Are there any Californians here?
Where do you eat?

I feel like every menu here in this city is the same.
They all try very hard and the food under delivers.
I don't care much about  atmosphere, just want some reasonably priced, big on flavorful, non watered down food.

I feel like this question should be posed in the Cali threads: "Dear californians, where do you eat when you go to Vancouver, Canada?"

Pan Pacific Hotel used to have a great Italian lunch on Friday.
Dave's Fish and Chips in Richmond (Steveston area)
Pajo's Fish and Chips in Richmond (Steveston area)
There's was a hamburger place people were just talking about on Broadway Ave.  It's called Monderne Burger 2507 West Broadway.
My wife and I love the crepes at Granville Island Market.

My wife and I often wonder the same thing when we gone to Vancouver.  Where are we going to eat???  We haven't lived in Vancouver for almost 15 years now but take a trip down a couple of times a year.
There's always a White Spot restaurant.  White Spot is a chain that was started in Vancouver many years ago.
PS  I lived in California from 1961-1970.  That's when California was still beautiful and not over populated like it is now.  The beach was beautiful then and you could surf anytime of day or go pick up shells in La Jolla.  :)  Hope this helps.

@Brittney,  I went to the Troubadour is the 60's.  I was just reading your reviews.

Just thought of where we go for Chinese food now when in Van..  Burnaby Palace on Boundary Rd.

Waaburgers and french cries at Joey Cactustones?

@Christine- LOL!

Britney you may want to be specific about your request in your question? Specifically what foods are so common in Vancouver restos? And specifically what are you looking for?

Honestly I was kind of just ranting out of frustration.
I don't get a chance to go out to new restaurants often, but when I do It always feels like a disappointment.

My favorite types of food are Mexican, Indian, Thai, Sushi, and West Coast seafood.
Maybe I am just having some off experiences.

Vancouver is such a gorgeous city  that has access to such fresh food, and yet so many times I order fish at restaurants it comes out not tasting fresh. I'm not talking about Joey's or Cactus club, I avoid those places unless I have to go for a friends birthday or something.

Is there anywhere in the city that actually has a rare cooked burger? I always ask and it seems nowhere to be found.

I am not trying to just be a big complainer here, I am genuinely curious because I keep reading how great of a foodie city Vancouver is and would like to discover some hidden gems. I have only been here for a year so I'm pretty new.

Thanks for the suggestions Dave, I have tried Moderne Burger on Broadway because I heard they had a Malt milkshake.
The burger was alright, but the malt powder they use must be Ovaltine or something. Can't find Malt powder in Canada for some reason :(
That's cool about the Troubadour, have you been back since?

@Brittney,  You won't find a rare hamburger in B.C. or maybe Canada unless you cook it youself.  It's the law that restaurants have to cook their hamburgers 'well done' because of what happened with e coli poisoning in the past.

The Troubadour - that was the days of being a young rebel in the 1960's.  I stay at the Best Western on Pacific Coast Hwy., in Newport Beach when I go to Calif.  I don't even fly into LA anymore.  Santa Ana or Ontario Intl. via Alaska Airlines work for us.  

Last time I was in LA was the Rondey King riots.  I just drove through on the freeway taking the kids to and from Disneyland.  The riots had just stopped then.

I guess if you want some fresh fish you'll have to go the Richmond (Steveston area).  You used to be able to buy fish right off the boats there too.  We're not big fish lovers but we do go for fish and chip every once in awhile.

Blue water Cafe or C for fish
Gotham for steak
Tojo's for Japanese food
Topanga Cafe for 60s style Mex-Cali food
Chambar for mussels
Wild Rice for squid and other tapas type mod chinese
sorry not good malt shakes in the city, I've checked

For Malt powder, rather than Ovaltine, go to Famous Foods on Kingsway @ King Edward. They sell bags of it there and very yummy it is too!
Thai food - go to Bob Likes Thai food on Main Street yelp.ca/biz/bob-likes-th….

