Main Street between Broadway and 33rd is Vancouver's craft beer and modern-casual strip. Burdock & Co, Anh and Chi, Sushi Hil, Brassneck and 33 Acres anchor the neighbourhood food line.
Burdock & Co on Main Street since 2013 is chef Andrea Carlson's foraged-and-fermented kitchen, Michelin-starred in the 2022 BC guide, EnRoute Best New 2014.
Signature: Foraged plates, Tasting menu, BC mushroom dishes
Order: The chef's tasting menu with chef Andrea Carlson's foraged BC plates.
Tip: Reservations on Tock open 30 days out; tasting menu sittings book first.
Published on Main from 2020 is chef Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson's wood-fire tasting room on Main, Canada's Best Restaurant 2022 and Michelin-starred 2022.
Signature: Tasting menu, BC sea urchin, Wood-fire plates
Order: The tasting menu; chef Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson sets the seasonal pace.
Tip: Tock reservations open 30 days out and book within hours; the chef's counter takes a separate higher-priced menu.
Anh and Chi on Main Street is the sibling-run modern Vietnamese kitchen since 2016, Michelin Bib Gourmand 2022, Vancouver's reference banh xeo and pho.
Signature: Banh xeo crepe, Bun cha Hanoi, Pho bo dac biet
Order: Banh xeo with the family-style sharing platter; siblings Amelie and Vincent Le run the room.
Tip: No reservations; walk-in line for dinner from 17:00. Weekday lunch is the easier seat.
Savio Volpe on Kingsway from chefs Mark Perrier and Paul Grunberg since 2016 is a Roman trattoria with a wood-fired grill, Michelin recommended 2022.
Signature: Wood-grilled meats, Hand-cut tonnarelli, Whole grilled trout
Order: Hand-cut tonnarelli cacio e pepe with the wood-grilled lamb chops.
Tip: Reservations on OpenTable open 30 days out; the bar walks in for grilled antipasti.
Published on Main from 2020 is chef Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson's wood-fire tasting room on Main, Canada's Best Restaurant 2022 and Michelin-starred 2022.
Burdock & Co on Main Street since 2013 is chef Andrea Carlson's foraged-and-fermented kitchen, Michelin-starred in the 2022 BC guide, EnRoute Best New 2014.
Anh and Chi on Main Street is the sibling-run modern Vietnamese kitchen since 2016, Michelin Bib Gourmand 2022, Vancouver's reference banh xeo and pho.
Signature: Banh xeo crepe, Bun cha Hanoi, Pho bo dac biet
Order: Banh xeo with the family-style sharing platter; siblings Amelie and Vincent Le run the room.
Tip: No reservations; walk-in line for dinner from 17:00. Weekday lunch is the easier seat.
Savio Volpe on Kingsway from chefs Mark Perrier and Paul Grunberg since 2016 is a Roman trattoria with a wood-fired grill, Michelin recommended 2022.
Signature: Wood-grilled meats, Hand-cut tonnarelli
Order: Hand-cut tonnarelli cacio e pepe with the wood-grilled lamb chops.
Tip: Reservations on OpenTable open 30 days out; the bar walks in for grilled antipasti.
The Acorn on Main Street since 2012 is Vancouver's reference vegetarian dining room, Canada's 100 Best top 30, the calendar Plant-Forward leader.
Signature: Beer-battered halloumi, Mushroom focaccia
Order: Beer-battered halloumi with crisp rice salad, the kitchen's longest-running menu plate.
Tip: Reservations on Tock open 30 days out; the bar walks in for halloumi and a natural-wine glass.
49th Parallel Coffee Roasters' West 4th flagship since 2004 is Vancouver's longest-running specialty roaster, plus a Lucky's Doughnuts counter on site.
Signature drink: Drip coffee, single-origin
Tip: The attached Lucky's Doughnuts pulls Persian rosewater and the daily fritter; come for breakfast then a 49th cortado.
Matchstick's Main Street roastery and cafe since 2013 is the city's design-led third-wave roaster, plus pastry from in-house bakers and a Riley patio.
Signature drink: Pour-over
Tip: The roastery cafe is the calmer seat; the original Fraserhood branch on East 15th has the laptop window.
Elysian Coffee on West Broadway since 2003 is Vancouver's reference espresso bar and a no-laptops, no-music house style that draws specialty-coffee tourists.
Signature drink: Cortado
Tip: Counter-only; conversation is louder than the music. Try the rotating guest roaster on the daily list.
Pallet Coffee Roasters on West Broadway since 2014 is a third-wave roaster and cafe, the in-house pastry program and a laptop-friendly window seat.
Signature drink: Cortado
Tip: The Hastings Sunrise branch has the dedicated work tables and the slow bar pour-over selection.
Lucky's Doughnuts inside 49th Parallel Coffee on Main Street is Vancouver's reference doughnut shop since 2009, fritters fried fresh through the morning.
Tip: Persian rosewater and the daily fritter sell out by lunch; the West 4th branch is the calmer seat.
