Vancouver answers from a Vancouverite

[kjeanne2001]

Sorry for the confusion :). We originally were coming into Vancouver on Tuesday and departing on the Volendam on Wednesday. I had already booked the cruise package for Tuesday night. We then decided to fly out on Monday evening so we won't get into Vancouver until about midnight on Monday night. I was going to stay at the airport on Monday night but then decided I really wanted just to check in to the PP.

 

 

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[Alberta Quilter]

I have also booked the Pan Pacific cruise package for our pre-cruise hotel. Can you experts recommend a restaurant for dinner the night prior to the cruise? Nothing too fancy, nor too expensive (Yes I realize the irony of inexpensive meal and staying at the PP). We won't be drinking any alcohol so would like to keep the meal around $50 or so for two. Would like a pleasant place, for a sit down dinner, but something unique, if possible, to Vancouver. And within walking distance to hotel, preferably flat, level walking distance.

 

Thank you!

[martincath]

I have also booked the Pan Pacific cruise package for our pre-cruise hotel. Can you experts recommend a restaurant for dinner the night prior to the cruise? Nothing too fancy, nor too expensive (Yes I realize the irony of inexpensive meal and staying at the PP). We won't be drinking any alcohol so would like to keep the meal around $50 or so for two. Would like a pleasant place, for a sit down dinner, but something unique, if possible, to Vancouver. And within walking distance to hotel, preferably flat, level walking distance.

 

Thank you!

$50 for two without any booze is quite possible downtown - especially if you're light eaters (i.e. just a couple of courses) or carefully select somewhere offering a prix fixe deal. NB: I'm assuming since you say $50 or so, that the tax & tip portion can make up the 'or so' part leaving you at least a full $50 to spend on the food. To get close to that while also fitting your criteria of close to the hotel is a major stretch - unless you're talking sitting down inside McDonalds/Tim Hortons/Subway or similar.

 

The closest fit to all of your requests would be Hapa Izakaya's Coal Harbour branch, just across the road from you. Izakayas are relatively common in Vancouver, LA, and a handful of other West Coast areas but very rare anywhere else outside Japan so odds are good it will be at least unusual for you, if not truly unique to here.

 

You could certainly order a la carte and get a reasonable amount of food for $50 - especially if you hit up the filling-and-good-value noodle bowls - but they also offer an interesting prix fixe for just over your budget, $29.99 per person. You get 11 courses for that $30 covering basically all of the classic dishes - frankly I've never seen such a wide range of proteins offered for such a reasonable price in the city, it is truly outstanding value even for the very modest portions of each.

 

If Asian food is out, options are realistically limited to The Three Ps of cheap dining (pizza, pasta & pubs) to come close to your budget & location criteria - all of the nearby pubs (Rogue, Tap & Barrel, Mahony & Sons, Lions) offer pizza & pasta, burgers & sandwiches, and at least a few other entree options (e.g. 1 piece fish & chips) cheap enough to allow at least an appy or dessert per person.

 

Of the three, I would suggest Rogue has the best food; Mahony's has the most seats with a view (and their angle allows seeing Canada Place) but is the most outrageously Generic Irish Pub I've seen in years. Even that however is a step up from the Elephant & Castle which has nothing going for it other than its location inside the Marine Building (which is a uniquely Vancouver place and well-worth popping into the lobby and mezzanine level for a look around) - I have not listed their menu, which is similarly-priced to these others, because the food and service is simply awful IMO.

 

If you can squeeze a few bucks extra to allow taking a cab ($10 each way cab ride would open up a huge amount of the city to you) I could make many more suggestions - but your hotel is right in the centre of IMO the worst-value-for-dining part of Vancouver (understandable given the prime views, cruise pier, fancy hotels of course). If you do think you could find an extra $20 for cab-fare please indicate any preferences/dislikes for types of food as there would be scope for a wide variety of cuisines around your price-point.

[prairiesailor]

Looking at taking morning train back from Seattle to Vancouver & thinking about booking a 2:15 p.m. flight-doable or not & where do you get off the train & how to get back to YVR. Thanks. Alfred

[martincath]

Looking at taking morning train back from Seattle to Vancouver & thinking about booking a 2:15 p.m. flight-doable or not & where do you get off the train & how to get back to YVR. Thanks. Alfred

I would recommend against a flight that early. Morning train from SEA arrives 11:40am - cabs line up when the train comes in, so you could be at the airport as early as 12:40pm if you travel business class on the train (you do Customs/Immigration at Vancouver station, bus class get to queue up before economy) and jump right in a cab. Travelling Economy, if the train is full and you are last in line, could mean waiting 45 minutes or more after arrival before you are able to get in a cab for the c.40 minute with daytime traffic trip to the airport.

