16 of the best things we ate in and around Vancouver this month

June is just around the corner, and we’re feeling a little nostalgic. After all, May was a month filled with so many great opportunities to enjoy Vancouver’s incredible dining scene.

From rebrands of much-loved concepts and decade-old Vietnamese eateries to new openings (like Vancouver’s massive Time Out Market), we’ve had plenty of dining opportunities this month.

Keep on reading to see our list of the best things we ate in and around Vancouver this month.

The Nashville Hot Fish Sandwich from Jack’s Fish and Chips

If you’ve been reading Dished over the last couple of years, you may remember that The Fish Sandwich made our list of the best things we ate in Vancouver for 2024 (at the time, the spot was known as Jack’s Chowder before its rebrand). During our most recent visit, we had the pleasure of enjoying the Nashville hot version of the dish. The same crispy fish patty is served with a slice of cheese, bread and butter pickles, and house-made tartar sauce, but this time dunked in Nashville hot sauce. As the name suggests, the Fish and Chips are also a great choice (and the same chowder they went viral for is still on the menu, bread bowl and all).

Address: 5772 Fraser St., Vancouver

Address: 1055 Dunsmuir St., Vancouver

Radiatore from Lucia

Now under the helm of chef Marquella Uhrig, Lucia’s menu has recently undergone an overhaul with its focus now on house-made pizza dough and fresh pasta — and let us tell you, the pasta is definitely worth the visit. Specifically, the Radiatore served with a leek and wild mushroom cream sauce and topped with pieces of smoked scamorza was easily the favourite of the table. However, when you visit, make sure you don’t sleep on the stellar selection of antipasti and drinks.

Address: 3124 Main St., Vancouver

Argentina Red Shrimp Tartare from On The Other Hand by Handson (and literally any cocktail)

The team from the former Handson Steaks and Frites have launched their new concept titled On The Other Hand by Handson, where the team is serving up so many excellent bites. Looking back on our meal, it was really hard to narrow it down to one course. But if we had to recommend just one thing for you to try when you visit (and you really should visit), it’s the Argentina Red Shrimp Tartare served with a lovage emulsion on top of croissant pudding. Also, do yourself a favour and order literally anything from the cocktail menu (we’ll be back for the We Shouldn’t Have Stayed — a drink with cold brew coffee, rose wine, and date caramel served with a side of ice cream).

Address: 847 Denman St., Vancouver

Bai Kdang from Touk

Okay, we know, Touk keeps making this list. But the team keeps serving us incredible food, and we keep coming back for more, so how could you blame us? This time, we stopped by for its recently released lunch menu, where we enjoyed numerous delicious plates, including the Bai Kdang — a puffed glutinous rice tostada topped with a generous portion of uni, albacore tuna, and shaved fennel. But we’ll be honest, every dish here was a contender for the best thing we ate in Vancouver this month.

Address: 1152 Alberni St., Vancouver

Iced Matcha with Rhubarb Cold Foam from Annabelle’s

We love an iced matcha, and we love it even more when it incorporates a seasonally appropriate topping like rhubarb cold foam. Annabelle’s ticks all of our boxes for a great cafe visit. Space? Cute as hell. Pastries? Bomb. Drinks? Even more bomb.

Address: 620 Quebec St., Vancouver

Noodles from Bar Gobo

Talk about the ultimate comfort food. These creamy ramen noodles from Bar Gobo have a delightful note of citrus thanks to the use of chillimansi (a seasoning that is a combination of chilli and calamansi). This dish is deceptively simple and oh so tasty.

Address: 237 Union St., Vancouver

Bak’d Cookies

While this wasn’t necessarily a planned visit, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to pick up some cookies from Bak’d during our most recent trip to New Westminster. If you ask us, it doesn’t get better than The OG Cookie, which consists of two different types of dark chocolate alongside toasted walnuts. But with varieties like the Gimmie S’mores, Lavender Fog, Chocolatey PB, and so many more, you really can’t go wrong with whatever you end up ordering here.

