Vancouver’s hottest restaurant openings for fall 2015
Innovative chefs and restaurateurs are working hard to keep up with the city’s evolving culinary scene and the insatiable appetites of local foodies. From Angus An’s long-awaited noodle bar in Chinatown to Supermarine's super tasty seafood, here’s a round-up of Vancouver’s hottest restaurant openings. [Image courtesy of Supermarine]
Ancora Waterfront Dining and Patio - False Creek
1600 Howe Street, Vancouver, BC V6Z 2L9The latest fine dining venture from Viaggio Hospitality Group (Cibo, Uva), Ancora specializes in a melange of Japanese and Peruvian cuisines prepared with a West Coast sensibility. The airy 98-seat waterfront restaurant boasts a scenic locale overlooking False Creek and an elegant beach-house vibe; the design features pale blue hues, light woods, sparkling fishnet-inspired chandeliers and plenty of natural light. Peruvian-born executive chef Ricardo Valverde oversees the main dinner menu while sushi chef Yoshi Tabo mans the raw bar. Together, these progressive culinary masterminds work in tandem to create exotic global dishes prepared with locally sourced ingredients.
Royal Dinette
905 Dunsmuir St, Vancouver, BC V6C 1A8It might be located in the heart of the financial district, but Royal Dinette isn’t your typical suit-and-tie kind of place. Open since July 2015, the chic interior has a sophisticated diner feel with a few stylishly retro touches throughout. Chef David Gunawan (of Farmer’s Apprentice fame) stays true to his signature style, crafting a small, seasonal menu of farm-to-table fare. Grab a spot at the bar and check out the action in the open kitchen, which features dedicated pastry, butcher and fresh pasta stations. Cocktail fans take note: classic libations are just $6 from 4:30 to 6:00 pm daily.
Fat Mao Noodles
217 Georgia St E, Vancouver, BC V6A 1Z6Angus An’s highly anticipated Chinatown noodle house opened its doors in August and has been wowing local foodies since day one. Fat Mao (or “Lucky Cat”) serves pan-Asian inspired noodle bowls all day long – or until the noodles run out. From spicy dan dan noodles to Taiwanese beef noodles to Thai-style Chiang Mai curry noodles, the flavourful menu options are ideal on a cold and rainy day. Diners can augment their meal with savoury sides and condiments; try braised beef tripe salad, house-made kimchi and XO sauce, and scallion pancakes prepared in small batches each week by An’s mother.
Uncle Abe's
3032 Main St, Vancouver, BC V5T 3G5A neighbourhood shawarma shop with a gourmet twist, Uncle Abe’s is the latest dining destination to open up along Mount Pleasant’s Main Street strip. Unlike your average take-out joint, the shawarma fries, falafel bites and warm samosas are Instagram-worthy in their presentation and paired with handcrafted cocktails like freshly muddled green tea mojitos and an Earl Grey infused Old Fashioned. The interior feels very thrift-shop-chic with its well-worn floral furnishings and the brightly coloured walls adorned with an assortment of paintings, taxidermy and tchotchkes.
Torafuku
958 Main St, Vancouver, BC V6A 2W1The team behind the wildly popular Le Tigre food truck have put down permanent roots on Main Street. Torafuku’s pan-Asian street food menu draws inspiration from Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese and Vietnamese culinary traditions. Playfully named dishes like “Dr. Octopus vs. Mr. Tuna” and “Rye So Messy Chicken Wings” are just as fun to order as they are to eat, and the kickass fried rice (served in a box with aburi-style pork belly) is a must try. The interior is clean and modern, with a long communal dining table that makes it easy for groups to share a variety of dishes.
Papi's Seafood and Oyster Bar
1193 Denman Street, Vancouver, BC V6G 2N1Summer may be well and truly over but this new venture in the former Raincity Grill space will make you want to head back to the beach, even on the greyest of days. The kitchen pays homage to the restaurant’s waterfront locale with a menu of coastal delights such as B.C. salmon with leek risotto and butter-roasted lingcod. Farmhouse fare (roasted chicken, grilled pork chop, beef strip loin) and veggie-forward pastas and salads round out the food offerings. With a scenic heated patio and bottomless mimosas during weekend brunch, Beach Bay is bound to become a new neighbourhood fave.
Glowbal
590 W Georgia St, Vancouver, BC V6B 0M3Vancouver’s wildly successful Glowbal Restaurant Group launched its flashy new flagship eatery in August. Housed in the architecturally stunning TELUS Garden and designed to cater to the denizens of downtown throughout the day, the spacious 17,000-square-foot restaurant offers lunch, dinner and cocktail hour specials with brunch served on Saturdays and Sundays. The menu is on the pricier side but will accommodate diners of all sorts with its range of crowd-pleasing North American favourites. Highlights include steaks and pasta dishes, a dedicated raw bar, and a selection of seared meat and vegetable satay sticks prepared on the kitchen’s custom-built Robata grill.
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