Vancouver Magazine

The Primo in question, Villanueva, opened this spot in 1959 after playing for UCLA (that’s his Rose Bowl trophy above the bar) and then the B.C. Lions. Almost five decades on, his grandsons run the place with unobtrusive efficiency, serving up Great-Grandmother’s traditional recipes from a brief, tightly focused menu. The fare is tasty, fresh, and reasonable (quesadillas range from $6.95 to $11.95; Alaskan snow crab enchiladas go for $22.50), and the place has the sort of well-worn authenticity that invites you to let lunch dissolve into a lazy afternoon of multiple cervezas.

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