Yes, I know these are not Downtown, but they are not far away and worth the 10 minutes travel time :)

I was going to tell you about a place that serves an amazing medium-rare sirloin burger with black truffles and duck confit, but you've gone and insulted everyone in the city so you can just forget about it now. ;)

Two Chefs and a Table for lunch. Great, reasonably priced, delicious food. And medium-rare burgers.

yelp.ca/biz/two-chefs-an…

thaibasilvancouver.ca

callirestaurant.com

lataqueria.ca

atithi.ca/atithi_-_servi…

tokyothyme.com

danrestaurant.com/home.h…

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Note-for the most part Yelpers are clueless about food-they come across as either slavish toadies to culinary fashion or whinging/whining juveniles.

@Derek,  I'll have to tell my wife about the 'Two Chefs' as she grew up on Alexander St. in 1950's - late 60's.  That old house is gone now.  My wife and I haven't been back to that part of town since the late 1980's.

@conrad y.,  I don't like whiners either but referring to people as 'slavish toadies' is wrong.  Is the word 'slavish' some kind of ethnic slur against 'Slavic People'?
You make yourself sound like a real arrogant jerk.  By the way, I'm not Slavic.  As far as food goes, I know what I like so nobody is going to tell me how or what I should eat.

FYI- Slavish = submissive, subservient.

@Derek,  Now you've got my wife all excited about the 'Two Chefs'!  She says her old home address on Alexander St. was either 325 or 725.  See says it's so long ago she can't remember.  I see the restaurant address is 305 and Alexander is not that long of a street.  I showed her the pictures and now she's trying to recall every store and business on Alexander from ancient times.

You can get a rare burger at: refuel (Kits), La Brasserie (Davie), and Hamilton St Grill (Yaletown). It isn't illegal to serve them rare here - that is a common misconception. These places grind their own beef.

Real malt powder: you can buy it in bags at Gourmet Warehouse and Famous Foods (as mentioned above).

You can forget about Mexican food if you want to compare it to Cali as for Indian I like Kona Tandoori out in Richmond. Spicy Chinese food try Mr. Zheng on Victoria Drive for dinner recommend the Kung Poa chicken.

I'm glad to hear that rare burgers aren't illegal here, waiters/waitresses have actually been telling me that.

@fmed M - Thanks for the heads up, I have been looking for a place that grounds their own beef!

That`s exciting about the malt, I will check it out for sure. Maybe I can stop smuggling it across the border.
I have heard good things about Two Chefs, that place is on my list.

Mexican food has been a tough one, I miss it a lot. I like La Taqueria, they have good tacos.

Thank you for the suggestions everyone!

I guess some people are very easily offended, that was not my intention, just trying to have a conversation here.
There is much of Vancouver I haven`t explored, I live in Gastown and pretty much only go to places within walking distance.
That`s why I said downtown has been disappointing, not referring to greater Vancouver.

Next time I'm in Vancouver, I'm going to ask for a burger cooked med. rare because that's the way I used to eat them.  I clearly remember being in a restaurant in Van. in the early 1990's and one guy asked for his burger rare.  The waitress told him the chef will not cook to burger any other way but well done and that was the law.  That happened shortly after the problem at some restaurants with e coli and undercooked meat.

Yeah, you'll get that BS line from most of the restaurants in town. You just have to find restaurants that grind their own meat. Most restaurants get their ground beef from large factory operations. I wouldn't order med rare burgers from those types of places.

fmed M.,  Well that sounds like good advice and I'll keep it in mind.  Thanks!

I was just kidding. Actually the restaurant I was going to mention shut down. Someone probably died of E-Coli.

^^^E coli again!  Bummer!

What's the fascination with raw meat?

I don't think it is a "fascination". If you like your steak medium-rare, then it is likely are you will like your burger medium-rare. I happen to enjoy a medium-rare steak, carpaccio, tartare, bo tai chanh, sashimi, and medium-rare burgers...all of which are forms of raw meat.

Way back when they did serve medium rare burgers like at Red Robins but there were a few food poisoning cases from that( not from Red Robins) so things changed. The only way is if they grind their own meat.

