A no messing around guide to the coolest things to eat, drink and do in Vancouver and beyond. Community. Not clickbait.

On this page we catalogue Vancouver’s first looks at new and exciting restaurants. Businesses don’t pay to get on this list. It is curated by Scout’s editorial team so not every upcoming joint cracks it. It is how we weed out the chaff and keep track of the wheat. Click on any of them to get the skinny. If you know of a restaurant or food business in the works that you consider worth checking out, email andrew [at] scoutmagazine.ca with the details

2017

Umaluma

The new Chinatown condo development at 235 Pender Street is getting an organic, 100% vegan gelato shop. I took a look inside the 1,200 sqft construction site late last week with owner Ian Bruce – a software industry executive and passionate foodie – and the interior and brand designers…

Basic Goodness

First time restaurateurs Heather Heron and Marco de Conciliis are opening a new Neapolitan-style pizzeria in Tofino this summer. The 20 seater is destined for the 1,066 sqft space in the brand new building currently under construction at 551 Campbell Street (between Shelter and Wolf In The Fog)…

Bells & Whistles

Josh Pape and James Iranzad – the duo behind Bufala, Wildebeest and Lucky Taco – are working on a new restaurant together, this time with long-time operations manager Nick Miller. They’ve just taken possession of the main floor of a brand new building in the Fraserhood…

Earnest Ice Cream | North Van

The good folks at Earnest Ice Cream have bought the 1,270 sqft space at 127 West 1st Street in North Vancouver and are hoping to open a new 16 location there at some point this July. The new spot will offer ice cream by the scoop and pint, as well as cold brew, kombucha and…

Earnest Ice Cream, Clark Dr. (Open)

Sundae lovers will be stoked to hear that the good folks behind Earnest Ice Cream ar in the process of building a brand new, 5,217 sqft facility at 1485 Frances Street. The location – the light industrial netherworld between Commercial Drive and Strathcona…

Rhinofish (Open)

Amidst all the new development in Chinatown it’s especially noteworthy when an existing building gets a new lease on life. Case in point: 550 Main Street. This address was most recently the headquarters of Green party candidate Pete Fry, but before that it was…

St. Lawrence (Open)

Chef JC Poirier, co-owner of Pourhouse, Pizzeria Farina and Ask For Luigi, is opening a new restaurant next year in Japantown/Railtown. Located in the old Big Lou’s Butcher Shop address at 269 Powell St. (northwest corner of Gore St.), the 40-45 seater will be called ‘St. Lawrence’…

Depot Cafe

There are some cool things afoot in the light industrial zone near Woodland Park just east of Strathcona. Among the new tenants going in is Timbertrain, one of our favourite local roasters (they currently operate an excellent cafe in Gastown and roast their beans in a facility in…

DD Mau, Chinatown

There’s a second location of DD Mau under construction, this time in Chinatown underneath Fortune Sound Club at 145 East Pender Street. If you’re aware of and dig their tiny Yaletown spot (1239 Pacific Blvd), you’re in for a bit of a surprise as this one will be massive in comparison…

Roots & Fruits

Notturno co-owner Scott McTavish has picked up a tiny space where Strathcona and Railtown hold hands at the Cordova Diversion (848 Powell Street, to be exact). It’s sandwiched – both ironically and symbolically, I’d say – in a 650 sqft sliver…

Lucha Verde (Open)

Lolita’s South of the Border Cantina is on its way out. The once venerated West End eatery at 1326 Davie Street is set to close at the end of this weekend, its final service having been scheduled for Saturday, April 8th. The restaurant changed hands a couple of times in recent years…

Monarch Burger (Open)

If you’re down with eating good burgers in Vancouver it’s very likely that you’ve heard of Robert Belcham’s famed ‘Dirty Burger’, which is served nightly at Campagnolo Upstairs on Main Street. It regularly tops “Best Burger” polls (serious ones) and even comes with its own secret…

Juice Truck Yaletown (Open)

The Juice Truck softly opens their new Yaletown location tomorrow in the old Nice Vice spot at 1022 Mainland Street. The plan is to work out the kinks over the weekend (with a soft opening going down Thursday) and launch proper on Tuesday, May 23. I just snuck a peek inside…

Tempranillo (Open)

As we mentioned back in April, chef/restaurateur Bill Robitaille was shutting down his Kozakura eatery in Gastown and getting ready to open a new restaurant in its place. I was happy to learn several weeks ago that the plan for it was a Spanish-inspired 26 seater called Tempranillo…

Straight Outta Brooklyn (Open)

Frank & Dom Morra, the brothers behind Via Tevere and Straight Outta Brooklyn pizzerias, are opening the third location of the latter in Chinatown this Spring. They took possession of the 500 sqft space at 648 Main Street (at East Georgia) just yesterday and are about to…

Sen Pad Thai (Open)

Chef Angus An is opening his fifth restaurant next month on Granville Island. Located in the Net Loft sharing common area seats, the noodle stall will be called Sen Pad Thai (1666 Johnston Street). Inspired by the food stalls of Chanthaburi in Thailand, the focus will be…

La Taqueria, Hornby St. (Open)

You don’t have to squint hard to see the irony of La Taqueria replacing steamed burrito chain Steamrollers at 586 Hornby Street. Not to put too fine a point on it, but it’s a little like The Juice Truck replacing a Jamba Juice or Farina replacing a Dominos. I’m almost…

Botanist (Open)

Botanist, the upcoming West Coast-focused new restaurant replacing Oru in the Fairmont Pacific Rim, is now on deck for an April opening with a Chef Hector Laguna at the kitchen helm. Shon Jones-Parry is running the front of house with Jill Spoor on wines and…

1 Gaoler’s Mews (Open)

The decline and fall of fine dining is an easy, old hat complaint among local chefs, restaurateurs and food writers. Slickly designed, calm and confidently expert dens of aspiration and ambition – those last redoubts of the endangered Lumiere ilk – have for years…

Fayuca (Open)

Ernesto Gomez, one of the driving forces behind Vancouver’s popular Nuba restaurants (also the Waldorf resurrection and Fox Cabaret), has joined forces with Mexican chef/restaurateur Jair Tellez – owner/chef of acclaimed Baja locavore eatery Laja and Mexico City hotspots…

The Pie Hole (Open)

Today is National Pie Day, and we’re celebrating by anticipating the hell out of The Pie Hole, a new eatery currently under construction at 3497 Fraser Street. You might already be familiar with the company, as owner Jenell Parsons has been making pies in a commissary space off…

Say Hey Cafe (Open)

I snuck my first sandwich inside the brand new Say Hey Cafe in Chinatown yesterday. It was only ‘day two’ of their soft launch at 156 East Pender Street, and things were looking/smelling good. The 16 seat sandwich shop was inspired by the no frills hoagie joints of New York City and…

Jamjar on West 11th (Open)

One of my favourite restaurants on Commercial Drive is an intimate and authentic little Lebanese spot called Jamjar. We’ve seen it mature all the way from construction site three years ago to today, when it exudes all the confidence of an eatery ready for more…

Prado on Fir (Open)

The fourth location of Prado opens tomorrow in the old Cafe Bica address around the corner from Granville Island. That’s 1809 Fir Street off W. 2nd Avenue, which puts it snugly in what (one assumes) a focus group of area business improvement managers have decided to call the…

Forkhill House (Open)

Last week we reported on the closure of the West End’s cozy Fat Badger, an English-style pub known for its laid back vibe, well pulled pints and proper pub food. While it’s unfortunate that it has left us (I’m going to miss those miniature yorskshires!) there is a silver lining…

Back & Forth Bar (Open)

It’s said that drinking and sports aren’t big buddies. I don’t think they mean ping pong and pints. It’s a fun game to play over beers, which is why journeyman restaurant veteran Regan Truong is opening his Back & Forth bar later this month at 303 Columbia Street (and why it’s been a success for…

Gringo 2.0 (Open)

A new, (somehow) even brighter version of the already neon-heavy, irrepressibly effervescent Gringo reopened last night after a month of renovations. Located in the heart of Gastown at the half-way point of Blood Alley, the 24 seat tacos and good times joint went under…

Mensch in Gastown

Good news! Mensch is coming to Gastown for Winter/Spring pop-up. The popular Jewish delicatessen’s Fraserhood address recently closed at the end of its lease. Chef Nitzan Cohen is hoping to soft launch in Sean Heather’s old Salty Tongue Deli spot at 212 Carrall Street…

Nuba Yaletown (Open)

Barring any last minute hiccups, the new Yaletown location of Nuba should open today on the southwest corner of Davie and Richards. It’s been a long time coming too, as the celebrated Lebanese chainlet took possession of the old Blenz location back in October of 2015…

Joe Pizza (Open)

The award-winning crew behind Kitchen Table Restaurants (Pizzeria Farina, Ask For Luigi, Pourhouse) have just secured Sean Heather’s old Rainier Provisions location on the southwest corner of Carrall and Cordova in Gastown. With it, they’re aiming to launch an unpretentious…

Nemesis (Open)

I can’t tell if its the four cups of coffee I’ve had today or genuine excitement, but I’m stoked about the coming of Nemesis at 302 Hastings Street. The 1,500 sqft space at the foot of the new SFU building overlooking Victory Square is in the early midst of construction now…

Musette Cafe, Burrard (Open)

Cycling-themed Musette Cafe co-founder Thomas Eleizegui has a new partner, Wentworth Hospitality (see also: Tableau, Loden Hotel, Homer St. Cafe), and together they’ve secured a new downtown location in the Modern Building at 1325 Burrard Street. That’s the corner of Burrard…

Fife Bakery & Toast Bar (Open)

