Place to eat near Four Seasons Vancouver

[andrek]

Hello, can anyone give some suggestions for places to eat near the Four Seasons Vancouver? We eat most foods and are looking to spend less than $100 for dinner for the 2 of us. Also, is there a place close by to get coffee and some light breakfast or sweets. Thanks so much.

[Putterdude]

There are lots of Starbucks close by however if you want something different then a walk down to Scoozis is a good bet. For diner one of my faves is Joe Fortes which has been a touchstone dining venue in Vancouver for more than 25 years.

 

http://www.scoozis.ca

 

http://www.joefortes.ca

[xlxo]

The Four Seasons is also connected to an air conditioned mall. The Pacific Centre Mall has a food court for cheap eats.

[liptastic]

Is there a Cactus Club near the Four Seasons? Thanks, Jean.

[andrek]

Thanks so much for your tips. I will look into all your suggestions.

[Putterdude]

Is there a Cactus Club near the Four Seasons? Thanks, Jean.

 

Yes about 4 blocks away in the Bentall 5 office tower.

 

You can walk there either via the blue route or the gray route....I would probably go via the gray route.

 

 

 

http://www.cactusclubcafe.com/location/bentall-5/

 

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Cactus+Club+Cafe,+Burrard+Street,+Vancouver,+BC,+Canada/Four+Seasons+Hotel+Vancouver,+West+Georgia+Street,+Vancouver,+BC,+Canada/@49.2844039,-123.1214712,17z/data=!3m2!4b1!5s0x5486717f68d3cb43:0xb43516d76e732ff5!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x5486718220f8032f:0x3d498a04746b8d37!2m2!1d-123.1187746!2d49.2854892!1m5!1m1!1s0x5486717f5d0ad2c1:0xadce9bfe4919ca59!2m2!1d-123.1180976!2d49.2834354?hl=en-US

[liptastic]

Thanks Putterdude, Jean.

[marys350]

There are lots of Starbucks close by however if you want something different then a walk down to Scoozis is a good bet. For diner one of my faves is Joe Fortes which has been a touchstone dining venue in Vancouver for more than 25 years.

 

http://www.scoozis.ca

 

http://www.joefortes.ca

 

We enjoyed the "Happy Hour menu" at Joe Fortes Restaurant.

[andrek]

The happy hour looks great! Our plane arrives mid afternoon so we might just head there for happy hour. Thanks so much!

[blueridgemama]

Yes about 4 blocks away in the Bentall 5 office tower.

 

You can walk there either via the blue route or the gray route....I would probably go via the gray route.

 

 

 

Is one Cactus Club Café location better than the others? Which one has the best views? Is the restaurant at the 4 Seasons Hotel worthy? Which restaurant near 4 Seasons or Canada Place has best seafood in your opinion? Thanks for any info. Will be in Vancouver/Victoria for the 1st time in July. We are very excited to see Vancouver and Victoria prior to our cruise.. Love it when locals give advise . Thanks Putterdude:)

[Putterdude]

Yes about 4 blocks away in the Bentall 5 office tower.

 

You can walk there either via the blue route or the gray route....I would probably go via the gray route.

 

 

 

Is one Cactus Club Café location better than the others? Which one has the best views? Is the restaurant at the 4 Seasons Hotel worthy? Which restaurant near 4 Seasons or Canada Place has best seafood in your opinion? Thanks for any info. Will be in Vancouver/Victoria for the 1st time in July. We are very excited to see Vancouver and Victoria prior to our cruise.. Love it when locals give advise . Thanks Putterdude:)

 

Cactus Clubs are a cookie cutter operation, decors will vary from location to location depending upon the stores age but the food is pretty much the same and is good value. If you want some marine views then the location down at the new convention center just a few steps of Canada Place would be what I would suggest.

 

I am not a huge fan of hotel restaurants but I have enjoyed good meals at both the 4 Seasons and 5 Sails at the Pan Pacific at Canada Place.

 

IMO better seafood is had at Joe Fortes and or the Fish Shack, both are very walkable from the 4 Seasons.