I had steak tartare at a French Bistro on Denman (close to Robson.)   I survived.
I recently had raw wagyu beef at Roy's Hawaiian Fusion restaurant in San Diego.  I wish we'd allow more 'dangerous' food here in Canada.

I ate fugu (poisonous puffer fish) in Japan.   I survived.
I ate fresh mochi  (sticky rice pucks) in Japan.   I survived.

The problem is when the meat is pre-grounded with all the left over stuff they could grind all together. Some of it you don't want to know what it is then you're   Increasing the risk of contamination. That is why ground beef you buy in the supermarket has to be fully cooked.

Born and raised here, and you hipster trash mustache "foodies" are waterboys!........ seriously, harshing on an import like Brittney is not cool.  Poor girl wants a good meal and you, Dan J and Sam L, just feel the need to be douche nozzles. We are are Canadian, live up to the damn national anthem and help the bitch out!

I said I was just kidding. And I ended my original post with a winky-faced emoticon. I almost never use emoticons -but I broke my own rule so that she would know I was being sardonic. Sorry you missed the subtlety there.

Hey! Here's an idea. Write some reviews of your own. Get yourself invited to a Yelp event and you will see for yourself that:

A) I'm not "hipster trash" or a "douche-nozzle"
B) Like most Yelpers I try not to judge people based on their appearance
C) My moustache was from Movember and is long gone
D) I haven't updated my profile pic since November
E) I'm not a foodie but I am a bit of coffeeie
F) Only hipsters use "harsh" as a verb

Oh Canada, Our home and native land
True patriot love, And helping bitches out...

Welcome to Yelp. ;)

^^^@Dan J.,  What re you doing up at this time of the morning and on Yelp.  I have an excuse, the dog gets me up to feed her and take her outside.  The dog crawls back into bed with the wife and I stay up and make coffee.  I guess the dog is the smart one.
By the way, the A&W opens at 6AM and they serve a very good breakfast.  I just thought I'd let you know in case you're hungry.

I'm going to bed now. Getting to bed at 5:00 AM on a Saturday night is normal for a self-employed hipster douche-nozzle.

Hey we like to cook at home. Try out the grocery stores

Lol

Hold on a sec, which part of the national anthem concerns "helping bitches out"? Is that in the French version?

Amen to cooking (or not cooking). Food any way you want it. What a concept, eh?

I am just chuckling at "douche-nozzle". Must find a way to use it!! Happy Rainy Sunday.

Going back to the original request...Downtown is dominated by chains and mediocre lunch places, so you really do have to hunt for good food. Most of the worthy spots are tucked into the various neighbourhoods outside the core (Main St, Hastings-Sunrise, Commercial Dr, Davie St, Kits, Gastown, etc etc). Also, good food often hides behind a regular lunch menu (eg a place like Cafe des Artes just outside Yaletown serves some decent Vietnamese dishes along the usual office-worker lunch menu items.)

Try Miko, Miku, La Taqueria, Don Guacamole; close to Downtown, try Vjis, Rangoli, West, Kits Daily Kitchen, Ajisai. Other great places in downtown, try Guu, Lupo, CinCin's, Tavola, Nook, Motomachi Ramen, Babylon Cafe, Pourhouse, L'Abbatoir.

Hahaha! The anthem should be changed, It would be pretty suitable since everyone in the world makes note of how friendly Canadians are.

Does Guu live up to the hype? I keep forgetting to try one of those.
Has anyone tried one of those odd looking Mexican places in Gastown?

I'm getting a lot of flack for that comment on all the same menus! Yes, definite exaggeration, but if I see one more sad, mediocre pulled pork sandwich I will scream.

- Bitch

If you want the best Italian food you're ever going to eat go to the Pacificia Cafe at the Pan Pacific Hotel on Friday for their buffet.
People from Europe have told me it was the best Italian food they'e ever eaten.  A chef cooks your food to order as you stand for a couple of minutes and wait for it.  The pasta is all precooked so you choose your sauce etc.
The only problem I can see is that I haven't been for a couple of years so I don't know if they changed anything.  Also, some people might find it a bit expensive.

