Vancouver’s Tastiest Restaurants, as listed in Canada’s Best 100 list

Canada’s Hundred Best presented their picks for 2020’s best restaurants, and luckily for Vancouverites, a handful of them reside in our city.

Hawksworth

Five-time winner of Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Award’s Best Upscale Restaurant, Hawksworth Restaurant showcases ingredient-led, contemporary cuisine that demonstrates the highly skilled technique and relentless drive for perfection that has become Chef David Hawksworth’s trademark.

Open for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner, within award-winning wine list.

Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar

Vancouver’s Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar provides a distinctive showcase for the celebrated culinary vision of Executive Chef Alex Chen. Chen’s seafood-focused menu is grounded in classical technique and training, while artfully infusing casual West Coast flair and creative hints of his international influences.

Botanist

Botanist is a great addition to Canada’s vibrant culinary scene, inspired by the principles of botany. Designed by award-winning agencies Ste Marie Design and Glasfurd & Walker, the space has been layered with the elements of a destination abundant in natural beauty.

Executive Chef Hector Laguna’s menu depicts the culinary abundance and botany of the Pacific Northwest region – produce rooted from the soil of the northwest, sustainably sourced seafood, and organic agricultural methods from backyard suppliers. The Botanist bar program features a list of sophisticated yet whimsical cocktails with a select number of chemist-like designs.

L’Abattoir

L’Abattoir Restaurant, located in the centre of the historic Gastown, was built in the 19th century and is the site of Vancouver’s first jail. Originally buttressed to the city’s main butchery and meatpacking district, the name L’Abattoir pays homage to the neighbourhood’s colourful past.

Set in a refurbished brick and beam building that combines classic French tile work with industrial fixtures, natural wood, and glass and steel finishes, the restaurant offers a bar and lounge setting, elevated dining room and plush, sun-soaked atrium. French-influenced West Coast fare is paired with their eclectic wine selections and innovative cocktail list to offer your clients a truly unique dining experience.

Cioppino’s

Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill gives a fresh perspective on Mediterranean cooking from Executive Chef and restaurateur/owner Giuseppe Posteraro. With French-inspired Mediterranean signature dishes cooked to perfection, from a menu that includes seasonal fish, game, fruits and vegetables.

Fresh as his new style of Italian cooking, he’ll surprise and refresh your taste buds with “Cucina Naturale” which is his forte. Basically, a classical style of cooking, “Cucina Naturale” emphasizes the use of fresh ingredients, especially vegetables. Its lightness of taste is derived from minimizing animal fats and creams and using low cholesterol olive oils instead.

Savio Volpe

Osteria Savio Volpe is a neighbourhood joint. A place that is comfortable for families, friends, and strangers alike; where the food is cooked in its simplest most flavourful way; where guests can get a good square meal, una bella mangiata, and a glass of Lambrusco without lightening their pockets too much. In other words, an osteria: the Italian predecessor to the public house.

The team’s motto is viva la convivialità – long live friendship, affection and hospitality. Firmly rooted in the Italian tradition of simplicity and freshness, Osteria Savio Volpe’s menu features plenty of fresh, handmade pasta; heavy use of the wood fire grill and spit; and a rotating selection of homemade and artisanal cookies, pastries and gelato. Inevitably, Osteria Savio Volpe’s version of Italian will be flavoured by as much of what is grown and sourced right here in the lower mainland and its environs: this is Vancouver Italian.

Mott 32

Mott 32’s cooking is principally Cantonese with some signature Beijing and Szechuan dishes, bringing the most out of traditional recipes passed down from generation to generation. This particular level of modernity combined with the respect for tradition is what makes Mott 32 so spectacularly unique. A vibrant atmosphere and the highest level of attentive, discrete service ensure an experience unmatched anywhere in Vancouver.

Nightingale

Introducing simple seasonal dishes — packed with natural flavour — that focus on quality, excellence and fun. Served up in a lively space, our fresh crudo and charcuterie, creative house-made pastas, pizzas, crisp salads and seasonal veggie dishes can be enjoyed with friends old and new; paired with local craft beers, complementing wines or on-tap gin & tonics from the buzzing bar.

Tojo’s

Tojo, the master chef, combines mastery of traditional Japanese cuisine with the best seasonal ingredients of the West Coast to offer an unforgettable dining experience. At a table or the sushi bar, try omakase, a tasting menu comprised of the day’s best culinary pieces. At the sushi bar, the chef himself will attend to your dinner for the utmost omakase dining.

If ‘kampai’ is your thing, the sake bar makes up the most extensive sake list in the city, along with great cocktails for those who prefer softer drinks.

Annalena

An eatery serving contemporary Canadian fare & creative cocktails in a stylish, modern setting. With a focus on meats of every kind, from local seafood to game and classic cuts, all served with eye-popping or unusual accompaniments. Think mussels in bright orange chorizo oil, and strawberry tart with charcoal meringue and thyme icecream.

Maenam

Simplicity, innovation and balance are the key ingredients in chef Angus An’s philosophy behind the authentic Thai dishes served at Maenam. His menu is rooted in balancing intense fresh flavours with seasonal ingredients and locally sourced products while respecting the tradition and the origin of each recipe. With inspiration found in continuous travel, the menu at Maenam is ever-changing but always served with Thai flare and enjoyed in its traditional context, be it family-style dining or riffs on Thai street food.