 

You can take Skytrain, but it involves using two different lines one of which is not set up to take suitcases (Expo/Millennium) and is likely to still have capacity issues due to work on the station.

 

Domestic flights recommend 2 hours before flight time as when you should arrive at YVR - security lines can get long - so already you're at risk of missing the cutoff (although *usually* turning up an hour beforehand is enough for a domestic flight) even if you travel business class and the train is on time.

 

If anything goes wrong with the train, delays go from a couple of minutes to a couple of hours really easily - all freight traffic is prioritized over the subsidized passenger trains. We have generally been on time or within 15 minutes of ETA on Amtrak, but every time we have had a worse delay than that it has been on the order of two hours because we have had to wait again and again to allow scheduled freight trains to get ahead of us.

 

Personally I'd look into flights from SEA - but if train then YVR flight is cheap enough to be worth the hassle, schedule a flight for at least 4pm or even better 5pm or later.

[prairiesailor]

Thanks martincath. I kind of thought it might be tight so will look at the evening flight . Alfred

[Alberta Quilter]

$50 for two without any booze is quite possible downtown - especially if you're light eaters (i.e. just a couple of courses) or carefully select somewhere offering a prix fixe deal. NB: I'm assuming since you say $50 or so, that the tax & tip portion can make up the 'or so' part leaving you at least a full $50 to spend on the food. To get close to that while also fitting your criteria of close to the hotel is a major stretch - unless you're talking sitting down inside McDonalds/Tim Hortons/Subway or similar.

 

The closest fit to all of your requests would be Hapa Izakaya's Coal Harbour branch, just across the road from you. Izakayas are relatively common in Vancouver, LA, and a handful of other West Coast areas but very rare anywhere else outside Japan so odds are good it will be at least unusual for you, if not truly unique to here.

 

You could certainly order a la carte and get a reasonable amount of food for $50 - especially if you hit up the filling-and-good-value noodle bowls - but they also offer an interesting prix fixe for just over your budget, $29.99 per person. You get 11 courses for that $30 covering basically all of the classic dishes - frankly I've never seen such a wide range of proteins offered for such a reasonable price in the city, it is truly outstanding value even for the very modest portions of each.

 

If Asian food is out, options are realistically limited to The Three Ps of cheap dining (pizza, pasta & pubs) to come close to your budget & location criteria - all of the nearby pubs (Rogue, Tap & Barrel, Mahony & Sons, Lions) offer pizza & pasta, burgers & sandwiches, and at least a few other entree options (e.g. 1 piece fish & chips) cheap enough to allow at least an appy or dessert per person.

 

Of the three, I would suggest Rogue has the best food; Mahony's has the most seats with a view (and their angle allows seeing Canada Place) but is the most outrageously Generic Irish Pub I've seen in years. Even that however is a step up from the Elephant & Castle which has nothing going for it other than its location inside the Marine Building (which is a uniquely Vancouver place and well-worth popping into the lobby and mezzanine level for a look around) - I have not listed their menu, which is similarly-priced to these others, because the food and service is simply awful IMO.

 

If you can squeeze a few bucks extra to allow taking a cab ($10 each way cab ride would open up a huge amount of the city to you) I could make many more suggestions - but your hotel is right in the centre of IMO the worst-value-for-dining part of Vancouver (understandable given the prime views, cruise pier, fancy hotels of course). If you do think you could find an extra $20 for cab-fare please indicate any preferences/dislikes for types of food as there would be scope for a wide variety of cuisines around your price-point.

 

Thank you for that detailed answer! Yes, there are extra funds in the budget. I was just hoping to get two entrees for approx $25 each. We only eat dessert on cruises! It would be enough here in Alberta at a decent restaurant, but it sounds like that part of Vancouver is more expensive. I was hoping to stay close to the hotel to keep it easy for us. But if farther afield gets us a better experience, please list your recommendations.

 

We're not crazy about Asian food but do like seafood, since we don't get very good seafood in Alberta. German food is one of our favourites, too. Would like a step or two up from pizza, and definitely won't do Timmies or McDonalds. This is the start to our vacation; I'm splurging on the PP and want a nice dinner the night before. Not over the top, as we will be eating well for 14 days on the cruise! And, we can go to chain restaurants if you, or someone else, recommends them. Isn't Rob Feenie involved with one chain restaurant? Can't remember which one, though.

