Vancouver has joined the ranks of international culinary destinations after the Michelin Guide awarded eight local restaurants with a coveted star.
Guests made up of foodies, chefs and restaurateurs gathered at the Vancouver Convention Center West building for the unveiling ceremony Thursday night.
The famous but sometimes controversial food guide revealed the names of eight establishments deemed worthy of one star out of a possible three.
They are:
- AnnaLena.
- barbara
- Burdana & Co.
- iDen and QuanJuDe Beijing Duck House.
- Cat Tanto
- Masayoshi.
- Posted in Main.
- Saint Lawrence
No restaurant in Vancouver earned more than one star. At the inaugural Michelin event in Toronto last month, only one restaurant, Sushi Masaki Saito, was awarded two stars.
iDen & Quan Ju De Beijing Duck House is one of eight restaurants in Vancouver to be awarded a Michelin star. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Twelve other restaurants earned the Bib Gourmand designation, which recognizes high quality among outlets that offer two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for less than $60. Locations ranged from the beloved Cambodian restaurant in Chinatown Phnom Penh to celebrity chef Vikram Vij’s eponymous Indian restaurant, Vij’s.
“Our teams of inspectors really savored their dining experiences in Vancouver,” said Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guides.
Anonymous inspectors fly into cities to visit restaurants over several weeks to determine their list of recommendations.
Poullennec says that in Vancouver, inspectors were impressed by the city’s diverse offerings, and all of his recommended restaurants were appealing “in their own authentic DNA.”
In the past, Michelin has been criticized for focusing on dining experiences and cuisines such as French, Italian and Japanese over others.
Here’s a full list of Vancouver’s Michelin Guide picks:
A star
- AnnaLena.
- barbara
- Burdana & Co.
- iDen and QuanJuDe Beijing Duck House.
- Cat Tanto
- Masayoshi.
- Posted in Main.
- Saint Lawrence
Bib Gourmands
- Anh and Chi
- sucker
- round kitchen
- Fiorino, Italian street food.
- Song by Kin Kao.
- Little Bird Dim Sum + Craft Beer.
- lunch lady
- solace
- Goose Pastificio
- Phnom Penh.
- Say Mercy!
- Vij’s
recommended
- HOW? tapestry
- Aquafarin
- Arik.
- Ask for Luigi.
- Bacaro.
- Bacchus.
- Bar Gobo
- Milk bars
- Hello Vietnam Bistro.
- botanist
- Cafe Medina.
- pug
- Chang’an.
- Chinese cuisine at the chef’s choice.
- from Cioppino.
- Delara.
- Seafood Dynasty
- elephant
- Fanny Bay Oyster Bar.
- Hawksworth Restaurant.
- Cafe de Sant Homer.
- The Slaughterhouse
- Lobby Lounge and RawBar.
- morning
- Miku.
- Nammos Estiatorio.
- Seafood restaurant Neptune Palace.
- New Mandarin seafood restaurant.
- nightingale
- Ophelia
- Osteria Savio Volpe.
- per se Social Corner.
- PiDGin.
- Riley’s Fish & Steak.
- Sushi Bar Maui.
- The Acorn
- The Mackenzie Room.
- Torafuku.
- Ubuntu canteen.
- Yuwa.
The guides, which were first published in France more than a century ago, award annual stars to restaurants that exhibit culinary excellence.
Michelin’s arrival in Canada is partly due to a multi-year funding deal with tourism boards to help boost travel decimated by the pandemic, but Gwendal Poullennec, the guide’s international director, said the selection process remains independent.
Michelin inspectors base their comments on five criteria: quality products, harmony of flavors, mastery of cooking techniques, personality of the chef in the kitchen and consistency in each visit, as each restaurant is inspected several times a year .