BC Business
The city will play host to the European food guide for the first time in its history.
Vancouver foodies rejoiced this week when it was announced that the Michelin Guide would be coming to the city for the first time ever.
Toronto announced the same thing two months ago (because of course they did) and will become the first Canadian city to get the honour when the stars are given out in September.
But with Vancouver slated to play host to the finest culinary guide in the world—albeit one with a process that isn’t always fully understood by the public—we thought we would try our hand at predicting which Vancouver restaurants might find themselves highlighted by the world’s most lauded culinary institution.
Let’s get to it.
Since its inception in 2017, St. Lawrence and its chef J-C Poirer have collected more hardware than Home Depot. The always packed, always coveted French eatery has been the toast of the town for a few years now. It recently came third in a list of Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants (we’ll get to the first-place finisher below), and seems a shoe-in for a star or two.
The one thing that St. Lawrence might have against it is that French food isn’t exactly synonymous with Vancouver. Boulevard doesn’t have that problem. The downtown jewel focuses on seafood—often with an Asian twist—which might help it when Michelin investigators are looking for eateries that represent the city.
It’s worth noting that, when Michelin came to another west coast city in L.A., Asian cuisine ruled the day. That, along with the emphasis that the Michelin Guide often places on service play to Boulevard’s strengths.
Being crowned Canada’s Best Restaurant is nothing to sneeze at. And it’s reportedly made getting into Published something close to an impossibility. With its innovation and ambition, it would be very hard to imagine Published not getting a star, even if it’s a smidge more laid back than some of the city’s other candidates.
Speaking of which, even as Hawksworth is no longer the clear cream of the crop in terms of fine dining in the city like it was a few years ago, it’s still a stalwart in terms of service and excellent food and (especially) wine. It would be an upset if Michelin didn’t recognize one of the city’s formative restaurants.
Some of the most unique cuisine in the country is coming out of Kissa Tanto’s Chinatown kitchen. If the Michelin judges are looking for something that stands out from the pack, they’ll undoubtedly find it here.
Vancouver sushi is sure to be recognized by Michelin in some capacity, and we feel like one of these spots helmed by legendary chefs have to be considered heavily.
The Thai powerhouse from Angus An has been cranking out innovative dishes in Kitsilano for over a decade now. While it’s not as flashy as some of the names on this list, it’s certainly just as delicious.
We’ve only heard great things about this Italian restaurant on Commercial Drive and it’s racked up awards since opening in late 2019. Unfortunately for regular people, it’s basically impossible to get into unless you line up at 5 p.m. A Michelin rating might make it even harder.
Former Hawksworth sous chef Hector Laguna churns out great dishes from the freshest and best ingredients in the province. The top-of-the-line cocktails don’t hurt either.
Does Michelin have an “open for 24 hours” category?