Dinner Granville Island

[LF23]

Hi, our schedule’s in a bit of a muddle at the moment. Potentially will end up at GI late afternoon/early evening on a Friday. Would you recommend Bridges or Dockside (or somewhere else) for casual dinner with a view on a Friday night, after walking around for a bit before the market closes?  One of the party is a vegetarian. 

 

 @martincathI’m sure you have thoughts on this one!  

 

Thanks. 

[wgeo]

We were there last week, and were considering those restaurants, but as we wandered around the market and surrounding area our party of 6 all found various things at the food court and smaller stalls that we liked.  My husband had a veggie burger that he raved about, I got a great sandwich from somewhere called Bread I think, and some people had Chinese.  We all grabbed our food and sat in the middle at tables outside and really enjoyed oursleves.

[martincath]

Edible Canada is pretty much always my dinner recco on GI itself. Not that Bridges, Sandbar etc. are bad but none of their kitchens are a patch on EC - and I say that even though the head chef I know personally has left the resto (and I also said it before he started running it!) Unless a view is more important than the food, or you're looking for a cheap dinner, I wouldn't bother looking at anywhere else - it's got by far the most local, Canadian-oriented menu of the bunch (heck, there's only a handful of restos in the city that do as well at sticking to local, and really none better unless you subscribe to the '100 mile' diet philosophy as EC brings stuff in from all over Canada).

 

If you were looking for cheap, I'd do exactly what was just posted - assemble a meal at the market.

 

Only other consideration to me would be whether you might enjoy Salmon & Bannock even more - it's up on Broadway, but GI is pretty convenient for getting there except for the steep hillside if you're on foot. EC does a great job at getting in weird stuff - we've had Seal there multiple times, and they have hosted aboriginal dinners with chefs from across the major First Nations areas of Canada - but nobody has the year-round resources that S&B do as they are native-owned, so can legally sell any animal that can be hunted by natives so they occasionally get in some items that literally nobody else offers (currently that's smoked sea lion) as well as sourcing some stuff that's just too obscure rather than not legal for us incomer types (oolichan and herring roe spring to mind as items I can't ever recall seeing on a non-native menu).

[LF23]

On 6/23/2019 at 1:29 PM, wgeo said:

our party of 6 all found various things at the food court and smaller stalls that we liked

 

On 6/23/2019 at 1:50 PM, martincath said:

Edible Canada is pretty much always my dinner recco on GI itself

 

Thank you both. I could see the first situation happening with our group!  

[simplyrubies]

My vote's for the market! The good thing about the market is that it is pretty flexible - no need to worry about not having dishes that suit everyone's tastes or budgets and you can eat whenever you are hungry. If the weather is nice, perhaps you could take the food outside and have a mini picnic. Beware of the birds though, some of them can be quite aggressive!

 

While you're there, I'd definitely recommend a donut from Lee's Donuts. They are not in the "food court" area, but their donuts are delicious! While I'm not sure what their stock will be like later in the day as they are quite popular, they are definitely worth checking out. Longliner Seafood and Seafood City both offer candied salmon. A local treat and a great snack. Bon Macaron does nice macarons with lots of different flavours. 

 

In terms of meal material, as a kid, I always liked the Market Grill. They do burgers and hotdogs - nothing too fancy, but it's a nostalgic go-to of mine. You can try Montreal style bagels and smoked meat at Siegel's Bagels. A La Mode does all sorts of pies - I personally like their chicken pot pie! In addition, there are many vendors selling fresh fruit and vegetables. For dessert, you could always try some local fruit.

[LF23]

22 minutes ago, simplyrubies said:

The good thing about the market is that it is pretty flexible - no need to worry about not having dishes that suit everyone's tastes or budgets and you can eat whenever you are hungry. If the weather is nice, perhaps you could take the food outside

 

Thank you, this is great info and probably the smartest way to handle the day. Is there a “best” way to head outside?  Really appreciate the tips!  

[simplyrubies]

This site has a few ideas but personally, I think the area outside of the Public Market is nice! You can choose to sit closer by the street. In the day time, buskers often perform. Alternatively, you can sit closer to the water. There are benches where you can eat,  as well as outside seating. 

 

This way, you don't have to go too far to enjoy your meal.

Edited June 26, 2019 by simplyrubies

[LF23]

Thank you! 

[gerelmx]

Can I find King Crab for lunch at Granville Island?

[martincath]

42 minutes ago, gerelmx said:

Can I find King Crab for lunch at Granville Island?

Only frozen legs - at least one of the seafood vendors should have them in stock (all three usually carry them), but can't think offhand of any of the prepared food counters that would have them on the menu (and even if they were, it would be the same steamed/frozen/reheated product available all over the world).

 

Edit - whoops, sorry, you didn't say at the Market, just on the Island, so you may find AKC legs being offered at some of the restos like Bridges (Upstairs, in the fancier part), Sandbar, and Vancouver Fish Company - The Keg also offers them usually as one of their 'surf & turf' choices (but again, they're all frozen legs... Sandbar *might* have some fresh in season, but this doesn't overlap with cruise season...)

Edited June 26, 2019 by martincath