut.

Steamed pork dumplings at Crispy tofu at Bao Bei

Meo (265 E Pender St)

Meo is a cocktail lounge with a 1970s- inspired interior located in Chinatown. The 70-seat Meo is strikingly beautiful with sensual pink tones and dark wood panelling. The protagonist at Meo is the rounded L-shaped bar counter with angled overhead mirrors that let you take in the amorous aesthetics, such as the jukebox, soft plush fabrics and carpeting.

Heading the cocktail program at Meo is bar manager Denis Bykov who has designed a cocktail menu with eight reimagined classic cocktails and eight signature cocktails, six of which are on tap. With the opening menu, Bykov wants to break the stereotype that all fruits are sweet, and all vegetables are savoury. One of the best-selling cocktails is a refreshingly original twist on the Espresso Martini with a carrot reduction, Blood Orange gin, citrus peel infused cold brew and carrot dust.

Bykov is a proponent of high ball cocktails, and one of his favorites at Meo is the rich and aromatic twist on the Paloma, with La Venenosa Raicilla married with a house made grapefruit soda featuring a selection of botanicals including chamomile, roasted coconut, rooibos, apple, valerian root and blackberry leaves.

Torafuku (958 Main St)

I am ashamed that I have only just discovered Torafuku. This chinatown institution has been around for 6 years, with an enticing menu focused on Pan Asian flavors. Owner and chef Steve Kuan has developed highly addictive Asians dishes using Pacific Northwest ingredients, but always staying true to Taiwanese and Chinese traditions. At lunch, you will find mostly noodles and rice, but a dinner there is also room for more sophisticated mains. Torafuku also has a serious cocktail list which includes Asian-influenced drinks such as the Kanpai Negroni with Chrysanthemum infused Tanqueray gin, Campari, sweet vermouth and plum sake.

At lunch, the signature dish is Torafuku Beef Noodle Soup with sake braised beef shank, 72 hours beef broth, hand-pulled noodles, bok choy, soft poached marinated egg, and pickled mustard. Simply put, this is the best noodle soup dish of my life, and the best dish I’ve ever had in Vancouver. Chapeau to chef Steve Kuan, whose inspiration for this dish came from his mom’s beef noodle soup that he ate while growing up in Taipei.

Torafuku Beef Noodle Soup (photo Torafuku)

Revolver (325 Cambie Street)

The reference point for specialty coffee in Western Canada, Revolver is a hip coffee joint located in the gastown district. They serve excellent espresso and can prepare coffee in a myriad of different ways such as cold press, siphon and pour over. Although they don’t roast their own coffee, the feature the best local and foreign roasters including Phil and Sebastian from Calgary, Bows and Arrows from Victoria and superstars Tim Wendelboe from Oslo and Rubens Gardelli from Rimini.

Pourhouse (162 Water St)

Located just east of the steam clock in Gastown, Pourhouse was one the first establishments to kick off the craft cocktail bar scene in Vancouver. The 100-year-old building was built in 1910 and the centerpiece of the bar is the 38-foot counter handcrafted from 120 year-old planks of reclaimed Douglas fir. At Pourhouse, expect well made classics such as the Old Fashioned along with a convivial atmosphere up at the bar, a breath of fresh air for the normally cliquey Vancouver clientele.

Martini cocktail and whiskey sour at Pourhouse

Downtown

Downtown includes the expensive condos in Coal Harbour, the great views from Waterfront, the yuppies in Yaletown and also the Stadium and Science World areas.

The 515 Bar (521 Seymour St)

Although it's attached to a Malone's, 515 feels anything but cookie cutter. This place is hipster, in the best possible way - friendly faces, good independent products, and well-made drinks. One of my favorite bars in Van.

Elisa (1109 Hamilton St)

Elisa is the new baby of the Toptable group. Located in Yaletown and across the street from sister restaurant Blue water, Elisa is the premier steak restaurant in town but also has great seafood dishes such as the succulent roasted sea scallops or local oysters. Don’t miss the steak at Elisa, which is always delicious no matter what your budget is.

