Published on Main snacks; Photo: Sarah Annand
As the October 3 reveal of the 2024 MICHELIN Guide Vancouver approaches, anticipation increases. Which neighbourhoods will receive further MICHELIN stars and recognitions?
One area of town has received numerous MICHELIN distinctions. Main Street, the heart of lively Mount Pleasant, has a history of breweries that began in 1888, with the opening of the then Vancouver Brewery. Since then, the street has evolved considerably, serving as Vancouver’s first “suburb” and more recently, becoming a destination (“MICHELIN Mile”) for incredible eating and drinking establishments. Main Street’s dining landscape showcases diverse culinary cultures as well as the inventive, well-honed skillsets of its chefs. Local, sustainable ingredients are brought together to craft revelatory plates quintessential of Vancouver’s West Coast cooking.
Below are Main Street restaurants featured in the 2023 MICHELIN Guide Vancouver:
Published on Main snacks; Photo: Sarah Anand
Main Street is home to two restaurants with MICHELIN stars. One of them is Published on Main, led by executive chef Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson, whose impressive resume includes top local and international MICHELIN-starred restaurants (e.g., Noma in Copenhagen). Stieffenhofer-Brandson is an avid forager, incorporating wild ingredients into a menu that deftly draws from a range of culinary influences to create stunning plates. Local seasonal ingredients take centre stage in dishes like roasted farm carrots with sunflower miso and carrot xo; heirloom tomato panzanella with burrata, burnt citrus, shiso, and basil; and German butter potato gnocchi with arrabbiata and lobster mushrooms. Service is seamless, with a drink program that favours the natural and whimsical.
Bar Susu; Photo: Sarah Annand
Bar Susu is the more casual sibling of Published on Main. It’s the kind of place where you can gather friends on any given night and catch up over thoughtful glasses of artisanal, low intervention wines or a well-crafted cocktail. And the food is definitely not an afterthought. Like Published, culinary influences span the globe, while ingredient sourcing prioritizes the local. Nosh on blistered shishito peppers with comté and preserved lemon; hamachi crudo with white shoyu, and finger lime; and sablefish with corn velouté, lime, and frisée.
Photo: Burdock & Co
The rustic, yet elegant interiors of Burdock & Co epitomize the food ethos: a deep rooting in place, but without being performative or overly fussy about this commitment. Instead, chef Andrea Carlson exudes a sincerity in her cooking—a poetry in the way that she spotlights her relationships with this land, its waters, in addition to its producers and harvesters. The restaurant only offers tasting menus ($150) in a Moon Menu Series that divides the year into six themes. For example, August to September is “submerging stones under a Sturgeon Moon,” which includes creations like a spotted shrimp terrine with celery salad and akvavit shellfish cream sauce; charred corn risotto with fermented crab apple chili broth, preserved crab apple, and black garlic oil; and sour cherries with meringue, cherry blossom custard, and salted Sakura ice. The wine list echoes the same values as the kitchen: local, artisanal, and natural.
Photo: Bar Gobo
Vancouver has a lot of stellar restaurant families, and Bar Gobo is part of one of them (Burdock and Co and Harvest Community Foods are its siblings). Although technically on Union Street, Bar Gobo is just off Main Street, on the outskirts of Chinatown. Natural, biodynamic wines are paired with some of the most interesting, locavore dishes in the city. The three-course prix fixe ($69 per person) shifts with the seasons, featuring dishes like tomatoes with aliums and beach rose vinegar; sablefish with patty pan squash, carrot, dandelion gremolata, and romesco; and a lovely olive oil plum cake with blueberry compote and whipped cream. Each bite grounds you in local ingredients at a given moment in time.
Photo: The Acorn
With Vancouverites’ interest in a healthy, sustainable lifestyle, it’s no surprise that some of the finest plant-based eating can be found in this city. The Acorn, helmed by head chef Matt Gostelow and founder/GM Shira Blustein, is a charmer. The chef’s menu ($85), served family-style, is where the kitchen takes you on a journey through the best of local, seasonal ingredients. However, the à la carte menu is equally lovely, with dishes that let the natural flavours of ingredients from farms, forests, and waters do the speaking. Some dishes, like the beer battered halloumi, are long-running mainstays, while others change with seasonal availability, such as turnips with heritage corn grits, corn and “nduja” sauce, oyster mushrooms, and turnip top chimichurri; and shiitake with soy braised squash, kelp, ginger, and ginger leaf. A daily feature with the freshest farmed and foraged ingredients keeps the menu lively and tied to the specifics of this place.
Torafuku; Photo: Leila Kwok
The energy and the flavours are big at Torafuku, located on the edges of Chinatown. Nearly a decade running, the restaurant specializes in bold pan-Asian cuisine that incorporates fresh local ingredients. In addition to a family-style chef’s tasting menu ($70 per person for 7 shared courses), the restaurant offers many à la carte options, including small plates like bison tartare with pear galbi sauce, sesame oil, and taro chips; maitake tempura with togarashi and ponzu, and hiramasa crudo with leche de tigre yuzu coconut sauce. More substantial dishes are equally as creative in their melding of culinary traditions, such as grilled duck breast with risotto, pickled radish and shimeji mushrooms, and cherry umeboshi agrodolce. The cocktail list is equally as playful, with drinks like O My Sake, with Aizu Homare sake, pear nectar, lime, Japanese green tea syrup, egg white, and smoky pear bitters.
