Brand New Vancouver Restaurants That Totally Live Up To The Hype

We’ve been keeping track of restaurant openings for a very long time. We try to focus on and follow the construction arcs of the ones we believe are going to be especially good or interesting on account of their concepts, locations, and the professional pedigrees of the owners and/or hired guns. The nature of the industry predetermines that not all will be capable of living up to the pre-opening hype. Presented for your ranking consideration, here are five bright and sparkling newcomers that appear to be riding in the right direction…

Savio Volpe | 615 Kingsway | 604-428-0072 | FRASERHOOD | www.saviovolpe.com | Rustic, farm to table Italian food in a sexy room designed by increasingly accomplished Craig Stanghetta, who co-owns the immediately successful restaurant with L’Abattoir co-owner Paul Grunberg and chef Mark Perrier. Impressive little wine list.

Supermarine | 1685 Yew St. | 604-739-4677 | KITSILANO | www.supermarine.ca | Chef Jesse Grasso decamped from Toronto’s famed Black Hoof to helm this capable charmer. Offers inventive and delicious twists on local seafood. Co-owned by James Iranzad and Josh Pape, the industry savants behind Wildebeest and Bufala.

Ancora | 1600 Howe St. | 604-681-1164 | DOWNTOWN | www.ancoradining.com | Superb waterfront dining at last! Chef Ricardo Valverde brings his passion for Peruvian and Japanese flavours to bear at this sexy looker on the False Creek seawall. Excellent service led by ex-Blue Water manager/somm Andrea Vescovi.

Torafuku | 958 Main St. | 778-903-2006 | MAIN STREET | www.torafuku.ca | Playful pan-Asian street food dreamed up by gifted co-owner/chef Clement Chan in a hypermodern atmosphere that speaks volumes on how Vancouverites currently prefer to dine (quickly and without reservations). Bonus: first rate cocktails.

Mackenzie Room | 415 Powell St. | 604-253-0705 | DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE | www.themackenzieroom.com | Our happiest surprise of the year. Co-owner Sean Reeves is a fiercely talented chef with an intrinsic understanding of what it takes to make local food sing in season without pretentious falsetto. Lovely room, too.

Did we miss your favourite new spot? Let us know via @scoutmagazine

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At 21 years old, I'm still just a kid and relatively new to working in restaurants, but I grew up umbilically tied to the hospitality industry. My father was a food writer, and my mother is a photographer. Their careers meant that most of my early years were spent in kitchens and dining rooms instead of on playgrounds and soccer fields; consequently, I learned my table manners before I could count past one hundred.