Diners' Choice: Lively restaurants in Vancouver / British Columbia

OpenTable

Updated December 05, 2024

Looking for restaurants that have the most vibrant bar scenes in Vancouver / British Columbia? You’re in the right place. Each month, OpenTable analyzes nearly 2 million global diner reviews from the past four months. We sort the results by location and category to help you discover new favorite restaurants. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

Grapes & Soda

4.9

4.9 (192)

CAN$31 to CAN$50

Cocktail Bar

Fairview

About the restaurant

An intimate restaurant featuring innovative cocktails and natural wine.

Top review

Pia

Dined on Dec 7, 2024

Great experience! The food and service were wonderful ! We ordered the squash caramelle pasta and it was delicious!! Also the chicken wings and their cocktails are tasty and strong! I’m looking forward to my next meal there, it’s perfect for date night :)

Bistro Sakana

4.8

4.8 (481)

CAN$31 to CAN$50

Japanese

Yaletown

About the restaurant

Bistro Sakana is located in Vancouver, British Columbia and offers a range of both traditional and fusion Japanese food that are innovative.

Bistro Sakana also offers Vancouver's largest list of premium sake. In addition to a well rounded list of VQA British Columbia Wine, killer cocktails, with plenty of beer and spirits.

Top review

StanleyVIP

Dined 3 days ago

Always a great time. Great food and friendly staff.

Discover more

Sammy J's Grill & Bar - South Surrey

4.8

4.8 (86)

CAN$30 and under

Canadian

Surrey

About the restaurant

You’ll love hanging out at Sammy J’s. We know you’ll appreciate the newly designed contemporary interiors. You’ll also love our open concept lounge and our signature bar, known as ‘The Rock’. The wrap-around design creates a social gathering place for guests to watch live sporting events and streaming music videos or simply gather for a glass of wine or some casual drinks. Think of it as the world’s best living room where you can enjoy lively conversation, always see the TV (70” LED screens) and enjoy a never-ending supply of ice-cold beer! We’re also proud of our modern yet casual dining room where you’ll feel relaxed and encouraged to just be yourself. Whether it’s a working lunch, a night out with friends, a family gathering or a meal with the kids, Sammy J’s is the right place for you.

Top review

Karen

Dined 2 days ago

Always excellent. Friendly wait staff. I go there every Wednesday and it’s always great

ELEM

4.8

4.8 (42)

CAN$51 and over

Global, International

Mount Pleasant

About the restaurant

ELEM is a new restaurant and cocktail lab on Main + 5th.

Guests can expect to indulge in Top Chef Canada alum Mayekar’s bold cooking, featuring creative flavour-packed dishes that highlight the unique spices from cuisines around the world with local ingredients, alongside Winnie Sun’s inventive, element-inspired and sustainability-driven cocktails.

ELEM’s food menu is an exploration of flavours and spices from all corners of the world, including Bangkok, California, Spain, Mexico, Italy, and Mumbai – all inspired by Mayekar’s extensive travels and Indian heritage. There will also be a big focus on local BC-grown ingredients.

The 2,946 square foot, 76-seat space was designed by Vancouver-based Marko Simcich Architect and features three dining spaces and an open window into the kitchen to see the chefs at work.

Top review

Tamim

Dined 3 days ago

5-Star Delight at ELEM! We had an amazing dining experience at ELEM! The food was absolutely exquisite, beautifully presented, and full of flavor. The service was impeccable, and the atmosphere was warm and inviting. We highly recommend ELEM for a special occasion or a delicious evening out with friends or family. Here are some of the highlights: * The food is incredible! We chose multiple dishes from the menu, and each was a masterpiece. * The service is top-notch. Our server Georgio was attentive, knowledgeable, and friendly. * The atmosphere is elegant and sophisticated. It's the perfect place for a special occasion. Overall, we were very impressed with ELEM. It's a truly exceptional restaurant that we would highly recommend to anyone looking for a memorable dining experience.

