Reflections on a glorious year in new Vancouver restaurants

Dawn hums in kitchens, quiet and deep
Lentils bloom slowly, stirred out of sleep
Banana leaf folded like memory’s curve
Bittersweet steam and crisp fried herbs
Flavours collide where stories have grown
Each dish a map, each bite a home

As my meal at West 3rd Avenue’s Kavita came to a close, chef-owner Tushar Tondvalkar handed me a dark green envelope that had been wax-sealed with the restaurant’s signature K. Inside was a fold-out explainer of each dish that I tasted that night as part of the restaurant’s multi-course tasting menu: a sensory adventure through the flavours and regions of India. On the outside of the menu was the above poem, the words tickling me with their whimsy. 

The take-home menu was a small gesture, but it had the desired effect: I was left with thoughts of the meal swirling in my head, and a promise to return soon.

Tondvalkar, who was born in Mumbai, cut his teeth at Vancouver restaurants including Blue Water Cafe and the famed but now-closed Bauhaus. It was during a stint as a stage chef at world-famous Bangkok restaurants Gaggan and Gaa that his outlook on cooking underwent a major shift.

“When I came back to Vancouver, I felt like I needed to dig into my own culture,” Tondvalkar said. “Like, ‘Why am I cooking French or Pacific Northwest food when Indian food has so much to give?’”

After a stint working as the executive chef at the short-lived Mumbai Local, he made it his mission to educate Vancouver diners on the breadth and depth of Indian cuisine.

“In North America, Indian food is represented in such a wrong way that most of the people in India don’t even eat the food that we get here in Indian restaurants,” he said. “There was something in me that was like, ‘I need to bring Indian food and Indian culture and the story to the folks here.’”

On the night that I visited, the tasting menu at Kavita was refined in presentation and concept, but positively bold in flavour and personality. A small selection of snacks included a standout chaat made with crispy, melt-in-your-mouth local lichen and a skewer of lamb belly with fragrant souji masala. Fresh scallops were served with a crumbled beetroot coconut curry, crispy sunchokes, and tadka oil. Soft vegetarian momos, meanwhile, swam in a lake of decadent jhol made with lemongrass and tomato. It was delicious and surprising and inventive, like the best fine-dining should be.

Kavita only launched in October, but I’m confidently calling it one of the city’s best openings of 2025. It certainly caps off what has been an exciting year in Vancouver restaurants.

And I, for one, have eaten very well. 

At Cambie Village’s June, I delighted in French bistro dishes dreamed up by the team that gave us the much-lauded Keefer Bar. The burger! The fries! The tartare! The Pasta for Rachel that is absolutely drenched in French butter! I love how sexy this place is, with dim lights and moody reds.

The downstairs cocktail bar, Lala, stands out in my mind, too: with a crisp sound system playing a selection of vinyl, exceptional riffs on classic cocktails, and that same decadent June food, it’s perhaps the best of both worlds (and then some).

Moving from French to Italian, I was thrilled, as a resident of the area, to learn that Giusti took over the space Bar Susu (and before that, The Whip) used to occupy. Run by industry veterans from some of the city’s best spots (the aforementioned Keefer Bar, Savio Volpe, Oddfish), it’s a cozy neighbourhood joint serving seasonal dishes of hand-rolled pasta and other Italian delights—from meatball bruschetta to borlotti beans with black kale and pork belly to ricotta gnocchi. Go for the food, stay for the witty banter with the waitstaff. 

And while we’re on the subject of Italian food, I’d be remiss not to mention Folietta, which opened on Nanaimo Street in May and became an instant hit for its simple dishes done right.

This place, from the minds behind Tableau, Homer Street Cafe, and Maxine’s, isn’t reinventing any kind of wheel, but it doesn’t have to: sometimes all I really want is a classic negroni and a saucy bowl of carbs. (But also: don’t skip the chance to end a meal there with an Italian bitter aperitif, which is served in a mini milkshake glass and poured over shaved ice—an adult version of dessert if there ever was one.)

Heading downtown next, La Taqueria’s newest Pinche Taco Shop location on Seymour and Hastings is bringing a whole new concept to the beloved eatery.

Here, a small but mighty menu features both traditional and modern Mexican dishes, such as spicy housemade salsa (served warm), a messy-in-the-best-way taco made with fried egg and swiss chard, and a selection of burritas. Not to be confused with burritos, burritas are small wraps stuffed with protein and sauce—no rice or bean filler needed. To keep things lively, every food order is bellowed into a megaphone before being delivered to its intended table. It’s reminiscent of the cacophonous “Bienvenidos!” that greets each guest at Mexico City’s world-renowned Handshake cocktail bar, and it’s fun.

And over in the West End, chef and restaurateur Angus An—beloved for his other restaurants including Maenam, Sen Pad Thai, and Fat Mao—has brought a much-needed dose of vibrant Southeast Asian food to the neighbourhood with Sainam.

The Northeastern Thai restaurant delivers one flavourful dish after another, from classic papaya salad with dried shrimp to stir-fried cabbage with dried chili and fish sauce. A surefire win is the Crying Tiger: moist and juicy grilled steak served with tangy nahm jim jiao dipping sauce. Finish with kanom tuay for dessert: the Thai coconut custard is sweet, creamy, and so satisfying.

Rounding things out back in Mount Pleasant is Jeju: the second outpost of Tofino’s popular Korean restaurant. I first tried Jeju at its original location earlier this year and quickly fell in love with its warm service and laidback yet delicious food, so having the restaurant much closer to home is a true blessing. 

I’m clearly not the only one who’s excited, either. Co-owner and executive chef Dylan Kim mentioned to me that the Vancouver location is fully booked through the end of the year, with a nightly wait list of more than 400 people.

 “I’m really grateful,” he said. “But at the same time, it’s a lot of pressure. I never expected to get this much attention.”

Kim opened Jeju with his wife Sung, who runs the front of house, and also enlists the cooking help of his mother, who was a professional chef for over 40 years. As a result, the menu is a Venn diagram of traditional and contemporary: one side features classic Korean dishes created by Kim’s mother, while the other showcases Kim’s own modern interpretations. In the middle are flagship dishes that they worked on together. 

A must-try in the middle category for any meat eater is the shareable Galbi, which sees unbelievably tender beef, aged for 35 days and then grilled to perfection, served alongside an array of accompaniments: crunchy pickled radish, classic Korean kimchi, warm sticky rice, tangy arugula salad, spicy ssamjang for dipping, and sweet-and-sour jangajji.

It’s the perfect embodiment of Vancouver dining in 2025: Bold and deeply considered. Personal and widely appealing. Relaxed and never boring.