I agree with Dave went to Pan Pacific for their opera buffet was outstanding.

Breakfast try Cafe Medina or The Provence on Marinaside Cresent.

Sushi Mart on Robson

@Britney- I wasn't in love with the food in Vancouver.  I lived downtown and found that many places had the same lame paninis, wraps, unexciting items. I should clarify that I am talking about cheap lunch places- that's what I felt was lacking, not enough variety or bang for the buck

La Casita in Gastown is actually alright.  It was relatively well priced, and the food was good.  There's that other place in Kits- can't think of the correct name- Margarita's?  That place is pretty good, but seems more expensive.  So in a toss up go with La Casita.

haha Douche nozzle???? I have to say that I think only a douche nozzle would call someone a douche nozzle........ crap am I douche nozzle now??

@Andrew do you always try to help people out then follow up by referring to them as a bitch, is that your idea of Canadian??

hahah I like how almost every thread on Vancouver yelp these days has bickering, people are actually saying what they want to now :)

ahhhhhh I am officially calling everyone I speak to today a hipster douche nozzle bitch, and if they have a problem I'll just say don't worry I'm Canadian.

@Megan  - I actually went to La Casita once and walked out after looking at the menu. I can't remember what it was specifically but something about it made me want to run. That and there was no body to be seen in the restaurant on a Friday night around 8 pm. Someone from Mexico told me Las Margaritas was good, their menu looks like the style of food I am used to seeing so I will give it a go.

Funny Babylon Cafe on Robson - I have been twice, the fist time was probably the best chicken shawarma I have ever had. Then I had it a second time and it was the worse I have ever had haha.

For bang for your buck lunches I usually go to Bay Sushi cafe on Seymour. You can get a generous amount of fish for around 10 bucks, and it's always fresh. The mackerel and wild salmon are really good there.

Las Margaritas is not even Mexican food, it's horrible.

Brittney - go to Aladdin's right next to Babylon, I think it's better than Babylon ;)

If you're looking for amazing sushi, should consider going to Miku on Hastings. Fantastic stuff. If you're thinking along the lines of all you can eat, my favourite is Taiko on West Georgia and Denman on the second floor.

Sam, really? What makes you think that? Just curious :) You may be right..

This thread is ridiculous. The food in Vancouver is exceptional. If you can't find a good restaurant you're a ridiculous person.

I travel over 300 miles to eat in that beautiful city of Vancouver and I find it a little hard to believe someone can't find something good to eat. I've never been south to California, but when I think of food from California, I think of "sunny foods." Light salads, grilled fish or grilled chicken breast. Food in the pacific NW is a little different. Especially in such a diverse city like Vancouver, I tend to find a lot more comfort ethnic food. You can't just go looking for the same types of food you'd find in California. You gotta be more open-minded to new foods. Just walk around and try everything. Yelp is definitely helpful, but finding good food is all about trial and error. Follow your nose! *(And an extra tidbit, I've found the further north you go, the least likely you'll find some down home, Mexican goodness.)

If you are looking for good Mexican, try Taco Time.  Their Mexican potatoes are to die for.

"You're a ridiculous person." Wow, that's so warm & welcoming!

She obviously has her preferences, doesn't want to go far. Sure, if you want to travel around Vancouver and get out of the downtown bubble, there is LOTS of good (and cheap!) food to be had.

But don't be so mean about it.

@Gina how was what I said mean? She was being ridiculous. I didn't say your stupid or anything like that. Sensitive much?

Wow, I just scanned thru this whole thread and felt like my face was smashed in with a shovel and then ran over by a 5 tonne truck!!! And I'm not even the Op.

Like someone said, DT sucks for creative food, you have to explore Gastown, Main Street and Commercial Drive.  I thought Lolita's on Denman by far has the best Mexican food, and Bandidas Taqueria on Commercial Drive is great too.  Both places easy to get to by transit.

Best Japanese restaurant for me is Kingo on Denman, but it's not your typical nigiri, rolls etc.

Hope you get to try some of these suggestions!