One of the big food trends in recent years has been a return to old school baking techniques. Naturally leavened breads in particular have especially been on the up and up, and we’re soon to see more of it when Jack Ong and Felix Yau (pictured above) open their…

2016

Mak N Ming (Open)

Chefs Makoto Ono and Amanda Cheng are opening a new restaurant together in the old Thai Star location at 1629 Yew Street in Kitsilano. The culinary power couple is doing so with the backing of Julius Dong, who supported Ono when he opened Gastown’s PiDGiN with Brandon Grossutti…

Pallet Coffee at Kingsway (Open)

One of my favourite Vancouver buildings – the old flat-iron at 1398 Kingsway (at Knight St.) in the Cedar Cottage swathe of East Van – is getting a new lease on life this winter. The good folks at Pallet Coffee Roasters have taken it over, and there was much rejoicing…

Dalina (Open)

I’ve been keenly watching Dalina from a distance for months now, curious as to what the Chinatown newcomer might have in store when it launches on December 3rd. I took a sneak peek inside at progress late last week and was surprised at just how big and slick it was…

The Arbor (Open)

Shira Blustein and Scott Lewis, owners of the award-winning Acorn vegetarian restaurant on Main Street, have joined forces with former Farmer’s Apprentice frontman and wine guy Paul McCloskey to secure chef Wayne Martin’s old Crave on Main address (3941 Main St.)…

Federal Store (Open)

You know that old convenience store that used to sell candy and smokes on the southwest corner of Quebec & 10th? Well, it closed this past March after 17 years, leaving behind its old, Coke-style “Federal Store” signage hanging over the entrance. On the same day as the owners were moving out…

The American (Open)

The 900-1000 block of Main Street has had a good decade in terms of new and licensed establishments. For a while there it was just The Cobalt and The Ivanhoe holding things down, but then along came – in short order if you take the long view – Campagnolo (and Camp Upstairs), Electric Owl…

Cacao (Open)

A new restaurant is opening on the main floor of the old Epicurean Cafe location at 1898 W. 1st Avenue in Kitsilano. The 35 seater will be called Cacao, and it will serve brunch/lunch every day and dinners on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. It’s coming to us from the mother-daughter duo of…

Heritage Asian Eatery (Open)

One of the oddest, most under-served parts of town (from a hospitality industry perspective) is the western extreme of the Financial District — a sort of inland sea of Nothing in a No Man’s Land between Netherworlds. It sees a a lot of daytime traffic – enough to sustain a restaurant…

Nero Belgian Waffle Bar (Open)

Four years ago this week, Jan and Eilnaz Dierckx opened Nero Belgian Waffle Bar at 1703 Robson Street. They’d been living in Canada for only a year, having arrived from Belgium in the spring of 2011. It’s been quite the ride for them since, their tiny 20 seater fast becoming a destination…

The Pie Shoppe (Open)

The Pie Shoppe is expanding, opening a second location at 1875 Powell St. in Hastings-Sunrise (right next door to Bistro Wagon Rouge). Sisters Stephanie and Andrea French opened the original back in late 2012, a hole in the wall in Chinatown that took them nine days to build…

Matchstick, Main St. (Open)

Spencer and Annie Viehweger have secured a new, third location for Matchstick Coffee Roasters. I took a look inside the 1,700 sqft space at 4811 Main St. (Main and 32nd) yesterday while the proprietors were wrapping up a manager’s meeting and the hard hats were performing…

Pizza House (Open)

After a turbulent year and sale to Howe Sound, long-time local brewers R&B are coming back with label redux, a wide range of operational/mechanical upgrades, and an 800 sqft food primary restaurant and watering hole called Pizza House. Due in February, the 60 seater at 54 East 4th…

Juke (Open)

Justin Tisdall has succumbed to Chambar Effect, that odd force that regularly turns former employees of the perennial Beatty Street favourite (and Scout 25 regular) into restaurateurs — and usually very successful ones. He and Hawksworth sous chef Bryan Satterford have pooled…

Bows & Arrows (Open)

Nate Sabine and Drew Johnson of Victoria’s Bows & Arrows Coffee Roasters are opening a restaurant and cafe at 4194 Fraser Street. The 1,700 sqft location has been empty for a couple of years, and it has seen many suitors balk. It’s the original address of BKH Jerky…

Fluffy Kittens (OPEN)

Late last week I met up with Claudine Michaud, owner of Kitsilano’s Bioéthique Spa, on the eastern edge of Chinatown. She and her husband Kieren Beattie have been hard at work at three interconnected spaces at the foot of the Fan Tower at Gore and Keefer (611, 617, 619) for over a year now…

Tacofino, Yaletown (Open)

Just before the weekend I took a look inside the new Yaletown location of Tacofino with owners Jason Sussman and Kaeli Robinson (and their two adorable children). The 1,300 sqft restaurant is nearing completion at 1025 Mainland Street. It is Tacofino’s third brick and…

Lucky Taco (OPEN)

Lucky Taco held it’s first friends and family service on Tuesday night. The new 36 seat restaurant from James Iranzad and Josh Pape of Gooseneck Hospitality (see also Bufala, Wildebeest) replaces Supermarine almost exactly one year after its launch at 1685 Yew Street in Kitsilano…

Kozakura (OPEN)

After three successful years, Notturno Gastown is set to close on a high note at the end of April, and will reopen in June with Chef William Robitaille’s next culinary concept for the intimate hideaway at 280 Carrall Street. The new concept, Kozakura will continue Notturno’s tradition of…

Crowbar (OPEN)

The first day of summer – June 20th – will bring with it the official launch of the much anticipated Crowbar at 646 Kingsway (just across the street from Savio Volpe and Matchstick). The new 30 restaurant and bar from young former L’Abattoir staffers Jeremy Pigeon and…

Mister (OPEN)

Mister Ice Cream is set to open doors in Yaletown this weekend. Designed by local firm Scott & Scott (see also Torafuku, Bestie), the Mainland St. shop is austere with a gentle ‘scientific lab’ aesthetic fitting an ice cream parlour whose production process involves liquid nitrogen…

La Mezcaleria Gastown (OPEN)

Fast forward to this past weekend and the new tenant has reached out to us with the good news. La Mezcaleria – one of the better restaurants on Commercial Drive – is coming to Gastown. They signed the deal for the Nicli’s Next Door space at 68 East Cordova today…

Fable Diner (Open)

Chef Trevor Bird, together with Fable partners Ron MacGillivray and Kathy Schleyer, are going to be opening an 86 seat restaurant in Mount Pleasant next Spring. They’ve just completed a deal that’ll see them taking over the old Reno greasy spoon spot at the foot of the…

Tractor, Quebec St. (OPEN)

The good folks behind Tractor Foods are opening a third location, this time in Olympic Village. The sexy, cafeteria-style vegetarian operation (with successful locations in Kitsilano and Downtown) is landing at the northeastern foot of the Opsal Tower at 1751 Quebec Street (Quebec & 2nd Avenue)…

Lisa Lou’s Chocolate Bar (OPEN)

A new 12 seat chocolate, ice cream, and espresso shop has just arrived at 1007 Main Street, just north of Terminal. The 1,000 sqft space (formerly The Safari Cafe) is directly across the street from Campagnolo and Bodega. It’s called Lisa Lou’s Chocolate Bar…

Cartems, West Broadway (OPEN)

The good folks at Cartems Donuterie are opening a new location on the West Side. The new 1600 sqft space is at 3040 West Broadway in a brand new building, offering some 30 seats with the same basic set up as the Main Street location, which is to say beans…

Fanny Bay Oyster Bar (OPEN)

Following a friends-and-family service and a media function, Fanny Bay Oyster Bar is set to open its doors in the Stadium District tomorrow (Thursday). I checked in on progress at the 44 seater on Monday evening and it looked to be very nearly done. The place sees…

Terroir Kitchen (OPEN)

One of the great things about working in and around the restaurant business is that you occasionally get to see a chef get his/her first shot at independence. Faizal Kassam has been waiting long enough, having worked his way up to the executive level at Cibo & Uva through stints at…

Nightingale (Open)

After much speculation and anticipation the location of Chef David Hawksworth’s new restaurant, opening in downtown Vancouver, can finally be announced. Hawksworth Restaurant Group’s new venture will take centre stage on the ground and mezzanine level of…

Nourish (Open)

Dan Chung and Abbey Pires opened the tiny Downtown location of Nourish back in January of 2015 after leaving careers in IT and fashion (respectively) to pursue their mutual fascination for the gospels of food guru/ethicist Michael Pollan (“eat food, mostly plants, and not too much”, etc)…

Red Wagon Redux (Open)

As detailed in these pages last month, The Red Wagon in Hastings-Sunrise has gone under the renovations knife. The beloved diner is getting a complete redux — the interior has been gutted and they’re in the midst of rebuilding as we speak. When it reopens in May it will…

Kissa Tanto (Open)

Tannis Ling, owner of the award-winning Bao Bei, is opening a new restaurant in Chinatown with her long time executive chef Joël Watanabe and sous chef Alain Chow. The trio secured the second floor 2,200 sqft space at 263 East Pender St. back in February and have yet to start construction…

Jam Cafe (Open)

This is great news for all those who don’t believe breakfast should have set hours of operation. Jam Cafe, the very popular all-day breakfast/brunch spot in Victoria, is coming across the Strait to open a 50 seater in the original Cafe Medina location at 556 Beatty Street…

Reflections Redux (Open)

The sprawling patio (secreted off the indoor pool) on the 4th floor offers little in the way of vistas (enclosed on all sides by soaring towers), but that’s hardly been a bad thing. If you’ve ever been up there – maybe two or three drinks in on a warm summer night – you know it’s pretty special…

Ritual (Open)