 

It'll be back to salads when we get home!:D

[Urban trekker]

Also close to the PP and Canada Place in addition to Mahoney's are the Tap and Barrell and Cactus Club both on the west side of the convention center.

 

If you don't mind an easy 15 minute mostly flat walk then Cardero's might be a good place.

 

It is a favorite gathering place for a couple of my foodie friends every time they come to Vancouver.

 

Hope this helps

 

Cheers!

 

Dennis

[martincath]

Thank you for that detailed answer! Yes, there are extra funds in the budget. I was just hoping to get two entrees for approx $25 each. We only eat dessert on cruises! It would be enough here in Alberta at a decent restaurant, but it sounds like that part of Vancouver is more expensive. I was hoping to stay close to the hotel to keep it easy for us. But if farther afield gets us a better experience, please list your recommendations.

 

We're not crazy about Asian food but do like seafood, since we don't get very good seafood in Alberta. German food is one of our favourites, too. Would like a step or two up from pizza, and definitely won't do Timmies or McDonalds. This is the start to our vacation; I'm splurging on the PP and want a nice dinner the night before. Not over the top, as we will be eating well for 14 days on the cruise! And, we can go to chain restaurants if you, or someone else, recommends them. Isn't Rob Feenie involved with one chain restaurant? Can't remember which one, though.

 

It'll be back to salads when we get home!:D

Yup, Feenie is the menu designer for Cactus Club Cafe - which as UT just mentioned is close by, with a nice view as well, on top of the Convention Centre just along the way from your hotel. I didn't mention CCC before as they have very few entrees under $25 so didn't seem a likely fit for your budget. Since a $25 entree is now on the cards I would not hesitate to recommend them - if you like seafood their prawns with ravioli is a personal favourite and the tuna tataki (assuming you don't mind raw-looking fish - it's actually somewhat cooked by the citrus marinade as well as lightly seared on the exterior) is also excellent.

 

Other good seafood places easily reached from PP include Yew at the Four Seasons (I was just in there last night actually) and Coast, though most of the fish entrees are more like $30+ than $25 at both of these.

 

A little further - perhaps walk there and grab a cab back if it seemed too far - is the Fish Shack. Same owners as Coast, but much more casual ambience. One of the best value, if not the best value, downtown seafood places. Regular menu here, but also check out an example Fresh Sheet as the bulk of what they're good at is on here. Personally I avoid anything that sounds too froo-froo here (e.g. any attempt to make a Asian or South American-style coleslaw or fish seasoning) and stick to the basics - fish grilled or fried with simple sides which they do to perfection. $50 here will go pretty far.

 

Unfortunately the only high-end downtown German-style food closed several years back (William Tell, actually Swiss cuisine but a lot of familiar dishes). You have an Austrian head chef in Five Sails, also part of the Pan Pacific/Canada Place complex - not cheap, and his cuisine is actually more French/PNW with nary a dish showing any Germanic heritage right now.

 

Bestie in Chinatown is a sausage & sauerkraut joint, spiritually akin to the food stalls at a Munich Oktoberfest venue - their sausages are made by a local expat German master butcher to authentic recipes (plus at least one quirky new modern flavour), but it's a high energy place not somewhere to sit down for a nice romantic dinner...

 

La Brasserie on Davie is Franco-German, but I've never dined there so can't recommend one way or the other. Over 7 klicks away, probably 20mins by cab at dinner time, is the Alpen Club if you're really keen on a sit-down German dinner (again, haven't been so this is at your own risk).

[kjeanne2001]

How far I'd the Fish Shack from PP. It looks great! Thanks for posting!

 

 

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[Alberta Quilter]

Thank you both, Dennis & Martin! The Cactus Club sounds like it may be the place for us. The Fish Shack and Yew sound good, too. I think Coast, while it all looks good, is a little more than I am willing to spend.

 

Thank you again!

[martincath]

How far I'd the Fish Shack from PP. It looks great! Thanks for posting!

Just over 3/4 of a mile. Google map of walking route

[Alberta Quilter]

Martin, I would just like to say Thank You! for your very detailed responses. Providing maps and links to restaurants and menus is above and beyond than suggestions. You certainly put a lot of thought and work into your responses. I'm sure I speak for many, if not all, who have benefitted from your responses, when I say that it is most appreciated.