 

http://www.joefortes.ca/

http://www.glowbalgroup.com/fish-shack/

https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Four+Seasons+Hotel+Vancouver,+West+Georgia+Street,+Vancouver,+BC/Joe+Fortes+Seafood+%26+Chop+House,+Thurlow+Street,+Vancouver,+BC/The+Fish+Shack,+Granville+Street,+Vancouver,+BC/@49.282291,-123.1263666,16z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m20!4m19!1m5!1m1!1s0x5486717f5d0ad2c1:0xadce9bfe4919ca59!2m2!1d-123.1180976!2d49.2834354!1m5!1m1!1s0x5486718058084c89:0x3ff942ff93b7a1cc!2m2!1d-123.12453!2d49.2849687!1m5!1m1!1s0x548673d5a36ef371:0xb495b928ef0d7df5!2m2!1d-123.1233746!2d49.2788421!3e2

[martincath]

Agree 100% with the Convention Centre CCC for views near 4 Seasons - but if you'd rather see more ocean and less mountain, English Bay CCC is the other 'view' location (and since pricing is the same across the chain, why not sit somewhere with a view?)

 

Disagree as to Joes offering better seafood than Yew - since they changed the menu a couple of years back to be more seafood-focused than before I'd say they handle their cooked fish dishes both better and at a better value point than Joes (they don't have the two decade plus rep to keep them sailing along, so they have to be enticing). I must admit Joes is doing a great job with their Happy Hour - along with Hy's it's the most surprisingly-good value in the city (compared to regular menu) so if you can eat early enough to make Happy Hour viable, by all means go.

 

But the best seafood - heck, scratch that, the best ANY kind of food close to the 4 Seasons though is an absolute no-brainer if you're familiar enough with the local scene - Hawksworth. Caveat - with his new venture opening soon there's always the possiblity of a dip in quality as experienced staff are moved over to seed the new crew, but the eponymous Chef H runs a very, very tight ship so I'd be surprised if anyone would notice anything different unless they order the same dish frequently.

 

After Blue Water (~$10 cab ride into Yaletown, and very much THE place to go for all sorts of seafood, cooked or raw), Hawksworth is IMO the best place in the city for cooked fish - with Bishop's just edging them on molluscs & crustaceans (about a $20 cab ride from 4 Seasons over to Kits).

 

Five Sails is no slouch for seafood, but while they have plenty of good fish dishes on - especially if you like classic continental items like Dover Sole or Skate wings - IMO the real strength of the kitchen lies in their meat & poultry dishes, especially their venison and duck.

[blueridgemama]

Thank you Putterdude and martincath for your restaurant ideas. We will be in Vancouver for 2 nites so will have an opportunity to eat at at least 2 of your suggestions. Any great ideas for our one night in Victoria?:)

[Putterdude]

Thank you Putterdude and martincath for your restaurant ideas. We will be in Vancouver for 2 nites so will have an opportunity to eat at at least 2 of your suggestions. Any great ideas for our one night in Victoria?:)

 

Victoria like Vancouver has many restaurant ideas, what sort of food are you looking for.

[blueridgemama]

Victoria like Vancouver has many restaurant ideas, what sort of food are you looking for.

 

We like all kinds of food but locally sourced seafood would be my first choice. We are staying at the Empress Hotel for one night.

[Putterdude]

We like all kinds of food but locally sourced seafood would be my first choice. We are staying at the Empress Hotel for one night.

 

The Empress wow the Empress....well you have a number of choices:

 

Barb's Fish n' Chips are just a couple minutes away on Fisherman's Wharf but it belly up to the counter, place your order and sit on a picnic bench. However a great product.

 

Red Fish Blue Fish is much the same and even closer to the Empress.

 

The Flying Otter is almost across the street from the Empress but a little more general menu then just seafood.

 

Nautical Nellie's is a good choice and walkable from the Empress.