The West End will soon receive a new and fun, forward-thinking comfort food eatery called Ritual. It’s coming to us via first-time restaurateur Nevada Cope, a Dubrulle grad who’s been toiling in the kitchen at the Italian Cultural Centre for the past four years…

Ramen Gojiro (Open)

The Menya Kouji Group is opening another ramen joint in Vancouver, this time on the northwest corner of Dunsmuir and Richards. The company, which also owns The Ramen Butcher in Chinatown (and over 150 ramen restaurants in Japan), hopes to launch the new 1,300 sqft…

Chez Christophe (Open)

Christophe and Jessica Bonzon of Burnaby Height’s excellent Chez Christophe are moving 4712 to 4716 Hastings Street, or directly across the street. As seen in the images above and below (thanks, Sophia Cheng), they’re well into construction on the new location…

Field & Social (Open)

Earlier this week I took a look inside the recently revamped ground floor of the old 1911 Labor Temple building at 415 Dunsmuir Street. It’s been split into three units. One is a blank canvas destined to be another JJ Bean, another is a White Spot that has already been open for…

Mr. Red Cafe (Open)

I checked out the new location of Mr. Red Cafe yesterday as it was getting ready for its soft launch this Sunday. The 1,400 sqft room at 2680 West Broadway is reminiscent of the original at 2234 E. Hastings Street, though it feels bigger with 30 seats…

The Tuck Shoppe (Open)

The name is a campy nod to Merpaw’s halcyon memories of Ontario cottage country. It’ll be hard to achieve a rustic Canadiana feel in the very modern space (it’s all concrete and glass), so I’m curious to see in what direction they’ll go. I spied a Hudson’s Bay striped pillow…

Bao Down West 2nd (Open)

The new location of Bao Down opens tonight at 115 West 2nd (Friday, Jan. 8th). Located in a brand new, 2,300 sqft space at the foot of one of the many new condo developments on the periphery of Olympic Village, the 67 seater aims to continue the same inventive…

Dixies (Open)

Christina Cottell and Shoel Davidson of Gringo in Gastown picked up the 2,300 sqft space at 337 East Hastings back in mid-January. They’ve since been hosting a series of pop-up restaurants at the address, among them Karl Gregg’s Chicken Shack and a night of…

Meet In Gastown (Open)

Sadly, Shirakawa closed after service on Friday night. The slick Japanese restaurant in the modern Garage Development in Gastown didn’t last too far beyond its first birthday. I took the images above and below on the eve of its opening last year. If you know nothing of the…

2015

Juniper (Open)

If you’ve ventured around Chinatown lately you’ll have noticed that it’s been undergoing a lot of changes with plenty of new developments springing up. Among the largest of these is The Keefer Block, a ten storey, 81 unit condo project occupying a large footprint on the…

The Blind Sparrow (Open)

The old Left Bank restaurant space in the West End at 751 Denman St. has been picked up by former West Oak general manager Michael Gayman (above right). He’s aiming to turn the 1,500 sqft space into a casual “gastro-tavern” called The Blind Sparrow…

Cabrito (Open)

There’s a new 36 seat Spanish tapas restaurant landing on The Drive next month. The location is the sadly short-lived Wishes + Luck address: 2270 Commercial Drive, so it comes complete with a liquor license, a killer garage door patio and a kitchen somewhat…

Timber (Open)

Dedicated locavore chef Chris Whittaker is opening a new restaurant in the space formerly occupied by the Listel Hotel’s Modern Art Gallery (that’s the southwest corner of Robson and Jervis in the West End). They’re calling it Timber…

Savio Volpe (Open)

Restaurateur Paul Grunberg (L’Abattoir), chef Mark Perrier (currently with Two Rivers, previously executive chef at CinCin), and prolific restaurant designer Craig Stanghetta (Homer St. Cafe, Revolver, Meat & Bread, Pidgin, etc.) are going into business together to open a new restaurant in…

Yolks on Broadway (Open)

Good news for breakfast and brunch lovers: Yolks, the food truck turned wildly successful, day-time only Strathcona restaurant (home of the dizzying truffle-lemon hashbrown skewer), has secured a second location at 546 West Broadway (just off Cambie). The 1,500 sqft space was left…

Hy’s Encore Upstairs (Open)

I’ve loved Hy’s Encore for as long as I’ve been going out for dinner. The steakhouse has been in the “special occasion” rotation of family and friends for decades, so it’s been a fascinating thing to slip in once or twice and year and behold how nothing has changed…

Sorella (Open)

The bad news is that restaurateurs Chris Stewart and Andrey Durbach closed Pied-a-Terre, their award-winning French bistro at 3369 Cambie Street, following dinner service on Halloween. The good news is that they’re going to reopen the space as a casual Italian-American eatery…

Bar Oso & The Cellar (Open)

Michael Doyle, president of Toptable Group, has today revealed details of the hospitality group’s new Whistler property. Situated at the heart of North America’s premier mountain resort, the new venue will see a dual concept – aptly named ‘Bar Oso’ and ‘The Cellar by Araxi’…

Latab (Open)

Long-time industry fixtures Kris Barnholden and Eryn Dorman have picked up an interesting little spot at 983 Helmcken Street. The 800 sqft concrete and glass space is just right of the southern entrance to the Wall Centre complex between Burrard and Hornby…

Perch (Open)

This past winter, Michelle Sproule and I took a hard-hat construction tour of the new AMS Student Nest complex out at UBC. The vast, 250,000 sqft building on University Boulevard floored us in its raw, unfinished state. We walked around with mouths agape…

Brix & Mortar (Open)

Restaurateurs David Hannay and Patrick Mercer have been fixtures in Yaletown since 1999, when they first opened Brix at 1138 Homer Street. In 2005, they connected Brix to the space underneath it 1137 Hamilton Street and created a cocktail bar there called George. Yup, that was 10 years ago…

Bodega (Open)

I took my two sons to La Bodega on Howe St. a week before it closed last summer. I showed them the scary looking bull’s head on the wall, the old wood cabinetry, the big wagon wheel, and the myriad other details that delighted me as I kid (my father lived just around the corner…

Fat Mao (Open)

One of Vancouver’s leading culinary lights, Angus An (chef/owner of the award-winning Maenam restaurant in Kitsilano), has just taken possession of the ground floor space at 217 East Georgia Street, a brand new building in Chinatown. The plan for the 730 sqft concrete and glass box is to…

Ancora (Open)

What’s coming instead is a bright, modern, 100 seat fine dining restaurant focusing on Peruvian flavours and traditions expressed with West Coast sustainable seafoods. The chef is Ricardo Valverde (above right), a Peruvian who worked his way up the ranks to become…

Red Racer (Open)

I recently took my first look inside Central City‘s soon to open Red Racer restaurant (in the old Dix BBQ spot at 871 Beatty Street). The staff were sitting down and being schooled on the menu as Darryll Frost, president and founder of Central City Brewers + Distillers…

ToraFuku (Open)

Chef Clement Chan and Steve Kuan – partners in the popular Le Tigre food truck – are opening a brick and mortar restaurant called Torafuku at 958 Main Street. If you’re unfamiliar with the neighbourhood, that’s between The Electric Owl and Campagnolo and right across the…

The Birds & The Beets (Open)

The old Sea Monstr Sushi spot at 55 Powell Street in Gastown has been picked up by first timers Matthew Senecal-Junkeer and Trevor Pruegger. Chances are fair that you’ve been served or fed by one or both of them before. Trevor is just coming off a consulting gig at…

Supermarine (Open)

Award-winning restaurateurs James Iranzad and Josh Pape are just a few weeks away from opening their third eatery together. First there was Wildebeest in Gastown (2012), then there was Bufala in Kerrisdale (June 2014), and soon there will be Supermarine in the heart of Kitsilano…

The Mackenzie Room (Open)

A new 50 seat restaurant called The Mackenzie Room is coming soon to the ancient Parke Place Coffee Bar location at 415 Powell Street. Parke Place was the awesome old school diner that faced onto Oppenheimer Park on the Downtown Eastside. It was home to…

Giardino (Open)

Legendary Vancouver restaurateur Umberto Menghi is opening a new restaurant this Spring in the short-lived Italian Kitchen To Go location at 1328 Hornby Street. It’s to be called “Giardino” – referencing Il Giardino, the storied, decades-old Tuscan-themed restaurant…

Mission (Open)

First time restaurateurs Chase Macleod (ex-GM at Fable) and Curtis Luk (ex-Chef at The Parker) have taken over the short-lived August Jack location at 2042 West 4th Avenue in the heart of Kitsilano. Their plan for the 2,500 sqft space sees a casual but capable 60 seat restaurant…

Boxcar (Open)

Old friends Ezra Kish and Patryk Drozd are taking over the long, thin 800 sqft stable space sandwiched between Pizzeria Farina and The Cobalt on Main Street. With it, they’re opening Boxcar, a beer-forward joint with 24 taps and standing room for 75 people…

Truck Stop Diner (Open)

Red Truck‘s brand new Truck Stop Diner at 295 East 1st Avenue off Main Street gives Vancouverites the rare chance to try one fresh. Of course, this particular one isn’t like the terrifying bastions of culinary indifference one finds strewn along Interstate 70 from Kansas City to Columbus…

The Heatley (Open)

The Heatley is a new, woody Strathcona restaurant that’s coming to us from former Alibi Room sous chef Michael Brennan. Located on the corner of Hastings and Heatley in the old Heatley Block building (696 East Hastings), the space was a full gut reno…

Cartems On Main (Open)

The good folks at Cartems Donuterie are opening up on The Hill in Mt. Pleasant. They’ve been hard at work at 2152 Main Street for a while now and hope to have the 16 seat cafe and donut shop open before the end of May. You might recognise the building. It’s the 103 year old Ashnola…

