Both locations feature charmingly comfortable and rustic surroundings -(think brightly painted wooden tables with mis-matched chic chairs), and the Kitsilano location also offers plenty of specialty food items for sale.

It’s homemade deliciousness – to eat-in or take out.

Coco et Olive Fine Foods
3707 Main Street and 3476 West Broadway
Vancouver

I’ve seen lots of great top patio lists for Vancouver already, but below are some favourites & recommendations. And remember, this is a list for patio first, food second.

Downtown
The Gallery Cafe (at the Vancouver Art Gallery), 750 Hornby Street (best accessed off of Robson & Howe): If you want a truly sunny patio, nothing beats the Gallery Cafe’s huge outdoor licensed patio atop the Vancouver Art Gallery. A great place to catch some rays, people watch, and catch up over a glass of wine. Food is cafe style – sandwiches, salads (with art gallery prices).

False Creek North
Nu Restaurant, 1661 Granville Street (under the Granville St. Bridge): Nu features and all-seasons patio right on the water, with tables, couches, and a great view of False Creek and Granville Island across the water. A great spot for lunch or dinner while enjoying the view is a relaxed setting. And the food here is great.

Coal Harbour
Cardero’s Restaurant, 1583 Coal Harbour Quay: Cardero’s makes many best patio lists because, it’s a nice patio! A big, airy space right in the centre of Coal Harbour. A calming location away from the bustle of downtown Vancouver.

Willow Stream Spa and the  Fairmont Pacific Rim Lobby, 1038 Canada Place Way (near Burrard & Cordova) - The newest Fairmont Hotel is beautiful on the inside with a great outdoor patio off the lobby lounge, which features live music daily. Plus, the Willow Stream spa on the 5th floor is just completing construction on an incredible outdoor patio, which will include fire pits, hot tubs, and outdoor treatment – I hear it should be ready later this month.

Gastown
Chill Winston, 3 Alexander Street: Right in the centre of Gastown by the Gassy Jack statue is Chill Winston’s huge patio – perfect for drinks while overlooking the cobblestone roads and Gastown shops. Downsides: it’s a busy patio so there can be waits, and you’ll get your share of people asking for spare change. While it’s shadier, the small patio at Jules can be a good alternative.

Granville Island
Sammy J Peppers, 1517 Anderson St, right inside Granville Island. Remember, what I said about patio first, food second? Sammy J on Granville Island does sport a fantastic patio for those who want the breeze, but not the glaring hot sunlight. It’s a fully covered patio, overlooking the boats and a boardwalk. A good spot for a beer in a slightly less crazy part of Granville Island in the summer. (but if you like crazy, hit up Bridges or the Backstage Lounge)

Main St.
Crave Restaurant, 3941 Main St (near 24th): You’d never guess it from the front of the restaurant, but Crave has a beautiful patio in the back of the restaurant. It’s been nicely lanscaped and feels like a comfy backyard. Food here is good, but inconsistent. Brunch is my favourite meal here.

Burgoo Bistro on Main, 3096 Main St (near 16th): The Main Street Burgoo has a great patio right on Main Street that gets plenty of sun.

Kitsilano
The Boathouse on Kits Beach (formerly the Watermark Restaurant), 1305 Arbutus Street: I’ll miss the prawn spring rolls at the Watermark, but otherwise, I’m sure the Boathouse will fit right into the Kits Beach scene. An incredible view of the city, mountains, and beach.

The Smoking Dog, 1889 W. 1st Ave (@ Cypress): I used to live 50 steps from the Dog and enjoyed the patio regularly. Sun drenched, quiet street, great French bistro food.

Yaletown
The Keg, 1011 Mainland Street: I haven’t been, but everyone I know is raving about the patio at the new Keg in Yaletown.

Au Petit Cafe, 4851 Main St (b/w 32nd and 33rd ave)

Two Saturdays ago we hit up Au Petit Cafe, famous in Vancouver for their excellent Vietnamese sandwiches, which we ordered in addition to our vermicelli bowls. Have you heard all the raves about this place’s sandwiches? People go on and on about the fresh French bread. Well, my first Vietnamese sandwich at Au Petit Cafe was certainly the best Vietnamese sandwich I’d eaten – soft & crusty French bread with nicely seasoned pork and veggies…but it was still just a sandwich. I’m not in a hurry to return for it, but it was tasty. The vermicelli bowls were great with crispy pork spring rolls and fresh vegetables. My husband says the portion was a little small though.

The restaurant itself was small and busy, with a line-up out the door when we arrived and the staff running around to keep up with the crowd. You’re not there for the ambiance, but the place was clean and service prompt.  I’d definitely return. For two vermicelli bowls and a sandwich, the price was about $20 plus tip.