Como Taperia; Photo: Emily Lorenz
Time spent at ¿CóMO? Taperia is time well spent. The cozy spot on lower Main Street exudes the good time vibes of a Spanish tapas bar, where the drinks are flowing, the small plates are tasty, and the crowd is cheerful and friendly. Go for Happy Hour from 4pm to 5pm everyday when you can snack on free tapas at the bar with a drink purchase, or take advantage of 35% off bottles of wine and 25% off the regular menu (some exceptions). You’ll find yourself staying past Happy Hour to order dishes like fried Iberico chorizo, patatas bravas, or tortilla with jamon. If you’re feeling particularly hungry, order the 16oz T-bone with anchovy butter, or the pork Milanesa with salmorejo sauce, fennel, and radishes. The bar is also the star here with sherry, vermut, and sangria on tap, Spanish and local beer, as well as tons of fun cocktail options.
Anh and Chi; Photo: Juno Kim
The family-run Anh and Chi represents a new generational-interpretation of classic Vietnamese cuisine. Inspired by the passion and hard work of their parents, Hoàng and Lý, Vincent and Amélie Nguyễn took over their parents’ original restaurant and transformed it into a modern space, which retains a lot of heart. Mom, Lý, is the executive chef and very much a part of this revisioning of Vietnamese food. The restaurant earned a Bib Gourmand distinction for many reasons: good value dishes that promote sharing among family and friends. Particularly great for family-style dining is the khay bánh hỏi lụi nướng, a DIY street-side platter that comes with pork sausage, beef in betel leaf, grilled chicken, grilled prawn, pork spring rolls, chili fish sauce, as well as rice paper, rice vermicelli, lettuce, pickled carrots and daikon, and Vietnamese herbs for assembling your bites (there’s also a vegetarian version of the platter). Other menu highlights are the bánh xèo (turmeric crepe) and the bún riêu cua, a crab tomato noodle soup, which soothes perfectly on a chilly night.
Sushi Hil; Photo: Tara Lee
Given Vancouver’s proximity to the Pacific, the city has an abundance of incredible Japanese, and specifically, sushi restaurants that serve fresh, high-quality seafood. Sushi Hil, a Bib Gourmand spot, is a particularly elevated experience due to the craft and care invested in the food and service. The prime spots in the house in Sushi Hil are at the bar where you can watch the chefs deftly and precisely showcasing their knife skills. Otherwise, take a seat at one of the tables in the contemporary, minimalist room and prepare to marvel at the delicate treatment of ingredients. Order the sashimi moriawase, the chef’s daily selection of what’s freshest and best, as well as nigiri with Hokkaido uni, A5 wagyu, and other premium toppers. Other menu highlights include special rolls, like the super tuna roll with marinated negitoro, tuna tataki, soy paper, greens, and tare; or the king salmon oshi with shiso, serrano, and tare.
Photo: SUYO
SUYO looks unassuming from its exteriors but walk inside and you’ll be immediately struck by its gorgeous design, including the striking black pendant lights, wood accents, and greenery. The kitchen specializes in Peruvian cuisine with a modern, elevated treatment. Local ingredients also ground the food in the West Coast. Choose a selection from their “Ceviche Bar,” such as the ceviche classico with Haida Gwaii halibut, red onion, aji limo, and leche de tigre. From there, move on to small plates like pork belly chicharron with roasted yam puree, salsa criolla, polenta tamal, and olive aioli; and beef tenderloin tartare with salsa anticuchera, rocoto emulsion, and taro root chips. The cilantro-beer rice—served with duck breast and confit leg, duck egg, and huancaina—has become a must in itself. Meanwhile, vegetarians also have plant-based options like a cauliflower steak with lima bean puree, quinoa tabbouleh, almonds, and chimichurri. Enjoy a pisco sour, or other cocktails like the Oro, with Bacardi ocho, granite amaro, propolis tokaji, brown butter, and gold ore.
Song (by Kin Kao); Photo: @thegooseeats
Just a block from Main Street on East Broadway, you’ll find Song (by Kin Kao). This Bib Gourmand spot is also so much more than its exterior presents. The space, with lots of blonde wood and blue punches, exudes lightness, which mirrors the easy creativity of the dishes themselves. This is Thai food at its finest from sous vide, marinated, and grilled pork jowl with spicy jaew sauce to crab fried rice with egg, crab paste, and green onion—served with seafood sauce and cucumber. Curries, like ones with beef (green), crab (yellow), and seasonal vegetables (red), are aromatic and deep in flavour. A family-style set menu ($75 per person) is a good option if you’re dining with a group and want the decisions taken out of your hands.
Stay tuned for the October 3 reveal of the 2024 MICHELIN Guide Vancouver to see if Main Street restaurants get further stars and recognitions.