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The stretch between East 34th and 37th isn’t as trendy as Yaletown, but is rich in delicious food. PLUS: See where to eat with our interactive map.<\/p>\n
Published Feb 25, 2026 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 1\u00a0hour ago \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 5 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n Article content New series explores the restaurants that bring Metro Vancouver neighbourhoods to life.<\/p>\n The neighbourhoods around Victoria Drive in east Vancouver are incredibly ethnically diverse.<\/p>\n And its restaurants reflect it. Between East 33rd and 41st, for example, there are over 30 restaurants and caf\u00e9s serving food from around the world.<\/p>\n Many offer varieties of Vietnamese and Chinese cuisine. But there are also Japanese, Mexican, Salvadoran, Ukrainian, Indian, Korean, Filipino and Middle Eastern restaurants and bakeries, as well an old school pizza joint called Neighbours.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Vancouver Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Vancouver Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an Account<\/p>\n or<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like a little international town, this street, everybody has their own food,\u201d said Maria Avila of Adelitas, a Mexican restaurant at 5178 Victoria Dr.<\/p>\n West Coast Table<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201c(For) people who want to enjoy different ethnic or international food, this is a good place.\u00a0People who come\u00a0to have\u00a0Vietnamese\u00a0food, they see us, and\u00a0if they want to try something from Mexico, they come here.\u201d<\/p>\n It’s like a little international town, this street, everybody has their own food.<\/p>\n Maria Avila of Adelitas<\/p>\n Most of Victoria Drive\u2019s restaurants are also quite small, classic mom and pop jobs. Adelitas has only 20 seats and minimal decoration \u2014 a few sombreros and Mexican papel picado, which is brightly coloured folk art paper cut-outs.<\/p>\n It offers traditional dishes\u00a0that\u00a0you\u2019d\u00a0find in Avila\u2019s native Mexico City, such as\u00a0enmoladas,\u00a0corn\u00a0tortillas filled with\u00a0chicken, beef or veggies\u00a0and\u00a0covered\u00a0in\u00a0a rich mole sauce.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do everything from scratch,\u201d said Avila. \u201cI think that\u2019s the secret, that the flavours here are authentic.\u201d<\/p>\n The restaurant has been around since 2014. One of the keys to its survival is that the rent is cheap. Victoria Drive is filled with affordable older buildings, not the expensive new highrises common downtown.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the Jane Jacobs line, cities need old buildings,\u201d said Andy Yan, director of the City program at Simon Fraser University, referring to the urbanist who wrote the landmark book The Death and Life of Great American Cities.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Yan calls areas like this\u00a0\u201cstartup\u00a0neighbourhoods,\u201d where the cheap rent allows new arrivals to Canada to start up their own businesses, often restaurants.<\/p>\n \u201cThese\u00a0are immigrant\u00a0entrepreneurs,\u201d he said. \u201cThey have a few dollars and\u00a0open up\u00a0a small business, trying to make\u00a0a go of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Because money is tight, many restaurants on Victoria Drive don\u2019t have websites, and may not show up on a Google map or street view search. So you have to check them out the old-school way \u2014 by going there.<\/p>\n Writer Chris Cheung grew up around the\u00a0area\u00a0\u2014 his family had a business there. But it has evolved over the years, and still is, as different waves of immigrants have come into\u00a0Vancouver.<\/p>\n \u201cGrowing up the stretch that you\u2019re talking about was very Italian,\u201d he said. \u201cMy fondest memories were going to the Calabria bakery over there. They had a meat shop as well.<\/p>\n \u201cNow\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0become this interesting extension of, I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0know if you would want to call it Little Saigon, but like the Vietnamese presence on Kingsway.\u201d<\/p>\n Hien Nguyen of Dalat restaurant (5497 Victoria Dr.) agrees.<\/p>\n \u201cIt used to be Kingsway had a lot of Vietnamese restaurants,\u201d said Nguyen, whose restaurant specializes in food from central Vietnam.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I think they started closing a lot, after COVID happened. But a lot of them still operate on this street.\u201d<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Cheung can rhyme off all sorts of\u00a0favourite\u00a0restaurants and dishes.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s\u00a0a few landmarks that people\u00a0go to\u00a0down there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of them is a restaurant called Hoang Yen (5155 Victoria Dr.), and they have two signature dishes. There\u2019s the b\u00fan ch\u1ea3 c\u00e1, which is like dill fish soup noodle. And then there\u2019s the bun rieu, which is like a pork and crabmeat cake in a tomato base, another soup noodle.