Afternoon tea in Vancouver?

[StantonHyde]

I hear all sorts of great things about high tea in Victoria. Do they have the same sort of tradition in Vancouver? Where might be some good places? (This is an adults only vacation)

Also--what are some good Asian fusion places to eat in Vancouver? What about seafood (or can we just go to a "regular" restaurant and expect that there will be several offereings on the menu?)?

And...what is your favorite kids toy store and clothing store? We will have to bring back fun things of course. TIA!

[bubbaray]

Nope, "high tea" is a Victoria thing and pretty much only specific places in Victoria (The Empress is the main place, also some teahouses in Oak Bay such as The Blethering Place). DH says they *might* have tea in the Tea House at Stanley Park, but IIRC its more of a restaurant, not a "tea" like at the Empress (which, BTW, is very expensive, but worth it for the experience).

If you go to Victoria, make sure you go to Pagliaccis (http://www.Pagliaccis.ca).

Not quite sure what Asian Fusion is -- of course, the highlight of my dining out these days is Red Robin. Vancouver has some of the best Asian restaurants on the planet (that comes from DH, BTW, who is reading over my shoulder). There is every type of Asian you could want -- Chinese, Scezhwan (sp?), Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese, etc.

You are staying on Robson St, right? THere are many wonderful restaurants on Robson street, within walking distance from the Palisades.

For seafood, well, pretty much anywhere has it in Vancouver. Just off Robson street on Thurlow is Joe Fortes (http://www.joefortes.ca/). Its got great seafood and is about 2 -3 blocks easy walking from the Palisades. Across the street and in the basement from Joe Fortes is my fave sushi place. I can't remember the name [eta I think its Ichibankan], but if you want to go for lunch, go at 11:30 or after 1:30, as it is packed every.single.weekday. The sushi is made in front of you and travels around on a conveyor belt, you just take what you want (a buffet that comes to you). Its really great. Right on the corner of Robson & Thurlow are two Starbucks, if you need a fix.

CinCin (http://www.cincin.net/) is a great Italian restaurant on Robson close to Joe Fortes.

There really aren't any toy stores downtown, other than Sears or the Bay, neither of which have great toys. If you are up for a long walk (but doable) and ferry ride, you can go to Granville Island. THere is a Kids Market there and lots of toys there. There is also a huge TRU on Broadway, west of Oak (between Oak & Hemlock). Its just the regular TRU (though quite large, by our standards). The more unique stuff is at Granville Island. At the Kids Market in Granville Island is a shop called Kaboodles. They have a second location on 10th Avenue up near UBC which is larger and has a GREAT stock of Corolle dolls. There is also The Toybox on Broadway, west of Macdonald. Its quite a large, independent toystore -- probably the best selection of toys at an independent toystore in the Lower Mainland of BC. A bit pricey.

HTH

[bubbaray]

BTW, I would skip Chinatown. The restaurants are kinda sketchy there, there are better Asian restaurants in nicer areas of town.

DH says if its your first trip to Vancouver, you should go up to Grouse Mountain -- they have a nice restaurant at the top too.

There is a nice restaurant (Seasons in the Park (http://www.vancouverdine.com/seasons/home.html)) at Queen Elizabeth Park. There is also a nice restaurant at Van Dusen Gardens. And, if you are up for a longer drive to Burnaby, there is a restaurant called Horizons on Burnaby Mountain, which on a clear day has an absolutely SPECTACULAR view.

[bubbaray]

Are you up for Indian food? Vij's in the South Granville area (about 11th and Granville -- you would take a taxi from your hotel) is AMAZING.

[bubbaray]

Crapola, I forgot -- if you go to the Toybox (which is on Broadway near Macdonald), you MUST go to Topanga Cafe, which is a Mexican restaurant and IMO, it is the best Mexican I've had anywhere (travelled a lot in Mexico). It is on 4th Avenue, pretty much in the same block as THe ToyBox, but on 4th instead of Broadway. If you took a taxi to The Toybox, you could walk the 5 blocks -- Broadway is 9th Ave).

Also in the general area of Topanga Cafe are two great running stores -- LadySport (women's only) and right across the street is ForeRunners (both genders). They are west of Topanga on 4th Avenue, 1 block east of Alma. About 6 or so blocks west of Topanga.

[Neatfreak]

About nine years ago, DH and I had afternoon tea at the Hotel Vancouver ... nine years ago, mind you. Might have changed.

