Good eats, inspired drinks and an awesome view.

What is good food without an even better view?

I’m joking. I will eat good food in a matchbox. Sometimes, the matchbox makes the whole experience better, more unique. But sometimes you want that view—particularly in the summer (let’s see some hands from patio hunters here). 

If you’re looking for waterfront views and you live, work or play in Vancouver, you are in luck. We’ve got ’em by the boatload. And you can watch plenty of boats sail by while you munch, too. 

Here are a few of the best restaurants to watch the watery world go by when you nibble on a sweet potato fry. I just wanted to rhyme; you can get so much more at these awesome spots. 

Provence Marinaside

Provence Marinaside is one of my favourite restaurants in the city. It combines several of my favourite things: seafood, French cooking and a waterfront view. It’s also situated in Yaletown, where you can enjoy a pleasant post-meal stroll. 

The chic spot has been at this location for over two decades and serves authentic French Provençal flavours with fresh coastal treasures. If you’re an oyster-holic, they’ve got them by the half dozen, but you can also get grilled Hokkaido scallops, fresh Dungeness crab, prawn cocktail, steamed mussels, and so many other shelled delights. 

They also serve escargot, anchovy tapenade, grilled squid and other small bites. Entrees are freshly caught fish on rotation, seared beef tenderloin, wild mushroom ravioli and much more. They have so many seafood mains, including the platter with “half a lobster tail, wild prawns, Hokkaido scallops, mussels, clams, fish, seasonal vegetables, and five-grain rice.”

Province Marinaside is located at 1177 Marinaside Cres.


Tap and Barrel (Olympic Village and Convention Centre) 

If you’re looking for a waterfront view of False Creek, the Tap and Barrel Convention Centre offers just that. And if you happen to be caught in a thunderstorm while inside, you can enjoy it on the water from inside the floor-to-ceiling windows. That happened to me during the July thunderstorm, which was the year’s best to date, until Saturday’s tempest overtook it by a landslide.

But the views from the Convention Centre location might be considered the city’s best, offering sweeping views in the prime downtown area. 

What’s on tap at tap?

A lot of beer…really. They have two dozen brews rotating on tap when you visit, so you really won’t be out of options. In fact, a flight is probably in order. 

They don’t exactly have pub fare, but they aren’t quite Catus Club/Earls, either. They have a pretty wide selection, including a variety of pizzas, such as fennel sausage and stracciatella or local wild mushroom (to name just two of five), as well as multiple burgers and handhelds, tacos, salads, bowls, mains and share options galore. They have several plant-based dishes, and five desserts to choose from.

Tap and Barrel (Olympic Village) is located at 75 Athletes Way, and Tap and Barrel (Convention Centre) is located at 1055 Canada Place.


Bae Side 

Mahony’s on False Creek, at 601 Stamps Landing, sold in the early spring of 2025, marking the end of an Irish era on Vancouver’s False Creek for the long-running spot (it opened in 2014). 

Less Guinness may flow from the taps, but the new spot has a strikingly lovely vibe and hey…you absolutely cannot beat this view. I live within walking distance of this spot, and it has been a favourite for a mighty long time. If you score a spot on the patio, you may as well be swimming. It is that good. 

It’s the perfect spot for a sunset meal with friends or family (or solo…do you), or to sip on a cocktail or a mocktail. The new vibe is quite different, with sweet little decorations adorning everything, suiting the name “Bae Side” effortlessly. There are flowers…everywhere. 

The cocktails are amazing, but like virtually anywhere with inventive cocktails in Vancouver now, they aren’t cheap. You can sip on a drink out of a Russian nesting doll, or get “wowed” by a smoking cocktail. They even have one that serves four and comes in a tote bag; you can choose your poison for that one.

Bae Side is located at 601 Stamps Landing.