I know what you’re here for. Yes, F-O-O-D.
I have often been asked for the most popular restaurants in Vancouver! I did some research and selected my Top 10 Favorite French restaurants. I also asked the other French Teachers and my French friends living in Vancouver for their personal favorites before trying these restaurants myself. And, I was not disappointed!
So read on, I also included one or two popular dishes for each restaurant.
Please share with me any other French restaurants that are worthy to add to this list 🙂
Bon Appétit!
If you’re looking for a French restaurant in Vancouver that is well-known for keeping a tradition of a classy ambiance, top-notch service, and excellent food, then Le Crocodile is easily among the crowd favorites.
At Le Crocodile, you have the perfect combination of both elegance and taste. For starters, you can try out the foie gras with scallop appetizer and bone marrow! Un délice!
Address: 909 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC V6Z 2N2, Canada
Price Range: $$$$
Website: lecrocodilerestaurant.com
*Bone Marrow
*Prawns and Angel Hair Pasta
One thing that makes French food so special is that it hangs on a delicate balance between class and comfort – This is exactly the experience anyone gets from Jules Bistro.
Try out Jules Bistro’s popular canard confit. Excellent choix!
Address: 216 Abbott Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 2K8, Canada
Price Range: $$-$$$
Website: julesbistro.ca
*Confit de Canard
*Entrecôte & Frites
Whenever I look for someplace to eat, and that place prides itself on serving a particular cuisine, there’s one aspect that I always look for authenticity. So, here’s an excellent piece of news: Au Comptoir is that restaurant that really deserves infinite stamps of approval for maintaining a level of authenticity and fidelity to French cuisine.
From Au Comptoir, I tried out the EntrecÔte Frites, which is a dish consisting of the grilled ribeye steak topped with rich peppercorn sauce, and potato fries on the side. Delicious!
Address: 2278 W 4th Avenue Vancouver, BC V6K 1N8 Canada
Price Range: $$-$$$
Website: aucomptoir.ca
*Entrecôte & Frites
*Prawn and pepper salad with poached egg
What do you think is the likely result if you dare to combine unpretentious French food, a friendly price range, and a homey atmosphere in a single restaurant? As for me, I’ve figured out an answer: Les Faux Bourgeois. The name of the restaurant is interesting enough; it makes me think of people who are on a limited budget but are given the opportunity to experience world-class French cuisine in Vancouver.
The one dish that I got the chance to taste is the Calibaud. I’ll tell you right now: it’s as good as it sounds and looks (I’m sharing a picture of it below.) A total gastronomic experience.
Address: 663 15th Ave E, Vancouver, British Columbia V5T 2R6, Canada
Price Range: $$-$$$
Website: lesfauxbourgeois.com/
*Calibaud (Pacific cod, mushrooms, savoy cabbage, cod croquettes and clam pan jus)
*Homemade Duck Rillettes
Here’s a restaurant whose charm is held intact by the fact that the founder and owner of the restaurant comes from a tradition of excellence in French cuisine. Chef Herve Martin is mighty proud to share with Vancouver (and the rest of the world) all of his creations, through The French Table. What that means, then, is a food experience that is not just charming, but also delicious.
I, for one, have tried their desserts. I was especially floored by the chocolate mousse because I’m such a huge chocolate fan. I firmly believe one can never have too much of (French) chocolate desserts.
Address: 3916 Main St | Bc, Vancouver, British Columbia V5V 3P2, Canada
Price Range: $$-$$$
Website: thefrenchtable.ca
*Seafood Linguine: Cre my lemon, roasted garlic & caper sauce.
*Chocolate mousse wit whipped cream and roasted almonds
If there’s anything about Salade de Fruits Cafe that’s more than enough to bowl me over, it’s the fact that even if it’s quite a small cafe, it offers good food and great ambiance. So, since it’s pretty small and quaint, it might be a good idea to get your reservations ahead of time.
We tried their most popular dish: the moules frites. Their mussels were perfectly fresh, and the soup base that went with it was simply divine. The fries, too, were delicious!
Address: 1551 7th Ave W, Vancouver, British Columbia V6J 1S1, Canada
Price Range: $$-$$$
Website: saladedefruits.com
*Moules et Frites ou salade
*Crème brûlée
Here is yet another French restaurant in Vancouver that is also making waves, according to the research that I’ve done. Featuring an amazing ambiance that is both upstanding and elegant, L’Abbatoir is certainly the place to go for anniversaries and other special celebrations in your social calendar.
Address: 217 Carrall St | Gastown, Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 2J2, Canada
Price Range: $$$$
Website: labattoir.ca
*Poached Steelhead and crunch potato
*Baked Halibut with Meyer lemon marmalade
With a menu that changes from time to time, Absinthe is definitely a must-try.
Among the popular dishes that I’ve read about, I decided on Absinthe Bistro’s slow-braised (and oh-so-tender) roasted stuffed rabbit loin. Great choice!
Address: 1260 Commercial Dr | between Charles and Williams St., Vancouver, V5L 3X4.
Price Range: $$-$$$
Website: bistroabsinthe.com
*Duck Magret
*Roasted stuffed rabbit loin with mustard sauce and potato puree
Okay, here’s the admission: when I’m eating, I not only would like the food to be impeccably delicious, but I’d also like some good wine and good music to go with my dining. That’s exactly what Provence Marinaside is bent on providing for its customers, and that’s exactly what drew me to this restaurant.
Now, as for the popular dish that I tried, my friends were all daring me to try the frog legs, so that’s what I chose. No regrets there! The frog legs were tender and flavorful, making each mouthful a memory worth remembering. (And yes, while I enjoyed my frog legs, Provence Marinaside’s jazz band, Hip Pocket, serenaded us all.)
Address: 1177 Marinaside Cres, Vancouver, British Columbia V6Z 2Y3, Canada
Price Range: $$-$$$
Website: provencemarinaside.ca
*Frog legs
*Seafood crepes
I’m quite a fan of small bistros, especially when they manage to pull off a particular cuisine with utter precision and detail. I would like to believe that that’s exactly what I find in La Cigale French Bistro. The restaurant is quite small, perfect for those intimate conversations where I thought I’d get to know myself (or someone else, wink, wink) better.
Must try dish: Confit de canard. I ordered that, and was happier with it than I was with my date!
Address: 1961 4th Ave W, Vancouver, British Columbia V6J 1M7, Canada
Price Range: $$-$$$
Website: lacigale.ca
*Confit de canard
*Pâtes aux fruits de Mer
I know I’ve managed to say so much in a course of a number of paragraphs, but there’s one last (certainly not the least) restaurant that I wish to share with you. Ta-da: Tableau. First off, the ambiance is totally to-die-for: relaxed, but also very classy. The food doesn’t disappoint, either.
I personally tried the steelhead trout and it was really tasty!
Address: 1181 Melville St, Vancouver, British Columbia V6E 0A3, Canada
Price Range: $$-$$$$
Website: tableaubarbistro.com
*Steelhead trout
*Bouillabaisse
Okay, now that I’m practically finished talking about my personal list of the best French restaurants in Vancouver, I really must go and try some more! Time to go restaurant-hunting again! 😛
In the meantime, don’t forget to check out other interesting Blog posts like:
And don’t forget to leave us a comment telling us which is your best French restaurant or if we missed one!
À bientôt!