Discover more

Experience

New Year's Eve Dinner

Chameleon

4.7

4.7 (966)

CAN$31 to CAN$50

Canadian

Maple Ridge / Pitt Meadows

About the restaurant

Located at the heart of Maple Ridge, Chameleon brings a chic, sophisticated restaurant and lounge to life. 25ft ceilings with an open kitchen concept breathe new life to a timelessly stylish, sexy, and fun space.

Executive Chef Dan has created an innovative, seasonally inspired menu that, like the Chameleon, changes its appearance with its surroundings. Our intentions are to showcase the Pacific Northwest through seasonally inspired dishes and cocktails.

Top review

amanda

Dined 2 days ago

Amazing , great lightening service and food , will be back

Moxies - Langley

4.6

4.6 (623)

CAN$30 and under

Contemporary American

Langley

About the restaurant

Moxies restaurant is a contemporary casual restaurant offering a globally inspired menu and hand crafted cocktails in a vibrant and interactive atmosphere. Moxies has over 50 locations across Canada and 6 US locations in Dallas, Houston and Miami.

We're excited for you to experience everything that Moxies has to offer!

Top review

Jon

Dined 7 days ago

It was good, ease up on the seasonings/salt though. Moe, our waitress was great. Chatty/helpful, offering suggestions. She is an asset worth keeping to represent your brand

Discover more

Popular dish

Lemon Basil Salmon

Popular dish

White Chocolate Brownie

Sammy J's Grill & Bar - Maple Ridge

4.6

4.6 (182)

CAN$30 and under

Canadian

Maple Ridge / Pitt Meadows

About the restaurant

Top review

Emiline

Dined 2 days ago

The food, and service were great! We love the food and drinks we had! We enjoyed our night there. Thank you

BREWHALL

4.6

4.6 (85)

CAN$30 and under

Comfort Food

Mount Pleasant

About the restaurant

BREWHALL a craft brewery and beerhall bringing the community together with fresh beer and tasty food.

Top review

Paul

Dined on Nov 26, 2024

Very cool place to hang out, good bar food, good variety of beers

The Salted Vine Kitchen + Bar

4.5

4.5 (604)

CAN$30 and under

Pacific Rim

Squamish

About the restaurant

Nominated for Canada's Best New Restaurant 2017, Air Canada EnRoute Magazine

The Salted Vine Kitchen + Bar offers a unique variety of share plates with a modern-country farmhouse decor, in the base of the downtown Hotel Squamish, the city’s oldest standing building, circa 1910. The colourful oil paintings, wooden serving boards and ceramic dishware are all the work of local artists. The cozy country-cottage design, which includes exposed structural beams in a bright lounge abutting the open kitchen.

Top review

Debbie

Dined on Dec 1, 2024

The Salted Vine was recommended by a friend and now I'd highly recommend it. The service was quick, efficient, friendly and kind. The food was unique and delicious. We went early so it was a quiet comfortable atmosphere.

Jingle Bao

4.5

4.5 (41)

CAN$31 to CAN$50

Asian

West End

About the restaurant

Welcome to Jingle Bao!
We are a consortium of seasoned restaurant professionals who are passionate about getting the right experience for the food we crave.

We have a common purpose – We would like the world to share the great experience of pork bun, a simple pleasure that is enjoyed for few thousand years beyond anyone’s imagination. Selinna Liu– CEO JINGLE BAO

A kind of food that has been adopted by different cultures, like burgers … but we want to bring to the world the great simple pleasure of an authentic pork bun so more people is touched by this amazing invention.

From the fresh ingredients wrapped by the warmth of a skillful hand that transforms it into a bun, we hope this small bun will inspire consumers to be satisfied with just a small bite into the juicy flavourful fresh bun we serve.

Top review

TraceyVIP

Dined on Nov 29, 2024

The soup dumplings were outstanding as was the chicken chowmein in fact is was the best one I have had

Explore Diners' Choice best of Vancouver / British Columbia

Explore more Diners' Choice lists