Pho Tan Vietnamese Restauarant, 4598 Main St (@ 30th Ave)

This restaurant was given Bronze for best Vietnamese by Vancouver Magazine this year, and is about 1 block north of Au Petit Cafe, so we gave Pho Tan a try this weekend. Business is good, as Pho Tan was also packed with a line-up out the door when we arrived. A ten minute wait later and we were in! The staff was busy as hell, but very good at clearing tables, seating tables, and getting orders taken. Not always an easy feat when you’re slammed. My husband deemed Pho Tan’s vermicelli bowls to be big portions, cheaper and equally good as Au Petit Cafe, so this is his new number one. I enjoyed it also, but found Au Petit’s was slightly fresher and tastier – but also saltier. We also drank down some  lovely iced Vietnamese French coffee with sweetened condensed milk – always a tasty treat, and nicely made here. At $7.50 per vermicelli bowl, this was good cheap eating.

If Vietnamese Saturday lunch continues next week, I think we’ll hit up Thai Son on East Broadway, which I’ve also heard good things about. There’s also Pho Hoang at 3388 Main St, but I find the food quite over-rated. Many tasty options.

Grub delivers on many fronts, while maintaining a funky, casual atmosphere with awesomely eccentric wallpaper.

What I like:

• The menu and restaurant are small, yet have something for varying price points ($12-26) AND varying dietary choices – you can order the lamb, or the vegetarian entree, or the vegan dessert. This is not an easy feat.
• The basic menu is simple, featuring a few antipasti platters, pizzas, and salads. It’s the fresh sheet that elevates Grub, with yummy soup, meat, seafood, vegetarian, and vegan options written daily on the chalkboard. The fresh sheet lets the restaurant create dishes based on what’s available and fresh
• Grub’s house bread plate is generous, with warm bread, olive tapenade, hummus, and chipotle butter to smear on.
• Some entrees we tried off the fresh sheet: Medium-rare lamb sirloin with fresh veggies and a smooth butternut squash and goat cheese pudding. Seared scallops atop a salty and tart puttanesca made with fresh pasta. Veggie pot pie filled with root vegetables and a heaping salad of fresh greens, roasted asparagus, and a maple balsamic vinaigrette.

Portions are good, prices reasonable, and the room fun and vibrant. It’s a restaurant that fits perfectly in its Main street ‘hood and I plan to return any evening I’m in the mood for a casual bite.

And I just love the restaurant’s name. Let’s go get some Grub.

Grub Restaurant
4328 Main St (b/w 27th & 28th ave)
604-876-8671

The Eight 1/2 differentiator: their mantra that everything should be “simple, fresh, local,” which for Eight 1/2 means  a kitchen with no deep fryer and microwave. What that translated to was some good, different menu options. The room is nice and cozy with soft lights and a modern feel. We arrived at 7pm on a Tuesday evening and the restaurant was full. After enjoying a drink at the bar, we moved over to a table once space opened up.

Here are my highs and lows for on Eight 1/2:

• The restaurant offers a seasonal fresh sheet in addition to the standard menu – we sampled some excellent mini perogies with a mild chipotle sauce.
• Cedar plank halibut with mango salsa and spinach risotto. This dish was fresh, but fell a little short. One dining companion felt the size of halibut filet was too small. I was fine with the size, but it was slightly over-cooked and the mango salsa didn’t have much flavour. The spinach risotto was okay, but came cold.
• Steak Sandwich – while the Globe & Mail review slagged this dish, I quite enjoyed it. The bun was a little doughy, but full of butter and garlic and the steak was so good – medium rare, tender, grass-fed steak. Mmmmm. On the side we opted for a bowl of french onion soup (also off the fresh sheet), which had a nice flavour, but was not extraordinary.
• Dessert – apple crumble pie with ice cream, warm and comforting
• Service was friendly but the kitchen was quite slow (we waited about 20 min for appetizers and over 30 min for mains). I’ll forgive them for the wait time since the restaurant was packed and I had two friends to gossip the night away with. That said, don’t go if you’re in a hurry.

Overall, Eight 1/2 is a nice neighbourhood joint and the staff really cares about offering good service and food. I’ll return to try more menu items, like the oven-baked wings, pizzas, and 4-cheese macaroni and cheese.

Eight 1/2 Restaurant Lounge
151 East 8th Ave.  (@ Main)
604-568-2703

Well, nine months later Habit is back with a new menu and new look. I stopped in for a late dinner this evening and am happy to report that Habit is still Main St. cool, still open late, and still on my good eats list.

