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Our Readers Rank The Best Restaurants In The City, Spring 2017 Edition

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The Spring 2017 Scout 25 has just been released. It’s what you should feel confident giving to anyone who asks “Where should I eat in Vancouver?” It’s our list of Vancouver’s best, most consistent, most essential, and most representative restaurants, and a key facet of Scout’s seasonal GAMEPLAN project. It is decided four times a year by an esteemed panel of local restaurant industry veterans and food experts who each submit a list. No politics. No bullshit. If you don’t see your favourite restaurant here, check the list of honourable mentions at the bottom and note that many of the establishments therein have cracked the list in previous seasons. Either before or after ranking the results below (by picking your favourite three), explore each restaurant in detail here

PICK YOUR THREE FAVOURITES

View Results

IN

Bauhaus, Mission

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OUT

Cinara, West

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HONOURABLE MENTIONS

(Multiple votes) Au Comptoir, Bishop’s, Bistro Wagon Rouge, Blue Water Cafe, Campagnolo, Cinara, CinCin, Dock Lunch, Espana, Fable, Farmer’s Apprentice, Gotham, Homer St. Cafe, Hy’s, Les Faux Bourgeois, Juniper, Kirin, Le Crocodile, Masayoshi, Minami, Miku, Motomachi Shokudo, Nicli Antica Pizzeria, Nook, Pizzeria Farina, Royal Dinette, Tableau, Tacofino, West.

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ABOUT THE SCOUT 25

The Scout 25 was inspired by the website Eater, which offers widely respected lists that detail the top 38 restaurants in every city it operates in. The “Eater 38” is an invaluable tool for food-loving travellers wary of online review sites. When the website closed its Vancouver outlet in 2014, we decided to develop our own version.

The Scout 25 is, of course, very different. Our list is developed in consultation with over a dozen people of prominence working in the restaurant industry – the idea being that no one is a better judge of restaurants than the people who toil in them. Our panelists are free to disclose their involvement at their leisure, but we don’t publicize or promote their identities so as to keep the focus on the restaurants rather than the individuals who judge them.

The list of restaurants – and the group that decides it – changes four times a year, on the first day of each season. How much it changes, of course, is up to the panelists. For the Spring 2017 edition, only two restaurants changed and twenty-three remained the same. The panel included two writers, one restaurateur, four executive chefs, two sous chefs, one line cook, one server, one sommelier,. one assistant GM, one bartender, and two citizen-gourmands.

Only establishments that have been open for more than 6 months are considered (new locations notwithstanding)

THE NEXT SCOUT 25 WILL BE RELEASED AT THE START OF SUMMER: JUNE 20, 2017

There are 9 comments

  1. Cinara bullshit or no bullshit is one of the top 5 restaurants in the city. Torafuku, Mezcaleria are fun places but please get real here folks.

  2. Cinara was a lock on this list for several seasons in a row. Missed the cut by a single vote.

  3. Too many fun and trendy but definitely not “best” restaurants on this list. Or, maybe your chef judges don’t get out much. Also, why is Salmon n Bannock not mentioned?

  4. Thanks for the comment DEC. Honourable Mentions are restaurants with multiple votes but not enough to make the top 25.

  5. Great list, by missing West Van’s Terroir Kitchen in my opinion it stands up to any of the top the city!

  6. UGH. kissa tanto, maenam, nightingale, and definitely wildebeest are ALL overrated in sooooo many ways.

  7. There is several solid ground breaking establishments that are never mention,
    Giardino, Lupo, Terrazza, Provence etc…..and others with a simple 15 seater and pizza to go,
    is mentioned over and over.Please!!!!!

  8. There is a few solid, ground breaking establishments that NEVER get a mention,
    and with all due respect there is always the same list over and over, also to mix small
    pizzerias with fine dinning doesn’t do justice to either business.

  9. Cinara should 100% be on the list, but I’m kinda happy it isn’t. I can actually get a table and not see half the restaurant standing on their seat taking insta pics for their “food blog”.

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