Between the friendliness of strangers, the forests that appear without warning, the way a six day trip felt nowhere near long enough, Vancouver surprised me in a lot of ways. But the food? Oh my goodness, was that the greatest surprise of all!

I came into Vancouver with a long list of restaurants to try and high expectations for what to expect (Vancouver’s foodie reputation precedes itself), and ended up leaving with a hand-curated restaurant list I already started sending to friends before they had even booked their own flights out. So if it’s your first time in visiting, here are all the best places to eat in Vancouver:

East is East

Walk through the door at East is East and you’ll spend your first full minute just taking the room in. The owners have created a beautifully immersive space, with carved wood beams, Persian rug tapestries, jewel-toned pillows, a starry night backdrop framing a live music stage. It feels somewhere between an Afghan tea house and a film set, in the best way possible, of course! On my first visit, it drew me in so completely that I even came back for a second visit before the end of that same Vancouver trip.

Before you order, the staff bring you a complimentary soy masala chai made with warm green tea with organic soy milk. And I would not say this if I didn’t mean it, but the chai is hands down the reason to visit this restaurant! My partner and I loved it so much we each ordered a full glass to enjoy with our meal. The thing to get here is one of the Feast tasting menus, a signature offering that comes with two to three main dishes, soup, salad, boulani, naan, sauerkraut, and Afghan and basmati rice.

My partner and I came for lunch on our first day so we ordered the restaurant’s Chai Feast. The feast came with the two salad options to choose from. My partner and I each tried a different one, but loved the green salad with creamy hemp seed dressing most. Soup-wise, the mystic was rich with mushrooms and deeply savory. And for the mains, I tried the wild salmon, one of my favorite dishes of the entire trip(!), and the creamy mushroom eggplant main. Once we finished our salads, soups, and mains, I used the remaining sauce with the naan that accompanied the feast!

And on our return visit, we came back just for chai. We ended up also digging into the vegan khir, a coconut and almond milk rice pudding cooked with saffron and topped with pistachios. It was the perfect cherry on top to end our trip!

Neighborhood:

Main Street / Mount Pleasant

Dairy-free notes:

The Chai Feast is largely dairy-free as written. The soy masala chai also uses organic soy milk. Confirm with your server on individual dishes, but the menu skews heavily plant-based and the menu is highly accommodating.

Kissa Tanto

It’s official, I can confirm: Kissa Tanto is a restaurant that’s more than earned its reputation. The space here is velvet-draped, but minimal and intimate, and its menu blends Japanese and Italian influences in a wonderful way.

We ordered the oysters, the fish crudo, stuffed olives with yuzu, and the bluefin tuna main. The bluefin tuna was precise and beautifully composed. And the stuffed olives with yuzu were our personal highlight: bright, briny, and unexpected.

For drinks, I had the ARO Long Island iced tea, which arrived in a tall glass with dehydrated orange and crushed ice and had the look and feel of a Vietnamese coffee with a serious kick. My partner got the Dark End of the Alley, a whiskey drink served with an olive on a stick and a large square ice cube. Both are worth ordering. Reserve well in advance. This one books up quickly.

Neighborhood:

Chinatown

Dairy-free notes:

Kissa Tanto leans heavily on seafood that doesn’t typically rely on dairy, but there’s still quite a few Italian-fusion dishes that have dairy included. Make sure to confirm individual dishes with your server, but a good portion of the menu is still safe territory.

Miku

Miku sits right along the waterfront near Canada Place, which means you get mountain views alongside your sushi. The specialty here is oshi sushi, which is essentially pressed sushi that arrives as neat rectangular pieces with various toppings.

My partner and I came for lunch and ordered the signature shokai, a chef-curated selection of 10 pieces of traditional and Aburi Oshi sushi, rolls and nigiri. The oshi sushi with jalapeño and striped soy sauce was my favorite piece of the meal, while my partner had multiple favorites (especially the shrimp sashimi)! In fact, it’s safe to say it was his favorite restaurant of the trip! Our meal also included a miso soup starter with tiny mushrooms inside, which made it feel more special.

Neighborhood:

Downtown, Canada Place waterfront

Dairy-free notes:

Miku is largely dairy-free by nature, as Japanese cuisine generally doesn’t rely on dairy. Confirm any sauces or special preparations with your server, but most of the menu is fairly safe as written. The miso soup with mushrooms is dairy-free.

Raisu

Raisu is a Japanese comfort food spot with beautiful bento box samplers. When I first saw what these looked like on their website, I knew we had to stop here on our trip! And safe to say, we were not disappointed. The edamame here was the best I’ve had (a claim I don’t make lightly).

The bento box itself was well-proportioned and satisfying. Note that bento boxes cannot be ordered between 2:30 and 5PM, but are available after 5PM. If you’re plant-based, there’s also a plant-based version of the bento, though it requires 24 hours advance notice, so plan accordingly.

