Eating in Vancouver
4 stopsUpdated July 2026
There’s more good sushi per square metre here than in almost any city outside Japan, and it isn’t a fashion accident: it’s the same Pacific Ocean, with the same salmon, the same urchin and the same scallop as Hokkaido, and a Japanese community that has been here since the late nineteenth century. The raw material doesn’t travel: it comes out of the water in front of you.
And that logic covers the rest: Vancouver eats what’s around it and what its immigration brought, which is largely Asian. Over forty per cent of the population is of Asian origin, and that means Chinese, Japanese and Korean food here isn’t an adapted version, it’s the real thing. What there isn’t is a Canadian cuisine of its own, and nobody pretends otherwise.
The route, stop by stop
4 STOPS- 01
Salmon, and the five of them
On this coast there’s no such thing as “salmon”: there are five Pacific species and they’re different dishes. Sockeye is deep red, lean and strong-flavoured, and it’s the one locals prefer. Chinook, or king, is the biggest and the fattiest, and the one expensive restaurants pay for. Coho is in between. And pink and chum are the ones that end up in tins.
The season is summer and autumn, and there’s a phenomenon worth a trip: every four years the Adams river, about four hours away, gets a sockeye run so large the river turns red. Millions of fish returning to be born where they were born, after years in open ocean, to spawn and die there. The next big one is due in 2026, so if your dates land in October, ask.
And at Granville market ask for wild sockeye and look at the label: “wild” and “farmed” are two different products and the distinction is taken seriously here.
- 02
Sushi
Vancouver’s density of sushi places is among the highest in the world outside Japan, and there are two reasons: the Pacific is in front and the Japanese community has been here since the 1880s. You eat very well and at prices that don’t exist in Europe, because the fish hasn’t travelled.
And there’s a local claim worth telling honestly: Hidekazu Tojo, a chef who arrived in Vancouver in 1971, maintains he invented the California roll here, turning the maki inside out to hide the seaweed, which customers then didn’t like, and replacing raw tuna, which wasn’t available, with crab and avocado. Los Angeles claims the same.
It isn’t settled and we won’t settle it: what is true is that here there’s a named chef who has defended it for fifty years and a restaurant where you can go and argue with him about it.
- 03
Richmond, which is China
Richmond presses against the airport and holds, by percentage, the highest Chinese-origin population outside Asia: around fifty-five per cent. That doesn’t mean it has a Chinatown: it means it is Chinese. Shopping centre signage is in Chinese first, and there are people who live there without needing English.
The practical consequence is that you eat Chinese food here that doesn’t exist in Europe: genuine Cantonese, trolley dim sum at midday, Sichuan hot pot, north-eastern food.
And there’s a summer night market with Taiwanese and Hong Kong street-food stalls that ten thousand people go to.
It’s twenty minutes from downtown on the Canada Line, the same one that goes to the airport. If you have one night and want to eat the best in this city, it’s here and not downtown.
- 04
Granville market
The public market sits on the old Granville Island industrial estate, under a bridge and next to a working cement plant, and that mixture is exactly what makes it good: when it was converted in the seventies they didn’t sanitise it, so there are still mixer trucks coming and going while you buy cheese.
Inside there are fishmongers with all five salmon species labelled, fruit stalls from the Okanagan valley, bakeries, and a density of prepared-food counters that makes it the best place in the city to eat cheaply. Watch out for the gulls on the outdoor terrace, which take food out of your hand and that isn’t an exaggeration: there are signs.
You get there on the small ferries from downtown, in five minutes, and that ride alone is worth the admission.
Frequently asked
Why is there so much sushi in Vancouver?
Because the Pacific is right there (the same salmon, urchin and scallop as Hokkaido, with no travel for the fish) and because there has been a Japanese community here since the 1880s. The density of places is among the highest in the world outside Japan and the prices don’t exist in Europe.
Where do you eat the best Chinese food in Vancouver?
In Richmond, twenty minutes on the Canada Line: by percentage it’s the city with the highest Chinese-origin population outside Asia, around 55%. It doesn’t have a Chinatown, it is Chinese. Trolley dim sum, genuine Cantonese, hot pot, and a summer night market.
Which salmon should you order in Vancouver?
Sockeye if you want what locals prefer: deep red, lean, strong-flavoured. Chinook or king if you want the fattiest. There are five Pacific species and they’re different dishes. And look at the label: “wild” and “farmed” are two different products and the distinction is taken seriously here.