Bulgogi steak and eggs with a flight of beer mimosas at Catch 122. Photo / Jennilee Marigomen, The New York Times
Make the most of a short stint in Vancouver: start with the food and then move your way through the city’s numerous hipster neighbourhoods, writes Remy Scalza
Late last year, the Michelin Man finally came to Vancouver, on the coast of British Columbia. The visit from France’s
Of course, there’s more than just food. Vancouver has a pristine ocean, rugged mountains, glimmering skylines and a truly cosmopolitan culture with influences from China, India and beyond.
Visitors are also greeted by a city in transition. As property values have skyrocketed, the gravity of cultural life has shifted eastward — from downtown’s seaside neighbourhoods to one-time working-class strongholds like Commercial Drive, areas that are filling with trendy shops and restaurants.
Against this backdrop, with its challenges of gentrification, Vancouver clings to a character all its own.
2pm | Cruise the sea wall
A visit to downtown’s waterfront Stanley Park, which is larger than Central Park in New York, offers an unforgettable, if de rigueur, introduction to the city. Biking the nearly 11km sea wall is a great way to enjoy the park’s rainforest, beaches and gardens. Hop on a Mobi bike share - CA$1 ($1.20) to unlock, then 25c per minute - near the aquarium and pedal along the edge of Coal Harbour, with its gleaming glass towers, then under the imposing steel frame of the Lions Gate Bridge, watching for seals in Burrard Inlet. Further on, cold Pacific water beckons hardy swimmers and paddleboarders at Third Beach, while bald eagles perch in towering cedars and Douglas firs. Prop your bike against one of the weathered logs and watch the container ships in English Bay stream into the harbour.
3:30pm | Enjoy a brew
In the park, Stanley Park Brewpub & Restaurant is in a restored 1930 heritage building whose tall windows look out on grassy lawns rolling down to the water. Inside, drinkers quaff creative beers brewed on premises (CA$7.75 a pint). For a more refined atmosphere, check out the lounge at the nearby ivy-clad Sylvia Hotel, built in 1912, with great views of English Bay. The story goes that the Sylvia Martini (CA$19) — now made with the locally distilled Long Table gin — has been a favourite since Errol Flynn ordered one in 1959.
4:30pm | Wander downtown
Often the first stop for disembarking cruise ship passengers, downtown’s historic Gastown neighbourhood is by turns charming and schmaltzy: Handsome 19th-century brick buildings house gift shops selling maple-leaf-printed PJs and moose key chains. For an antidote to the typical trinkets, stop in Vinyl Records, an emporium of new and used LPs, including albums from Canadian icons like Leonard Cohen, the Tragically Hip and even Justin Bieber, that are conveniently clustered near the door. Just down the street, the flagship store of Native Shoes features a vibrant rainbow of slip-on shoes made of washable, recyclable and vegan foam (think Crocs, but trendier), from about CA$60 a pair.
7pm | Say ‘oui’ to dinner
Gastown’s eastern fringe, where trendy shops give way to social housing services, is part of an area in transition where homelessness, drug use and gentrification remain a thorny challenge. Against this backdrop, St. Lawrence, one of Vancouver’s new Michelin-starred restaurants, has been drawing in-the-know diners since 2017 with its haute take on traditional Québécois cuisine. Guests are greeted with a “bonsoir,” and velvet curtains part to reveal a small, low-lit room with a tiny open kitchen in the back. The prix fixe menu (CA$125 per person) consists of seven eclectic dishes, which rotate monthly but have a distinctly Canadian flair, like a split-pea soup with maple-cured sablefish. Make reservations.
9pm | Follow the noise
Gastown comes alive after dark, with drinking options for different tastes, including Cuchillo, a luchador-themed cocktail bar, and Juice Bar, a pop-up serving natural wines after hours in a cafe setting. But Gastown’s best live music is underground. Stone steps descend to Guilt & Co., where music lovers line up to see local and touring rock, jazz and indie acts (ticket price per set, CA$6). Low lights, boozy cocktails and dungeonlike stone walls lend a conspiratorial air to the venue, which draws a diverse and welcoming crowd that boogies down until well after midnight.