Highlights:

• The room is a tasteful update to the former look, including beautiful brown leather banquettes and red Eames fiberglass shell chairs that I totally covet.
• New menu! The carrot and brie perogies are legacy from the old Habit, but sadly their addictive tofu and spinach dish didn’t make it. There seem to be more individual mains on the new menu, whereas the former menu was about making it a “habit to share.”
• The new menu is tasting good. We started with Habit Hummus, a delicious blend of smoked onions and white beans served up with crispy frybread and toasted pumpkin seeds. Mains included braised beef shortribs basted with a lovely sauce of cinnamon, all spice, and chipotle, and an updated tuna casserole with wild mushrooms, fresh asparagus and penne topped with thinly sliced, rare albacore tuna.
• I was eyeing the pineapple upside down cake for dessert, but as usual ate too much hummus and bread and had no room for dessert. Next time.

Go for a quick bite, or go with friends and drink the night way in their comfortable booths. I find it more relaxed compared to Habit’s sister restaurant next door, The Cascade Room.

Habit is open until 1:30am Monday-Saturday and until midnight on Sunday.

Habit Lounge
2610 Main St.
604-877-8582
No reservations

I used to live three blocks from the Zakkushi on 4th ave and I still return again and again. The focus of Zakkushi is on their grill, which uses a high quality Japanese charcoal. I don’t know much about the technicalities, but the flavour from this grill is excellent. Smoky, charred, sweet. Mmmmm.

The first Zakkushi to open was on Denman St, then 4th Ave, and now Main St. The menus at each location are similar, but with a few things specific to each location. Looks like the Main St. location also does sushi rolls, which the other two don’t.

Anyway, enough of logistics…the food. Here are my all-time favourites:

• Zaru Tofu: fresh, soft, cold tofu on ice. If you love tofu, order this.
• Takowasa: diced octopus mixed with a wasabi dressing in a mini martini glass. Incredibly flavourful and fresh with that wasabi kick
• Yakitori (grilled items on bamboo sticks) – Asparamaki – tender green asparagus wrapped with fatty bacon and grilled. Harami – tender grilled beef topped with radish and ponzu sauce. Shiso Maki – juicy chicken with shisho leaf (note – shisho is a very strong herb. I like it, but it can be an acquired taste)
• Spinach salad with cripsy fried lotus root on top
• Mentai Kimchi Udon – the menu description reads: pan fried udon with seasoned fish roe and kimchi. Okay, to some this may sound funny. But trust me…it is SO DAMN GOOD. You have to try it.
• Banana Gyoza – deep fried bananas and ice cream for under $4? I’m in for dessert here

I find the prices at Zakkushi very reasonable. You can eat like a king for not much money. My meals for 2 average anywhere b/w $25 to $60. If you find Kingyo or Hapa too expensive for regular visits, go to Zakkushi.

One warning – Zakkushi is not the biggest restaurant.  They do take reservations, so call them if you have your heart set on a certain time.

Zakkushi Charcoal Grill Diner
3 locations (4th & Cypress, Denman & Robson, Main & 25th) – details here

It’s hard to explain why, but when you go to Main St, you feel it. It’s a locals neighbourhood with excellent eating and shopping. It used to be the non-mainstream alternative, and it still is, but it’s definitely trendy. I’ll focus primarily on the “SoMa” (South Main) district here. If you are am ambitious, you could hit all the hot shopping spots on Main on one day (walking it all is doable, but long) , but I typically pick one of the following areas each time I’m in the area.

Main Street, between 7th ave and 10th ave

Two stores I make special trips for: Lark and Jonathan & Oliva.

Both stores carry local and international brands, but focus on designers you aren’t going to find in every store. You’ll find many beautiful unique pieces here. Neither of these stores are cheap, but I love looking at the clothes, even if I can only buy something once in a while.

Newer stores in this area:
Recently opened:

• F as in Frank, the Vancouver outpost of a popular Whistler consignment store that a lot of the Vancouver fashion blogs were very excited about.
• Forsya,  a boutique with lovely clothing, bags, and accessories exclusively featuring Canadian designers.

Break time : Gene Coffee Bar on Main & 8th is a great spot for coffee and snack.

Main Street, between 20th-24th ave

Here it is, the creme de la creme of Main Street shopping. For such a small area, you can put a lot of damage on your credit card here. I know from experience You’ll see a theme with these stores – indpendent designers, Canadian designers, and things you’d never find on Robson Street.

My favourites:

(West side of street)

Narcissist Design Co. – A go to emporium of flattering, travel friendly dresses. I went though a phase with this store and have about 14 of their dresses. They are known for the “Pamela” dress, which you can wear in about 12 different ways. I find the “Frenchie” and the “Celeste” are my favourites, with the most flattering cuts. The store sells other brands as well, but I’ve noticed their mark-up is high compared to other stores, so take note of that.

Eugene Choo – One of the first fashion stores to hit Main Street, this store continues to carry lots of independent and Canadian labels and beautiful clothes and shoes for men and women. My last purchase there was actually a plaid wool house coat for my husband.

Hum – Another store specializing in independent and Canadian labels. I’ve noticed they carry lots of Montreal designers as well like Valerie Dumaine and Second Denim Co. , which makes these incredibly comfortable “yoga jeans” at a very fair price (~$100).

