Restaurant Awards 2025: Restaurant of the Year, Elisa

Vancouver magazine’s 2025 Restaurant of the Year is… Elisa

In a year where nothing has felt certain (economy, housing, politics, you name it), there’s a special power in consistency—and we’ve found ourselves particularly drawn to rooms that deliver on their promises (and hold firm to quality) time after time after time. Staying power isn’t easy to come by here in Vancouver, and over the past five years this has proved to be even more true. We’ve watched with broken hearts as esteemed restaurants have shuttered their doors, with many more striving to adapt to changing palates and shrinking wallets. But one restaurant nailed it right from the beginning, and during tumultuous times has—rather than trying to ride a wave of Instagram-worthy influencer-bait—stood with its head high, its menu tight and its service impeccable.

When Elisa opened in 2018, its concept felt wholly new. Steakhouses, for the most part, have a specific cigar-scented, leather-bound vibe, but the Yaletown restaurant eschewed those clichés in favour of a modern, open-concept kitchen and a varied menu that goes beyond a spectacular selection of wood-fired steaks. Executive chef Andrew Richardson and his esteemed team gave the same sort of deft-handed attention to a whole-roasted cauliflower as to a PEI Blue Dot “Vancouver cut” bone-in tenderloin; the same reverence to the outstanding selection of hand-cut tartares as to their side dishes—like rainbow carrots tossed in beef tallow and roasted over B.C. birch, apple and alder woods. Half a decade later, Richardson and co. have only dialled in tighter on their craft, and their surprising new-wave steakhouse has cemented itself as a new Vancouver classic… and our Restaurant of the Year for 2025.

Chef Richardson’s menu continues to be lofty, but the execution is unparalleled thanks to an unrelenting crew of some the industry’s best. As one of our judges remarked, “The depth of the team is astounding.” From restaurant director Ricardo Ferreira (previously of L’Abattoir), whose attention to detail somehow makes every dining experience feel both like it’s your first trip and like you’re coming home, to wine director Franco Michienzi’s masterful selection of old and new world wines to pastry chef Rosalynn Vu’s flawlessly executed modernized classic desserts (the baked Alaska is a wonder), every detail is meticulously executed while still feeling utterly seamless. It’s a dance from beginning to end, one in which regulars are greeted with their favourite cocktail and newcomers are brought into the fold immediately.

It’s a reservations-required sort of spot, and for a very good reason—guests return to fill up the calendar time and time again, lured back by the juxtaposition of sleek modern marble and smouldering wood fire, exceptionally crafted sazeracs and signature old fashioneds, world class wine (displayed in an awe-
inducing floor-to-ceiling 6,000-plus glass bottle cellar) and a consistently exemplary food program. While you don’t need to be a steak eater to be blown away by the dining experience at Elisa—as one judge said, “You can go for the slow-roasted truffle chicken, the veggie tartare and the veggie tart; they’re amazing”—it’s the experience of a steakhouse here that’s so special. It’s an experience that Elisa invented, perfected and established as a new standard—a place where we know that, whatever happens in the world, we’ll always be well taken care of.

Elisa
1109 Hamilton St.
elisasteak.com

Find more of the best Vancouver restaurants on our list of 2025 Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Award winners.