My longtime colleague and good friend Anthony Gismondi invited me for a chat on his popular BC Food & Wine radio show. The topic: where to go for decent sustenance before, during and after Vancouver International Wine Festival. You can tune in on Saturday, Feb 22nd. at Regarded as one of the continent’s top trade and consumer tasting events, this year’s festival runs from February 22 to March 9. (Full disclosure: I’m on the VIWF board and co-chair the festival’s winery selection committee.)
Since 1979, the festival has played a significant role in the development of this city’s robust wine (and food) culture. Few are those—from wine trade folks to sommeliers, restaurateurs and others—who over the years haven’t benefitted from (or contributed to) the festival in some way. Not to mention consumers at every level.
Three golden rules of attending wine tastings
• Don’t wear any perfumed products, including cologne and aftershave
• Eat a decent meal before you taste
• Spit! Spit! Spit!
(An aside, many years ago, my introduction to the London Wine Trade Fair was seeing a guy showing off his spitting prowess … from a distance. Sadly, he totally hosed down a bloke’s expensive suit—as he moved into the line of fire at just the wrong moment!)
From cafés for quick bites and coffee to pubs (for cleansing ales) to full-on dinners (with serious wines), here’s my quick list…
These first three are ideal for coffee, pastries, breakfast & lunch (closing mid to late afternoon); Open Saturdays All a bit under the radar.
Really handy if you need coffee before a morning event or want a quick lunch at VTCC West. Tucked in to the western wall of VTCC, Lot 185 was the parcel of land encompassing everything west of present day Burrard street—bought by the ‘Three Greenhorns’ in 1862. %50 acres for $1.01 per acre. The nickname was because they were viewed as having paid way too much.
Mink, A Chocolate Café – On a no-name parklette on Hornby at Hastings. Super little independent Café that’s a latte’s toss from the action. Excellent coffee. They do wicked hot chocolate too. Plus, you often get a free sample with your coffee.
Palate Kitchen – Jameson House, 848 Hastings near Hornby.
Good breakfast and lunch bites in one of the city’s fancier, beautifully restored early 20th c. buildings. Eggs Benny, Avocado toast, open face sandwiches and so on. Def a cut above. Oh, and also afternoon tea!
Beers ‘n pubby fare; open late-ish for post-tasting, hoppy sustenance. Because you’ll need it.
Lion’s Pub – 888 W. Cordova near Hornby
Fave under the radar wine agents hangout. Where some people go to escape the tasting room for a quick break. Decent pints, quite a few good local taps and good pub food. There’s also a staircase in the back (up to the Terminal City Club and West Hastings Street) … should you need to leave discretely.
Moose’s Down Under – 836 W. Pender near Hornby, downstairs. Where Aussies go to watch Aussie rules and cry in their Cooper’s when it rains for days on end. Menu has plenty of burgers etc, and poutine. BTW if you want it with Kangaroo, it’s called ‘Rootine’.’’’ And Aussie pies, of course. Plus Parmies are big thing. As in, just about anything smothered in Parmesan, Mozza or, really, any half-decent cheese.
Wines, Hmmm. Only list where I’ve seen Yellow Tail and Veuve as the two sparkling options. Great atmosphere and very friendly. Often where I go to make notes after tastings. And have a beer, of course.
Steamworks – 375 Water St Downtown’s only brewery—and it really is, in part, steam-powered as the name suggests. Been going there since Day One. The main brewery is now in Burnaby, a result of their success. Good bites like F&C etc. Go early enough and you can get an upstairs harbour-view table. Especially cozy in the rain—and we love that sweeping staircase and the amazing wood panelling. Pubby but elevated.
Brass Fish – 385 Burrard at Hastings (Marine Bldg.) Lovely room in the ground floor of the Marine Building. Creative bites, good pints and a large whisky list
Handy for Lunch & Dinner plus OK to very good wine lists
Cactus Club, Coal Harbour – Jack Poole Plaza
Arguably the Cactus flagship. Due to the views, it’s always busy, even more so during wine festival. But they also get it: that people are often on a tight schedule. Happy hour afternoons plus late evening from 9 pm to midnight. Also, a pretty savvy, global wine list that caters to every budget.
Guu Otokamae – 375 Water St. Good Izakaya (small plates) from one of the city’s longest running Japanese rooms. Plus, one of downtown’s more esoteric drinks list, Sure there’s Sapporo and the likes but also the likes of Japanese vodka and whisky, and one of the most curious wine lists (all BC) ever. All the reds (three) and a Chard are from Kettle Valley, plus a couple of decent Pentage wines, Sauv Blanc and a rosé,,, and Synchromesh Riesling. Go figure. And some tempting cocktails. A fun spot.
Nightingale – 1017 W. Hastings St.
Laid back, west-coast bistro fare from star chef David Hawksworth. Eclectic menu, great attention to detail, seasonally sourced local ingredients. including some of the city’s best pizza. The room has a great buzz. Also worth a stop, the delightful downstairs bar that evokes the memory of the old University Club.
Top tier French and strong French lists! … In anticipation of VIWF 2026 (France theme)
Tableau Bar Bistro – 1181 Melville near Bute (three blocks from VTCC West)
Definitely a tad under the radar, Tableau serves some of the best authentic French Bistro food in the city. Even if you’re not that hungry, don’t miss the showstopper mushrooms on toast. Go also for French onion soup and stay for the coq au vin or steak frites (wicked peppercorn NY striploin). There’s a pretty stellar (mainly) French wine list, too, all in a very classic bistro setting. A favourite spot of several wine importers, no surprise.
Five Sails – Pan Pacific upper lobby
Chef and Glowbal Culinary Director Alex Kim just scooped gold at the Canadian Culinary Championship in Ottawa, beating out elite teams from across Canada. After a couple of recent visits and further to Kim’s win it’s apparent to me that Glowbal Group has done an impressive job bringing this room back to its former glory. Not to mention one of the city’s more serious cellars.
West coast French fare with serious panache and some great wines to match. BTW, until March 19th, you can taste the winning menu in its entirety as Five Sails is offering it (with wine pairings), as well as Kim’s entry for the surprise Black Box dish. Seriously good service levels. Great sommelier team and more…
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