Beach Bay Cafe (Open)

The prolific Viaggio Hospitality Group (see also Cibo, Uva, Moda, etc) picked up the old Raincity Grill location in late November of last year and are on the verge of opening a new, approachable, West Coast-themed restaurant in its place. It will be called Beach Bay Cafe…

C | Prime (Open)

When the Century Plaza Hotel at 1015 Burrard St. quietly shuttered its undersung “Beyond” restaurant back in January, few, if any, wept. Major renovations had been planned for sometime, and they’re now well underway. Taking its place is a gigantic modern Italian steakhouse called…

What’s Up? Hot Dog! (Open)

What was the most ambitiously inappropriate name for a restaurant in local memory? Master Chef, of course, at 2481 East Hastings. It was owned by May and Tony Fung, a charming couple who cooked and served well into their 80s. Master Chef was one of Vancouver’s last redoubts of…

Grapes & Soda (Open)

Two weeks ago, chef David Gunawan and Dara Young of Farmer’s Apprentice picked up the wee space next door at 1537 West 6th Avenue (between Fir & Granville). With it, they’ll be opening a 25 seat wine bar called Grapes & Soda. If it’s half as…

Ed’s Daily (Open)

Local caterers Dax Droski and Brett Turner (Cocktails & Canapes) have taken over the 3,500 sqft main floor at 686 Powell Street on the northern extreme of Strathcona. The is to open a new neighbourhood cafe and commissary kitchen there by the end of April. It’s called…

Rain Or Shine – Cambie (Open)

Josie Fenton and Blair Casey opened the second location of their excellent Rain Or Shine ice cream parlour at 3382 Cambie St. (at 18th) over the weekend. The ice cream flavours, toppings, and options on offer are very similar to the original location in Kitsilano, and that…

Wishes + Luck (Open)

It’s cool to watch the arc of a young chef’s career climb from positions on the line to the opening of his/her own restaurant. Such has been the case with Ciaran Chung, who worked his way up the ladder at Boneta and L’Abattoir in Gastown (and a few other places besides)…

Ovaltine Cafe (Open)

Back in September of 2014 Scout ran a story about the anxieties surrounding the sale of the old Ovaltine Cafe at 291 East Hastings. The place had been in operation for 72 years, and though it was largely bereft of customers, it’s iconic facade and Rockwellian interior…

Sai Woo (Open)

Sai Woo is coming back. The 6,000 sqft space at 158 East Pender Street in Chinatown is best remembered as New Town Bakery (1980-2010), but it opened in 1925 as Sai Woo Chop Suey, which occupied the spot for the many decades…

Bao Down (Open)

Brothers-in-law Matthew Adolfo and Greg Edwards have joined forces and taken over the short-lived Lily Mae’s space at 12 Powell Street on the eastern edge of Maple Tree Square in Gastown. Together, they’re building a new eatery that will…

Prado Gastown (Open)

One of Canada’s most respected and celebrated cafes, Prado on Commercial Drive, is opening a second location at 100 West Hastings. I spoke to four-time World Barista Championship finalist Sammy Piccolo, who runs the character-heavy cafe, yesterday afternoon…

OLO in Victoria (Open)

One of my favourite restaurants in Victoria shuttered after Valentine’s Day. Ulla, named by enRoute Magazine as one of the best new restaurants in Canada, was closed by owners Brad Holmes and Sahara Tamarin to ready it for their next project, a more casual…

Tacomio (Open)

Today, Fhernando and his wife (also a Chef) are busily putting together the finishing touches on their first ever project, a gourmet taco shop called Tacomio. Located in Gastown at 435 Abbott Street (beside highly anticipated new Prado Café), the tiny 9 seater will see…

Tractor Marine (Open)

I took a look inside the new Downtown location of Tractor Everyday Healthy Foods yesterday, just as owners Meghan and Steve Clarke were putting the finishing touches on the 60 seat, fully licensed restaurant. “Tractor Marine” occupies the northeastern ground floor corner of the…

Annalena (Open)

The talented former chef of The Oakwood, Mike Robbins, will soon score the keys to what will eventually be his first restaurant. He’s reunited/joined forces with FOH veteran Jeff Parr (formerly of The Oakwood, currently on the floor at Chambar) to open a new eatery…

La Taqueria Commissary (Open)

Good news for the North Shore. Marcelo Ramirez Romero and Alfonso Sanz of La Taqueria are getting set to open a new location, one that comes complete with a commissary kitchen/tortilleria. Construction is already well underway at the new…

OLO (Open)

One of my favourite restaurants in Victoria shuttered after Valentine’s Day. Ulla, named by enRoute Magazine as one of the best new restaurants in Canada, was closed by owners Brad Holmes and Sahara Tamarin to ready it for their next project, a more casual…

Mosquito (Open)

Enter Mosquito, a dark and sexy room dedicated to dessert and champagne. It’s set to opening on Valentine’s Day at 32 Water St. in the heart of Gastown (the old Oak + Fort location). Owned by first timers Alice Wu and Johan Friedrich, and designed by Craig Stanghetta and Kate Snyder…

Kin Kao (Open)

There’s a new 25 seat Thai joint called Kin Kao opening soon at 903 Commercial Drive. It’s coming to us from chef Tang Phoonchai, a former Bangkok native, and Terrence Feng. I toured the construction site yesterday just as a floor treatment was drying…

The Ramen Butcher (Open)

The Japanese ramen lords Menya Kouji (150+ restaurants) have made their first North American commitment, taking a production kitchen and a restaurant in the heart of Vancouver’s Chinatown. The restaurant is going into the old East of Main location at 223 East Georgia Street…

Propaganda Coffee (Open)

The evolution of Chinatown continues. The neighbourhood will soon land another specialty coffee joint. When it opens early in the new year, Propaganda Coffee at 209 East Pender St. will seat 30 and deliver a complete coffee experience in a modern space…

Hi-Five (Open)

This nice fellow, Corben Winfield, is opening a grilled cheese sandwich specialty shop called Hi-Five in Gastown tonight. Winfield, who is one of the partners at Six Acres on Carrall Street, took possession of the small spot in November. How small is it? 100 sqft…

Kuma Tofino (Open)

The last night for Tofino’s Spotted Bear Bistro will be New Year’s Eve. The next day, its transformation to Kuma (Japanese for “Bear”) will begin. The goal with Kuma is to create a 28 seat casual Japanese comfort food eatery with a warm, friendly atmosphere for locals to hangout in and for…

Earnest Ice Cream (Open)

Their smashing success has made the maintenance of the status quo impossible, so owners Ben Ernst and Erica Bernardi have decided to expand. They’ve just taken possession of the old Organic Lives space at 1829 Quebec Street …

Tacofino Gastown (Open)

Gastown’s ancient and long dormant Pig & Whistle location (15 West Cordova) has been attracting plenty interested parties looking to capitalise on the neighbourhood’s rise. It’s nothing short of astounding that nothing has opened there in…

2014

Heirloom Juice Co. (Open)

The old crepe restaurant at 2861 Granville St. will soon be replaced by Heirloom Juice Co., an off-shoot of the Heirloom Vegetarian eatery nearby at 1509 West 12th Avenue. The food/drink menu is being designed by chef Samantha Dixon and will see six…

Nomad (Open)

Nomad, a new 75-ish seat restaurant at 3950 Main Street (across from The Acorn), is set to “officially” open this Saturday after successfully navigating over a week of soft openings for friends, family, and curious walk-ins. In actual fact…

Lukes General Store (Open)

Following up on the success of their Chinatown pop-up, Lukes General Store is set to open a permanent location at 49 West Hastings on the Downtown Eastside. If the address doesn’t ring a bell, that’s because it’s the brand new…

Au Comptoir (Open)

Though it won’t be open until the early Autumn, “Au Comptoir” should be on every Vancouver food-lover’s radar. The 50 seat restaurant currently under construction at 2287 West 4th Avenue in Kitsilano is being launched by Maxime Bettili and Julien Aubin…

Jamjar (Open)

The restaurant’s communal, casual concept will see home-style Lebanese food served in sharable “mezze” fashion (eg. falafel, labneh, mjadra, makanik), with equal focus paid to flat breads (“saj”), traditional stews, and a variety of flavoured …

Steel Toad (Open)

Steel Toad is a new brewpub opening later this month. Located in the old 1918 steel foundry at 97 East 2nd Avenue between Ontario & Quebec, it’s almost as big as the others, boasting 175 liquor primary seats on the main floor…

Los Cuervos Next Door (Open)

Good news, taco lovers. Los Cuervos Taqueria is set to expand into the old Che Baba yoga studio space next door. The Fraserhood eatery has been in possession of the umbilically-attached 600 sqft address since it opened last year, but it had…

Gyoza Bar (Open)

Seigo Nakamura the owner of the Miku and Minami restaurants, has just taken possession of 620 West Pender St. in downtown Vancouver. Instead of continuing on with the aburi-sushi theme of his previous eateries, he is set to open a…

Meat & Bread – Victoria (Open)

Frankie Harrington, Cord Jarvie, and Joseph Sartor are opening a new location of Meat & Bread – their third – at 721 Yates Street in Victoria, BC’s old Churchill Building. That’s between Douglas and Blanshard, so right in the heart of the city…

The New Medina (Open)

So with Chambar moving and expanding their hours to include breakfast and brunch, the fate of Medina was unclear. The lease might be up, but even it wasn’t it would have to close so Nico and Karri Schuermans can proceed…

The New Chambar (Open)

The Belgian/Moroccan-themed themed Chambar, inarguably the most impactful restaurant to open in Vancouver in the last decade, will be moving into the building next door that is currently under the renovation knife…

The Abbey (Open)

