Vancouver’s downtown is a food haven, offering a diverse range of flavours to tantalize your taste buds from flavors found from around the world. Whether you’re craving top-notch steaks, award-winning seafood menus, authentic Middle Eastern-inspired dishes and classic Italian fare served in an awe-inspiring dining room, there’s something for everyone in Vancouver. From romantic date night destinations to lively brunch joints, cool bars for a fun night out and celebration-worthy dining destinations, the best restaurants in downtown Vancouver await.
No matter what you and your guests are craving, Vancouver’s downtown culinary scene has something to offer everyone. So, embark on a culinary journey and discover your new favourite restaurant.
Explore the best restaurants in Vancouver right now, all bookable on OpenTable today.
Keep reading to dig into 10 of the best restaurants in downtown Vancouver
For the best restaurants with a view in Vancouver – visit Top of Vancouver Revolving Restaurant
Sitting 167 meters over the city of Vancouver, Top of Vancouver Revolving Restaurant is as much an awe-inspiring view as it is a delectable dining experience. With a dining room that spins slowly throughout your stay, enjoy 360 windows in an upscale dining room that has plenty of room for you and all your guests. It’s no wonder then that it’s earned its spot as one of the best restaurants in downtown Vancouver. Feast of favourites that include stuffed salmon filled with wild Argentine prawns and crab meat. Grilled whole Atlantic lobster with jumbo tiger prawns, the 7oz filet mignon and green salad with grape tomatoes, cranberries and sunflower seeds are other big favourites to choose from.
For one of the best downtown restaurants in Vancouver for groups – visit Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ – Vancouver, BC | Nelson Square
Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ – Vancouver, BC | Nelson Square is the perfect dining experience for friends, family or colleagues looking to mingle and enjoy freshly grilled BBQ. Dine in a traditional Japanese yakiniku or grilled barbecue dining room where each table comes equipped with its own smokeless grill. Choose from any of your favourite proteins, from chicken, pork, beef and seafood, or any of Gyu-Kaku’s vegetable choices. There are also plenty of side dishes such as fried pork gyoza dumplings, Japanese chicken karaage, and takoyaki to choose from to amp up your meal plate.
For a fancy dining experience – head over to Hy’s Steakhouse Vancouver
Hy’s Steakhouse Vancouver is an opulent affair with a wooden interior decorated with classical paintings, velvet dining chairs and romantic lighting perfect for those fancy nights out, making it one of Vancouver’s best downtown restaurants. Start with a classic Caesar salad made fresh at your table, and savour the decadent oysters Rockefeller baked with spinach and hollandaise sauce, before digging into any of Hy’s prime steaks. With each steak aged a minimum of 28 days and grilled to order, enjoy a New York strip, or bone-in rib steak and more, served with your choice of baked potato, fries or mashed potatoes. Pasta and seafood options are also available, including the packed seafood platter with Atlantic lobster tail, jumbo prawns, oysters, smoked trout, ceviche and Atlantic salmon.
For a romantic date night- visit Acquafarina
Acquafarina has earned its spot as one of the best restaurants in downtown Vancouver with its old-world charm and dedication to excellence. This MICHELIN Guide-recommended restaurant welcomes guests to dine in a captivating golden dining room with pops of colour and high ceilings, a copper bar, a 5,000-bottle wine cellar, and an all-season heated and covered terrace. An intimate dining room for large groups is also available to book. Traditional Italian flavours guide Acquafarina’s menu, boasting favourites such as polenta fritta, and a host of pasta options such as frutti di mare with saffron risotto and spicy vodka conchiglie. Delicious wood-burning ovens bake pizza like the burrata & pesto rosso and the fabri fabri with roasted pears and caramelized pecans.
