Vanmag Restaurant Awards 2025: Reader’s Choice FAQ

We’re excited to announce that the Reader’s Choice division of our annual Restaurant Awards is back for 2025. If you didn’t catch our inaugural Reader’s Choice division earlier this year, this is what you can expect: in addition to our traditional cuisine-focused categories (which will still be judged by our expert panel), we’ll be awarding over 18 Reader’s Choice awards. The restaurants will be nominated and voted on by you—yes, you reading this—and awards will be presented at our 2025 Vanmag Restaurant Awards ceremony in May 2025.

First up is the nomination period. This is when you nominate who you believe is best in class in any of the below categories vita our digital nomination tool until November 22, 2024—after that we will open up voting.. You’ll have the chance vote on the nominees to decide the winners later this year.

Below is all the information you’ll need to nominate and vote in this year’s Vanmag Restaurant Awards People’s Choice division. But, if you want to skip right to nominating: here’s where to do it!

FAQ

Reader’s Choice Awards: The Categories

The 2025 Reader’s Choice Awards are divided into two areas of focus: types of dining and neighbourhoods.

Dining Categories

Best Bar (or Wine Bar)
Best Brewery
Best Brunch
Best Coffee Shop
Best Happy Hour

Best of the Neighbourhoods

Best Chinatown
Best Commercial Drive
Best Downtown
Best Fraserhood
Best Gastown
Best Hastings-Sunrise
Best Kerrisdale
Best Kitsilano
Best Mount Pleasant
Best Olympic Village
Best West End
Best Yaletown
Best Neighbourhood Wildcard

Reader’s Choice Awards: How to Nominate and Vote

Our online voting platform will ask you for your first and last name, postal code and email. You will need to enter this information only once. Once you hit “vote” on that first vote, we’ll send you an email to confirm that you’re not a bot. Hit the confirmation link and you’ll be officially logged in—from there, the rest of the nominations will be a breeze.

Reader’s Choice Awards: FAQs

Have a question? Maybe we’ve answered it.

How do I nominate a restaurant in Vanmag’s Reader’s Choice Restaurant Awards?

Nominations can be made online through our digital nomination tool until November 22—find the link here.

What if I spell a restaurant’s name wrong when I am nominating?

We’ve got both robots and humans on the case—rest assured, making a typo in your nomination won’t affect that restaurant’s chances of winning.

How do I vote for a restaurant in Vanmag’s Reader’s Choice Restaurant Awards?

Voting will be done through the same tool, and at the same web link, as nominations. Once voting opens, you can vote until January 3, 2025: here. (Don’t worry, we’ll make sure to let you know when it begins)

Why do I have to enter my email and postal code when I am nominating?

We take your email to ensure that people aren’t voting multiple times. It’s not a perfect system, but it’s the best way to ensure that everyone has a fair shot. The postal code information will only be used internally—we’re curious about which Vancouver neighbourhoods are most engaged with the restaurant scene.

If I give you my email address, are you going to spam me with emails?

No! We’ll send you an email to let you know when voting is open. Other than that, you’ll only hear from us if you opt in to our newsletters (which you should, we’re very entertaining).

What happened to the category I voted in last year? It was my favourite!

Our Reader’s Choice Awards are ever-evolving, and we’ll be moving categories in and out to celebrate restaurants in many categories every year.

My neighbourhood isn’t listed. Why don’t you care about me?

Hey, we had to draw the line somewhere—according to the city of Vancouver there are 22 neighbourhoods, and the boundaries vary depending on who you ask. We listed as many of the hot dining ‘hoods as we could and also left a write-in spot, so if your favourite neighbourhood restaurant doesn’t fit into the listed categories, just write it in there.

What about the usual Restaurant Awards, like Best French, Best Chinese and Best New Restaurant?

We’re still doing our regular awards—you know, the ones that are judged by esteemed food writers, restaurant critics and industry leaders. The Reader’s Choice Awards will be presented in addition to our regular awards in May. (Stay tuned for event details!)

Still have a question we haven’t answered? Drop us a line at mail@vanmag.com.