Announcing the Finalists for Our 2019 Vancouver Restaurant Awards

We’ll be celebrating our 30th year come April 29—and these are the contenders up for glory at our annual restaurant awards.

Yes, for the the 30th year in a row, it’s that time again. When our esteemed judges look back on a year of epic eating, followed by epic debating (and occasionally lapsing into epic arguing) to ultimately send their secret ballots to the accountants to tabulate. And those tabulations are now final.

Below you’ll find the spots that our judges deemed worthy of vying for the the elusive gold medal in their respective categories. From holes-in-the-wall to big-fancy-deals, these are the rooms that reached for excellence the past year, who served the dishes that implanted themselves in our judge’s memories and who created an environment that they didn’t want leave.

Among these nominees also sits one spot that reigned supreme this year—the one and only Restaurant of the Year. All the winners will be revealed at our annual blow out—the legendary Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards (our 30th Anniversary, no less!), taking place on April 29 (pick up your tickets now!). So a heartfelt congratulations to all our nominees—we look forward to raising a glass (or three) with all of you this year and feting you in the May issue. You’re the best!

(Ed note: A couple of categories you won’t see here: Best New Restaurant, the finalists and winners of which are revealed on awards day, and Restaurant of the Year and Chef of the Year—also only revealed on the big day.)

Best Bar

Grapes & Soda
Juniper
The Shameful Tiki Room
Trans Am
Upstairs at Campagnolo

Best Casual

Chancho Tortilleria
The DownLow Chicken Shack
Fat Mao Noodles
Hey, Dumplings!
The Tuck Shoppe

Best Chain

Cactus Club Cafe
Earls
Joey
Nook
Tacofino                 

Best Chinese

Chef Tony
Dynasty
Hoi Tong
Jade Seafood
Sanbo

Best Dessert

Au Comptoir
Blue Water Cafe
Boulevard Kitchen and Oyster Bar
Hawksworth
L’Abattoir

Best Dim Sum

Chef Tony
Dynasty
Fisherman’s Terrace
Golden Paramount
Yue Delicacy

Best French

Au Comptoir
Café Salade de Fruits
Le Crocodile
St. Lawrence
Tableau Bar Bistro

Best Indian

Dosa Corner
My Shanti
Sachdeva Sweets
Swad Indian Kitchen
Vij’s

Best Italian

Ask for Luigi
CinCin
Giardino
La Quercia/L’Ufficio
Savio Volpe

Best Japanese

Dosanko
Masayoshi
Stem Japanese Eatery
Tetsu Sushi Bar
Yuwa Japanese Cuisine

Best Korean

Hanwoori Korean
House of Tofu Soup
Insadong Korean
Maru Korean Bistro
Sura Korean Cuisine

Best Latin

Chancho Tortilleria
Molli Café
La Taqueria
Rinconcito Salvadoreno

Best New Design

Coquille
Elisa
Origo Club
Pepino’s
Tacofino Ocho

Best Pan Asian

Kissa Tanto
Heritage Asian Eatery
Longtail Kitchen
Penang Delight Cafe
Torafuku

Best Pizzeria

Bufala
Corduroy Pie Company
Ignite Pizzeria
Pizzeria Farina
Via Tevere

Best Ramen

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka
Marutama Ra-men
Motomachi Shokudo
Ramen Danbo
Ramen Koika

Best Seafood

Blue Water Cafe
Boulevard Kitchen and Oyster Bar
Coquille
Landmark Hot Pot House
Oddfish

Best Steakhouse

Black + Blue
Elisa
Gotham Steakhouse and Bar
Hy’s Steakhouse and Cocktail Bar
Victor

Best Upscale

Bauhaus
Botanist
Boulevard Kitchen and Oyster Bar
Hawksworth
The Pear Tree

Best Vegetarian

The Acorn
Aleph Eatery
The Arbor
Heirloom
Virtuous Pie

Best West Coast

AnnaLena
Burdock and Co
Farmer’s Apprentice
Nightingale
The Pear Tree

Best Okanagan

Liquidity
Miradoro at Tinhorn Creek
Old Vines
RauDZ
Waterfront Wines

Best Victoria

Agrius
House of Boateng
OLO
Part and Parcel
Wild Mountain

Best Whistler

Alta Bistro
Araxi
Bar Oso
The Grill Room
Red Door Bistro

Best Neighbourhood Joint: The Nominees

Best Downtown

Amici Miei
Heritage Asian Eatery
Mumbai Local
Tavola
Tetsu Sushi Bar

Best Chinatown

Bao Bei
Chinatown BBQ
Kissa Tanto
Torafuku
Upstairs at Campagnolo

Best Gastown

Ask for Luigi
Dosanko
St. Lawrence
Moltaqa
Pidgin

Best East Side

Burdock and Co.
Kishimoto
Joojak
Masayoshi
Savio Volpe

Best West Side

AnnaLena
Au Comptoir
Grapes and Soda
Landmark Hot Pot House
L’ufficio

Best North Shore

Lift Breakfast Bakery
Olive & Anchor
Orto Artisan Pasta
Terroir Kitchen
Zen

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