Record Breaking Year for DINE OUT VANCOUVER and Best Bite award winners

Contributing an estimated $3.9 million to the local economy, the 2014 Dine Out Vancouver Festival continued to show growth and expansion with a record-setting number of participating restaurants, increased bookings and more culinary event attendance than ever before. After yet another successful year, it’s no wonder the Georgia Straight awarded Dine Outa Golden Plate Award for “Best Food Festival/Event” for the second time in a row.

During the 12th anniversary of Canada’s largest restaurant festival, more than 80,000* diners sampled, sipped and devoured their way through 263 restaurants in and around downtown Vancouver. Thousands more took part in a menu of inventive culinary experiences that included a sushi-inspired film fest, an al fresco lunchtime fiesta with 23 street food carts and a brand-new kickoff event that featured 50 of Vancouver’s top chefs creating a communal soup for the public.

Dine Out Vancouver 2014 Stats

• 263 – number of participating restaurants
• 31 – total number of unique culinary events and experiences
• 500+ – number of free soup samples dished out to the public at the Chef Soup
Experiment
• 4.4* – percentage increase in restaurant reservations over last year’s festival
• 2.2 million – total number of Dine Out menu views
• 6.3 million – total number of page views at dineoutvancouver.com
• 80,317* – total number of diners seated
• 18,000+ – estimated number of people served over five days at Street Food City III
(double the number that attended last year’s event)

“For the past dozen years, Dine Out Vancouver Festival has successfully brought families, friends and visitors together to celebrate Vancouver’s exciting array of local food and dining offerings,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson. “The festival’s ongoing success and growth continues to make it an even stronger showcase of Vancouver’s passion for food and our vibrant character as a city.”

“Dine Out gets better every year, and we’ve now come to expect that each year’s festival will top the last,” said Lucas Pavan, festival coordinator. “In addition to providing a needed financial boost to Vancouver restaurants during a slower time of the year, Dine Out encourages local chefs, restaurateurs and culinary leaders to take risks and think outside the pot. It’s thanks to these passionate foodies that Vancouver is one of the world’s most sought out culinary destinations.”

Throughout the 17 days of the festival, diners were invited to cast votes for their favourite Dine Out experiences. This year’s festival all-stars are:

Best $18 menu: Bistro 101 – Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts
Best $28 menu: Seasons in the Park
Best $38 menu: Five Sails – Pan Pacific Vancouver Hotel

Best B.C. VQA wine pairing: The Observatory – Grouse Mountain
Best B.C. craft beer pairing: Forage
Best dining experience: Siena
Best service: Federico’s Supper Club (server: Earl MacDonald)