Melissa, that whole area you're talking about in your post above is where I used to live when I was in grad school!

[bubbaray]

Here ya go: http://www.fairmont.com/hotelvancouver/GuestServices/Restaurants/TeaattheCastle.htm

THat makes sense as I'm pretty sure that Fairmont also owns The Empress. However, "high tea" isn't IMO a Vancouver institution like it is in Victoria. I mean, in Victoria, there are locals who go for high tea, KWIM? In Vancouver, we just go to Starbucks, LOL.

Here is the link to The Empress: http://www.fairmont.com/empress/GuestServices/Restaurants/AfternoonTea.htm

FWIW, I've had high tea at The Ritz in London England and I thought the tea at the Empress was on a par with that.

[Neatfreak]

Hee - we just went because we have a thing about visiting as many Fairmont hotels as possible. Haven't been to the Empress yet, but it's on the list :)

[StantonHyde]

Holy mackerel. I could eat in Vancouver for a month with these reccos!!! Thanks so much.

There is a whole separate kids market at Granville Island? That is totally on my to do list. (Granville Island was on the list anyway, but that sounds fun.)

I would love to get to Grouse Mountain--can we do public transport there?

[bubbaray]

Yeah, there is the main part of Granville Island, closer to the water. The Kids Market is closer to the car entrance to Granville Island. Anyone there should be able to tell you where it is. Right near there is a restaurant called Isadoras, which is excellent for brunch. Very busy, but worth it.

Public transit to Grouse Mountain might be possible. YOu can definitely take the SeaBus from down by Canada Place (the old train station, its called Waterfront Station now) over to North Vancouver. The SeaBus docks in N. Van at a mini-Granville Island called Lonsdale Quay. Its OK -- not as good as Granville Island by any means. From there, there is probably a bus that goes to Grouse, but I have no idea which one. Or, you could take a taxi from there. The SeaBus is actually a nice ride -- its about 10-15 minutes on the water.

[bubbaray]

Check out http://www.zagat.com/Search/Results.aspx?Ntk=GeoChildID&Ntt=764&N=120&VID=8

Other great restaurants are:

Carderos
Bishops
Le Crocodile
Umbertos and Il Giardino di Umberto

The best Szechuan in the city is on the East Side, called Szechuan Chongqing. Hands down the best -- its in a bit of a sketchy area, but well worth it. You can take the SkyTrain there.

[MamaBear]

Oooh, Pagliaci's in Victoria is one of my favourites!

Tea is not the same in Vancouver as Victoria. The Empress is by far the best-known, and is pricey to boot. In Vancouver, there's a place in Kerrisdale called the Secret Garden Tea Room, which is lovely and has high tea. Often very very busy, so you might want to see about making reservations. They often have tea parties for little girls, and showers and the like, so it isn't really formal, but is good.

I have lots of favourite restaurants. For seafood, A Kettle of Fish is excellent, and also convenient to downtown. The Cannery is tricky to get to, but is right on the port (which is why it is tricky to get there, and will have to move after the Olympics) and is also very good.

My favourite places for kids' stuff include TJs (for gear), Kaboodles (W 10th Ave, not far from UBC) and Toy Box (W Broadway in Kitsilano) for toys, and Kidsbooks (also W Broadway in Kitsilano). There are several baby/kid shops on W 4th, in one area there's Crocodile (which I avoid, because I don't like the attitude) and Hip Baby, and on 4th near MacDonald there are two other shops whose names I can't remember right now. If you go to Granville Island, go to the Kids' Market; toys, clothes, and all sorts of other stuff, all in specialty shops.

[MamaBear]

Just read the other replies. Bishop's is phenomenal! That's where I went to celebrate with my parents after my PhD convocation. The only other place that's ever compared is The Pointe at the Wickanninnish Inn in Tofino. (Ok, we ate there the night before we got engaged, so it also has a lot of emotional pull for me!)

For something casual, Sophie's Cosmic Cafe (on W4th) is classic. Moderne Burger (W Broadway at Larch) makes the best burgers, fries, shakes, and floats I've ever tasted; in fact, this morning I decided it had been too long since we were last there, and that's where we went out for lunch:bouncy:

Provence is another of our favourites. The original location is on W 10th, near UBC; there's another location in Yaletown, although I haven't been there. Also on W10th is Burgoo. In Yaletown, for somewhere trendy, try Glowbal.