\u201d<\/p>\n On the weekends, this stretch of Victoria Drive is buzzing.<\/p>\n \u201cBanh Mi Saigon (5397 Victoria Dr.) has great sandwiches but also great pat\u00e9 chaud,\u201d says Cheung.<\/p>\n \u201cLien Hiep (5083 Victoria Dr.) has fantastic steamed rice rolls for breakfast. Love the crispy shallots contrasting with the soft thin rice crepe.\u201d<\/p>\n For dim sum, Western Lake Chinese Seafood (4989 Victoria Dr.) is a longtime hot spot. Old Chinatown watchers may be surprised to discover that Kent\u2019s Kitchen is still operating at 5659 Victoria Dr., after closing down its Keefer street location a couple of years ago.<\/p>\n This part of Victoria Drive\u00a0also\u00a0has\u00a0many\u00a0chain\u00a0restaurants\u00a0and coffee shops, such as Dairy Queen,\u00a0McDonald\u2019s, Tim Hortons\u00a0and Starbucks.\u00a0Most of them are near East 41st.<\/p>\n That said, you can go to a chain anywhere. The reason to go to Victoria Drive is to find delicacies like the to-die-for paklava at Kamo bakery, a \u201ctaste from Middle East\u201d at 5552 Victoria Dr.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Owner Kamo\u00a0Mawlood\u00a0is\u00a0Kurdish, from\u00a0Arbil in the Kurdish part of Iraq. But he says his bakery is a mix of Middle Eastern\u00a0flavours\u00a0\u2014 Kurdish, Turkish, Syrian, Iranian.<\/p>\n \u201cBut in the end, its (its) own recipe,\u201d he said. \u201cWe changed the recipe.\u201d<\/p>\n Many of the restaurants are concentrated between East 34th\u00a0and 37th, which makes\u00a0a visit to the restaurants of Victoria Drive\u00a0very walkable.<\/p>\n There are also some interesting businesses to visit, such as the SPCA thrift store (5239 Victoria Dr.), a large space that always seems to have something cool and unusual.<\/p>\n Case in point: a wicker letter holder that says \u201cHawaii\u201d on top and is decorated with a palm tree flanked by two women in grass skirts, one playing a ukulele, one dancing.<\/p>\n It was only $2.\u00a0So\u00a0I bought it.<\/p>\n Eat Streets: What to know about this stretch of Victoria Drive Location: Victoria Drive between East 34th and East 37th<\/p>\n Number of restaurants and food options: 33<\/p>\n What are the options for parking?<\/p>\n The area has some spots free for two hours, but there is also some pay parking.<\/p>\n What are Metro Vancouver\u2019s Eat Streets?<\/p>\n This article is part one of a series highlighting Metro Vancouver\u2019s must-visit Eat Streets<\/a>. With the goal of celebrating \u2014 and maybe even introducing you to \u2014 stretches of community around the region that have a notable concentration of local food businesses. Know of a great Eat Street in your community? Let us know where. Email us at artslife@vancouversun.com<\/a>. And watch for our next Eat Street on March 4.<\/p>\n Then and now: Victoria Drive in pictures![\"Eat](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/vs-eatStreets-long-WEB.jpg\")
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<\/p>\n![\"Co-owner](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/png0114-adelitas_300753240.jpg\")
Co-owner of Adelitas restaurant, Maria Avila in Vancouver. Photo by Arlen Redekop \/PNG<\/p>\n![\"Joseph](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/png-0116n-victoriadrive-949_300784590-1.jpg\")
Joseph Mai has lunch at Dalat Vietnamese Cuisine restaurant on Victoria Drive in Vancouver. Photo by Jason Payne \/PNG<\/p>\n![\"Kamaran](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/png-0116n-victoriadrive-962_300784600.jpg\")
Kamaran Mawlood with pistachio baklava at his Kurdish bakery, Kamo Bakery, on Victoria Drive. Photo by Jason Payne \/PNG<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/png-0116n-victoriadrive-869_300784618.jpg\")
Numerous restaurants call Victoria Drive home, making the street a good choice for those looking for a diversity of culinary choices. Photo by Jason Payne \/PNG<\/p>\n![\"June](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/vpl_25027_301662971.jpg\")
June 1939: View looking southwest in 5600 block Victoria near E. 41st. Businesses included are Safeway and Ideal Feed Store. Photo by Dominion Photograph Company Coll \/PL 25027![\"1948:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/vpl_80472-copy_301663155.jpg\")
1948: Businesses on Victoria Drive, including Clare\u2019s Pharmacy. Photo by Artray \/ VPL 80472![\"1948:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/vpl_80472b_301663495-1.jpg\")
1948: Businesses on Victoria Drive, including Victoria Cleaners, Economy B&K Stores, Sharp\u2019s Shoe Store, and Safeway. Photo by Artray \/ VPL 80472B![\"Victoria](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/png-0116n-victoriadrive-096_300784580.jpg\")
2026: Victoria Drive is home to many Vietnamese and Chinese restaurants, including Lien Hiep at 5083 Victoria Dr. Photo by Jason Payne \/PNG![\"Yao](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/png-0116n-victoriadrive-598_300784602.jpg\")
2026: Yao Yen Kitchen and Delicious Restaurant (5550 Victoria Drive) has photos of its Taiwanese and Chinese dishes on its windows to entice patrons. Photo by Jason Payne \/PNG![\"Happy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/png-0116n-victoriadrive-155_300784584.jpg\")
2026: Happy Sushi (5137 Victoria Drive) packs a lot of info into its sign. Photo by Jason Payne \/PNG<\/p>\n