9:30am | Wake up and sweat
Vancouver’s seaside Kitsilano neighbourhood, once a counterculture outpost, is now one of the city’s most affluent areas, where stores selling expensive yoga pants and smoothies abound. Early risers can start the day with a drop-in class of heart-pumping cardio set to dance music at TurF (CA$28), a small (and popular) studio-slash-cafe wedged on to trendy West Fourth Avenue. Palo santo — a fragrant wood — is often burned before classes, and the audio system soars to clublike volumes. If that sounds like too much work, the nearby Kitsilano Beach affords a calmer start to the morning. Packed with young people working on tans later in the day, Kits Beach at this hour provides a quiet spot for sunning or cooling off in the ocean.
11am | Try dim sum with a beer
Cantonese-style dim sum is a Vancouver institution, part of a legacy of exceptional Chinese cuisine in a city where about 15 per cent of the population speaks a Chinese language most often at home. At Kitsilano’s unassuming Little Bird, set along a strip-mall-like stretch, diners pack into a narrow space on weekend mornings for modern dim sum paired with local craft beer. There are plenty of vegan and gluten-free options available, with some favourites, including shumai with Beyond Meat (CA$9.50) and green-tea sesame balls with matcha chocolate filling (CA$8).
12:30pm | Dress like a local
Kitsilano’s West Fourth Avenue is lined with a who’s who of Canadian West Coast brands. For all things Gore-Tex, check out the new 418sq m flagship store of Arc’teryx, a high-end outdoor clothing brand founded by local mountain climbers. Across the street, a just-opened branch of Fluevog Shoes showcases the outlandish footwear designs of John Fluevog, a local maker of “unique soles for unique souls,” whose trademark clunky shoes have been worn by artists like Madonna and Jack White.
2pm | Get a cold brew
For a completely different side of Vancouver, head east to Commercial Drive. The city’s traditional Little Italy neighbourhood, the Drive is gentrifying fast but retains an eclectic, rough-edged vibe. Aside from having many worthy Neapolitan pizza spots (Via Tevere claiming pride of place), the Drive is also an epicenter of Vancouver coffee culture. The Italian bakery and restaurant Livia has divinely foamy cappuccinos (CA$4.25) and fresh breads, as well as full meals including a popular ragu made with Alberta bison (CA$20). Just down the street at Mum’s the Word — equal parts cafe and cocktail bar — locals slip into retro easy chairs for drinks like Mum’s Cold Brew Manhattan (CA$14.75), a potent mix of cold brew, whiskey and Kahlua.
3:30pm | Check out crafts
The maker scene is alive and well in Vancouver. The cozy shop Gatley features crafts from local producers including higher-end pottery and clothing, as well as butter-soft leather wallets from Erin Templeton (CA$75) and Brand & Iron candles (CA$42). Across the street, the children’s store Dilly Dally draws grown-up kids, too, especially for its handmade toys, like tiny canoes from Quebec (CA$28). Up the street, painted canvases leaning on a red brick wall mark the entrance to Arts off Main, a cooperative gallery owned by nine local artists who display their works there. Inside, Jan Rankin’s impressionistic paintings evoke Pacific Northwest scenes in vibrant acrylics, while Tom Antil paints dreamlike Vancouver cityscapes of towers, bridges and bays.
5:30pm | Sip Main Street
As recently as a decade ago, the Main Street area was a blue-collar holdout of traditional Chinese restaurants and auto body shops, but a booming local tech scene and proximity to downtown have lately transformed the area. Craft breweries like Brassneck have proliferated, but a welcome variation is the urban winery Fabrique St-George, which ferments local Okanagan grapes on-site in giant amphora vessels. Try their flagship wine, Amber (CA$14 a glass), paired with local charcuterie.
