Cheap Places to Eat in Downtown Vancouver

"After a stint at the Savoy in London, cooking for Mick Jagger, Prince, and a host of other glitzy celebs, Belgian chef Nico Schuermans has created the archetypal casual fine dining restaurant in Vancouver. Chambar offers an elegant room, faultless service, and a no-nonsense menu of French-/Belgian-influenced classics made with Pacific Northwest ingredients, which you’d be more than welcome to enjoy coming straight from yoga class still in your Lululemons."

"While part of dining at establishments like Chambar might be for the experience, with heat-and-serve dinners, you can now bring Chambar favourites to the comfort of home. Most of their packages serve two, like the risotto kit (from $16.50) and the Moroccan meatballs with chickpeas ($19). Or, if you're plant-based, the vegan tamarind and coconut curry ($14)."

"Chambar's one of the few restaurants that's open first thing and closes late in the evening. This bodes well for hungry diners in search of a delicious meal, any time of day. Whether you're here for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner, the Belgian-North African cuisine brings beautiful dishes to the table."

"Dive right into some delightful and authentic Middle Eastern cuisine with Nuba. This popular Lebanese eatery is a highlight in Vancouver’s food scene, and serves up a delicious array of awesome Mediterrnean dishes that will tantalize your taste buds and keep you going back for more. Call ahead for easy takeout, or order in for your next mid-week family dinner and enjoy a scrumptious stress-free meal."

"Photo of vegan falafel plate at Nuba by JennIfer on flickr creative commons https://flic.kr/p/6PkP5D. Voted the best Lebanese restaurant by Georgia Straight readers, Nuba offers fresh and healthy meals using local and organic ingredients whenever possible. They have many vegetarian options, and foster strong relationships with high quality suppliers that Vancouverites know and love."

"The amount of effort I would put in to get my hands on their recipe is honestly as much as Plankton goes through trying to steal the Krabby Patty recipe. Hopefully you've found at least one thing out of the 50 that appeals to your tastebuds. Now you have no excuse to ever eat a sub par meal again when you are out and about in Vancouver."

"A post shared by Chickpea (@ilovechickpea) on Jan 14, 2019 at 12:11pm PST. Stop by this plant-based Main Street haunt on any given weekday and you will find it brimming with mamas, strollers and wee ones enjoying pitas, salads and hummus plates. There’s even dedicated stroller parking inside the eatery."

"4298 Main Street, Vancouver Tel: (604) 620-0602 Web: http://ilovechickpea.ca/ Twitter @ILoveChickpea Instagram @ilovechickpea Advice: Walkins welcome. With it’s focus on Middle Eastern cuisine that is 100% plant based, owners Rotem Tal and Itamar Shani have created a great vibe at…"

"We’re pleasantly surprised by Chickpea’s success in the city. With undoubtedly the most specific focus, Chickpea offers (unsurprisingly) a whole boatload of chickpea-based dishes, in addition to some classic sides and salads."

"The Sunny Side Breakfast Sandwich (Photo courtesy Virtuous Pies). Virtuous Pie already has one seriously popular plant-based pizzeria in Chinatown, and they are opening another one on the UBC campus in winter 2017. This spot offers a killer selection of pizzas along with an unreal vegetarian brunch."

"Plant-based pizza and ice cream joint serving creative pies like the 'Stranger Wings' with buffalo cauliflower, house-made nut-based mozzarella and blue cheese sauce."

"If you want to warm your belly with a luscious, authentic Japanese ramen, the best Vancouver spots are at Ramen Danbo and Marutama. When Danbo went international, it opened its first overseas diners in Vancouver. Unlike other ramen shops, at Danbo you have the power to uniquely customize your whole noodles (thickness and firmness) and broth (thickness, amount of lard, and spice)."

"Sushi in Vancouver is du rigeur, and this happy place on Main Street offers a vast number of specialty rolls that range from the Paparazzi roll (spicy tuna with tuna tataki and onion) to the Jumpin Dessert Roll (cream cheese, fresh fruit and pop rocks). Dine in or take away."

"Beginning just two blocks from our hotel, this famous waterfront walking and cycling path winds 28km around the downtown peninsula, following the shoreline of False Creek and English Bay all the way to Kitsilano. Popular with fitness buffs and sightseers alike, a stroll along the seawall is one of the best ways to take in the city’s scenery."

"Built in 1975 on a former golf course, VanDusen Botanical Garden is spread over 55 acres in Vancouver’s exclusive Shaughnessy neighborhood, about a ten-minute drive from the city’s downtown core. The sheer variety of plant life on display is incredible, and as you meander the garden’s paths you’ll encounter over 7,500 plants and trees from seven separate geographic regions. But it’s more than just another “plant museum,” so to speak: from the meditation garden and Elizabethan maze to the bubbling streams that cascade from the park’s waterfall, this is one of the more stunning and serene spots in Vancouver."

"The vast and verdant VanDusen Botanical Garden is just ten minutes’ drive to the south of the center. It has lots of pretty paths and ponds and stunning scenery wherever you look. First opened to the public in 1975, the gorgeous garden now has countless different sections, including a maze, meditation garden, Rhododendron Walk, Korean Pavilion and sino-Himalayan area."

"Located west of Kitsilano, Jericho Beach is well liked by swimmers and sailors. The beach’s east side caters to beachgoers, while its west side is for sailboats and windsurfers. Besides swimming, picnicking and enjoying the Vancouver views, there are a lot of fun recreational activities to enjoy at Jericho Beach, including soccer, volleyball, tennis and baseball."

"Home to the Jericho Sailing Centre a great spot for a cheap lunch with an amazing view —and Jericho Park, this beautiful beach is ideal for sailing, walking and biking along the park's pathways, and playing tennis. It's the perfect place for a sunset stroll. Jericho Beach is also the venue for July's annual Vancouver Folk Music Festival."

"Located just west of Kitsilano, Jericho Beach is a well-used sandy beach and grassy park in Vancouver. It's a great place for a picnic overlooking the water and watching sail boats in the waters of English Bay from the local Sailing Centre. The beach is named after Jeremiah Rogers who ran a logging camp… read more »"

"Bambudda serves contemporary Chinese food in a modern setting. Inspiration is taken from Hong Kong and southern Chinese cuisine. Modern interpretations of Dim sum are also represented on the menu."

"Take a trip to an excellent Parisian bistro by way of the city’s beachside Kitsilano neighborhood, where up-and-comer chef Dan McGee and team are whipping up French standards with B.C.’s finest produce. The stunning custom-made bar comes from France, and even the serving staff are mostly French, although with the happy addition of Canadian manners. With buttery croissants in the morning, gooey croque-monsieur at lunch, and juicy entrecôte-frites with a mouthwatering crisp char at dinner, anytime is a good time for Au Comptoir."

"Whenever I look for someplace to eat, and that place prides itself on serving a particular cuisine, there’s one aspect that I always look for authenticity. So, here’s an excellent piece of news: Au Comptoir is that restaurant that really deserves infinite stamps of approval for maintaining a level of authenticity and fidelity to French cuisine. From Au Comptoir, I tried out the EntrecÔte Frites, which is a dish consisting of the grilled ribeye steak topped with rich peppercorn sauce, and potato fries on the side."

"A post shared by Au Comptoir (@au_comptoir) on Nov 19, 2017 at 11:02am PST. Reserve a table for two at this Parisian spot for a night of romance. This is the place to savour a glass of fine wine as you tuck into French classics like cassoulet before sharing one of their house-made desserts."