4 New Must-Try Restaurants in Vancouver

From New West restaurateurs Alejandro Diaz and Sam Fabbro, modern NOX sports striking midnight blue walls and is on the ground floor of the new And-Co co-working building on West Georgia (And-Co members get exclusive access to lunch and catering). Choose from the prix fixe or à la carte menus that blend Italian traditions and the Pacific Coast’s fresh flavours. The menu features cicchetti, pasta, primi, and secundi courses; one could order duck leg confit, chile-marinated crab with egg noodles, bison tartare with sunchoke chips, and grilled albacore tuna, and then choose from traditional Italian desserts. Those with dietary needs, take note: Several items are vegan, vegetarian, or gluten-free—even some pastas.

The iconic yellow building on Granville Island’s waterfront is now part of the Tap & Barrel family, and it’s fresh off an eight-month renovation. Up to 800 people can now enjoy Tap & Barrel’s “next-level comfort food” in the two-floor building, both indoors and outdoors on the dock level patio and the newly extended (and now all-season) patio on the second floor. Maple-dijon glazed salmon, crispy Humboldt squid, burgers, hand-stretched pizzas, BC brews and wines, and more are on offer at happy hour, weekend brunch, and daily lunch and dinner. Admire the boats out on False Creek, local paintings inside, and the wall of old buoys (among other nautical touches). The Soleri Room is available for a private meal for up to 12 people (optional: your fave HD sports channel on the flat screen). Take-out is also on offer. Keep your eye out for new menu items, as Bridges is now Tap & Barrel’s test kitchen, too.

New to OpenTable is the Gastown location of Kozak Ukrainian Restaurant, a more sophisticated version of its casual East Van and New West locations. Befitting the restaurant’s roots—Irina Karpenko and Sergiy Kuznietsov started out selling sourdoughs at farmers’ markets—stellar baked goods made with local grains feature prominently on chef Alex Orlenko’s menus. From Lavka, the bakery and coffee shop at Kozak’s entrance, you can take home treats including the coveted chocolate babka plus prepared meals such as rolled crepes Nalysnyky with sweet cottage cheese or a filling of chicken and mushroom. Choose from traditional (seven types of handmade varenyky, aka pierogies, and two kinds of deruny, aka latkes) or more modern (duck confit and chicken Kyiv). Keep an eye out for men

Expanding from Calgary and Edmonton, Vancouver now has its own GRETA. From mid-afternoon till the wee hours, load credits on an RFID card to play vintage and new arcade games while you snack on international street foods and sip beer, wine, and expertly crafted cocktails. Some nights, you can even dance to a DJ. Chef Tomoki Yamasaki uses locally sourced and never-frozen ingredients for his dishes, such as a Wagyu or vegetarian smash burger, Korean and Vietnamese wings, Baja fish tacos, and proper chip truck fries. Groups of eight to ten can pre-order sharing platters of DIY lettuce wraps stuffed with slow-roasted Berkshire pork shoulder or bao buns with red braised beef shank. Weekly discounted specials include Wednesdays’ all-day happy hour, Olé Thursdays, and ReGreta Sundays catering to Vancouver’s hospitality workers.