The well respected pair take possession on February 1st and are joined in ownership this time around by Michel Durocher, who has been part of the company since long before he started managing The Sardine Can (back to the old Parkside days)…

Pallet Coffee Roasters (Open)

Residents and workers on the western stretch of Hastings-Sunrise will soon be getting a caffeinated kick in their collective butt with the coming of Pallet Coffee Roasters. The new coffee outfit is landing at 323 Semlin Dr. just off East Hastings…

Wolf In The Fog (Open)

I was up in Tofino over the weekend and was able to take a good look inside the construction site of Wolf In The Fog, a two storey eatery soon to open at the gates of town on the corner of Fourth & Campbell. The place has got the small town buzzing, not least of…

The Juice Truck (Open)

We recently took a look inside the upcoming brick and mortar location of The Juice Truck at 28 West 5th Avenue between Manitoba and Ontario. Owners Zach Berman and Ryan Slater picked up the 5,000 sqft space…

Pizza Fabrika (Open)

The former owners of Davie’s La Brasserie, brothers Michael & Stephen Wiese, have secured the old Rasoee spot at 1680 Robson St. between Cardero and Bidwell. With it, they aim to open a new pizzeria by early June. Pizza Fabrika (“Pizza Factory”), as it’s called, will be a casual…

Crackle Creme (Open)

Get your spoons ready, folks. Crackle Creme (pronounced “crack le creme”) is a tiny, 450 sqft cafe currently under construction at 245 Union St. right next door to Harvest Community Foods on the western edge of Strathcona and southern extreme of Chinatown…

Bufala (Open)

Josh Pape and James Iranzad, the owner-operators of Wildebeest in Gastown, are opening a new restaurant, this time in Kerrisdale. It’s to be a 55 seater called Bufala, so named – one assumes – after the specialty Italian mozzarella cheese…

The Fat Badger (Open)

When Le Gavroche closed last month after some 35 years in business at 1616 Alberni, I half expected to see its old Victorian shell knocked down in favour of some crappy condo that a prominent architect staffed out to a junior noob who gets paid by the square foot…

Shirakawa (Open)

High end Japanese restaurant company Itoh Dining is opening its first North American restaurant, Shirakawa, in the steel and glass box that was the final incarnation of Boneta, which closed just before Christmas last year (to the disappointment of many)…

Prontino (Open)

The beautiful, unassuming little Pronto eatery in Cambie Village has just launched a wine and cocktail-forward looker right next door. It’s called, rather fittingly, Prontino. I’ve had a day to digest what I saw the other day when I did a walk through, and…

Belgard Kitchen (Open)

55 Dunlevy St. has seen a lot since the Vancouver Urban Winery took it over a couple of years ago. The old railtown address, all 7,700 sqft of it, is home to not only VUW – with its own Roaring Twenties Wine – but also the place where…

Pazzo Chow (Open)

Maya Sciarretta of Sugo Sauce is set to open Pazzo Chow in Chinatown on Wednesday, April 1st (no fooling). The little eatery/delicatessen is the next step for Sciarretta after a successful couple of years sharing her passion for Italian food (especially saucy sauces)…

Blacktail Florist (Open)

Is there room for another interesting restaurant in Gastown? Absolutely. A lot of people fear a future of fewer original restaurants in the neighbourhood (increased Donnellization, chains moving in, etc), so I think the more newcomers there are, the better…

Exile Bistro (Open)

The West End will land a new and very interesting eatery called Exile tomorrow. The 20 seater is located at 1220 Bute St. off Davie in the old House of Empanadas spot. The owner is Vanessa Bourget, a young import from Quebec with some 14 years…

Cinara (Open)

La Pentola owner/chef Lucais Syme and his wife Jill have secured the 1,500 sqft ground floor corner space of the Victoria Block. That’s underneath the old Victorian Hotel at West Pender and Homer (350 W. Pender), right across the street from…

Matchstick Chinatown (Open)

The good folks at the Fraserhood’s awesome Matchstick Coffee Roasters have picked up a space in Chinatown. If you’re unfamiliar with Matchstick, they’ve been kicking ass at Fraser & Kingsway for a couple of years now, so they’ve…

The Fox Cabaret (Open)

The old Waldorf crew – Ernesto Gomez, Thomas Anselmi, and Danny Fazio – have partnered up with David Duprey and Rachel Zottenburg, they of The Rickshaw, Rumpus and Narrow. Together, this herculean team of good time-givers are on a path that will…

The Roof Pop-Up (Open)

To celebrate its 75th anniversary this year, the Hotel Vancouver will be transforming its main floor lobby and lounge to the tune of $12 million. Construction begins this month and won’t be completed until the Autumn, but that’s a drip in the ocean of time it has taken to…

Basho (Open)

Local food industry veterans Miju Kawai and Hiroshi Kawai are aiming to open a darling little Japanese cafe this week or the next with their daughter, Moeno. The 16 seater is called Basho, which means “place” in Japanese. It’s located at…

Greenhorn Espresso Bar (Open)

Close to the epicentre of what was once their bit of good earth is 994 Nicola St., a long vacant spot that will soon welcome the Greenhorn Espresso Bar. Owned by first timers Walter Le Deca and Ganga Jolicoeur, it is on track to open on or around the…

Timbertrain (Open)

A new cafe called Timbertrain Coffee Roasters is opening soon at 311 West Cordova (the old Dream boutique space in the heritage Petrina Block building across from Old Faithful). It’s owned by three young…

2013

The Fish Counter (Open)

Rob Clark – former executive chef at “C”, co-founder of the Chefs Table Society of BC, two-time Gold Medal Plates Vancouver winner (and other things besides) – has joined forces with…

Yolks (Open)

When they upped sticks and sold it off to the big bad developers (who’ve put a demolition clause on the place), the founder of the Yolks breakfast food truck, chef Steve Ewing (ex-Raincity Grill, Beachside, French Laundry…

Rain Or Shine (Open)

A new ice cream parlour officially opens today on the West 4th strip in Kits. Rain Or Shine is a nine seat beauty brought to us by Josie Fenton and Blair Casey, two first timers with backgrounds in…

Ask For Luigi (Open)

The good folks at Gastown’s Pourhouse and Main Street’s Pizzeria Farina are at it again, this time in the old Two Chefs & A Table location at 305 Alexander Street in Railtown. Their new casual Italian 30 seater is…

Bistro Wagon Rouge (Open)

Fans of Hastings-Sunrise’s popular Red Wagon diner will be glad to learn that its chef/proprietor, Brad Miller, is opening a very cozy, casual, cheap and cheerful French bistro tonight, and not all that far away…

Musette Cafe (Open)

Thomas Eleizegui, the fellow behind the great little alleyway racing bike-centric hangout, Musette Caffe, secured Sean Heather’s old Everything Cafe space at 75 East Pender Street about three weeks ago…

Cartems Donuterie (Open)

Jordan Cash and Rags Narine of Cartems Donuterie are graduating up and out of the space that they’ve been using as their business incubator at Carrall and Hastings since February 2012…

The Blackbird (Open)

Vancouver’s Donnelly Group is opening up a behemoth of a restaurant on the corner of Hornby and Dunsmuir next month. They took possession of the space that used to be the Keg Caesars back in February and…

Gringo (Open)

As Michelle mentioned in yesterday’s Scout List, a new restaurant is opening very soon in the heart of Gastown. We first broke the news about Gringo last month when it was announced that…

The Emerald (Open)

Rachel Zottenburg and David Duprey of The Narrow, Rumpus Room, Ricksaw, and upcoming Fox Cabaret have picked up the ancient second floor Fu Wah dim sum restaurant space at 555 Gore Avenue…

Earnest Ice Cream (Open)

Ben Ernst and Erica Bernardi of Earnest Ice Cream have taken over the old Outpost Cafe space at 3992 Fraser St. (next to the soon to open Graze restaurant). They plan on using the space as a production…

Los Cuervos (Open)

603 Kingsway, the address formerly occupied by Che Baba, is set to become Los Cuervos Taqueria y Cantina tomorrow (Tuesday). The new eatery comes to us from the same folks who gave us Les Faux Bourgeois…

Mamie Taylor’s (Open)

Two well liked and highly respected front of house veterans are teaming up to open a place of their own. Former Bartender of the Year Simon Kaulback of Boneta and Ron Oliver of The Diamond have picked up the…

The Black Lodge (Open)

One of the many things I missed with regrets while on the road last month was the opening of The Black Lodge, a new vegetarian eatery and bar from first timers Matt Krysko and Claire Wyrostok…

Farmer’s Apprentice (Open)

I toured the upcoming Farmer’s Apprentice yesterday at 1529 West 6th between Fir & Granville. The “mostly” veggie-based eatery from ex-Wildebeest chef David Gunawan and his girlfriend Dara Young is…

Nook in Kits (Open)

Nook & Tavola owners Mike Jeffs and Nicole Welsh have just signed a lease on the old Rossini’s spot at 1525 Yew Street, just a short putt from Cornwall and Kits Beach. I took a look at the building…

Salt In Kits (Open)

Sean Heather has confirmed that he and business partner Scott Hawthorn have picked up the old Mistral location at 2585 West Broadway. Residents can expect the second location of the…

Homer St. Cafe & Bar (Open)

Led by principal Lilliana L. De Cotiis, the team behind Coal Harbour’s Tableau Bar Bistro – executive chef Marc-Andre Choquette, chef Tret Jordan, lead bartender J.S. Dupuis and manager Steven Wright – are opening…

Bambudda (Open)

It’s called Bambudda. It will be a 55-60 seat contemporary Chinese joint dishing mostly Cantonese-inspired plates (plenty of nouveau dim sum) in a more stylish environment than we normally see from…

Cuchillo (Open)