Twig and Hottie - This store carries many Canadian designers and sustainable fashion lines as well. Great please for everyday clothes – think Fidelity denim with lots of options for unique tops and accessories.

(east side of the street)

Vancouver Special – Do you all remember our (un)remakrable architectural achievement, the Vancouver Special? Well, this store takes the name (and prints some great t-shirts) from a Vancouver Special, but the similarities end there. This is a design house, with books, furnitures, and housewares that you’ll want in your home.

Chef Claires - Chef Claires is a catering company with a store front. They make fresh and delicious meals and freeze them for people to buy and heat up at home. A gourmet (and healthier) option to the frozen dinner.

Smoking Lily – Smoking Lily originated in Victoria BC and they’re probably known in Victoria for having the smallest store ever! I can’t remember the exact size but it’s like 100 square feet, maybe. The store in Vancouver is a tad bigger, selling casual clothing and accessories. One of their more famous items is a line of t-shirts with Pierre Trudeau’s picture on them. A total conversation starter at parties when you wear this shirt.

Umeboshi Shoes – One of the few stores in town that can rival Gravity Pope for selection. Lots of lovely shoes, boots, and accessories for men and women.

Front & Co – Probably the most well-known fashion consignment store in the city. It’s big and you can get lots of finds at this store.

Regional Assembly of Text – Love stationary? Come to this lovely store, where they specialize in beautiful stationary. They even have a regular letter writing club as well! Snail mail is a celebration here.

Break time: Liberty Bakery and Cafe (3699 Main St – close to Eugene Choo) is a great spot for a light snack or coffee. The black bean soup? Awesome.

Main Street, King Edward Ave (25th) to around 30th

There are lots of good eats and antique shops around here, but one notable mention for…

Voltage – a great store specializing in crazy toys/collectables, accessories,  and funny t-shirts. Come by the store and peruse the t-shirt racks – you’ll find lots of witty prints that you’ll want to wear. People at my office have several shirts from here.

____________________

I will continue to update this post as things open/close, but for now – enjoy Main St. There’s lots to see, eat, and shop.

Well, my friends were right!

Some basic goods on Latitude:

• The background on  Latitude is it’s from the former owners of RainCoast Cafe in Tofino, which was a great spot.
• Theme is “food and wine of the Americas.” Northwest food with some Spanish and Mexican influences, like sablefish with a tomatillo salsa, paella, and local Qualicum Beach scallops on masa pancakes.
• The room is modern and simple, seating about 45 people. I dined on a Tuesday evening around 9pm and the place was busy with a happy buzz about.
• The menu is divided into small plates and larger plates. Portions are okay, but not generous. The small plates really are small – a few bites. The larger plates were a fair size, but I didn’t leave anything on the plate as I had to eat it all to be full! I’d guess the menu is designed for you to have 1-2 small places, 1 larger plate, and dessert.
• Prices are good – small plates range between $8-15. Larger plates are $21 max.
• Food highlights: Avocado and mango salad with tender baby arugula – fresh and refreshing. Chickpea fries, which are made with chickpea flour – these are good, but definitely not a typical fry texture. I would have liked them a bit more golden and crunchy on the outside. Tender, sliced flank steak with fresh cherry tomatoes and a chimichurri sauce. My friend also raved about the duck breast with a chocolate orange sauce.

If I lived in the ‘hood, I’d be back regularly. As I don’t live in this ‘hood, I’ll be back…but in a while.

Latitude Restaurant
3250 Main Street, Vancouver (@ 16th/17th)
604-875-6246
Open daily from 5pm to “late”
No reservations

When you walk in you’re greeted with a big glass wall telling you to “Keep Calm and Carry On” (a poster phrase becoming more ubiquitous by the day). Decor is dark, modern, trendy. Big oval booths, a long bar, plenty of bar tables and high chairs. A bit fancier than a pub, so if you’re looking for something super casual, walk north a few blocks towards The Whip on 6th & Main.

Above the bar you’ll see a chalkboard with wine, beer,  and cocktail lists plus the specials of the day. The menu has your standard fare: burgers, pasta, seafood..it’s all good but nothing I’d write home about with ONE exception.

Polenta Fries. Crispy on the outside, soft and tender on the inside, slightly curried and seasoned with salt and rosemary. These are the best bar snack out there and worth any trip to Cascade.

These fries made Vancouver Magazine’s fun list of 101 things to taste before you die last year, with no disagreements from me.

It’s all about the Polenta Fries for me here – if you go, order them. No trip is complete without them.

The Cascade Room
2616 Main St. (@ 10th)
604-70-98650
4pm-midnight Monday to Saturday
12pm-midnight Sunday (featuring a weekend BBQ Lunch)
Reservations for groups of 10-20