Address: 285 Nelson’s Ct., New Westminster

Banana Leaf Sablefish from DD Mau

We took a bold leap of faith and decided to venture outside our typical DD Mau order (Fried Sticky Rice, DD Mau Wings, Short Rib Beef Dip, and Damn Good Chicken Rice washed down with a Mango Sticky Rice cocktail for those who are curious) to try some of the items from its spring fresh sheet. Let us tell you, it was well worth the risk.

The dish that really blew us away was the Banana Leaf Sablefish, which is served with a Vietnamese curry that begs to be soaked up with the provided rice.

Address: 145 E. Pender St., Vancouver

Egg Tart Ice Cream from Rain or Shine

Ice cream and egg tarts are two of our favourite things, so when Rain or Shine released a flavour combining the two, how could we not pop by for a visit? We were delighted when we were served a scoop that was littered with tiny chunks of tart throughout, making for one tasty, sweet treat and one of the best desserts we ate in Vancouver this month.

Address: Multiple locations throughout Vancouver

ICON Dinner Series by Vancouver Chefs — Tim Schulte from Table by Tim x Tushar Tondvalkar from Kavita

Perhaps the most unique dining experience we had this month was this special Walt Disney-themed ICON Dinner organized by Vancouver Chefs, hosted at Kavita in collaboration with Tim Schulte from Table by Tim. While it was hard to choose a singular favourite (especially when the team served a Snow White-themed course served inside an Okanagan apple), the Ratatouille-inspired Spring Vegetables, Comte, and Foraged Herbs stood out to us the most. We’re heartbroken knowing that we may never be able to taste this dish again.

Past icons featured in this dining series include Anthony Bourdain and David Bowie. You can follow Vancouver Chefs on Instagram to stay up to date on what the next dinner will be.

Fish and Chips from Pajo’s

Nothing screams warm weather like a newspaper cone stuffed to the brim with fish and chips (and a generous side of tartar sauce for dipping). We’d head down to Steveston any day of the week to enjoy these fish and chips — though it also helps that you can head over to the docks after and take home a generous helping of spot prawns. You can also visit Pajo’s at Rocky Point Park and at their outpost inside YVR Airport.

Address: 12351 Third Ave., Richmond

Address: 2805 Esplanade Ave., Port Moody

Address: 3211 Grant McConachie Way, Richmond

Unique Slow Rise Bakery

So Squamish is a bit of a stretch to include in a list of the best things we ate in and around Vancouver, but Unique Slow Rise Bakery gets a pass for serving both delicious food and great views. The Pork Dumplings (Siu Mai) were our favourite of the meal, but we really recommend you order a little bit of everything and share. Plus, these folks use Holy Duck Chilli Oil, so you know it’s going to be good.

Address: 36583 Darrell Bay Rd., Squamish

Time Out Market Vancouver

Everything we’ve tried from Time Out Market Vancouver has been incredible so far, but a few dishes did stand out from the crowd of incredible bites that we think deserve a special shoutout in our list of the best things we ate in Vancouver.

Firstly, the Lobby Dogs from Barnacle are a must-try. What is essentially a lobster corn dog is topped with salsa macha and crispy barnacles for a truly memorable bite.

The Truffled Nuggets from DownLow Chicken are also an easy recommendation, which are served with a side of sour cream and onion dip.

Last, but certainly not least, the Feenie’s Burger from Feenie’s is a top pick for us. This burger consists of a 1/4 of wagyu smashed to perfection and topped with maple-cured bacon, Canadian cheese, mushrooms, lettuce, onion, tomato, RF signature sauce, and Hobbs pickles, all served on a toasted potato bun.

Address: Inside Oakridge Park — 650 W. 41st Ave. Unit 4112, Vancouver

Still hungry? Discover Dished Vancouver on TikTok