For one of the best steakhouses in Vancouver – book a table at Gotham Steakhouse and Bar
Gotham Steakhouse and Bar’s dining room oozes elegance with high-ceilings, warm mahogany wood accents and leather and velvet seating, allowing you to dine in style as you feast on premium steaks. Appetizers include local organic sturgeon caviar and oysters fontina baked with spinach, bacon and fontina cheese. Mains include numerous Premium Grade beef and fresh seafood, from A5 wagyu striploin, Kobe, Japan, to dry-aged bone-in rib steak to market price fish selections and a classic steak & lobster. Gotham’s award-winning wine menu is made to pair perfectly with your steak selection, as you wine and dine while enjoying live music by the grand piano.
For birthday celebrations at one of the best restaurants in Vancouver – visit The Keg Steakhouse + Bar in Alberni and Dunsmuir
The Keg Steakhouse + Bar – Alberni and The Keg Steakhouse + Bar – Dunsmuir offers two convenient locations in the heart of downtown Vancouver, making both locations the best restaurants in downtown Vancouver. The Alberni location is inside the fabulous Shangri-La Hotel and has four patios including a rooftop patio, separate buildings for the dining room and lounge and a private dining room for up to 120 guests. Meanwhile, the Dunsmuir location is found in the entertainment district and houses a dining room, lounge bar and private and semi-private rooms. All locations carry The Keg’s signature sleek modern design, with dark wood accents and moody lighting. Revel in The Keg’s finest cuts of steak including prime rib, teriyaki sirloin, the bacon-wrapped blue cheese filet and more served with your choice of seasonal vegetables and fries, various potato options, mushroom fries or cauliflower mash.
📍 Alberni — Check availability
📍 Dunsmuir — Check availability
For one of the best Japanese restaurants in downtown Vancouver – visit Kobe Japanese Steak House
Kobe Japanese Steak House delivers teppanyaki-hibachi style cooking and promises a party to be had at every table, making it one of the best restaurants in downtown Vancouver. Decorated with traditional Japanese art and shoji doors, you may forget you’re in Vancouver at all. Each meal is prepared tableside by a dedicated chef, and all dinners include teppan shrimp, shabu shabu soup, garden fresh vegetables, rice and Japanese green tea. Next choose from a number of combo options, from the steak & tiger prawn combo, steak and lobster combo or the Godzilla with wagyu beef from Miyazaki prefecture.
For rooftop dining and drinking – check out Lavantine Restaurant & Skybar
Lavantine Restaurant & Skybar offers guests the only garden-like rooftop in the city, with an all-white interior, blue accents, comfy couches, floor to ceiling windows, roof light, and plenty of greenery make you feel like you’re sitting on a cloud in the sky. All of this makes Lavantine Restaurant and Skybar one of the best restaurants in downtown Vancouver. Blending traditional Levantine ingredients with modern food trends, guests are invited to savour remixed favourites in dishes such as the Lavantine salad with crispy chickpea, figs, roasted garlic vinaigrette and pomegranate. Fire-roasted dishes include fire roasted chicken wings with labneh and masala, and amb Aleppo kebab with pine nuts, cilantro and red pepper. For the table, enjoy a whole branzino served with smoked pepper and lemon. Signature cocktail creations are inspired by 1001 Nights, and include the desert dreams with pinot grigio, gin, and a variety of fruits, and the seven voyages with gin, olive, salt, ale foam and citrus.
For top seafood dishes at one of the best restaurants in downtown Vancouver – check out Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar
Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar, one of Vancouver’s best downtown restaurants, is an award-winning and MICHELIN Guide-recommended fine dining establishment that’s the culinary vision of chefs Roger Ma and Alex Chen. Reflecting the refined yet subtle attitude of the West Coast, Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar is tastefully decorated with playful, floral decor, important Italian marble, plenty of half-circle booths for large groups and a seated oyster bar. Focusing on providing Ocean Wise seafood selections, including the popular seafood tower, fresh oysters served with a Thai chilli espuma, a caviar service, and plenty of main course options. Top your meal off with signature cocktails that include the ten pau no.2 with haku vodka, lychee, lemon and sparking rose and the 4 on the floor with tequila, licor 43, absinthe, citrus cordial, and vanilla and pineapple foam. Private dining is available for events and large groups, with multiple event spaces to choose from.
