Vancouver has excellent cuisine from just about any country you can imagine (except Mexican...you have to go south of the border for that). If you're willing to spend a little money, you can have something incredible. Most highly recommended is anything Japanese food or seafood.

Remember that all restaurants add 6% GST (general sales tax) and you are expected to add a 10-20% gratuity depending on service (average is 15%). For large parties, some restaurants will add the gratuity directly into the bill. When we recommend getting to a restaurant early, we mean getting there between 17:30 and 18:00 to avoid line-ups.

High end

When money's no obstacle (or someone else is paying), try some of these places.

Cioppino's, Yaletown
Very very good and expensive

Cioppino's Enoteca
Less expensive than Cioppino's itself, also very good

Bacchus at Wedgewood
Very very good, and expensive, 5 blocks from the hotel

Vij's
Indian food for intellectuals. There can be line-ups, so get here early or come late. Not in downtown, but not hard to get to

Stone Grill
What can I say? Steak, meat, and fish. It's pricey, but it's great.

Tojo
Widely regarded as the city's best suhsi restaurant (and Vancouver is widely regarded as having the best sushi outside of Japan).

Rare Restaurant
Someone told me that this was a good place. Oh yeah...it was the owner, and he has to know something. Well, the place is new and has good reviews. Let me know what you think of the place if you try it.

West Restaurant
Located in the South Granville district, great food. Martinis are made with fresh, pressed-to-order juices and their award winning wine selection is housed in a magnificent wall of wine, temperature controlled, complete with sliding library ladders providing an alluring backdrop to the gleaming cherry wood bar.

Mid-range

When you want something classy, but you still want to afford tomorrow's breakfast.

The Sandbar
High quality seafood with excellent views. On historic Granville Island. (Reservations accepted)

Bridges
More high quality seafood with excellent views. Also on historic Granville Island. Which to choose? Don't know. They're both so good. (Reservations accepted)

Banana Leaf
Excellent Malaysian food. Most of the dishes are fish based. There are three locations. One of them is downtown.

The Keg Steakhouse & Bar
Your standard steakhouse. It's a chain, but it's a good chain.

Gyoza King
Excellent gyoza (Japanese style fried dumplings). Caution. This is a small restarurant and if you don't get here early, there are line-ups.

Guu with Otokomae
Authentic Isakaya style Japanese food. This is the third (and best Guu). For those of you who don't know Japanese, Otokomae means a handsome man. Maybe you can figure out why. This place is fun and hip.

Cloud 9
Revolving rooftop restaurant on Robson St (the shopping district). Views are excellent, but the food isn't. Go for the drinks.

Cheap Eats

Don't let the price fool you. All of these places have extremely good food.

Sushi Aoki
Outside of downtown in Kitsilano. Best bang for your buck sushi in Vancouver. Has the best avocado roles around.

Samurai Sushi
Also great sushi for a great price. This one is a little closer to the conference hotel.

Market Place IGA
Really just a grocery store, but they have a salad bar and a deli where you can get some good cheap food.

Stepho's
This casual Greek restaurant is the most popular in Vancouver. Come for an early dinner or go for lunch. Otherwise, you are going to be waiting in a long line for a table.

The Foundation
Vancouver's best vegetarian food (and Vancouver is a town full of hippies, so that's saying a lot). Imaginative dishes with a socialist flare. This one is a bit farther from downtown, but it's worth the distance. Warning: service is slow and line-ups can happen.

Pubs and Bars

Vancouver is not known for its lively pub and bar scene, but for those of you looking for a few good beers, here are some nearby suggestions.

SteamWorks
A brew-pub in the historic Gasworks district

Yaletown Brewery
Another brew-pub. This one is in trendy Yaletown.

Irish Heather
This gastropub has garnered many accolades for its service, food, alcohol & ambiance.

Additional Information

Disclaimer: this page represents one person's very biased selection of restaurants that are either very good or very close to the conference hotel. There are plenty more to choose from, but there's only room to put so many. You can send any rants or raves to the webmaster (not that I'm likely to do anything about it).

Don't just take my word for it.

Edited by the AOSD Conference Committee. Send comments to: webmaster

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