https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Fairmont+Empress,+Government+Street,+Victoria,+BC/Barb's+Fish+and+Chips,+Dallas+Road,+Victoria,+BC/Fairmont+Empress,+Government+Street,+Victoria,+BC/Flying+Otter+Grill,+Wharf+Street,+Victoria,+BC/Fairmont+Empress,+Government+Street,+Victoria,+BC/Red+Fish+Blue+Fish,+Wharf+Street,+Victoria,+BC/Fairmont+Empress,+Government+Street,+Victoria,+BC/Nautical+Nellies+Steak+%26+Seafood+House,+Victoria,+BC/@48.4220178,-123.3800025,16z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m50!4m49!1m5!1m1!1s0x548f7490ef50fa89:0xe22e87219e7b9d4c!2m2!1d-123.3668702!2d48.4218344!1m5!1m1!1s0x548f74a28f49c6c9:0x3f5af530643f2b70!2m2!1d-123.3828774!2d48.4226429!1m5!1m1!1s0x548f7490ef50fa89:0xe22e87219e7b9d4c!2m2!1d-123.3668702!2d48.4218344!1m5!1m1!1s0x548f749a5e4bc6c9:0xf9a0d229e09e29b4!2m2!1d-123.3705079!2d48.423621!1m5!1m1!1s0x548f7490ef50fa89:0xe22e87219e7b9d4c!2m2!1d-123.3668702!2d48.4218344!1m5!1m1!1s0x548f749a5ce47ac1:0x1d6fbdbfe21b6b3d!2m2!1d-123.3701589!2d48.4243051!1m5!1m1!1s0x548f7490ef50fa89:0xe22e87219e7b9d4c!2m2!1d-123.3668702!2d48.4218344!1m5!1m1!1s0x548f749a5fbef473:0xf1648180f43fccb2!2m2!1d-123.369322!2d48.424428!3e0

Edited April 26, 2016 by Putterdude

[martincath]

If you are OK with very casual, I'll second Red Fish Blue Fish and add Tacofino (for some reason tacos have been huge the last year or two, and these guys definitely are the prime movers in popularising them - fresh, local ingredients and their fish taco seems to be by far the hottest item).

 

For something sit down and more formal, try Ferris' Oyster Bar - upstairs especially nails the fresh, local, seafood trifecta. The old Pescatores changed so I can't personally recommend it yet, but Yelp, Tripadvisor etc. suggest it remains solid under the new guise of 10 Acres (split between The Kitchen and The Commons for more/less formal dining).

[blueridgemama]

martincath and putterdude : Thank you for all your great restaurant suggestions. Will look them all up on trip advisor and make selections:)

[martincath]

martincath and putterdude : Thank you for all your great restaurant suggestions. Will look them all up on trip advisor and make selections:)

No problem - but take Tripadvisor with a grain of salt. Ice cream parlours, sandwich shops and 3 star Michelin restos are all restos as far as TA is concerned, and both professional and amateur fake reviews abound. I wish they'd offer a filter to ignore everyone with fewer than X posts as it would really help weed out the 'friends & family' five star reviews...

 

If you're looking for anything approaching fine dining I'd head to professional reviews in local and national newspapers plus strategic use of Eater, Chowhound and eGullet to see what the foodie crowd is thinking. To maximise your food quality/value I find the single best thing to search for is where off-duty kitchen staff go for their eats.

[blueridgemama]

No problem - but take Tripadvisor with a grain of salt. Ice cream parlours, sandwich shops and 3 star Michelin restos are all restos as far as TA is concerned, and both professional and amateur fake reviews abound. I wish they'd offer a filter to ignore everyone with fewer than X posts as it would really help weed out the 'friends & family' five star reviews...

 

If you're looking for anything approaching fine dining I'd head to professional reviews in local and national newspapers plus strategic use of Eater, Chowhound and eGullet to see what the foodie crowd is thinking. To maximise your food quality/value I find the single best thing to search for is where off-duty kitchen staff go for their eats.

 

Thanks for the tip. I do take trip advisor reviews judiciously (don't think that is spelled right:D) Where would one go to search for where the kitchen staff dines?

[martincath]

Thanks for the tip. I do take trip advisor reviews judiciously (don't think that is spelled right:D) Where would one go to search for where the kitchen staff dines?

Looks like the right spelling to me! I used to have good success back in the day with Chowhound, but since Leff sold out it has been on a steady decline in usefulness - these days I use various different fora specific to the town or city being visited if they're large enough to have local sites, and reddit is often handy for slightly less busy online places. A straight-up Google for "where do kitchen staff eat in City X?" rarely hurts - it'll pull pages from all sorts of different sites, just be sure to check the date as the restaurant scene is generally quite changeable most places.

