Food History of Vancouver

Key eras

1. Before settlement, Coast Salish food

   The Musqueam have lived around the mouth of the Fraser River, in the Point Grey area, for at least 4,000 years, and the Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh are the other nations of this territory. Salmon was typically the staple of the Coast Salish diet, supplemented by a rich variety of other seafoods and forage.

2. 1880s to 1900, Chinese settlers and Chinatown

   Chinese workers built the Canadian Pacific Railway, and the Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 then levied a head tax of $50 on Chinese immigrants alone. Vancouver's Chinatown, centred on Pender Street, grew from these settlers and is today Canada's largest Chinatown.

3. To 1942, Japantown on Powell Street

   Japanese immigrants were drawn to the Powell Street area (Nihonmachi) as waterfront industries grew up around the Hastings Mill. In 1942 the federal government forced Japanese Canadians off the West Coast to internment camps, and they were not allowed to return to the coast until 1949.

4. 1945 to 1970, Italian and Punjabi neighbourhoods

   After World War II many Italian immigrants settled in eastern Vancouver, and the northern part of Commercial Drive became known as Little Italy. South Asian, mostly Punjabi Sikh, immigrants settled around 49th Avenue and Main Street from the 1950s, and the first Punjabi Market shop opened in 1970.

5. 1979, Granville Island Public Market

   In 1979 the federal and provincial governments converted a 50,000 square foot building on Granville Island into the Public Market, a place where farmers and other food vendors could sell to consumers. It sells fresh produce, meat, fish and seafood, cheeses and other products, many locally sourced.

   Taste it todayGranville Island Public Market

6. 1986 to 2011, from Expo 86 to Vij's and Japadog

   Yaletown, once dominated by warehouses and rail yards, was transformed after the 1986 World's Fair. Tojo's opened in October 1988, Vij's in 1994 and Japadog in 2005, followed by Miku in 2008, which specialized in aburi sushi, and Hawksworth in 2011 in the Rosewood Hotel Georgia.

   Taste it todayJapadogVij'sJapadogTojo'sMiku

7. 2022 onward, the Michelin Guide

   The first Michelin Guide Vancouver, announced on 28 October 2022, gave one star to eight restaurants, among them AnnaLena, Burdock & Co, Kissa Tanto, Masayoshi, Published on Main and St. Lawrence. Sushi Masuda was starred in 2024, and AnnaLena became the city's first two-star restaurant in 2026.

   Taste it todayAnnaLenaBurdock & CoKissa TantoMasayoshi

Immigrant influences

Chinese

Chinatown, centred on Pender Street, is Canada's largest. About half of Richmond's residents have Chinese ancestry, and its Golden Village malls line No. 3 Road.

Japanese Canadian

The Powell Street area was the heart of the pre-war Japanese community. Hidekazu Tojo arrived in 1971 and opened Tojo's in 1988, and Noriki Tamura started Japadog in 2005.

Taste it todayTojo'sJapadog

South Asian (Punjabi)

Punjabi Sikh immigrants settled around 49th Avenue and Main Street from the 1950s, and the Punjabi Market runs on Main between 48th and 51st Avenues.

Italian

Many Italian immigrants settled in eastern Vancouver after World War II, and the northern part of Commercial Drive became Little Italy, home to the Italian Days festival.

Vietnamese and Cambodian

Phnom Penh has served Vietnamese and Cambodian dishes since 1985, and Anh and Chi's parents ran a restaurant on its Main Street site for more than thirty years.

Taste it todayPhnom PenhAnh and Chi

Signature innovations

• BC roll, created by Hidekazu Tojo in 1974 with salmon skin in place of anago
  Taste it todayBC rollTojo's
• California roll, a creation Tojo claims, though its origin is disputed
  Taste it todayTojo's
• Aburi (flame-seared) sushi, the specialty of Miku since 2008
  Taste it todayMiku
• Vij's lamb popsicles, a signature dish at Vij's, opened in 1994
  Taste it todayVij's lamb popsiclesVij's
• Japadog's Japanese-style hot dogs, sold from a Burrard Street stand since 2005
  Taste it todayJapadogJapadog