[martincath]

Martin, I would just like to say Thank You! for your very detailed responses. Providing maps and links to restaurants and menus is above and beyond than suggestions. You certainly put a lot of thought and work into your responses. I'm sure I speak for many, if not all, who have benefitted from your responses, when I say that it is most appreciated.

Thank you for the thank you!

[Dismomx5]

Yup, Feenie is the menu designer for Cactus Club Cafe - which as UT just mentioned is close by, with a nice view as well, on top of the Convention Centre just along the way from your hotel. I didn't mention CCC before as they have very few entrees under $25 so didn't seem a likely fit for your budget. Since a $25 entree is now on the cards I would not hesitate to recommend them - if you like seafood their prawns with ravioli is a personal favourite and the tuna tataki (assuming you don't mind raw-looking fish - it's actually somewhat cooked by the citrus marinade as well as lightly seared on the exterior) is also excellent.

 

Other good seafood places easily reached from PP include Yew at the Four Seasons (I was just in there last night actually) and Coast, though most of the fish entrees are more like $30+ than $25 at both of these.

 

A little further - perhaps walk there and grab a cab back if it seemed too far - is the Fish Shack. Same owners as Coast, but much more casual ambience. One of the best value, if not the best value, downtown seafood places. Regular menu here, but also check out an example Fresh Sheet as the bulk of what they're good at is on here. Personally I avoid anything that sounds too froo-froo here (e.g. any attempt to make a Asian or South American-style coleslaw or fish seasoning) and stick to the basics - fish grilled or fried with simple sides which they do to perfection. $50 here will go pretty far.

 

Unfortunately the only high-end downtown German-style food closed several years back (William Tell, actually Swiss cuisine but a lot of familiar dishes). You have an Austrian head chef in Five Sails, also part of the Pan Pacific/Canada Place complex - not cheap, and his cuisine is actually more French/PNW with nary a dish showing any Germanic heritage right now.

 

Bestie in Chinatown is a sausage & sauerkraut joint, spiritually akin to the food stalls at a Munich Oktoberfest venue - their sausages are made by a local expat German master butcher to authentic recipes (plus at least one quirky new modern flavour), but it's a high energy place not somewhere to sit down for a nice romantic dinner...

 

La Brasserie on Davie is Franco-German, but I've never dined there so can't recommend one way or the other. Over 7 klicks away, probably 20mins by cab at dinner time, is the Alpen Club if you're really keen on a sit-down German dinner (again, haven't been so this is at your own risk).

 

Ooooh. Hubby loves fish and chips. I know that we'll be walking there!

 

Martin, I would just like to say Thank You! for your very detailed responses. Providing maps and links to restaurants and menus is above and beyond than suggestions. You certainly put a lot of thought and work into your responses. I'm sure I speak for many, if not all, who have benefitted from your responses, when I say that it is most appreciated.

Yes, yes, and yes! Thank you.

[kjeanne2001]

Just over 3/4 of a mile. Google map of walking route

 

 

Thank you. I didn't even know there was walking maps :). I also appreciate all the expertise on this board. I know I will have more questions closer to my sail date. I only wish I had more time to spend in Vancouver.

 

 

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[runnerodb83]

Here's a question for Vancouver natives. Doing a 1 day cruise in may leaving from Ballentyne. I see a few pages back someone quoted something from the Port Metro site saying that there was no pedestrian access from Heatley Ave (only Clark or McGil) to the port. I found that link also, with a link on the page to the 2011 Cruise schedule, making me think its out of date and was listed during a construction project on Heatley Ave Bridge. When looking on this page http://www.portmetrovancouver.com/about/cruiseandtourism/terminalinformation.aspx under the public transportation option to Ballentyne, I see that it informs passengers to take a bus to Heatley Ave and walk across the bridge.

 

So the question is, which is correct? I've sent an email to the Port website but who knows how long it will take to hear back. Can anyone comment on this from recent visits?

[martincath]

Here's a question for Vancouver natives. Doing a 1 day cruise in may leaving from Ballentyne. I see a few pages back someone quoted something from the Port Metro site saying that there was no pedestrian access from Heatley Ave (only Clark or McGil) to the port. I found that link also, with a link on the page to the 2011 Cruise schedule, making me think its out of date and was listed during a construction project on Heatley Ave Bridge. When looking on this page http://www.portmetrovancouver.com/about/cruiseandtourism/terminalinformation.aspx under the public transportation option to Ballentyne, I see that it informs passengers to take a bus to Heatley Ave and walk across the bridge.