7pm | Eat like a resident
Main Street is home to several of Vancouver’s newly Michelin-starred eateries. The “it” restaurant du jour is Published on Main — a minimalist space with stark white-tile floors and midcentury-modern furnishings — where the real artistry is on the plate. Small dishes like side-stripe prawns (CA$23), bison tartare (CA$30) and smoked steelhead (CA$46), all prepared and plated with near-obsessive precision, show off the best of local produce. Reservations highly recommended. A few doors down, the modern Peruvian bistro Suyo makes a more than adequate backup.
9pm | Leave room for icecream
Earnest Ice Cream started out selling its popular flavours like whiskey hazelnut and salted caramel (CA$5.25, single scoop) from a roving tricycle. Now, the Vancouver business has four locations, including one on Quebec Street that is walkable from dinner. Grab a waffle cone in the restored century-old textile mill on the edge of Olympic Village, a neighbourhood of waterfront mid-rises built for Vancouver’s 2010 Winter Olympics. Be prepared to line up.
9am | Have an adventure
Just a 15-minute Seabus ride (CA$3.10 one-way) across Burrard Inlet, a shallow Pacific Ocean fjord, lies the North Shore — Vancouver’s wild backyard. Rows of homes in the suburbs rise steeply on mountain slopes before giving way to a seemingly endless expanse of forest and rocky peaks. For a quick glimpse of old-growth forest remnants and rugged canyons, take an Uber or taxi just past the tourist magnet Capilano Suspension Bridge to the much quieter Capilano River Regional Park. The well-marked Coho Loop threads less than a mile along the jade green Capilano River (where jumping salmon can often be seen in summer and fall), and winds beneath towering firs draped with moss. The trail climbs to a footbridge for vertigo-inducing views of the swirling river far below, before circling back along the opposite shore.
11am | Absorb some history
Once an industrial hub, North Vancouver’s waterfront Shipyards district has been reborn over the past five years as a vibrant home for restaurants, condos, shops and museums. Inside the Museum of North Vancouver (entry CA$14), interactive exhibits explore local history, including the legacy of British Columbia’s First Nations peoples. Hear audio tracks of words pronounced in the Squamish language while getting up close with a traditional berry-picking canoe. Afterward, walk a block to Catch 122, a new brunch spot where you can pair a bulgogi steak and eggs (CA$25) with a beer-mimosa flight (CA$19), which features beers from the nearby Wildeye Brewing that are blended with fresh yuzu, mandarin and mango juices.
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Stanley Park is a 400ha oasis of rainforest, beaches and gardens in the heart of downtown Vancouver.
West Fourth Avenue is an upscale retail hub with Vancouver-born brands, high-end bakeries and brunch spots.
Commercial Drive offers humble produce shops, first-rate pizza restaurants and great cafes.
Capilano River Regional Park provides a glimpse of the city’s rugged backyard, with trails along a salmon-filled river.
Stanley Park Brewpub Restaurant pours craft beer in a restored 1930 building inside the city’s iconic central park.
St. Lawrence is a restaurant offering a haute take on traditional Québécois (French Canadian) cuisine, with a Michelin star to show for it.
Little Bird offers a modern twist on dim sum, with great craft beer pairings.
Livia is an Italian bakery and restaurant on Commercial Drive that serves everything from fresh breads to full meals.
Mum’s the Word is equal parts cafe and cocktail bar, with a funky, retro feel.
Published on Main is a Michelin-starred restaurant highlighting local meat, fish and produce in an intimate setting.
Fabrique St-George is an urban winery where local grapes are fermented on-site.
Suyo, a Peruvian bistro in a sleek space, pushes beyond the familiar ceviches.
Earnest Ice Cream draws long lines for flavours like whiskey hazelnut and salted caramel.
Catch 122 is a popular brunch spot in North Vancouver’s Shipyards district.
Fairmont Pacific Rim is a downtown hotel that has set the bar for luxury, accessibility and amenities. Rooms from CA$494, or about $365.
Sylvia Hotel is a no-frills hotel option rich with ambience and history. It occupies a commanding perch right on downtown’s English Bay. Rooms from CA$325.
The Burrard is a revamped 1950s motel in the core of downtown, with plenty of retro-chic touches. Rooms from CA$244.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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