Travel
Canada: foodie trip to Vancouver
by Christine Faughlin
Christine Faughlin discovers a vibrant food scene in the buzzy neighbourhoods of one of Canada’s prettiest cities.
Where is it?
I’m staying at The DOUGLAS, a boutique hotel in Downtown Vancouver, which is an excellent departure point for exploring the city’s foodie neighbourhoods.
What’s the accommodation like?
Vancouver is a modern city surrounded by nature, and the hotel’s design reflects this. Take the reception desk, which is more public art piece than practical check-in counter, with a hollowed-out Douglas fir trunk lit from within and encased in glass. The rooms are understated yet luxurious – there’s even a Yeti Cooler should you want to enjoy your foodie haul in the nearby forest.
What did you eat and drink?
There are plenty of talented new chefs working culinary magic in kitchens, food trucks and markets stalls across Vancouver, but it’s worth seeking out some of the city’s food pioneers.
Visit Tojo’s where chef Hidekazu Tojo has been serving sushi since the 70s – he’s credited with inventing the Californian roll, hiding the seaweed on the inside to get locals not keen on eating raw fish and seaweed to try sushi. Make a booking at the counter for omakase, which loosely means ‘chef, I’m in your hands’. You won’t know what you’re getting before you get it, but you will be blown away.
Another institution is Indian fine-dining stalwart Vij’s where charismatic chef and owner Vikram Vij buzzes around the dining room, dropping stories about celeb diners and checking every guest is happy. They all are of course, as the food exceptional.
For excellent Italian food, head to Commercial Drive, home to ‘Little Italy’ where modern pasta places (try LIVIA Forno e Vino) jostle for space with old-school delis (try La Grotta Del Formaggio, which sells panini the size of records).
If you’re dining closer to the hotel, don’t skip adjoining restaurant The Victor – the sushi is world class, the grill a celebration of rare cuts of meat, and the sides and desserts are as attention-worthy as the mains.
What is there to do?
Explore the different food offerings of each neighbourhood – Mount Pleasant has streets lined with Michelin-recommended restaurants, Granville Island is home to the famous food market, and Kitsilano is packed with cool coffee shops. And, as Vancouver is an outdoorsy city, it would be remiss not to spend a day in nature. Beautiful Stanley Park is the perfect spot to take an indigenous ‘Talking Trees’ tour with Talaysay Tours to learn all about the native plants First Nations people used for food and medicines.
What do I need to pack?
An umbrella! Vancouver’s temperate rainforest location means there’s plenty of rain.
Lasting memory
On the last day, we squeezed in a walking tour of Chinatown with the legendary guide Robert Sung. We started at the Chinese gardens before walking talking and tasting our way through Chinatown. There was a sobering stop at the Chinese Canadian Museum, which tells the stories, histories and contributions of Chinese Canadians and it all ended with a traditional tea tasting ceremony at The Chinese Tea Shop.
Sainsbury’s magazine insider tip
Load up your Uber account before you leave the UK! This was the quickest, easiest and most affordable way to zip to all the neighbourhoods from our hotel base. We found that CAD$300 was more than enough to get our group to and from the airport and around town for the five days we were there.
How to book
Rooms at the DOUGLAS start at CAD$411 (approximately £230) plus tax per night (excluding breakfast). Purely Travel offers city breaks to Vancouver from £999 per person, including flights. For more info on Vancouver, visit Destination Vancouver