I paired the bento box with a peach and strawberry tonic, which was made with real fruit (not a syrup, but actual peach and strawberry pieces inside!). It’s worth ordering if you get a chance to visit.

Neighborhood:

Downtown

Dairy-free notes:

The standard bento box is largely dairy-free. The plant-based version is fully so, but again requires advance notice so call ahead!

Published on Main

It’s no wonder that Published on Main is consistently ranked among Canada’s best restaurants, I still dream about the food here! This Michelin-starred restaurant’s space is modern: minimal and design-forward, but also refreshingly inviting and unhurried. And the service? Oh. My. Goodness. The servers were attentive. Not annoyingly so or overbearing in how often they came to check-in on us, but like they actually cared about our experience. We had called ahead about my allergy restrictions and everyone we spoke with had already had taken that into account like they had a personal card associated and memorized for our party that was ready to go and maintain while we were in the restaurant. The team here executed a thoughtful and conscious level of service that’s hard to replicate!

Okay, now onto the main reason you’re even reading this post: the food! The appetizers are very what you’d expect at a Michelin-starred restaurant: small, but mighty! I was so impressed with the foie gras, my single favorite bite of the entire trip. It arrived plated like a small cheesecake, a strawberry glaze across the top creating a sweet note against the richness beneath. The balance was exact. I ate it slowly and was glad I did. I wish I had ordered another (and maybe another after that), but opted out since we still had more dishes to try!

The AAA beef crudo was held together by a sharp onion preparation and sauce that we kept dipping other items into to throughout the meal. The heirloom tomatoes and summer squash from the seasonal menu were both great too, especially in summer when Vancouver produce is at its peak. The Forest Bathe gin cocktail was the best drink I had in Vancouver: light, not sweet, definitely not the fruity direction that gin cocktails often tip toward.

Neighborhood:

Mount Pleasant / Main Street

Dairy-free notes:

At a kitchen working at this level, butter can appear in preparations you wouldn’t expect. When I asked for a vegan option for the sourdough, they brought a vinaigrette in its place, which worked, though it isn’t the same. Be sure to call ahead and mention your needs so the kitchen can plan accordingly.

The Acorn

The Acorn is a cozy, vegetable-forward restaurant on Main Street. The menu is Michelin-recognized and considered vegan and vegetarian fine dining destination, featuring natural wines and signature cocktails. And the kitchen approaches vegetables with the same seriousness that other restaurants reserve for meat.

The bok choy had a pleasant kick and was clean and confident on the plate. But the sea vegetables were the dish we really loved! They tasted like a steaming arrabiata pasta in texture, heat, and depth of flavor, but made entirely from vegetables. I kept taking bites expecting my impression to shift, but it held all the way through.

For drinks, we ordered the Sunday in August Pinot Gris rosé (2024) with dinner. All wine at The Acorn sits somewhere on the natural spectrum, which is a quiet pleasure for those who pay attention to that sort of thing (and don’t want to feel it as much the next day!)

Neighborhood:

Main Street

Dairy-free notes:

One of the most reliably dairy-free restaurants on this list by design, but the sourdough came out with regular butter despite my request for a vegan option, so it’s worth flagging with your server at the start of the meal rather than when the bread arrives. They brought a vinaigrette quickly without any fuss, which was a considerate substitute. Just, as always, mention your needs at the start of the meal and pay attention to what’s brought out to you.

Granville Island Public Market

It’d be quite strange if I made a list of the best places to eat for your first visit to Vancouver and didn’t include Granville Island Public Market! Part farmer’s market, part food hall, the Public Market is the perfect place to spend the afternoon wandering between stalls and nibbling on some of the best that the city has to offer. The vendors here do sometimes change, but a few are worth seeking out specifically.

The Stock Market does a classic chicken noodle soup that’s exactly what you’d hope for. And their soups comes with free focaccia, which is always appreciated! And I can confirm from my return visit, that the salmon chowder was even better.

Sen Pad Thai was a solid choice with their Pad See Ew Beef standing out as my favorite Granville Island meal across both times I’ve been.

Laurelle’s Fine Foods is where dairy-free visitors with. sweet tooth should make a point of stopping. The almond tart here is vegan and oh so great! Laurelle’s also carries oat bars and coconut macaroons with dairy-free options clearly marked in the case. And in my expert opinion, the almond tart in particular is worth seeking out.

For additional desserts, Bon Macaron offers some great macaron, including a few dairy-free options. I got a box full of the mango passion fruit and dark chocolate varieties and ended up eating them all in the same day!

Neighborhood:

Granville Island

Dairy-free notes:

Varies by vendor. Laurelle’s Fine Foods and Bon Macaron are your best bet for clearly labeled dairy-free baked goods, though they don’t have that many overall. Confirm with individual vendors at the market, as preparations vary.