This Is Why Everyone Wants Table #5 at This Seafood Restaurant in Gastown

Not all restaurant tables are created equal. Some shouldn’t even exist on account of their terrible positioning, while others are so superior in every way that they make the other tables in the dining room jealous. Scout keeps a running account of the very best ones here.

It’s not that difficult to pick the best seat in the house at Gastown’s beautiful Coquille. Spend any amount of time at the bar, along the open kitchen-facing banquette or in the dining room proper and you’ll come to the quick conclusion that you would have much preferred Table #5, the scallop shell-shaped booth in the window.

The pretty, coral-coloured thing is tucked away in a corner next to its identical siblings (each one with room for as many as six people). Two of the seats at each of these booths are inward-facing chairs and are best avoided except at Table #5 — precisely because of its window situation. Not only do these perches provide a superb vantage point from which to view of the daily/nightly parade that is Gassy Jack Square, but it also allows for a wide sweep of the dining room. Prefer to hide? No problem. Just swap seats with a tablemate and slip into the booth itself, where you’ll almost completely disappear from view. Seriously, where’d you go?