 

Here in Vancouver I find that Scout magazine is a solid first spot to look for new restos, interviews with chefs & restaurateurs, and their 'Scout 25' is pretty much a clone of the 'Eater 38' model (asking people in the trade and other influential locals for the top spots they would take visitors from out of town - though it has more of a general public aspect here, I've yet to meet anyone who bothers to check out Scout regularly that isn't a foodie so there have been very few restos on the list I'd disagree with vociferously).

 

Another thought - you didn't say when in July you were visiting. If it's over any weekend, you might enjoy Food Cart Fest (Sundays in prior years - should be announcing 2016 dates any time now), and if it's just the right Sunday - 24th July - I cannot recommend Brewery & the Beast enough (unless you have vegantarians among your group - expect at least a full day of the Meat Sweats!) as every single chef in the area worth their salt will be there, trying to outdo each other with how ridiculously over-the-top a dish they can make involving dead animals (unlimited food AND craft beer for just under $100pp, so if interested you NEED to book tickets on the day they go on sale - May 2nd - as tix are heavily restricted).

[blueridgemama]

Looks like the right spelling to me! I used to have good success back in the day with Chowhound, but since Leff sold out it has been on a steady decline in usefulness - these days I use various different fora specific to the town or city being visited if they're large enough to have local sites, and reddit is often handy for slightly less busy online places. A straight-up Google for "where do kitchen staff eat in City X?" rarely hurts - it'll pull pages from all sorts of different sites, just be sure to check the date as the restaurant scene is generally quite changeable most places.

 

Here in Vancouver I find that Scout magazine is a solid first spot to look for new restos, interviews with chefs & restaurateurs, and their 'Scout 25' is pretty much a clone of the 'Eater 38' model (asking people in the trade and other influential locals for the top spots they would take visitors from out of town - though it has more of a general public aspect here, I've yet to meet anyone who bothers to check out Scout regularly that isn't a foodie so there have been very few restos on the list I'd disagree with vociferously).

 

Another thought - you didn't say when in July you were visiting. If it's over any weekend, you might enjoy Food Cart Fest (Sundays in prior years - should be announcing 2016 dates any time now), and if it's just the right Sunday - 24th July - I cannot recommend Brewery & the Beast enough (unless you have vegantarians among your group - expect at least a full day of the Meat Sweats!) as every single chef in the area worth their salt will be there, trying to outdo each other with how ridiculously over-the-top a dish they can make involving dead animals (unlimited food AND craft beer for just under $100pp, so if interested you NEED to book tickets on the day they go on sale - May 2nd - as tix are heavily restricted).

 

Thanks again. We will be in Vancouver June 29 and 30th and in Victoria July 1st. Our cruise leaves July 2nd. You are a wealth of good info. Just for the fun of it and not limiting choices regarding type of food, price or location, where would you take an out of town visitor to experience the best Vancouver restaurant?

[xlxo]

Thanks again. We will be in Vancouver June 29 and 30th and in Victoria July 1st. Our cruise leaves July 2nd.

Big warning on July 1st.... it's a major holiday. Expect congestion in downtown Vancouver, Victoria and the ferries.

 

I recommend planning the Victoria day trip on the 29th or 30th when ferry traffic is less congested.

[blueridgemama]

Big warning on July 1st.... it's a major holiday. Expect congestion in downtown Vancouver, Victoria and the ferries.

 

I recommend planning the Victoria day trip on the 29th or 30th when ferry traffic is less congested.

 

Thanks for the heads up but our trip in Vancouver and Victoria is a planned excursion through Princess Cruises. I would hope that they will arrange all our transfers from hotel to ferry etc appropriately. At least, I hope so:) Will give them a call to verify. I guess I should plan on big crowds, long lines-will pack my patience:) Should I reserve our restaurant selections now?

[Putterdude]

Thanks for the heads up but our trip in Vancouver and Victoria is a planned excursion through Princess Cruises. I would hope that they will arrange all our transfers from hotel to ferry etc appropriately. At least, I hope so:) Will give them a call to verify. I guess I should plan on big crowds, long lines-will pack my patience:) Should I reserve our restaurant selections now?

 

It won't hurt to make your dinner reservations now, you can always change or cancel them.

 

Yes, Princess tour vendor will make ferry reservation, all coach operators make reservations and get first on, first off priority.