Does Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»have a flavour?
Wait! Stop! Before you go lick Granville Street, let's clarify.
Does Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»have a food or style of food that is strongly associated with it? Beyond California rolls (which may have started in Vancouver but is named after another place) or the London Fog tea drink (which was started in Vancouver but is named after another place) or Chinese smorgasbord (which may have but is named after another place), what would be served at a restaurant based on Vancouver?
Well, there are several restaurants around the world based on Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»or using the name and citing the city as an inspiration.
To be fair, in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»there are several restaurants named after other cities, but it makes sense. Tokyo in April offers Japanese food. Straight Outta Brooklyn Pizza is 'a slice of Brooklyn in Vancouver' (we're assuming Brooklyn, New York and not Brooklyn, a ). And Carthage Cafe has Tunisian food.
So if someone is opening a restaurant named, say, Stadscafe Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»in, say, the Netherlands, what would it look like? Here are nine Vancouver-themed restaurants, bars, and cafes located outside of Canada.
Coeverden, Netherlands
Sometimes the real world is a little meta. In the town that, in a roundabout way gave its name to Vancouver, there is a cafe .
"The location and design make the (dining) café very suitable for conviviality and atmosphere," reads the Google translation of the restaurant's description.
Among the dishes found there are spare ribs, mussels, and "beer and burgers" (for some reason it's spelled in English in their ads).
They also have the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Pubquiz!
London, England
Perhaps the most specific reference to Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»on this list, it's named after Kitsilano's main drag. While it was started by a pair of Brits, they had some experience in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»before basing a restaurant on it, having moved to the city in 2019 and working here for a while, before launching the restaurant in London's Fulham neighbourhood.
"'West 4th’ is one of the most popular, vibrant streets in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»where people gather to socialize after a day spent on the beach or skiing on a local mountain," they say on their website. "We wanted to emulate Vancouver's relaxed and friendly feel at West 4th."
The posh menu includes plenty of references to both Canada and B.C., with things like Kelowna Fried Cauliflower, Nanaimo Bars, and poutine.
More local to Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»are the Maple Ridge Eggs Benny (an Eggs Benedict with maple cured bacon), a West 4th Burger (a burger with burger relish and applewood smoked cheddar), and the Kitsilano Beet Bowl (which involves beet tahini, spiralized cucumber, and mint whipped coconut yogurt).
Oh, and they use a Canada goose for the logo.
Mazatlan, Mexico
That's right, there are at least two restaurants that get their name from Kitsilano. And both have burgers named after the neighbourhood.
Perhaps that's less surprising at a burger lounge. Here, the Kitsilano burger is on a Brioche bun (West 4th also did that) but this time it's a pretty straightforward cheeseburger, otherwise.
While it's named after a neighbourhood in Vancouver, its strays from the B.C. theme a bit with other burgers named after Venice, Singapore, and New York.
Oddly enough, the restaurant has shortened its name like the neighbourhood, but instead of "Kits," they went with "Kitsi."
100 locations, Mexico
Naming this place after Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»is maybe an odd way to recognize the inspiration. Founder Hector Becerra lived in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»over a decade ago and liked going to the pubs for wing Wednesday deals. One day he ordered wings on a Monday, and was not happy with the price difference for his plate of wings.
When he moved back to Mexico he turned that into Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Wings, and it's become super successful. At the restaurant there are a few things , including a burger, hot dog and a wing sauce (that rates on the spicy side of things).
Tokyo, Japan
Vancouver's love of coffee is international, apparently.
On the outer edge of Tokyo sits Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Coffee Roasters, offering a little bit of the Eastern Pacific coast on the ocean's western side.
"Feel like a VANCOUVER at home," reads a Google translation of one of their posts.
Judging by the shots from inside the shop, it'd fit right in with Vancouver, too (though they're moving locations).
Taichung City, Taiwan
Perhaps all one needs to know about this place is the Google translation of its tagline.
"Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»is good, let us introduce you from the tip of your tongue!"
There's a variety of dishes on the menu, from Hong Kong and Japanese foods, to a couple "western" dishes (including fish and chips). That variety is what the owners want to bring from Canada.
"This is what Taste of Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»wants to express, so that you can taste these diverse cultures from your taste buds. On our menu, you can see Japanese food, Italian food, Vietnamese food, and Chinese food," reads a .
Tomé, Chile
Why this place is called Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»is hard to say. V.I.A. reached out, but hasn't heard back.
It seems like a lovely spot, with a terrace overlooking the ocean in central Chile with a menu featuring empanadas, burritos, and burgers.
And perhaps it wasn't inspired by Vancouver; it does appear to have a regular and vibrant nightlife, something this city isn't known for. On the upside their in Tome is fantastic.
Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
While it doesn't explicitly advertise Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»as an inspiration, its name references a Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»neighbourhood, one of the founders trained in Canada
It's also arguably the most Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»place outside of Vancouver, from its craft beer menu to its menu options (which range from poutine to udon dishes) to , which mixes plenty of greenery with movie posters and art.
Bellerive, Australia
It's so far east of Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»it's west.
Located on the Australian island of Tasmania, Gastown East takes its name from Vancouver's oldest settler neighbourhood and inspiration from the region and country.
"Gastown East is a Tasmanian restaurant offering Canadian-influenced drinks, brunch and a dinner menu ideal for sharing," states its website.
That includes foods from around the world, which reflects the immigrant history of the city, like hummus and bannock, perogies, and steak tartare.
While not heavily influenced by Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»specifically (though there are some B.C. scallops) they target Canada in general with a "Canadian Feasting Menu" and a "Hockey Puck" (which is a Canadian doughnut topped with cinnamon sugar and one of a variety of toppings like maple or Nutella.
