French Bistro in the Vines at Bacchus

French technique and Gastown cobblestones, with an atrium, award-winning cocktails, and a bar that doesn't rush you out.

The Marinaside seawall's grande dame: French-leaning West Coast seafood and a wine list a hundred deep by the glass, with False Creek lapping past the patio rail.

Gastown's newest bistro serves one dish, an eight ounce striploin with green sauce and frites for $44, and refuses to apologize for the short menu.

The Fraser St bistro that locals call FauxBo, guard jealously, and can't stop recommending despite the notoriously tough reservation.

A fun, fabulous French bistro on Hornby that Tripadvisor ranks in Vancouver's top ten, open from morning croissants to last-call cocktails.

A tiny family-run French kitchen hiding on a Lower Lynn side street, rewriting its whole menu every week.

Fort Langley's artisan bakeshop on the site of a 1910 blacksmith's, open at 7am for breakfast, oversized laminated pastry and Republica coffee.

A 38-seat binchotan counter where the chef hands the roll straight across, still warm, and the nori is still crackling.

Vikram Vij's legendary modern Indian room, where the wine-marinated lamb popsicles have been redefining romance since the '90s.

A 1912 heritage room at the foot of Dundarave Pier, gutted so nothing stands between the table and Burrard Inlet.

Climb the Robson staircase into a golden room where a six-foot wood grill has been perfuming everything since noon.

The Langley sleeper with a 4.8 rating and seats so few that booking one is basically a love letter.

A dim, jazz-soaked 1960s Tokyo cafe in Chinatown, where tajarin with uni is just how dinner starts.

Granville Island's under-the-bridge seafood institution, where the oysters are cold, the sushi bar hums, and False Creek handles the mood lighting.