Restaurants

25 Meals Under $25

By The Editors published Sep 1, 2009

Nook

781 Denman St., 604-568-4554. Nookrestaurant.ca
There are many things to love about Nook, a slim, neighbourly room on the Denman strip between Robson and Georgia. The salads are properly dressed, and the crostini are fresh and inventive, but it’s the puffy Neapolitan-style pizza ($13-$15), artfully blistered by the glitzy Woodstone gas oven and minimally topped with ingredients like basil and fresh mozzarella or prosciutto, arugula, and roasted garlic, that make it the perfect midweek stop. Grab a stool at the bar, chat up the handsome and worldly waitstaff, and sip a glass of prosecco ($8)—la dolce vita.

Nuba

207 W. Hastings, 604-688-1655. Nuba.ca
Since February, the space beneath the Dominion Building—previously home to the Mouse and Bean—has been a packed Lebanese resto popular with hungry young’uns and the odd intrepid suit. Nuba (named for a kind of Andalusian classical music) is all tiled walls, hanging brass lamps, and cool tones—a pretty, sedate background for the fiery West Asian fare. Lunch and dinner menus feature familiar cold and hot small plates and salads; think eggplant, lentils, and olives in ingenious combinations. Mains swing from grilled veg and meat to Middle Eastern spiced proteins like roasted Cornish hen over baba ganoush. Best value are the platters: around $10 at lunch for meshwi plus salads, including divine taboulleh. Watch for a new location at Main and Third in the coming weeks.

Salade de Fruits

1551 W. Seventh Ave., 604-714-5987. Saladedefruits.com
The setting at first feels budget—tables are crammed in the inauspicious foyer of the French Cultural Centre on W. Seventh. But then something shifts; the sun goes down, the candles are lit, and the conversations (half-French, half-English) get jocular and warm in that makeshift bistro, which is not unlike the easy-yet-accomplished rooms of Montreal (or Paris, for that matter). The succulent canard confit ($15) is served with seasonal vegetables, rich mashed potatoes, and a dose of impish flirtation from your server. A glass of serviceable rouge only sets you back $7, which means there’s just room in our budget for a simple chocolat chaud ($2) to close the evening.

Chefs' Picks: Vikram Vij, Vij's

“On weekends I take my kids to the Legendary Noodle House at 25th and Main. It’s very casual, reminds me of my own restaurant in the early days, a mom-and-pop shop. And for $10 you get a really delicious hot-and-sour soup with vegetables, served up fast. It’s comfort soup—no different than a goulash you might get in Hungary—with the perfect balance of acidity and heat. Plus, my kids love watching someone actually making the noodles in the kitchen.”

Anatolia’s Gate

7084 Kingsway, Burnaby, 604-525-2519
This spot gives you a taste of real Turkish food by mixing Mediterranean freshness with the warmth of Middle Eastern spices. Groups of four or more can feast on a sampling of richly portioned dishes for just $20 per person. A mezze of housemade starters, including a knockout smoky eggplant salad, gives way to dishes cooked in a blazing brick oven: crispy cheese bread (pide), crackling flatbread with ground lamb (lahmajun), baked casseroles, and a mix of meaty koftes and kebabs. The lavash, a gargantuan puff of exquisitely crisp bread, is worth the trip alone. Décor isn’t much to speak of, but the service is genuinely warm. —Lee Man