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Vancouver Patios For Pretending It’s Summer When Spring Hasn’t Even Sprung

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We saw the sun the other day. True story. It lasted well into the afternoon, or at least long enough to convince thousands of Vancouverites that spending an hour or two on a good restaurant patio was a wise thing to do, and work be damned. We love our city’s “we’ll take what we can get” attitude toward the sun, and dig that there are many restaurants that are totally on board. For your ranking consideration, we’ve listed six that jump on every sunny opportunity they can:

Havana | 1212 Commercial Dr. | 604-253-9119 | THE DRIVE | www.havanarestaurant.ca | Excellent people-watching (directly across from bustling Grandview Park) with afternoon and early evening sun. Bonus: their happy hour sees a taco and a tequila shot for $8.

Beach Bay | 1193 Denman St. | 604-685-7337 | WEST END | www.beachbaycafe.com | This beauty is right next to the beach at English Bay. and it’s their first Spring patio season (opened last summer). They’re already chomping at the bit, and have tables and chairs primed.

Chill Winston | 3 Alexander St. | 604-288-9575 | GASTOWN | www.chillwinston.com | The knock-out king of Gastown patios is ready to go as soon as the sun is. A cold beer with a friend cauliflower sandwich hits the spot. Killer positioning for sun-soaking.

Minami | 1118 Mainland St. | 604-685-8080 | YALETOWN | www.minamirestaurant.com | This little hideaway is tucked at the rear of an otherwise large Japanese restaurant, so if you’d prefer privacy/discretion over people-watching, this is the place for you.

Supermarine | 1685 Yew St. | 604-739-4677 | KITSILANO | www.supermarine.ca | We’ve loved this location for a long time on account of its sunny brunches and proximity to Kits Beach. This is seafood-forward Supermarine’s first swing at Spring, and we can’t wait! Bonus: fish n’ chips.

Dock Lunch | 152 East 12th Ave | 604-879-3625 | MAIN STREET | www.facebook.com/DockLunch | We’ve written plenty on this Mt. Pleasant gem and its outstanding comfort food, but very few words of ours have ever honoured its deserving little patio (so tiny you might miss it).

Which is your favourite pre-summer patio?

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