Restaurant wonks and food lovers will be happy to learn that the main floor of the old building at 261 Powell St. (next to Bean Around The World and Big Lou’s Butcher Shop) has been…

Bestie (Open)

The area around Columbia and Pender in Chinatown is about to blow up with four or five new independent businesses from young Vancouverites. We’ll be revealing details on them all next week, but we want to…

Tractor (Open)

The concept is healthy fast food served cafeteria-style in a bright, open concept room. Expect wholesome soups, stews, sandwiches and salads with a wide variety of mix and match possibilities…

Graze (Open)

A new restaurant called Graze is slated for the former Fray spot at 3980 Fraser. The 2000 sqft, 75-85 seat eatery will serve entirely plant-based comfort cuisine from chef Karen McAthy…

Longtail Kitchen (Open)

Chef/restaurateur Angus An of Kitsilano’s multiple award-winning Maenam restaurant is opening a new counter-service eatery called Longtail Kitchen in New Westminster’s popular River Market…

Chicha (Open)

Veteran chef Shelome Bouvette of Davie’s popular Lolita’s South of the Border Cantina has paired up with her old sous chef Allison Flook and friend Cumiko Unemo to open a new, modern Peruvian…

Charlie’s Little Italian (Open)

A fun, lively, old school, affordable pasta joint for the neighbourhood, evoking memories of a bygone era of the type of place where you’d go with your family: red & white gingham tablecloths, oversized peppermills…

No. 1 Noodle House (Open)

Restaurateur Mark Brand (Save On Meats, Boneta, etc.) has joined forces with first timers Tyrell Shaw, Lindsay Lapierre, Matt MacDougall, and Alex Usow (his Sharks + Hammers, Sea Monstr Sushi partner) to open…

Burdock & Co. (Open)

Fans of former Bishop’s chef Andrea Carlson rejoiced last month when we reported that she was taking over the reins at Strathcona’s Harvest Community Foods, but now we have even better news…

The Flying Pig | Gastown (Open)

102 Water St. may be one of the better addresses in Gastown, but I think it’s also one of the most abused. It’s been at least six restaurants since its days as the lobby of the 1907 Winters Hotel…

East Van Roasters (Open)

A 20 seat coffee and chocolate house called East Van Roasters is opening up at 319 Carrall St. in the first week of April (right next to Nelson The Seagull and across the street from Pidgin)…

La Mezcaleria (Open)

You may have already heard that the La Taqueria crew are opening another location. This time around we can expect an old school Mexican diner and Oaxacan-style Mezcaleria featuring everything from tostadas and enchilidas to…

Rainier (Open)

Heather’s new pickup was once pretty run down. It’s been fixed up by BC Housing to the clean state of a starched skeleton, though its mosaic floor has been reduced to 1/4 of the total voluminous space (a previous abomination)…

Pidgin (Open)

One of Canada’s culinary giants, Makoto Ono, has secured two side-by-side locations just off Hastings on Carrall Street in Gastown with plans to open a new restaurant before Christmas…

Portside (Open)

Gastown restaurateur/entrepreneur Mark Brand (see also Save On Meats, The Diamond, Sharks + Hammers, Boneta, Catalog Gallery) has picked up the liquor primary space formerly known as Post Modern at 7 Alexander Street…

L’Officio (Open)

Lucais Syme and Adam Pegg, the chefs/owners of the award-winning La Quercia( inarguably one of the most respected restaurants in Vancouver), have secured the address next door to their location at…

Nosh (Open)

A new 28 seat shop/restaurant called Nosh will soon be selling “hand-crafted meals to go” in the old Mistral space at 2585 West Broadway. The owners, Sandra Scott and Tony Scott, are a mother/son duo from Toronto…

Beaucoup (Open)

There’s a new bakery/cafe slated to open at 2150 Fir St. by the end of the summer. Owner Jackie Ellis spent 9 years in a graphic design career before she decided to turn her baking passion into Beaucoup. She says the concept will…

Pig & Mortar (Open)

Owners Krissy Seymour and Mark Cothey recently secured the Todd’s Cafe spot at 1529 West 6th between Fir and Granville. The couple from Cornwall see Pig & Mortar as a 30 seater that is casual, British-styled and “extremely porky”…

Finch’s Market (Open)

Finch’s Tea & Coffee House, the legendary lunch spot at 353 West Pender, is opening up a second location called Finch’s Market this September. The new cafe and market is currently under construction at…

Heirloom (Open)

Remember Primos, that 50+ year old Mexican restaurant on West 12th in the heart of South Granville? Well, as you may have heard, the family finally through in the towel and sold to Gus Greer and Yogi Johl, who are very close…

Lily Mae’s (Open)

A new restaurant called Lily Mae’s Comfort Cafe is under construction at 12 Powell Street (between The Diamond and The Sardine Can). It’s coming to us from keen first timers Jeff Jefkins and Armand Tencha…

The Parker (Open)

Bartender Steve Da Cruz, chef Jason Leizert, and designer Martin Warren are opening up a new 20 seat restaurant at 237 Union St. in Strathcona this week (that’s between Harvest and The Union Bar)…

Espana (Open)

Ed Perrow, the amiable fellow who ran operations at Bin 941 & 942 during their heyday and was recently a front of house fixture at La Brasserie, Cibo, and Uva, has partnered up with Cibo’s highly regarded and…

Wildebeest (Open)

Early last month we revealed that restaurateurs James Iranzad (Cartel, Abigail’s Party) and Josh Pape (The Diamond) had secured 120 West Hastings with plans for a new joint arriving in 2012. There was no name or chef at…

Tacofino (Open)

Kaeli Robinsong and Jason Susman, the pair behind the Tacofino food truck, have just taken possession of 2327 East Hastings with plans for a wheel-free location of their popular mobile brand, just a few doors down from Campagnolo Roma…

Acorn (Open)

Last week I took a look inside the space that will soon give us Acorn, a much anticipated vegetarian restaurant from first timers Shira Blustein and Brian Skinner. It’s got to be one of the best locations in the city…

Vicino Pastaria & Deli (Open)

I took a look inside the upcoming Vicino Pastaria & Deli next to Nicli Antica Pizzeria the other day. We published the press release detailing its coming back in January. It’s come a long way since, as you can see from the shots…

Minami (Open)

I snuck a peek inside Minami yesterday (the old Goldfish location at 1118 Mainland Street in Yaletown). The anticipated Japanese restaurant – a relative of popular Miku (owned by Seigo Nakamura)…

New Meat & Bread (Open)

The paper has just come off the windows at Meat & Bread’s new location downtown (1033 West Hastings), and it’s looking especially beautiful. It being a Craig Stanghetta (interview) design job, that…

49th Parallel & Lucky’s (Open)

We’ve been sitting on this for a while (construction began three months ago), but with the new neon sign going up yesterday, the cat’s out of the bag. 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters is opening a new…

The Sardine Can (Open)

his afternoon, Chris Stewart and Andrey Durbach – of Cafeteria, La Buca and Pied-A-Terre fame – secured a location in Gastown for their next restaurant, which will be called The Sardine Can. It’s an apt name…

The Fat Dragon (Open)

The concept is interesting – Chinese food with a Southern US “lick of smoke” – and I’m sure they’ll nail it (the menu reads fantastic, and we’ll get to that soon). The thing, though, that will define The Fat Dragon isn’t the food…

Famoso (Open)

Famoso, which will be cheaper than both with no pie more than $14.50, could be entering a world of Little Italy hate, but as a diner, I could give a shit. If it’s better than Marcello’s or Lombardo’s, that’s all that counts, and I…

Musette Caffe (Open)

A new cafe dedicated to cyclists is opening up at 1262 Burrard (back lane entrance) on March 1st. Sounds pretty awesome; a concept that is long overdue. Raw construction shots and details below…

Nu Greek (Open)

I took a look inside the upcoming NU micro-restaurant in Gastown yesterday. It’s coming to us from restaurateur Harry Kambolis (see also “C” and Raincity Grill), and is located in the old sandwich shop off Cordova…

Via Tevere (Open)

To think that I used to bitch about our lack of quality pizza! After the arrival of Campagnolo a couple of years ago, they’ve come in a rush with one popping up after another every few months. First there was…

Siena (Open)

Mark Taylor, the owner of West Broadway’s award-winning Cru, has picked up the storied but long vacant Star Anise location (1485 West 12th). With it, he plans to open a new restaurant called Siena…

worthy-20101

The Union (Open)

The restaurant, due this December (fingers crossed), is located at 219 Union St. at the foot of the new V6A building where Strathcona connects with Main St. on Union St. at the southern reach of Chinatown…

The New Wild Rice (Open)

Wild Riceowner Andrew Wong has a new restaurant space in New West. It’s been a long time coming. Developer Mark Shieh (who is very much a stand up guy) has had Wong and Wild Rice on his radar to fill the restaurant space at the new and…

Chewie’s (Open)

Restaurant trade watchers and bivalve addicts might remember that long-time Rodney’s Oyster House fixture Richard Chew (aka “Chewie”) left the Yaletown icon after five years of shucking toil this past January.