 

So the question is, which is correct? I've sent an email to the Port website but who knows how long it will take to hear back. Can anyone comment on this from recent visits?

My best guess is they forgot to amend the public transit directions - looking at the most up-to-date Google satellite imagery, which is post road works commencing, there is no sidewalk on the Heatley Overpass any more, just a painted line at the edge of the road. Take a cab!

Edited March 5, 2014 by martincath

[runnerodb83]

My best guess is they forgot to amend the public transit directions - looking at the most up-to-date Google satellite imagery, which is post road works commencing, there is no sidewalk on the Heatley Overpass any more, just a painted line at the edge of the road. Take a cab!

 

The Google Earth imagery from April of 2013 shows a sidewalk on the south side of Heatley Ave from Powell St to just north of the RR tracks. From there, there is a stair tower.

 

This is the reply I received from the port:

When we have Ballantyne up and running, the gate on the City side will be opened to ensure the ability to enter or exit by walking over the Heatley Overpass. On the water/Port side, there is a set of stairs down to the road which then needs to be crossed to get to Ballantyne terminal. Care and attention is needed around the stairs and roadway.

 

Additionally, when I pointed out the discrepancy on their website, the responder was greatful and confessed it had been difficult keeping up with all the changes.

[Putterdude]

The Google Earth imagery from April of 2013 shows a sidewalk on the south side of Heatley Ave from Powell St to just north of the RR tracks. From there, there is a stair tower.

 

This is the reply I received from the port:

When we have Ballantyne up and running, the gate on the City side will be opened to ensure the ability to enter or exit by walking over the Heatley Overpass. On the water/Port side, there is a set of stairs down to the road which then needs to be crossed to get to Ballantyne terminal. Care and attention is needed around the stairs and roadway.

 

Additionally, when I pointed out the discrepancy on their website, the responder was greatful and confessed it had been difficult keeping up with all the changes.

 

I fully endorse the advice you received from Martin, spend $10 and take a taxi. Whether or not the gate is open, you are in a very seedy neighbourhood and Ballantyne is in the working part of the port where you will be dodging a constant stream of container trucks.

[runnerodb83]

I fully endorse the advice you received from Martin, spend $10 and take a taxi. Whether or not the gate is open, you are in a very seedy neighbourhood and Ballantyne is in the working part of the port where you will be dodging a constant stream of container trucks.

 

I'll take the advice into consideration, do taxi's regularly accept credit cards in Vancouver?

[martincath]

The Google Earth imagery from April of 2013 shows a sidewalk on the south side of Heatley Ave from Powell St to just north of the RR tracks. From there, there is a stair tower.

 

This is the reply I received from the port:

When we have Ballantyne up and running, the gate on the City side will be opened to ensure the ability to enter or exit by walking over the Heatley Overpass. On the water/Port side, there is a set of stairs down to the road which then needs to be crossed to get to Ballantyne terminal. Care and attention is needed around the stairs and roadway.

 

Additionally, when I pointed out the discrepancy on their website, the responder was greatful and confessed it had been difficult keeping up with all the changes.

Good that they actually got back to you fairly promptly! And good catch on the stairs - I focused on the ramps, which are sidewalk-less, totally missed the stairs.

 

And yes, all cabs will accept credit cards (foreign as well as Canadian-issued, at least VISA & MC).

Edited March 6, 2014 by martincath

[Putterdude]

I'll take the advice into consideration, do taxi's regularly accept credit cards in Vancouver?

 

In the event you are an American, in addition to American Visa and MC they will also take USD but keep you bills small as you will get your change in CAD. Our transit buses will only take CAD and operators don't have change.

[runnerodb83]

In the event you are an American, in addition to American Visa and MC they will also take USD but keep you bills small as you will get your change in CAD. Our transit buses will only take CAD and operators don't have change.

 

Thank you. The 4 of us are going on a 1 day cruise and got fares of $29 per person before taxes so I would imagine a $10 taxi ride would be less than a bus.

[Putterdude]

Thank you. The 4 of us are going on a 1 day cruise and got fares of $29 per person before taxes so I would imagine a $10 taxi ride would be less than a bus.

This sounds like a party. :) I don't know where you are travelling from but a full adult 1 zone fare on transit is $2.75 and a 2 zone is $4.....I will let you do the math but not having to schlep my luggage down stairs and around a bunch of truck traffic would make the taxi ride a slam dunk for me.