Coquitlam's Number One at My Greek Taverna

The sunny tiled downtown room with legendary Belgian waffles, a lavender dark chocolate situation, and a line that is genuinely worth it.

A restored downtown heritage atrium where soaring marble makes charred octopus feel like a civic event.

Ladner Village's best table since 1996: flaming saganaki, paidakia lamb chops and a room that has never once been in a hurry.

The only dinner where eating with your hands from the same plate is not just allowed, it's the whole point.

A sleek Coquitlam bistro with a 4.5 across nearly a thousand reviews, because the lamb biryani has something to say for itself.

New West's Ethiopian-Eritrean spot where dinner is a shared platter you eat by hand and ends with a traditional coffee ceremony.

Ethiopian stews by hand, a live Friday band, and the kind of injera-sharing that requires getting very comfortable very quickly.

The 1980 blue-and-white taverna locals quietly choose over its famous neighbour, with a for-two platter and the seawall a ten-minute walk out.

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

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

The Vietnamese street food that made Anthony Bourdain misty on television now has a permanent home on The Drive.

Butter chicken poutine, paneer tacos and spiced cocktails in Surrey's slickest Indian lounge, open until 3am.

The Burnaby sleeper locals quietly guard: a 4.6-rated Ethiopian-Eritrean room where regulars insist the food is the best in the province.

Off-Fraser corner café, 4.7-rated, with jerk chicken that falls off the bone and oxtail rich enough to end an argument.