Some friends just moved into North Burnaby and asked what the good restaurants are. This is an area of expertise in which I take some pride. It seemed like a good idea to post my list here.
I have opined many times: the food in the suburbs is better than downtown. There is excellent food in both places, but when downtown, a lot of the money you’re paying is going to high rents. In the burbs, the rents are lower, so the money you pay goes to the food, which is where I want it. On the other hand, I also think there are a lot more bad restaurants the farther out you go. If you know the good ones, life is good.
Meta-site: Sherman’s Food Adventures. Sherman blogs daily about a restaurant somewhere in Greater Vancouver. He lives in North Burnaby, so the places around here are pretty well covered.
And my list, in approximately-decreasing order of how exciting I think they are…
Pear Tree: Probably the best example of money going into the food, not the rent. Very nice food made by a very skilled chef, who has carved out a niche in North Burnaby somehow.
Cotto Enoteca: Super good pizza and pasta.
Burgers etc: If not the best burger in the city, it’s close. Good BBQ too. There’s an off-menu pattyless veggie burger that’s awesome.
El Comal: Good Mexican on the Production station side of Burnaby Mountain. Only open for lunch Mon-Sat.
Chez Meme: French bistro food. Also only lunch Mon-Sat.
Chad Thai: Solidly good Thai, getting a lot of blog attention.
Glenburnn Soda Fountain: A cool old-fashioned soda shop (recreation). Excellent dessert after dinner at one of the other places.
Caffé Divano: Excellent coffee shop, where serious coffee geeks make your drinks.
Caffé Artigiano: Good coffee shop, but if we’re honest, their quality has slipped in the last few years.
Chez Christophe: A stupidly-good bakery. Why put such a place out of the way int he suburbs? Who knows.
Saigon Bistro: It struck me as carefully-make Vietnamese food, but I’m no expert.
Domineco’s: Not as well made as the food at Cotto, but good utility Italian. The place to send people that wanted to go to Anton’s. Also cheap for big groups: order 1/2 as many dishes and serve family style.
X-Site: Cheap decent eats, full of students.
Cockney Kings fish and chips: A one-trick-pony, but good at it.
Lotus cafe: A quirky little sandwich place that’s only open for lunch. I always describe them as “Nothing outstanding, but if your mom made you a sandwich for lunch, it would have been the best sandwich you could have hoped for.”
Wah Lun: Decently-good Cantonese. Better Chinese is a notable omission from the neighbourhood.
Sushi Town: Good utility sushi.
Countless little sushi places, that are all reasonable everyday sushi.
August 23rd, 2013 at 6:37 pm
I have to disagree on the Glenburnn Soda Fountain. I had pretty high expectations, and it didn’t even come close to meeting them. My sundae was OK, but not really even comparable to Dolce Amore or Bella Gelateria in terms of ice cream quality.
I sadly have to agree that Artig has gone downhill, which is a bit of a shame. But still a solid coffee.
I also quite enjoy “Thai’s Saigon Bistro” (it’s tricky, the owner’s last name is “Thai” but it’s actually a Pho place).
August 23rd, 2013 at 6:39 pm
And, never mind! You have Saigon Bistro in your list, just without the “Thai’s”.
August 23rd, 2013 at 6:43 pm
food is the tradeoff of price and quality. you should show the costs. wah lun is a pretty good deal for its price.
August 23rd, 2013 at 10:29 pm
Pretty sure Shana said she was underwhelmed by Glenburmm as well (she was with Kerry when they went).
I drive by Burgers Etc every day, perhaps I should try it and see how their BBQ is…
I had some Cafe Artigiano a few times on the way to work. Agree that they have gone downhill, at least, compared to the one downtown I used to hit every once in a while last year.
August 24th, 2013 at 12:44 am
Caffe Artegiano _literally_ went downhill. Damn mudslides. It crashed right into a Pizza Hut.