Pizzeria Barbarella (Open)

Terry Deane of Abbotsford’s revered Ah-Beetz pizzeria is headed to Vancouver to open a new joint dubbed Pizzeria Barbarella, so named to honour the memory of his mother (she passed away in November). It’s currently under…

Bitter (Open)

Sean Heather and Scott Hawthorn, partners at Salt Tasting Room and Judas Goat, are joining forces for a third time to open a new joint called Bitter. “It’s an extension of Salt, really” says Heather, “only its a beer format instead of wine”…

NOVO Pizzeria (Open)

NOVO Pizzeria & Wine Bar is coming to 2118 Burrard Street, just off West 6th next to Fifth Avenue Cinemas (formerly the Indendio West location). The 88 seater will boast over 2,000 sqft of indoor space with another…

3114696114_006ebedc4b_zThe “New” Boneta (Open)

As announced last night at Boneta’s birthday party, the popular Gastown eatery’s time at 1 West Cordova is coming to a close. That might have caused some furrowed brows and maybe even a tear, but fret not, as owners Jeremie, Mark and Neil aren’t finished…

Thierry-BussetThierry (Open)

Chocolatier-Pâtissier Thierry Busset is preparing to open his atelier in partnership with the Top Table Group later this year. Under a bright awning that recalls the storefront pâtisseries of his native France – and simply reading…

Pizzeria Farina (Open)

This is going down just a couple of blocks from my house in Strathcona at 915 Main St. off Prior (where Italian Job Pizza used to be). It’s a tiny spot with only a handful of seats, so they’ll be concentrating on…

Edible At The Market (Open)

Edible British Columbia is pleased to announce that it will be opening an expanded version of its original retail concept at Granville Island in the spring of 2011. The expansion will include an increased shopping…

La Taqueria On Cambie (Open)

Awesome news for taco lovers! West Hasting’s cool little La Taqueriawill soon be cloned. Owner Marcelo Romero reports that he’s just picked up the 2549 Cambie address at West Broadway. He hopes to have the 1,200 sqft, 35 seater open by

Rumpus Room (Open)

I knew that a few local restaurateurs had been sniffing around the old Juicy Chicken location (aka GH Chicken) on the northwest corner of Main and 11th (2601 Main, right across from Cafeteria)…

Save On Meats (Open)

After much cajoling over many months, Mark “I’ll show you when there’s something to show” Brand finally gave me a tour of the much anticipated Save On Meats renovation/restoration yesterday. It was well worth the wait….

Pronto (Open)

A new Italian eatery called Prontois opening next week at 3473 Cambie (formerly Art’s Flowers & Gifts). The design of the charming, 37 seat room is by Stefan Gagnon (Les Faux Bourgeois, Jules Bistro) and Scott Cohen…

Nelson The Seagull (Open)

Until today, when I opened the door and walked into the construction site, I’d assumed it was a clothing store landing at 315 Carrall (the old Brickyard location). Imagine my surprise when I learned that Nelson The Seagullwas…

Electric Owl (Open)

If you’ve walked down Main between Terminal and Prior in the last five years, you’ve likely got an eyeful of the eyesore that is the skeletal remains of the old American Hotel. It’s now in the latter stages of…

IMG_5771Ki Restaurant (Open)

It looks like Ki restaurant next to Market in the Shangri-La is finally accelerating its construction after gathering dust for the past two years. The Japanese-themed restaurant will be the latest from David Aisenstat…

Hawksworth (Open)

There hasn’t been much ion the way of news floating about on the highly anticipated “Hawksworth” restaurant front for a few months now so I thought it might be time for an update. Let me bring you up to speed…

Campagnolo Roma (Open)

Tom Doughty and chef Rob Belcham of Refuel and Campagnolotook possession of 2297 East Hastings this afternoon. The pair aim to open a new restaurant in its place called Campagnolo Roma…

Ensemble (Open)

We can confirm that Mackay has taken over the recently vacated Corner Suite Bistro De Luxe location at 850 Thurlow Street (just south of Robson) with plans to open his first restaurant – dubbed Ensemble

The Ascot (Open)

I just took a spin inside the old Cassis spot at 420 West Pender. I’d taken previous peeks but there wasn’t much to look at. Originally, owners Stu Morton (ex-GM of Brandi’s) and John Wirth ()had thought of calling it…

Tableau Bar Bistro (Open)

When the end of Voya at the Loden Hotel came back in January, it wasn’t much of a shock to restaurant wonks. Opening in the midst of the financial meltdown, the place saw its once-gorgeous dining room soon thereafter…

Pink Elephant (Open)

I took a gander inside the upcoming Pink Elephant restaurant at 1152 Alberni yesterday. Even if you’re not entirely sure about the hot pink and light grey colour palette, it’s nevertheless impressive what they’ve done with…

4933459841_b57f5ee559_bHapa Umi (Open)

Justin and Lea Ault of Hapa Izakayahave secured the old Metro restaurant location next to the Pan Pacific. The pair, with three cool Hapas already in their stable (Kits, Robson, Yaletown), aim to open a new Japanese concept that…

Cafe Regalade (Open)

Steeve Rayé, the son of Alain Rayé (owner/chef at West Vancouver’s award-winning La Regalade), has closed his short-lived pastry shop in Kitsilano at 2836 West 4th (opened late October)…

sfdgStackhouse (Open)

Yet another opening on the horizon, this time on the southern end of the Granville Entertainment District, right next door to Red Squared in the space formerly occupied by ABC International Travel…

IMG_4665Nicli Antica Pizzeria (Open)

Yesterday I met with Bill McCaig at 62 East Cordova in Gastown and got a happy earful on his plans for the one-story building, which he purchased last January. It’s a huge open concept space, about 4,000 sqft in total…

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IMG_8546Big Lou’s (Open)

Karl Gregg and Allan Bosomworth of Two Chefs & A Table are opening a nose to tail 1930’s-style butcher shop on the northwest corner of Gore (natch) & Powell this September (269 Powell). It’ll be called Big Lou’s…

071Peckinpah (Open)

Restaurant builder Ryan Murfitt (Bao Bei, Calabash, and many more) and restaurateur Tyson Reimer (Cobre, Deacon’s Corner) have secured a lease of the ground floor at 2 Water Street. If you’re not familiar with the address it’s…

theHelmLogo_TWIITTERThe Helm (Open)

The old “Unwine’d” spot at 1180 Howe St. has been picked up by a group of first timers (Angela Moore, Laura Francis, David Carlini, Cameron Wasnea) who have been busily turning it into a new restaurant concept called The Helm…

quattro-on-fourth-1Q4 al Centro (Open)

Patrick Corsi and Alex B. Tsakumis, partners in the ever-popular Q4 Ristorante in Kitsilano, are pleased to announce they will be opening a second Q4 location downtown in November 2010. The new restaurant will…

IMG_4144La Ghianda (Open)

Well, this is exciting. Lucais Syme and Adam Pegg, the two owner/chefs of one of my favourite restaurants on the planet, La Quercia, have in recent weeks been quietly going about turning the old Hôt Cuisine space at…

outpostHeaderThe Outpost Cafe (Open)

Dig your biscuits and gravy? Then Katharine Reynolds will soon have you covered. The local film industry vet is changing career directions and opening the daytime-only Outpost Cafe next month at 3392 Fraser…

sdfgThe Red Wagon (Open)

Brad Miller, who cut his teeth at Au Petit Chavignol, West and Bistro Pastis, is on the verge of going solo with The Red Wagon, a new 35 seat diner serving breakfast and lunch (and possibly dinner) in the old King’s Cafe…

IMG_2903London Pub (Open)

Here are a few photos of the nearly completed “London Pub” and neighbouring Brixton Caffe at 700 Main St (at Georgia in Chinatown). I’ve been passing this property every day for a couple of months now and it’s…

IMG_0636Waldorf Hotel (Open)

The 63-year old Waldorf Hotel at 1489 East Hastings, originally designed by Mercer & Mercer in a (then) modern style, has been picked up by restaurateur Ernesto Gomez (Nuba, etc), architect Scott Cohen (Gastropod, etc)…

shapeimage_2Tavola (Open)

The West End’s trailblazing Tapastree at 1829 Robson is set to close on September 15th and then reopen as an Italian restaurant called Tavola (”Table”) at the beginning of October. The transformation will see the room…

MeatBread_stationery_v2-(drMeat & Bread (Open)

I’ve got a hankering for a porchetta sandwich after getting the low-down on Meat & Bread, a new specialty sandwich shop arriving in Gastown this Autumn. The 1380 sqft. space at 320 Cambie at Hastings in the old Flack Building…

image002Oyster (Open)

Jeremy Towning is shutting down his “Exchange” sandwich/coffee/wine shop at 475 Howe Street (the Stock Exchange building) and will re-open it as “Oyster”. The new, 25 seat seafood and raw bar will be tiny with the product mostly local…

rwthySea Monstr Sushi (Open)

Boneta/Diamond co-owner and his business partner Alex Usow (in the Powell St. clothing store Sharks + Hammers) are opening a new sushi restaurant at 55 Powell in Gastown. It’ll be called Sea Monstr Sushi, a name…

IMG_1717Lucy’s (Open)

Whip owners Erv Salvadore and his wife Casey Thiessen have just opened Lucy’s Eastside Diner at 2708 Main St. (the former home of Yummy’s Frozen Dim Sum). It’s a 30 seater with a…

IMG_6943The Charles Bar (Open)

This is interesting. The Adelphia Group (think the Dover Arms pub and both the Caprice and Celebrities nightclubs) is applying to the City to open a 150 seat liquor primary “gastropub” on the ground floor of…

IMG_2215Commune Cafe (Open)

Industry veterans Annette Rawlinson (C, Au Petit Chavignol) and Tina Fineza (Flying Tiger, Les Faux Bourgeois, La Taqueria) are joining consultancy forces for the first time to open The Commune Cafe this July…

IMG_4291L’Abattoir (Open)

A new Gastown restaurant is under construction in the original Irish Heather location at 217. Demolition began yesterday. It’s called L’Abattoir (‘slaughterhouse’ in French is so much sexier), a name chosen to…

aboutus_mainCafeteria (Open)

Though this only just happened this morning and they don’t take possession until May 18th, we can tell you that they’re looking to execute a quick turnaround with an opening date set for mid-June. There is no official name for it yet, but

Spring-Dinner-Menu1Adesso Bistro (Open)