Local oysters; Brant Lake Farm Wagyu flat iron

The Fairmont Pacific Rim (1038 Canada Place)

The Lobby Lounge is the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel’s original cocktail bar and is located on the lobby level and includes live music and high quality sushi, donburi bowls and bento boxes from RawBar. The Lobby Lounge is one of the best locations in the city for those seeking a glamorous cocktail bar with a warm atms. The typically laid back Vancouver attitude is left at the door at the Lobby Lounge, where you will feel like you’re hanging with a vibrant South Beach crowd. Whether you’re at one of the Bob Dylan-inspired communal tables or up at the white Italian marble-clad bar counter, you’re sure to have a great time thanks to the upbeat mood and well-mixed drinks by beverage director Grant Sceney and his team at the Lobby Lounge.

Grant Sceney making me an epic dirty martini at the Fairmont Pacific Rim’s Lobby Lounge

Botanist is the flagship bar at Fairmont Pacific Rim, and flanks the restaurant of the same name. To find Botanist, walk past the Lobby Lounge bar and up the stairs. The centerpiece at Botanist is the cocktail laboratory, which is visible from the bar counter. The lab empowers the bartenders with a culinary-forward approach to cocktail design and production and includes modern equipment such as a rotary evaporator and centrifuge.

One example of the sophisticated cocktails at Botanist is the terroir-inspired Botanist’s martini, which pays tribute to the best of Vancouver: the local mountains, the pacific ocean and the temperate rainforest. Coastal gin blend, house vermouth, seaborne tincture (spruce tip tincture, verbena tincture, elderflower liqueur and salt water) and an oyster leaf and vegan caviar garnish are combined to produce an elegant martini that highlights some of the best flavors of the region.

Mount Pleasant

Suyo (3475 Main St)

SUYO Modern Peruvian Restaurant and Bar was first opened in 2022, just 100 meters from Published. Under the guidance of Peruvian Chef/Partner Ricardo Valverde, SUYO specializes in modern takes on classic dishes from Peru, paired with bespoke cocktails created by bar manager Max Curzon-Price, showcasing all eight varieties of Pisco. The intimate space offers 40 seats for dining and 10 seats at the bar counter. Unliked most restaurant bars in the city, cocktails receive the same limelight at the award-winning food program at SUYO. Curzon-Price estimates that more than 50% of drinks sales are from the list of signature cocktails. In 2023, Curzon-Price was awarded the Michelin Award for Exceptional Cocktails.

Curzon-Price gave us insight on the concept behind the much-lauded cocktail list at SUYO: “We try to focus on the meaning behind our drinks, from the garnishes to the stories behind the cocktails, to try create a relatable link to the all-but-extinct Inca culture.” Perhaps the most iconic cocktail on the menu is Undergrowth, from the Amazonian Rainforest section of the menu. The cocktail is a complex version of the daiquiri with Diplomatico rum, Mount Gay rum, falernum and a homemade tepache, which is also served alongside the drink. Inspired by the sustainable eco-system in the Amazon, the team at SUYO keeps all the trimmings from the garnishes and leftovers from cocktail preparations, which are then added to a large batch of tepache. The same batch has been fermenting since before SUYO first opened 3 years ago, and it evolves daily, just like the forest floor. The team estimates that the tepache now has about 155,000 ingredients.

Mount Pleasant Vintage & Provisions (67 W 6th Ave)

Imagine if the guys from Stranger Things opened a bar - you’d have something very much like Mount Pleasant Vintage & Provisions. Opened in 2022, Mount Pleasant is “retro, vintage and early Winnipeg”, decorated with retro furnishings from the 70s and 80s. Mount Pleasant is located in a heritage house from the early 1900s and also features a large 2000 square foot warehouse and a patio for the spring and summer months.

