Vancouver is a city teeming with exemplary food and drink. In fact, it’s positively overflowing with the proverbial good cheer at its many restaurants and watering holes. Perhaps it’s an instinctive counterstrike against the city’s oft-lamented cold shoulder (we’re not that friendly, apparently), but it seems like chefs and bartenders have been going out of their way to prove that hospitality – especially when offered in tandem with a memorable meal – isn’t a foreign concept here.
As you gather with friends and family over the holiday season, here are a few places where Vancouver’s chilly stereotypes are easily forgotten, thanks to the alchemical workings of those behind the stove and the wood.
The Mackenzie Room
Sean Reeves has taken the classic notion of comfort food and turned it on its sustainably sourced ear. Dishes like roasted whole pig’s head, and bone marrow with beef tongue, might make you think he wishes gout upon his customers, but this chef is equally comfortable preparing stunning vegetarian dishes, like garden veggies with bagna càuda or a constantly rotating feature salad that presents like a five-star meal. And everything is paired beautifully with the innovative cocktails of barman Arthur Wynne, like his recent locavore take on a white Negroni, or even zero-proof creations like a virgin Painkiller with coconut syrup, pineapple, orange, and grated nutmeg. Both food and drink menus change frequently, based on what’s available, so every visit is a surprise. Wynne, sadly, is heading back to Australia, but he’s left a fantastic team in his stead. TheMackenzieRoom.com
Uva Wine & Cocktail Bar
If you haven’t heard of Sabrine Dhaliwal, you must have been a teetotaller for the past year. The bar manager of Uva is weighted down with accolades and awards for her cutting-edge mixology. The Gin-Gin Donkey, for instance, features house-made sage tea and ginger wine, and the liberal use of Bittered Sling grapefruit-and-hops bitters. It’s a light, refreshing sipper that pairs perfectly with chef Ryan Byrd’s bone-marrow toast with salsa verde, or roasted-mushroom risotto with porcini tea. For something more substantial, head to adjoined neighbour Cibo Trattoria, where you can pair Dhaliwal’s cocktails with plates like braised-rabbit pappardelle or beef-cheek ravioli. UvaVancouver.com
Juniper Kitchen & Bar
At this Cascadian-themed restaurant, chef Sarah Stewart plays around with the idea of Canadian cuisine to create dishes that evoke her farming roots. The menu rotates frequently with the seasons, but items like smoked-pork-shoulder croquettes and smoked duck wings in whisky and honey-sesame sauce are memorable. Ever present are the charcuterie and seafood boards, which include cured meats and seafood that are sourced from local producers or made in-house. As the restaurant’s name might suggest, gin is prominently featured on the drinks menu; bartender Max Borrowman concocts the fantastic list of G&Ts, which range from the simple Juniper (with Aviation gin, juniper berries, lemon peel and Fentimans tonic) to the more complex Islander (with Sheringham Seaside gin, sea asparagus, celery bitters, dehydrated lemon, and tonic). JuniperVancouver.com
Prohibition
Bartender Robyn Gray’s Inception Negroni has become so famous that it’s made headlines in New York periodicals – and for good reason. The Negroni-within-a-Negroni features a classic Negroni kept cold with a spherical ice cube that contains a white Negroni. As the cube melts, the drinks meld, essentially creating three flavour profiles in one glass. Gray isn’t a one-drink wunderkind, though: Classic cocktails from the 1920s to ’40s are also consistently well made, while original recipes – like a “clarified” daiquiri – show real creativity. They’re well paired with dishes from the small-plates menu of chef Harold Lemos, like vodka-battered halibut cheeks or short-rib bocadillos. ProhibitionRHG.com
Grapes & Soda
The little sister of popular next-door neighbour Farmer’s Apprentice, this wine bar offers up locavore-focused small plates from chef David Gunawan, alongside naturalist wines and seasonal cocktails created by oh-so-talented bartender Satoshi Yonemori. From a truly stellar Old Fashioned to the Unsung Heroes (a heady mix of trebbiolo, Amontillado sherry, cherry brandy, grappa and orange bitters), Yoshemori has a rare talent for cocktails that tell a story. They also pair beautifully with dishes like buratta salad with Brussels sprouts in walnut vinaigrette, and organic beef tartare with anchovy emulsion. GrapesAndSoda.ca
• Anya Levykh is a food, drink and travel writer who covers all things ingestible. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @foodgirlfriday.