We hinted at this the other day when we reported on La Buca and Pied-a-Terre owners Chris Stewart and Andrey Durbach (interview) selling the L’Altro Buca spot to pick up the Ping’s Cafe location on Main Street. Carol Gadsby and…

IMG_1540Calabash (Open)

Researching for an upcoming magazine article I popped my head in to the construction site of Calabash, an upcoming 75 seat, two level, Caribbean-themed restaurant and lounge slated for the redeveloped space at…

IMG_1573Acme Cafe (Open)

I mentioned a bunch of new restaurants in the pipe in my Urban Rush appearance yesterday. One of them, which we’d yet to mention on this site, was the very buzzworthy Acme Cafe. It’s slated to slip into the main floor of the…

IMG_1593Cork & Fin (Open)

Francis Regio, formerly (and long) a fixture at the West End’s much loved Tapastree, has taken over the old Blake’s location at 221 Carrall St. (corner of Blood Alley next to the original Irish Heather) and plans to open a new…

keefercam7-2The Keefer Bar (Open)

From the little known Department of It Was Bound To Happen Sooner Or Later comes The Keefer, a new “Boutique Hotel Residence” currently under construction at 135 Keefer Street in Chinatown…

andresteveanthony1The Corner Suite (Open)

Former Boneta co-owner and Le Crocodile/Lumiere/Chambar managerial alumnus Andre McGillivray has partnered up with barman Steve Da Cruz and secured the old Piccolo Mondo location…

Oru (Open)

The upcoming Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel will soon announce its plans for a restaurant. The not-yet-finished hotel has saddled up with the local design and architecture firm MGB, and together they are building a new…

Judas Goat (Open)

From the little known Department of Just When You Thought 2009 Was Going To Totally Suck comes phenomenal news from a Gastown alleyway. Restaurateur Sean Heather is planning to open a new concept in the…

IMG_2018Charlie’s (Open)

Coming to Yaletown is Charlie’s Restaurant and Bar. If all goes according to plan, it’ll open in the old Pinky’s/LK Dining Lounge address at 1265 Hamilton Street in the first week of February. I took in a tour of the construction site earlier…

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baobeiBao Bei (Open)

Bartender Tannis Ling, a fixture on the wood and well at Chambar since 2005, has just signed a lease that has given her possession of 163 Keefer Street, a space just around the corner from Main…

dfrthywqrtyHapa Izakaya (Open)

Hapa Izakaya, arguably Vancouver’s hippest Japanese joint with locations on Robson and Yew, will soon be opening their third outlet in the city. Owners Justin and Lea Ault have picked up the old Shiru-Bay Chopstick Cafe spot…

ct-062Thomas Haas (Open)

Thomas Haas is opening a second location of Thomas Haas Fine Chocolates next to Lumiere and DB Bistro Moderne on West Broadway (as if that neighbourhood needed more awesomeness!)…The 1400 sqft space was…

IMG_9573Lupo (Open)

I went by the old Villa del Lupo location at 869 Hamilton tonight (by new I meant old) to have a peek at its newest incarnation, which is simply dubbed “Lupo”. The restaurant, which is currently enjoying its soft opening…

sdrthRefuel (Open)

A couple weeks back we broke the sad news that Fuel Restaurant would be closing down at the end of the month in order to re-open as a new, casual restaurant with lower price points and a more casual environment…

img_8504Pourhouse (Open)

Music to my ears from Voya barkeep Jay Jones this morning: “I’m opening my own joint at the end of the summer”. It’s about time the journeyman settled down! He’s worked a lot of places over the years….

img_1062La Taqueria (Open)

The old Nuba space at 322 West Hastings has sat dormant ever since the restaurant moved across the street several months ago, but it will soon see life again, this time in the guise of an…

local2Local (Open)

Check the details on “Local”, the upcoming new and apparently regionally-focused (believe it when I see it) restaurant project in Summerland. Local wine Zeus, Harry McWatters, is involved…

img_4167Las Tortas (Open)

We’d been watching Las Tortas closely ever since the paper went up on the hole-in-the-wall windows at 3353 Cambie a few months ago, so when word came that they’d opened over the weekend…

misMis Trucos (Open)

Chef Kris Barnholden (most recently Andrey Durbach’s chef de cuisine at Parkside) is opening a new modern Mediterranean tapas restaurant in the heart of the gaybourhood at 1141 Davie St…

chaise-logoChaise Lounge (Open)

A new, modern-style 40 seat diner is on its way to the old Wing Nut location at 4444 Main St. (between 28th and 29th). It will be called Chaise Lounge. According to Burgoo and Wing Nut co-owner…

Coast (Open)

I took a quick look at Coast‘s new, 200 seat Alberni St. digs a few days ago. It’s massive, with soaring ceilings, a large lounge area, and a broad mezzanine. The seafood restaurant, part of Emad Yacoub’s multi- location empire…

The Diamond (Open)

There are a few hurdles left to cross on this one so I can’t say much beyond it’s in Gastown and it’s being brought to us by bartenders Mark Brand, Josh Pape, and Sophie Taverner. Stellar supporting cast, too. More news soon…

img_9763Nook (Open)

Nicole Welsh and Mike Jeffs of the West End’s much-loved and undersung Tapastreerestaurant have been busily putting together a new, casual Italian mini-joint called “Nook” in the former…

Maenam (Open)

The award-winning Gastropod restaurant on West 4th will close at the end of April and reopen two weeks later as Maenam, an authentic Thai restaurant that will play plenty of attention to service, wine, and cocktails…

Latitude (Open)

Lisa Henderson and Larry Nicolay, former owners of Tofino’s superb Rainforest Café, are opening a new restaurant at 3250 Main St. called Latitude. Located in the old Budapest Restaurant spot, the totally redone room will see 46 seats…

8½ (Open)

The new restaurant that will be going into the old Soma location (see previous post) will be called 8½, after Frederico Fellini’s famous 1962 film of the same name. They take possession on April 1st and hope to…

L’Altro Buca (Open)

Parkside, one of my favourite restaurants in the city, is going to close at the beginning of March for a minor refit and then reopen as another La Bucaat the end of the month. It will have the same menu as the original…

Au Petit Chavignol (Open)

I checked out the construction site of the new Les Amis du Fromage location and its 40 seat wine bar, Au Petit Chavignol, today over at 843/845 East Hastings. The cheese manhimself, Joe Chaput and…

Nuba (Open)

I went by the brand new Nuba restaurant in the Dominion Building at West Hastings and Cambie tonight (207 W. Hastings, 604-688-1655, Nuba.ca). They’ve just moved across the street from their much-loved, tiny, and…

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Deacon’s Corner (Open)

With the economy teetering on the total tank, opening a 30’s style, 75-seat lunch counter diner ain’t such a bad idea. Say hello to Deacon’s Corner, an under construction, 7am to 3pm, cheap and cheerful greasy spoon…

Market (Open)

My friend Owen and I went in for a first pass to the highly anticipatedMarket in the new Shangri-La hotel last night. They’d only just opened for their first public service after back to back “friends and family” test runs, but it filled up fast…

Wallflower (Open)

Wallflower Modern Diner opened last night at 2420 Main (formerly Aurora Bistro). The diner concept is going to see something of a renaissance this year, with the recession-weary and cash-worried looking for cold comfort for change…

Charm (Open)

A brand-spanking new 60 seat restaurant and bar called Charm Modern Thaihas just opened in Yaletown. It’s in the old Diner/Lucky Diner/Flite location at 1269 Hamilton Street, and it still has that New Restaurant Smell. It’s small and sexy…

Fetch (Open)

I’ll be going to check it out as soon as I can, knowing that the trick up their sleeve is one Andrew Springett, the talented chef who once toiled at La Belle Auberge and Diva at the Met before he moved to Tofino to run the kitchen…

R.TL (Open)

Popped in to the brand new R.TL in Yaletown tonight for a digestif on my way home from DB Bistro. The new restaurant, helmed by Alain Canuel, is looking good. The film above is from tonight but I’ve also…

Lumiere (Open)

Understandably, first impressions were hamstrung by the boisterous crowd and the party atmosphere. It was a very entertaining, usual suspects affair, with much of the serious talk focused on the coming financial dreadnought…

DB Bistro (Open)

So I just figured out that I can post with fitted photos via iPhone. Technology is so much older than me yet it keeps teaching me new tricks. Bloody unnatural, that is. Currently at DB Bistro feasting on a monster and never going home…

Dolcetto (Open)

Regular readers will remember that Cru Restaurant owner Mark Taylor opened up a new cafe on West Broadway a couple of months back. It was named after the grape varietal, “Dolcetto”, which translates from the vernacular…

Miku (Open)

On the set of Urban Rush yesterday, hosts Michael Eckford and Fiona Forbes asked me what was going in across the street and pointed out the window to the voluminous space that used to house The Spotted Prawn…

Campagnolo (Open)

I met our web designer at Campagnolo tonight, ostensibly to discuss plans for the second beta version of Scout (due next Monday) but really just to check the much anticipated casual Italian restaurant out on their first night…

The Refinery (Open)

Paid a very brief visit to The Refinery tonight, the new project from the Sip Resto Lounge folks (and right next door at 1115 Granville). The soft launch appears to be underway. We would have stayed, but we’d already dined and…

Chambar Expansion (Open)

Swung by Chambar while en route to a party that I never ended up making it this evening. As you can see above (and below) there’s now a pair of Egyptian doors on the far wall of the main dining room. The space beyond…

The Wine Room (Open)

Joeys to open a 70 seat wine bar at Bentall 1 (the southwest corner of Pender and Burrard – main floor). It will be called The Wine Room. Nicholson says we can expect “a place that is serious about wine and serious about…

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