In terms of food and drink, Mount Pleasant is a modern taken on the bar and grill concept, with a wood-fired grill for their signature short ribs and steak. Mount Pleasant is all about having fun, and it shows with their unpretentious drinks like the frozen Vietnamese slushy and Five Alive drink inspired by the popular juice beverage that was all the rage in the 80s.

Bar manager Soren Schepkowski serving the Beeswax Martini

ELEM (2110 Main St, Vancouver)

The newest neighbor in Mount Pleasant is ELEM, a restaurant and cocktail lab by chef Vish Mayekar together with Hassib Sarwari and Winnie Sun, boldly aiming to pair Mayekar’s inventive spice-driven dishes with Sun’s element-inspired and sustainability-driven cocktails.

The 280 square meter, 76-seat space features three dining spaces and an open window into the kitchen to see the chefs at work. Much like the cocktail menu developed by Sun, Elem’s design explores interplay of the four elements — earth, air, fire, and water — from sleek stone, copper accents, to textures, lighting, and acoustics.

At the cocktail lab, the beverage director Sun has created a variety of unique drinks to go with Makeyar’s international spice-driven dishes. Examples include Chef’s Negroni (Dark Chocolate Gin, Spent Mulberry Campari, Stoney Paradise Tomato Vine Vermouth, Applewood + Cedar Smoke), representing earth and comfort.

In the future, Sun and Mayekar plan to further advance their food and drink collaboration with a paired tasting menu, a rare occurrence in Vancouver but even globally.

Vish Mayekar, Winnie Sun, Hassib Sarwari (photo Aditya Pawar)

Good Thief (3336 Main St)

Good Thief opened last summer in Mount Pleasant next to sister restaurant Anh and Chi, the most well-known Vietnamese restaurant in Vancouver. Under the direction of founders Vincent Nguyễn and Amelie Thuy Nguyễn, Good Thief was inspired by one Vietnam’s timeless cultural practices, called “nhậu,” the joyous tradition of eating and drinking together. Good Thief’s interior encourages nhậu with its lively design, which architects designed to be a luxurious homage to 1970s bars in Vietnam. The 40-seat space fuses elements of East and West, adorned with drapery, brass, and playful colors.

The boldly creative menu designed by Beverage Director Ben Kingstone showcases specific ingredients and bar techniques, resulting in complex yet approachable drinks. For example, the Old Secret (Toasted Sesame Oil Michter’s Rye, Good Thief Barrel Aged Amaro, Bitter Berry Glucose, Mẹ’s Chilli Fish Sauce, House Bitters) highlights the hero ingredient, the Chilli Fish Sauce recipe developed by Vincent and Amelie’s mother, along with the leathered aging process via a traditional Spanish wineskin (bota).

Published (3593 Main St)

First opened in 2019, Published on Main is situated on Main Street in the thriving Mount Pleasant area of Vancouver, home to three other restaurant bars featured on our tour. A secret to Published’s success is its casual atmosphere that beautifully fuses the bar counter and dining areas, making diners and cocktail imbibers feel like they are part of the same homogeneous space. You can even eat an entire dinner up at the counter, further embracing a laidback approach which suits locals just fine.

Head Bartender Lacey Roberts explains the concept behind the cocktail program: "At Published on Main, we craft liquid creations that convey our personal stories from behind the bar.” In crafting the current menu, the team challenged themselves with the question "Who would we be if we made a different major decision in life?" Roberts realized the biggest choice she made in life was moving from the US to Canada as a teenager and so “American Dream” is an ode to the Rodeo Lacey that instead decided to remain in the USA and love all things American. The spirit-forward cocktail features Michter’s American whiskey, sweet corn, smoke and oat.

Modus Coffee Roastery (112 W Broadway)

Modus is a micro-roaster with well-balanced seasonal coffees and great bites. Dine in to enjoy the calming atmosphere and exquisite yuzu avo toast with japanese mayo, sauerkraut, smoked salt, black sesame and fromage blanc.

33 Acres (15 W 8th Ave)

Although 33 Acres is better known as one of the top craft brewers in Vancouver, they also happen to make the best espresso in town! I enjoyed a Phil and Sebastian roast of Nansebo Genene. It was acidic and vibrant, and my favorite espresso in recent memory.

