Update: Vancouver received it’s first ever 2 Michelin Star restaurant. AnnaLena was awarded 2 stars and 10 others spots were awarded 1 star. Full list here at Dished Vancouver.
Vancouver was a great food city before Michelin arrived. Many of us already knew we had something special here, but one dinner at Kissa Tanto served as a reminder as to just how much our restaurants could offer.
The food and drinks were memorable. So was the service. At one point, we dropped a piece of cutlery and before we could even reach for it, a server had placed a fresh one on our table and picked up the one that fell. It was a small moment, but the whole evening felt that considered. Kissa Tanto remains one of my favourite spots to this day.
The folks plugged into Vancouver’s restaurant scene already knew what we had here in the Pacific Northwest. That said, many people from the suburbs would still tend to stick with familiar places like Cactus Club or Earls. There’s nothing wrong with either of them, besides that Earls Happy Hours is legendary. And at over 10,000 employees, they also happen to be two of Vancouver’s strongest hospitality employers. But we had chefs and restaurateurs taking bigger risks practically down the road, and too many people weren’t paying attention. It’s one of the reasons we created the Dished channel at Daily Hive, now one of the most watched channels by a Canadian digital publication.
We shouldn’t need Anthony Bourdain (RIP), Seth Rogen, Michelin or anyone else to tell us how great of a food city we are. But apparently, we did.
That feels very Vancouver. We’ll tell anyone about the mountains and ocean. We’re less comfortable telling the world, or even each other, what the people here have built.
Enter Michelin: A stamp of approval
When Michelin announced its Vancouver guide in 2022, the hard work had been going on for years. Chefs, owners and their teams had built restaurants worth travelling for, in a city where rent, labour and ingredient costs make ambition expensive. Michelin gave that work recognition people understood well beyond Vancouver.
For some restaurants, the impact was immediate. In a 2023 Eater report, St. Lawrence chef-owner J-C Poirier said a month of reservations sold out in about 15 minutes after the restaurant received its star. He put the emotional side of it plainly: “I knew we were at the level. But this is a stamp of approval.”
The effect went beyond reservations. Eater reported a stronger sense of pride among Poirier’s team. At Michelin-recommended Yuwa, owner Iori Kataoka said the recognition encouraged her staff’s development.
That got me thinking about what could come next. If Vancouver is known around the world for its restaurants, could more people come here to work and learn? Could more of the people already here see a future in hospitality? Over time, that could help develop the next generation of chefs, owners, brands and service leaders. It’s an opportunity I don’t want the City and its citizens to overlook.
I think the recognition mattered to the rest of us, too. Michelin gave Vancouverites a reason to take another look at their own city. It gave visitors a reason to plan a trip around food. And it gave us a little more confidence when talking about our City.
Full credit goes to Destination Vancouver and its president and CEO, Royce Chwin, for helping bring Michelin here. It was a smart move. Our restaurants and the people behind them deserved a bigger stage. While the mountains and ocean may bring someone to Vancouver, a great meal can get them into a neighbourhood they might otherwise have missed.
We punched above our weight
The first guides gave us something else to point to. Vancouver’s inaugural Michelin selection included 60 restaurants, eight with one star and 12 with Bib Gourmand recognition. In comparison, Toronto’s first guide, released the same year, included 74 restaurants, 13 of them starred.
For context, the 2021 census counted 6.2 million people in the Toronto metropolitan area and 2.64 million in Metro Vancouver. For a market our size, Vancouver’s held it’s own and we punched well above our weight class. Which is a recurring theme, we are City that seldom gets national attention, it truly is up to us to make our own noise.
The guide, just like the City, kept growing. By 2025, Vancouver’s list included 76 restaurants across 22 cuisine types, with 12 starred restaurants.
Main Street is the Vancouver we should be selling
Arguably one of the more eclectic streets in Canada, Main Street, is also home to a concentration of Michelin-recognized restaurants, so much so it’s been dubbed the as the Michelin Mile. From Mount Pleasant toward Riley Park, it includes starred restaurants Burdock & Co and Published on Main. Anh and Chi, Good Thief, Song (by Kin Kao) and Sushi Hil have Bib Gourmand recognition, while The Acorn and ¿CóMO? Taperia are among the recommended spots. Nearby on East Broadway, Sumibiyaki Arashi has a star of its own.
What I love is that these places aren’t all trying to do the same thing. You could book dinner at one, spend the next afternoon walking Main, stop at a café, browse a local shop and make a note of where you want to eat next.
That’s a trip someone could come to Vancouver for. Michelin might get them to book the table, but Mount Pleasant gives them a reason to spend time in the neighbourhood. To me, it’s a glimpse of where Vancouver is headed: the food, culture and work all colliding in Mount Pleasant. We just need some hotels in the area (City Wide for that matter) would make it easier for visitors to stay and experience it that way, too.
Give people a reason to stay in the city
Thinking beyond Michelin, here’s the campaign I’d like to see: market our neighbourhoods with the same confidence we market our mountains. Start with Mount Pleasant and Yaletown. Main Street has restaurants, cafés, shops and bars you can spend a whole day exploring. Yaletown has its old warehouse buildings and patio culture and a vibrant nightlife (Thursday to Saturday). I’ve called it Vancouver’s patio district for years. Folks of all ages come for dinner, stay out and experience the city around them.
Commercial Drive would be close behind. Little Italy is part of its history, but the Drive has grown into something much broader. Its restaurants, independent businesses and people give it a character you only get by spending time there.
Most visitors want to experience the city beyond the usual tourist stops. Let’s show them the Vancouver we know, alongside the mountains and ocean they came to see. Follow a night out in Yaletown, an afternoon on Main or a long walk down the Drive. Put the people who make those places what they are at the centre of the story.
What comes after recognition?
Michelin sparked curiosity. Events like Dine Out Vancouver give people another reason to try somewhere new. But I don’t think we’ve done enough yet to market Vancouver’s food scene to the world, or to turn that attention into lasting support for the people behind it.
Which brings us to Destination Vancouver’s decision about Michelin. Its agreement was due to be revisited in 2026.
I think bringing Michelin here was the right move. Do we need to renew the agreement? I’m not convinced. Before making that call, I’d like to know what it costs and see how that investment compares with a campaign introducing Mount Pleasant, Yaletown and Commercial Drive to the world. Michelin helped people find the restaurants. Now let’s give them a reason to explore the neighbourhoods around them.
The chefs and independent restaurateurs should be part of that conversation. They’re the ones living with both the benefits and the pressures of Michelin’s attention. What would help them keep building here? What would make Vancouver a place where the next generation wants to train, stay and who knows open up a restaurant here? Destination Vancouver and City Hall should hear them out. The people taking the risks know things the rest of us need to hear.
Kissa Tanto, Anh and Chi, and Published on Main are among the places that remind me why I’ve always believed in Vancouver’s food scene. Michelin helped more people see what was already here. Now we have to support the people behind these restaurants and show the world the neighbourhoods they help bring to life.
And for those of us who live here, there’s an easy place to start: book somewhere we’ve been meaning to try.
We're so lucky to have such fantastic options in the city! Shoutout to all the small businesses that make it possible. Looking forward to your next article, Karm!