Hyper-Specific City Guide: A Nostalgic Day Out With Your College Drinking Buddies

Hon’s Wonton House seems a good place to start your nostalgia tour—while the Chinatown location that opened in the ’70s and fed many a hungover college kid is now closed, the Olympic Village location (25 E 2nd Ave., honswontonhouse.com) still tastes like the good ol’ days. (And the BBQ pork buns are still a killer deal—$9 for three.)

After brunch, head west: the Museum of Vancouver (adults, $20; 1100 Chestnut St., museumofvancouver.ca) is a treasure box of collective memories, from neon signs to protest posters. Even things that happened before your heyday infuse visitors with a sense of civic pride.

Grab a case of Granville Island lager from the liquor store—remember when it was the only craft beer game in town?—and wobble down the steps to Wreck Beach (visit.ubc.ca), where you’ll enjoy a boozy, beachy day complaining about whether your knees will survive the trip back up.

Keep happy hour going in Gastown at the Lamplighter (92 Water St., freehouse.co), Vancouver’s oldest pub—though the brick-lined space now features DJs and very 2024 dishes like cumin-roasted salmon and quinoa ($23). But you’re here to drink! Put that quinoa down! Because the last stop of the night is an R5 ride down Hastings (formerly the 95 B-line… ah, memories!) to Pepino’s (631 Commercial Dr., pepinos.ca). In the old Nick’s Spaghetti House, the retro-cool resto is an homage to the red-sauce glory days. Soak up the beer with a deep-dish double-pepperoni “Big Pauly” pizza ($32).

More from the Ultimate, Hyper-Specific Vancouver City Guide here. ,MB