Anh and Chi (3388 Main St)

Located on the southern edge of Mount Pleasant, Anh and Chi is an authentic Vietnamese restaurant on Main St, which is becoming the Vancouver foodie’s favorite street thanks to neighbors Published, Toshi, Hawker’s Delight, Bob Likes Thai Food and Sun Sui Wah.

Anh and Chi is a modern Vietnamese eatery that stays true to its roots. I ordered Number 37 with lemongrass chicken and char-grilled pork chop with jasmine rice, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and Mẹ’s chilli fish sauce. The succulent meat reminded me of my best experiences during my PhD days back in Toronto, the reference point for authentic Vietnamese food in Canada.

Like its friendly competition The Lunch Lady, DD Mau and Do Chay, Anh and Chi also does Vietnamese twists on cocktails.

OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS

Skye Avenue - Kitchen & Lounge (13450 102 Ave #190, Surrey)

Skye Avenue Kitchen & Lounge is a restaurant bar which opened in fall 2024, just outside of Vancouver in Surrey. The inspiration for the name comes from the Isle of Skye, the revered whiskey region in Scotland whiskey. Skye Avenue Kitchen & Lounge has already become a household name in the spirits world as it is home to 1300 different expressions of whiskeys and whiskies. The food menu at Skye was developed by Chef Valerio Pescetelli, who other than his native Italian cuisine, showcases dishes from all the major whiskey-producing regions of the world.

Managing the massive number of bottles is in-house whisky curator Stacy Kyle, who spent months sorting, cleaning, cataloguing and presenting the collection. Every Wednesday, Skye offers classic whiskey-based cocktails refined by Bar Manager Zak Kbili such as the Rob Roy, Boulevardier and Old Fashioned along with whisky flights allowing guests to explore some of the 1300 different whiskies available.

Hansol Korean Restaurant (1192 Lansdowne Dr #401, Coquitlam)

Hands down the best Korean restaurant I’ve tried in the Lower Mainland, Hansol is a new addition to the growing number of quality Asian restaurants in Coquitlam. I have tried the Bulgogi, stone bowl Bibimbap and Jap Chae which were all authentic and delicious. Outstanding!

Honey's Doughnuts (4373 Gallant Ave, North Vancouver)

Honey’s Doughnuts is probably the most famous eating joint in Deep Cove. The specialty here is obvious but they also have decent sandwiches. In addition to their flagship honey donut, you can also find maple and chocolate flavors at Honey’s. The honey variety is possibly the best donut I’ve ever had. A word of warning: despite the laidback Deep Cove location, there are long lines and rapid-fire service at Honey’s, leading to a rather stressful experience. But take a deep breath as it’s all worth it once you have the holy grail of donuts in your hand.

Honey and maple donuts at Honey’s in Deep Cove

Naka Bistro Lao & Thai Cuisine (20055 Fraser Hwy, Langley)

Naka bistro is 45 minutes from Vancouver but the Laotian/Thai food on offer here is so good, that a true foodie would make the trip to the Fraser Hwy location. When I am back in town visiting my parents in Surrey, I visit Naka at least once a week. Naka makes the best Laotian food in the Lower Mainland.

My favorite Laotian dishes are the Nem Khao (crispy rice lettuce wrap with spices, shredded coconut, cured pork, fresh herbs and sour lime juice), Kao Piak Sen (noodles in soup topped with chicken, green onions, dried garlic flakes and cilantro), and Sai Gok (Laotian pork sausages with spicy chilli dip and sticky rice)

If you are less adventurous, the Pad Thai and Pad See Iw are solid choices and the Curry chicken is very good. But I strongly encourage you to pick from the Laotian specialties. It’s some of the best Asian food in the Greater Vancouver area.

Vancouver /March 21, 2025 by shane eaton

Downtown Eastside

Downtown

Mount Pleasant

OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS