What to Eat in Vancouver

Vancouver sits between the North Shore mountains and the Pacific, with a temperate rainforest climate that favors year‑round markets. Abundant salmon, shellfish, and foraged greens shape everyday cooking. A multicultural population adds techniques and pantry staples to coastal ingredients.

Eating habits skew seasonal and social, with fresh seafood, produce, and grains appearing in simple, clean preparations. Comfort stews and baked goods round out cooler months, while grills and raw preparations thrive in warmer weather. Shared plates and tea culture reflect deep Asian and Indigenous influences.

Wild Pacific salmon—often sockeye, coho, or chinook—is seasoned with sea salt, cracked pepper, and sometimes brown sugar and citrus, then set on a soaked cedar plank over a grill. The wood gently smolders, perfuming the fish as it roasts until the flesh turns opaque and flakes with a fork. Expect a balance of light smoke, resinous cedar aroma, and rich oils, with crisped edges and a moist interior that needs little more than lemon. Plank cooking has deep roots with Coast Salish communities along the Salish Sea, where salmon has long anchored foodways and ceremony. In Vancouver today, it appears at backyard cookouts and community gatherings throughout summer and early autumn, when runs are strongest and evenings lend themselves to outdoor cooking.

BC spot prawns are trap‑caught close to shore in late spring, then cooked simply to preserve their sweetness: briefly boiled or steamed for under a minute, grilled just until opaque, or served raw as sashimi‑grade tails. Many cooks drizzle soy and sake or melt butter with lemon; heads may be fried until glassy‑crisp, or simmered for a rich broth. The meat is snappy yet delicate, with a clean, sweet finish that doesn’t need heavy seasoning. The short May–June season is a local event, highlighting sustainable practices and the city’s proximity to its fishing fleet. Vancouverites seek them at fish markets, seafood counters, and casual pop‑ups on the waterfront, eating them the day they land for the clearest expression of the coast.

Dim sum in Vancouver reflects Cantonese culinary craft: shrimp‑filled har gow with translucent wrappers, pork‑and‑shrimp siu mai crowned with roe, steamed char siu bao, and silky rice‑noodle cheung fun draped around beef or prawns. Cooks use rice flour doughs, seasoned pork, shrimp, and aromatics like ginger and scallion, steaming baskets in stacked bamboo towers and flash‑frying select items for contrast. Textures range from bouncy to custardy, with light sweetness and savory depth balanced by soy, chili oil, and black vinegar. The custom of yum cha—tea with small plates—thrives here thanks to a large Cantonese community and late‑20th‑century migration from southern China. Families and friends gather on weekend mornings through early afternoon, pouring jasmine or pu‑erh tea and ordering in rounds that match appetite and conversation.

The BC roll is a Vancouver invention that adapts Japanese technique to local fish, centering on barbecued salmon skin. Cooks crisp the skin until slightly crackling, then roll it with cucumber inside nori and vinegared rice, sometimes brushing a sweet soy glaze over the top and finishing with sesame seeds or scallion. The result contrasts warm, smoky, and faintly sweet skin with cool, crunchy cucumber and tender rice, each bite sharpened by wasabi and tempered by pickled ginger. Emerging in the late 20th century, it reflects the city’s access to salmon and its long‑standing Japanese culinary presence. You’ll find it at sushi counters across the city for lunch and dinner, as a quick takeout staple or part of larger omakase‑style spreads.

This no‑bake dessert stacks three layers: a crumbly base of graham crackers, cocoa, coconut, and sometimes chopped nuts; a middle of buttercream flavored with vanilla and custard powder; and a glossy cap of melted chocolate set firm. The texture runs from sandy‑crisp to creamy and then cleanly snappable, delivering bittersweet chocolate against a custard‑vanilla middle and a faint coconut toastiness. Named for the city of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island and popularized in mid‑20th‑century community cookbooks, it has become a British Columbia emblem. In Vancouver it appears year‑round in bakeries, coffee counters, and homemade dessert trays, often paired with coffee or black tea. Sliced small, it anchors holiday platters and casual gatherings alike, a reliable sweet bite that travels well.

Vancouver’s cuisine stands at the meeting point of cold waters, mild winters, and layered migrations, so freshness and technique do the talking. From seasonal shellfish to Cantonese craft and Japanese precision, plates stay clean, textural, and produce‑driven. Explore more coastal and global food guides on Sunheron.com to plan your next weather‑savvy trip.