10 great wine restaurants and wine bars in Vancouver 2022
Vancouver is a city where wine is making inroads, where you today can find everything from relaxed natural wine bars to glitzy steakhouses. Star Wine List's ambassador, sommelier and consultant Matthew Landry, has selected his favourite spots in the city – check out the guide.
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Phone: (604) 423-5400
Address: 237 Union Street, Vancouver
Bar Gobo is a relatively new food and wine destination conceived by celebrated chef Andrea Carlson, as well as one of British Columbia's most knowledgeable wine professionals, Peter Van de Reep. The food is hyper local, always fresh and constantly changing. Wine selections are limited but well chosen, leaning toward what I like to call “clean natural”. The bar selection is even smaller, but Peter is also one of the city’s best bartenders, so you may be able to convince him to work some mixologic magic. Given its small size, reservations are recommended.
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Phone: (604) 879-7119
Address: 568 Beatty Street, Vancouver
Chambar Restaurant is a Vancouver institution. With a long-running Belgian/North African-inspired food concept, many of Vancouver’s top sommeliers have paid their dues here. The wine list is an approachable, medium-sized book pulling from across the globe. The list leans to the small and sustainably produced, while highlighting wine styles that work well with the restaurant’s signature moules frites dishes. Beyond wine, it has Vancouver’s largest collection of European beers. Reservations recommended. Owing to its proximity to the arena, it is exceptionally busy during hockey season.
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Phone: (604) 362-5443
Address: 1109 Hamilton Street, Vancouver
Elisa debuted with a splash in 2020, announcing itself as Vancouver's glitziest new steakhouse. However, it has a serious wine list and goes well beyond the usual suspects. Wine Director Franco Michenzi worked for many years at the historic Hawksworth Restaurant and brings an impressive knowledge of the wine world's great estates. The list boasts 25+ wines by the glass and another 20 under Coravin. Beyond the classics, you can explore the finest examples of wines from British Columbia, as well as back vintages of classic producers. It is a daunting price point for some but the quality in all...
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Address: 54 Alexander Street, Vancouver
Juice Bar has quickly become a Vancouver institution, and quite simply, the place to go for Capital N natural wine. Operating out of the Birds and Beets coffee shop, its well curated selection is accentuated by a rotating cast of guest chefs putting out a diverse array of food. There is no menu, as such. Make your way to the big, well-lit wine fridge and strike up a conversation to figure out what you’re going to have. The vibe is ultra-casual, and glassware is limited to small ISOs. A small number of options are offered by the glass, changing regularly.
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Phone: (778) 379-8078
Address: 263 East Pender Street, Vancouver
Kissa Tanto is perhaps Vancouver’s best-looking restaurant, a sexy approximation of 60s era elegance. A wonderful fusion of Japanese and Italian flavours, this elegant Chinatown restaurant offers a great midsized wine list curated by wine director Belinda Siu. The list doesn’t offer many options by the glass, however, the by-the-bottle list is freewheeling and fun, and not limited to the wines of Italy. It also offers an impressive array of sake, many of them by the glass. The cocktail program is on point, as is the back bar, overflowing with top end amari and grappa selections.
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Phone: (604) 568-1701
Address: 217 Carrall Street, Vancouver
L’Abattoir is a long running Vancouver institution, located in the heart of Gastown. The food uses local ingredients to execute an admirably classic, French-inspired dining experience. A fine dining restaurant for the hipper, more eclectic type of customer. It boasts a midsized wine list skewing French and Italian, while also offering many of British Columbia's icon producers. The wines are temperature controlled and served by a dedicated, knowledgeable wine staff.
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Phone: (604) 861-0032
Address: 1161 West Georgia Street, Vancouver
Mott 32 is Vancouver's leading high-end Chinese restaurant. With locations around the world, it attracts the city's one percent with marvelous food and an envious wine list. Wine Director Robert Stelmachuk is one of Vancouver's most experienced sommeliers and brings both a wealth of knowledge and a gregarious, inviting attitude to service. His enthusiasm for wine is contagious and is not only reserved for the restaurant's many VIP customers. Perhaps most admirably, Mott 32 has built the best collection of rosé in the city, if not the country.
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Phone: (604) 695-9500
Address: 1017 West Hastings Street, Vancouver
Nightingale is a wonderfully polished, two-story restaurant in the Coal Harbour neighbourhood of Vancouver. Its food menu is impressively large and constantly changing, while the wood fired oven puts out some of the city’s best pies. I can speak from of experience in that department! The wine list is broad and inviting, organized first by grape variety, and then region. Selections lean European and Californian, while still showcasing some of BCs best producers. For a casual restaurant, it has a dedicated wine staff that are knowledgeable and well trained. (Star Wine List's ambassador Matthe...
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Phone: (604) 423-4840
Address: 3593 Main Street, Vancouver
Published made quite a splash when it opened several years ago. It brought a downtown sophistication to the otherwise hipster-y Mount Pleasant neighbourhood. Beyond its visual appeal, the food is challenging, ambitious and, most importantly, delicious. In 2022, Published was named Best Restaurant in Canada, a first for any Vancouver restaurant. The wine list is concise and leans natural and European. Sommelier Jayton Paul has worked at many of the best restaurants in Vancouver and brings a laidback, quiet confidence to his service. He recently won Best Sommelier in British Columbia at the ann...
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Phone: (604) 736-1520
Address: 1520 West 13th Avenue, Vancouver
The Stable House Bistro is a true neighbourhood restaurant, located off the main strip in Vancouver's otherwise sedate South Granville area. It boasts a charming, well-shaded street patio, as well as a great selection of share plates. The wine list changes often and draws from across the world. Its focus – if there is one – is on the promotion of lesser-known regions and wine styles, all presented in a light hearted, pretension-free format. Open for lunch, brunch and dinner. (Star Wine List's ambassador Matthew Landry is Wine Director at Stable House Bistro, Editor's note)
