Dine Out Vancouver Festival (Jan 14th – 31st) is at 20 years and counting! It’s a milestone well worth celebrating. No question, Dine Out Vancouver has transformed the city’s dining landscape in myriad ways.
In 2002 Tourism Vancouver (now Destination Vancouver) launched the first Dine Out Vancouver. Just 57 restaurants took part. (This year there are some 330.)
The idea was to do something to alleviate the plight of the post-holiday dining scene. Diners worried about looming tax time stayed home. And tourists were nowhere to be found. At the time it was common for kitchen workers and servers to be let go in droves. The holiday season’s extra costs added up so there were hefty bills to be paid. And cash flow slowed to a trickle.
Gurkha Himalayan Kitchen, a $29 deal!
The excitement that greeted the first Dine Out Vancouver was palpable. Not only were there deals unseen before, the notion of set menus wasn’t that widespread. Prix fixe was almost the sole domain of French restaurants. In fact most didn’t take part in the earlier festivals as they ran prix fixe menus year round. That first year Dine Out offered three course menus at $15, $20 and $30. Today’s menus span four price ranges: $20-$29, $30-$39, $40-$49, or $50-$59. There’s also more flexibility as restaurants may offer tailor-made promotions.
Over the years Dine Out has grown to include a cornucopia of special events and even a summer edition.
6 Great Reasons to Dine Out Vancouver:
1. Go on, spoil yourself!
It’s been a rough couple of years. All the more reason for just a little bit of fun and tasteful pampering. The great thing about Dine Out Vancouver is that there really is something for everyone. Menus span the spectrum, with deals to be had at every level. Want a splurge? Go here. Feeling the pinch? Check out lunchtime offerings, which often allow you to linger. The Dine Out search tool is a wonderful thing. You can narrow down your choices in multiple ways. Filter by everything from budget to cuisine, neighbourhood and more. Or, for an added splurge, consider treating yourself to a night in a downtown—with a $50 Mastercard GC for each night booked.
2. Revisit old favourites
This is a city not renowned for restaurant longevity. Yet many of those original players are still very much alive and kicking. Among those taking part in this year’s festival are: Bacchus at the Wedgwood, Dockside, Hart House, Joe Fortes, Provence and Showcase. Also still here is Hervé Martin, who now owns Main Street’s The French Table. It was the successor to his long running l’Hermitage, on Robson.
Hervé Martin of The French Table
Martin reiterates the importance of the festival from a business standpoint. “Dine out Vancouver means a lot to me. Especially at this time of year when it can increase your cash flow, when the post holiday bills have to be paid. Plus it brings in a lot of new clients. And we always see a percentage coming back, so it’s good for both the moment and for the long term.”
When it comes to folks returning Hervé knows what he’s talking about. He reckons he’s made some 78,000 jars of jam over the years, as gifts for appreciative regulars. As it turns out, the respect is mutual. When Covid-19 shut down in-house dining many clients added sizeable sums to take-out payments.
3. Do good in the ‘hood
Restaurants are vital to the fabric of a healthy community. It’s called the multiplier effect. When you dine out, for every $10 that you spend, almost half of that ($4.60) goes back into the community. The more a dollar circulates the more income it creates. Whether it goes towards BC suppliers or workers’ wages your Dine Out dollar is the gift that keeps on giving.
4. Take Out: Dine In
Alimentaria Mexicana
Uncertain about dining out in the era of Omicron? This year even more restaurants are offering their Dine Out menus to go. It’s a great way to discover newcomers, as I found out when we ordered from Alementaria Mexicana. They opened last July in the spot vacated by Edible Canada, at the heart of Granville Island. All I had to do was place the order and show up at the agreed time. Everything was ready, all nicely packaged with each item clearly indicated.
This is wickedly good Mexican food. It’s definitely a cut above your typical Tex-Mex or Cal-Mex styles often encountered. Alimentaria’s Dine Out menu showcases their authentic cuisine and ingredients.
Everything tasted extremely fresh, which made it hard to choose favourites. We can’t wait to taste again. Our dishes included beet ceviche tostada, cold wild salmon tostada and the birria tacos. The ingredients were fresh and flavours vibrant.
Alimentaria Mexicana house-made Tortillas
We’re primed to try the real thing in house, which looks quite dazzling. Judging by the pics above, the restaurant’s plating is far better than my amateur hour effort. As for our drink pairing, it was more hop than vitis. Although Hester Creek Late Harvest Pinot Blanc 2019 was a shoo-in with with guava sugared buñuelo .
5. BC VQA Wine time
Speaking of things ‘vitis,’ BC Wine Growers have been a major Dine Out Vancouver partner for many years. A little known fact, well before Dine Out the BCWI used to organise food and wine pairing festivals. The idea was to get consumers used to the idea, back in a time when, for many, it was still intimidating. One featured dishes around town of salmon paired with BC VQA Pinot Blanc—’A Marriage Made in BC.’
BC VQA Stag’s Hollow Rosé with Cranberry Stuffed Chicken – photo Viranlly Liemena
There’s good reason to order wine with your meal. (In addition to the fact that it tastes better!) Better restaurants go the trouble of suggesting specific BC VQA wines to match each menu item. Also, when you order wine chances are it will come in the right type of stemware for that variety.
Moreover, one bright spot from the pandemic, liquor laws have changed. Now you may order a bottle to go with your take-out meal. Yes, indeed, Hell did freeze over.
Buy tix. Win Big…
An organisation close to my heart, BC Hospitality Foundation is Dine Out’s charitable partner. BCHF helps hospitality workers in need of assistance, especially when facing health challenges. The non-profit foundation receives no government support. It raises all its funds from industry and the public.
This year’s Dine Out Vancouver lottery offers a bonanza of amazing prizes. They include some superb luxury hotel escapes with dinners to match. Plus there’s a chance to win a gift card to a different restaurant each month for a year.
Tickets (1 for $5, 3 for $10, 8 for $20 or 25 for $50) are available online.
There’s plenty more, of course, from special events to Street Food City X. Find it all—and make your reservations—here!
I so enjoy your very informative posts. I was not aware of the Dine Out lottery, what a worthy cause! Thank you!
Thanks for reading, Judy, much appreciated. Good luck with the lottery! T