For one of the best Asian restaurants in Vancouver – check out Eat Bar & Patio Haraheri
Eat Bar & Patio Haraheri is a Japanese izakaya that offers you and your guests an authentic Japanese dining experience, offering low dining tables and mats, with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the patio, adorned with greenery and additional seating options for those breathtaking Vancouver summers. Enjoy Japanese fusion tapas like edamame peperoncino pan-fried in chili oil, nasu agebitashior deep-fried and soaked eggplant and mekyabetsu, deep-fried Brussels sprouts. Cold dishes include tuna tataki tuna sashimi dressed in a ponzu sauce, while warm dishes include ebi mayo prawn tempura served with cilantro pesto and sriracha mayo. Enjoy refreshing beers, an extensive sake list and signature cocktails for the perfect night out.
For an afternoon tea experience at one of the best downtown restaurants in Vancouver – head over to Afternoon Tea – Fairmont Hotel Vancouver
The Afternoon Tea – Fairmont Hotel Vancouver in Notch8 is a Vancouver mainstay that has become an art form that few can follow. Offering menus that change with the seasons, enjoy freshly brewed teas and exquisite pastries in elegantly decorated rooms that reflect the menu’s current theme with lounge seating perfect for a large group of friends. Savoury favourites include sandwiches like serrano ham reserva with a coffee aioli, or vegetarian-friendly kabucha squash tartlet with vadouvan and saffron apple puree. Choose from pastries salted caramel apple pie bar with birch streusel or gingerbread thumbprint cookie with a dulce de leche crémeux perfect for any sweet tooth. While tea is the name of the game, with tasty offerings such as the lavender earl grey and organic goddess oolong, there are also plenty of bubbly and cocktail options for a truly memorable afternoon tea.
For the most memorable romantic date night at one of the best downtown restaurants in Vancouver – book a table at Notch8
Notch8, located in Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, promises to bring the romance and glamour of the 1930s to a modern palate. With an art deco interior with dramatic chandeliers, intricate geometric designs and splashes of colour, find yourself whisked away to a bygone era. All of this has helped Notch8 take its spot as one of Vancouver’s best downtown restaurants. Executive chef Kay Noh’s menu combines the best regional fare and new favourites, from the favourite French onion soup with twice baked croissant croutons, char siu sablefish with celeriac risotto and many more. Dessert includes the popular OMG chocolate cake with a cassis gel. The drink menu gives you a taste of popular cocktails both before and after prohibition, including the gin-infused pre-prohibition lavender corpse reviver. A special brunch is available every weekend from 11:15 am to 2:15 pm with Canadian favourites and your choice of bellini, bimosa or caesar. And during November, a three-course American Thanksgiving Dinner is also available to book for those celebrating.
Vancouver’s downtown offers tantalizing flavours from around the world sure to satisfy any craving. And with stunning rooftop bars, all-season outdoor terraces, and 360 panoramic views of the city you may find more than you bargained for. Dine in style in any of the luxurious restaurants mentioned in this guide and book ASAP.
Book your next spot at the best restaurants in downtown Vancouver today on OpenTable.
Explore the following Vancouver restaurant guides to discover your new favourite restaurant:
- 10 of the best bars in Vancouver for a cool night out
- The best steakhouses in Vancouver for a meat feast to remember
- The 10 best restaurants with a view in Vancouver for a lively meal out
- The 10 best date restaurants in Vancouver for a romantic meal
- Start your day at one of these 10 best brunch restaurants in Vancouver
- The 10 best seafood restaurants in Vancouver to try right now
- The best restaurants in Vancouver
- The 10 best family restaurants in Vancouver
- 10 of the best restaurants in North Vancouver to try ASAP
