Gourmet Burgers at Blaze

German, Austrian and South Tyrolean cooking in a wood-panelled Lonsdale room that kept its original decor and its 125-year-old piano.

Chef Hawksworth's two-storey heritage hall for wood-fired pizza, buttermilk fried chicken, and the share-everything format that actually works.

The cult Belgian brewery on Thunderbird Crescent where national-medal sours and golden tripels await anyone clever enough to find it.

Four breweries on one walkable block in Port Moody: start hoppy at Yellow Dog, end by the fire pit at Brave.

Brewers Row's biggest patio, where free arcade games, a Dreamboat Hazy IPA, and a food truck conspire against whatever you had planned next.

Hop-forward Brewers Row craft beer, a Space Armadillo DIPA, and an al pastor taco menu that nobody expected but everybody needs.

A 1933 heritage house in Fort Langley with a flower-framed patio, live music on Thursdays, and contemporary Canadian cooking worth the drive.

Maple Ridge's only room actually on the Fraser: two seasonal patios, a heated covered one for the other nine months, and water from every seat.

Yaletown's new 270 seat comfort food operation changes personality three times a day, and every version of it thinks your date deserves a margarita.

A brewpub in the middle of an 1860s fishing village, with the longest bar in Ladner and a backyard patio built for slow afternoons.

Six or eight tables, Ethiopian art, and a tradition called gursha where you hand-feed each other, which is romantic on purpose.

The plant-filled Main Street room that makes a first date feel like it's going well before a word is spoken.

PoCo's smokehouse and brewhouse on one address: ribs, pulled pork, craft beer and a gin list that no one saw coming.

A Michelin-name Italian on Kingsway where spit-roasted meats, seasonal handmade pasta and wine do more romantic work than you ever had to.