Updated May 25th, 2020:

From Bodega on Main…

“We are so excited to get back to serving you a taste of Spain in our dining room! As of Friday, May 22nd, we will resume dine-in service.

“As we adjust to the “new normal”, our team has been working hard to make the necessary changes for the health and safety of our guests and our people. We have made social distancing possible throughout the restaurant, and we have enhanced cleaning protocols in place to sanitize all surfaces after each use.

“To start, we will be opening at 3.30pm daily, to welcome groups of 6 or less, as per current guidelines.  Reservations are recommended.  Please note, that at this time, we can only reserve 1.5 hour dining times and reservations may be seated upstairs or downstairs, depending on availability.

“We will continue to have both delivery and pick up options available, and will be moving our takeout area to our lower lounge, just through the downstairs entrance on Main Street. This will help to further reduce traffic flow and better promote physical distancing in the restaurant at all times.

Thank you for your patience as we all adjust to these changes! We can’t wait to see you soon! Hasta pronto!

***

(Original post)

Some restaurants just strike a chord. That’s very much the case with Bodega on Main, which has recently arrived almost right beside Campagnolo. I’ll admit that I went to check it out with a mix of trepidation and curiosity. After all, the original La Bodega was the first restaurant I went to in Vancouver. And that was a few years ago.

In those days I was “fresh off the boat” from Montréal. I was desperately homesick for my adopted home town back east. And very much missing my Quebec friends. Vancouver seemed cold and unwelcoming.

La Bodega was (not even) a block away from my hotel. (That building is now also about to be transformed into a condo tower…) I was staying in the hotel waiting for my things to arrive from Montreal, so I could move into an apartment, all but impossible to find in zero vacancy Vancouver.

One of the many things that I couldn’t understand about Vancouver was why the sidewalks rolled up at a ridiculously early hour. And the bars closed—unless you knew where to go. Luckily, I bumped into a bunch of friendly types at the hotel lounge (including everyone from high riggers in town for a few days to car salesmen from West Broadway). And they did know: La Bodega.

 

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Bodega on Main: in a heritage setting and already bustling

Bodega on Main: in an impressive, heritage setting; and already bustling

Here’s what I wrote in the Vancouver Courier …

There’s something reassuring about restaurants that endure the passage of time — and, at least in Vancouver’s case, the rigours of development. Such is the case at Bodega on Main, the reincarnation of La Bodega, which earlier this year shuttered the Hornby Street premises it had occupied for close to 45 years.

La Bodega was a Spanish outpost on the West Coast, a haven for homesick Spaniards who would meet for tapas, conversation and, of course, to witness epic football encounters between Barça and Réal. Later came the Chateau Madrid, Vancouver’s sole Spanish formal room, though it yielded in time to tapas and informality.

The “new” Bodega (dutifully shorn of its definite article in current vogue) has a strong connection to the old in Paul Rivas, son of Francisco Rivas, who co-founded La Bodega with his friend José Rivas, in 1971.

Lovers of the original will find plenty to cheer about in the new space. Bodega on Main (1014 Main St., 604-565-8815) already benefits from its impressively restored heritage surroundings, with soaring ceilings and plans for a private party room downstairs in what used to be an old pool hall.  

There’s also no shortage of familiar faces among the staff, as many stayed on to work in the new restaurant. In fact, if the room feels similar, it’s likely because many of the furnishings were saved from demolition, including the giant, dark oak bar and backdrop, still the heart of the room, and even the washroom doors.

The original La Bodega hailed from a time when actual Spanish tapas were very much a novelty. Happily, they’re still the backbone of the menu here, with a wealth of old favourites reintroduced, including spicy chorizo a la Parrilla, albongigas, gambas al ajillo (garlic prawns), gazpacho and calamares fritos.

Wines are dutifully Spanish — and well-priced — such as the quaffable Segura Viudas Cava, $30 a bottle, or $7 glass. Do some digging and you’ll even find a worthy Torres brandy to finish things up, also $7.

Even though it had only been open a few days the night I visited, the place was packed, including more than a few regulars from the old location. All of which goes to show that despite the inevitable pace of change, there’s still plenty room for tradition done right. Salud!

Belly’s Budget Best
• Domaine Gayda Grenache 2013

Easy-drinking Languedoc red invites with peppery and red berried notes before a gently spicy and plush palate with a good close. Look for the Flying “Free Spirit” label. Value priced at BCLS, $12.99, through October. 89 pts.