Worth the queue: Persian rosewater doughnut
Anchor Bakery on East 28th in Riley Park is a wholesale-leaning sourdough kitchen with a small public counter since 2017, country loaves and rye the standard.
Tip: Limited public hours; pre-order through the website for Saturday pickup. The whole-wheat loaf is the better keeper.
Worth the queue: Country loaf
49th Parallel Coffee Roasters is Vancouver's longest-running specialty roaster since 2004, three city cafes plus Lucky's Doughnuts attached at each branch.
Tip: The West 4th flagship is the reference seat; the Main Street cafe has the calmer counter.
Sources from: Ethiopia, Colombia, Burundi, Guatemala
How they serve: Espresso, Filter, Pour over, Whole bean retail
Matchstick Coffee Roasters' Riley Park roastery on East 15th since 2013 is a third-wave roaster with five Vancouver cafes and an in-house bakery program.
Tip: The roastery sells beans direct from the warehouse; subscriptions ship every 2 weeks.
Sources from: Ethiopia, Colombia, Kenya, Rwanda
How they serve: Espresso, Filter, Whole bean retail, Subscription
Pallet Coffee Roasters on West Broadway since 2014 is a third-wave roaster with three Vancouver cafes, the in-house pastry program and a slow bar at each.
Tip: The Hastings Sunrise branch has the dedicated tasting flight bar and a Saturday cupping at 10:00.
Sources from: Ethiopia, Honduras, Colombia
How they serve: Espresso, Filter, Whole bean retail
Milano Coffee on West 8th since 1985 is Vancouver's Italian-Canadian roaster, the city's oldest specialty coffee bar still owner-run by Linda Vincent.
Tip: Italian-roast espresso is the house style; the West 8th branch has the larger sit-down room.
Sources from: Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia
How they serve: Espresso, Filter, Whole bean retail
Bar Susu on East 6th from Andrea Vescovi since 2022 runs a natural-wine bar and small-plates kitchen, Vancouver's reference low-intervention pour list.
Signature pour: Anjou Chenin Blanc by the glass
Wine focus: Natural French, Italian, low-intervention
Food: Modern small plates
Tip: Tock reservations open 30 days out; the bar walks in early for an aperitif and a snack.
Como Taperia on East 7th from chef Daniel Olson since 2019 is a Spanish tapas and sherry bar in the Granville Brewing District, the sherry tap a calling card.
Signature pour: Manzanilla sherry from the cask
Wine focus: Spanish wines, sherry, vermouth
Food: Tapas, pintxos, jamon
Tip: The sherry tap pulls Manzanilla and Fino direct from cask; the bar walks in for a glass and pintxo.
The Shameful Tiki Room on Main Street since 2012 is a windowless Polynesian-style tiki bar, the city's reference rum bar with no daylight inside.
Signature drink: Zombie
Food: Tiki snacks
Tip: Walk in early on weeknights; the Zombie cocktail is limited to two per person.
The Cascade Room on Main Street since 2008 is Mount Pleasant's reference late-night neighbourhood cocktail bar, the city's pioneer craft-cocktail dive room.
Signature drink: House old fashioned
Food: Pub bites, fish and chips
Tip: Walk-in only; weekends are full from 21:00. Pub kitchen runs until 23:30.
Brassneck Brewery on Main Street since 2013 is the city's reference craft brewery, brewer Conrad Gmoser's rotating taps and a small-glass tasting room.
Tip: Tasting glasses only at the bar; growlers and small-format bottles for takeaway. The cask Tuesday is the calendar.
33 Acres on West 8th in Mount Pleasant since 2013 is a design-forward brewery taproom, Vancouver's reference lifestyle-brand craft brewer plus a pizza floor.
Tip: Saturday lineups by 14:00; the lager and the wheat are the gateway beers. The 33 Cafe pours coffee in the morning.
Main Street Brewing on East 7th since 2014 is a Mount Pleasant brewery taproom in a 1908 heritage building, plus pizza, board games and Sunday brunch service.
Tip: Pints and flights; pizza kitchen takes orders through 22:00. The Sunday brunch service runs from 11:00.
The Flying Pig in Yaletown on Hamilton since 2010 runs a Sunday brunch with a Dungeness crab benedict, three Vancouver branches and a farm-to-table programme.
Order: Dungeness crab benedict with house hollandaise, the Yaletown branch's most-ordered brunch plate.
Tip: Reservations on OpenTable; Sunday brunch books two weeks out. The Olympic Village branch has the patio.
The American on Main Street is a Tokyo-style listening bar with a heritage hi-fi sound system, jazz and soul records on the vinyl, since 2019.
Tip: Walk-in only; the bar pours dealers' choice cocktails. Conversation kept quieter when the record plays.
The Cascade Room on Main Street since 2008 is the city's reference late-night neighbourhood cocktail dive, Mount Pleasant's longest-running craft-cocktail room.
Tip: Weekends are full from 21:00; the pub kitchen runs to 23:30.