Vancouver restaurants in 2025

Good morning,

Sometimes you read a story and you just can’t help but nod. And nod. And nod.

So it was with a story about Henry Chuang, a Grade 10 student at Vancouver’s St. George’s School. He’s a finalist for a global science competition, with a submission about phone addiction. Like Henry, I struggle sometimes (okay, all the time) with using phones too much. 

One of his answers to our collective phone addiction is to get comfortable with discomfort. And I have to say, it may sound simple, but it’s useful advice. I don’t know if I’ll do a phone detox this year, but in 2026, I do plan to try to use my phone less. It comes down to how we spend our time, on our phones, or living life?

Even changing your habits can be useful. Reduce mindless scrolling, get rid of distracting apps and focus on reading, like you’re doing right now.

What about you? Planning to use your phone less this year? Let me know!

One thing I won’t be doing less of next year is eating at Vancouver restaurants. Freelancer Sara Harowitz shares her favourite places she ate at this year in Vancouver. Hopefully, it inspires you to check them out.

Let’s dive into today’s newsletter!

— Geoff Sharpe, Lookout founder and managing editor

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WEATHER

Monday: 6 🌡️ 4 | 🌧️/❄️

Tuesday: 4 🌡️ 3 | ❄️

Wednesday: 3 🌡️ 1 | ❄️

Story by Sara Harowitz. Read the story online here.

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.

3

That’s the number of months ahead, on a rolling basis, that you will be able to book B.C. Parks this summer, down from the previous four months.

Tree removal goes ahead: The Park Board will continue cutting down Stanley Park trees infected by the hemlock looper moth, after the B.C. Supreme Court on Friday ruled against the Stanley Park Preservation Society’s petition to review the logging, according to the Vancouver Sun. 

The Stanley Park Preservation Society had contended that the dying trees should be maintained since they provide wildlife habitat. Our reporter, Nate, took a deep dive into the issue back in June, which you can read here.

❓ ‘Tis the season… For more Metro Vancouver controversies. This time, it’s accusations from Metro’s board chair Mike Hurley that an elected official may have leaked confidential information about the organization’s firing of senior executives. Hurley will be asking the board to bring on a third-party investigator to look into the leak. Read more. [Vancouver Sun]

🍽 How’s Vancouver’s restaurant scene doing? Not great, according to a BC Restaurant and Food Services Association survey conducted in November. Half of those who responded said they were struggling, especially with rising costs and cash flow challenges. Read more. [Straight]

🔍 BC Housing is investigating how an accused killer who is wanted on a Canada-wide manhunt was able to seek shelter at a single-residency occupancy building in the Granville Entertainment District. Read more. [Global News]

🟥 If you see a QR code on a City of Vancouver parking metre, you should know that they are fake. The City is warning people not to scan them, as they do not use QR codes for their parking payments. Read more. [Urbanized]

🏄 It’s come full circle for Chip Wilson. In 1979, he started the clothing brand Westbeach, selling it in 1997 and buying it back last year. The brand now has a new store at 2138 West 4th Ave. The billionaire called the brand the “love of my life.” Read more. [Business in Vancouver]

🚶 The third permanent public plaza in Vancouver, the Bute-Robson Plaza, has officially opened. Read more. [Urbanized]

Buddy the Elf Singalong | Rio Theatre | Today at 5 pm | A Christmas movie and sing-along that’s hard to forget | Tickets $12

Vancouver Christmas Market | 1055 Canada Place | Until Dec. 25 | Pick up some gifts and try some treats at this popular market | Tickets $12

Contact Music Festival | Pacific Colliseum | Dec. 26-27 | Massie EDM festival ove the holidatys | Tickets $220+

Theatre Sports | The Improv Centre, 1502 Duranleau Street | Dec. 27, Jan. 2 and more | Two improv teams compete against each other | Tickets $31+

Little Women – Arts Club Theatre Company | Granville Island Stage, 1585 Johnston St. | Now–Jan. 4, various times | Fresh, inventive stage adaptation of Alcott’s classic following the March sisters’ coming-of-age journey | Tickets from $29

Holiday Shop at The Polygon Gallery | The Polygon Gallery, 101 Carrie Cates Ct. | Until Jan. 4, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Thu until 9 p.m. | Seasonal gallery shop featuring unique artist-made gifts and weekly interactive activities for visitors | Free

The Unreliable Narrator: Writing in the Digital Age | SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, 149 W Hastings St. | Feb. 5, 5–7 p.m. | Artist talk exploring storytelling, deception and narrative power in the digital age | Free

Robson Square Ice Rink | 800 Robson St. | Until Feb. 28, 9 a.m.-9 p.m., on all holidays as well | Free skating for kids and adults | Free

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“What is it about Vancouver compared to all the neighbouring municipalities which creates such outdated community centers? Go across any bridge to New West, Burnaby, Surrey, North Vancouver and the community centers are much more modern, plus those cities are actively adding new play areas and day cares.”

— Will, responding to our story about the stalled renewal of Britannia Centre

Sometimes Stanley Park really knows how to show off…