Category: Vancouver (Page 1 of 2)

We were very tired after a long drive, so just wanted to have a quick bite to eat. My boyfriend and I both love sushi, so we decided on trying Sushi Matsuri, mainly because it was close to our hotel.

The entrance to this small restaurant is marked by a typical Japanese cloth, but the people working there are, I think, Korean. The interior isn’t much to talk about, but I liked the lanterns which gave the restaurant a lively feel.

Since we were there right before closing time, we decided on ordering some starters and a sushi combination to satisfy our hunger. We went for edamame, oyster tempura, gyoza, the Alaska roll and Combo C (some nigiri and rolls). Our order turned out to be more than enough. We even had some trouble finishing it all.

The nigiri sushi was really good. I loved it. The seaweed in the rolls was a little bit to chewy for my taste, but I enjoyed the rolls nonetheless.

Throughout the meal our tea cups got regularly refilled. Staff was very friendly. Really made us feel welcome.

I can recommend this place, if you’re looking for no nonsense sushi.

Information
Restaurant Sushi Matsuri
239 Menzies St
Victoria BC V8V 1R9
British Columbia
Canada
+1 250-590-8110
https://www.facebook.com/sushimatsuri8110

Visited July 2015. You can find my review about Sushi Matsuri also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 5/5, service 5/5, food 4/5.

Hime Sushi is a no nonsense sushi place. Sushi is freshly made by the sushi chefs while you are waiting. The restaurant is quite small, so it is possible that you have to wait for a table. The restaurant isn’t fancy, but the sushi is very good, with some modern twists on the classics.

I tried the house vegetable roll with on the inside of the roll asparagus, cucumber, lettuce, carrot, mushroom and on top beet and avocado with green sauce of the house. Surprisingly good, to be honest. Very fresh en a nice combination of flavors. Really liked the green sauce. The sushi was also presented very nice. My boyfriend ordered the fire dragon roll, a little bit spicy, so not for everyone, but also very good. Prices are reasonable. Service is ok.

If you’re looking for a quick tasty sushi lunch or dinner, you can’t go wrong with Hime sushi.

Information
Hime Sushi Japanese Restaurant
315 E.Broadway
Vancouver V5T 1W5
British Columbia
Canada
+1 604-708-1616
http://www.himesushi.com/en/index.php

Visited July 2015. You can find my review about Hime Japanese Restaurant also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 4/5, service 3/5, food 4/5.

Went to Troll’s for a quick lunch. This place has a really friendly vibe about it. Loved the interior (the canoe was a very nice touch and the caricatures were funny to look at) and the atmosphere. We got a seating booth near the window so we could enjoy the view on Horseshoe Bay. Our waitress was very friendly. We had a nice chat with her.

Food was great and very reasonably priced. I enjoyed some lovely salmon with mashed potatoes, while my boyfriend had a chicken burger. Portion size was more than enough. Toilet was very clean and spacious. Next visit I hope I will be able to have lunch on the terrace in the sun!

Can really recommend this place.

Troll’s Horseshoe Bay, 6408 Bay St, West Vancouver, British Columbia V7W 2H1, Canada
+1 604-921-7755

Visited July 2015. You can find my review about Troll’s Horseshoe Bay also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 5/5, service 4/5, food 5/5.

Highly recommend visiting this gorgeous place. The Suspension Bridge in itself is fun, but the walk though the tree tops of the gorgeous Douglas-fir pine trees is unforgettable. Really enjoyed this experience. Oh, and the home made fugde is great!

Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, 3735 Capilano Rd, North Vancouver, British Columbia V7R 4J1, Canada
https://www.capbridge.com/
+1 604-985-7474

Visited July 2015. You can find my review about Capilano Suspension Bridge Park also on TripAdvisor.

This café next to the VanDusen Botanical Gardens is really a terrific place to have a drink or a small bite to eat. We only had drinks here, so I can’t commend on the food. You have to order at the counter, but your order is brought to your table. We sat outside enjoying a beautiful sunny summer evening.

I had ordered a mimosa, but the waiter came to our table to tell they were sold out. I was a bit surprised that they didn’t take away the placard that advertised this summer drink. The staff handled the mistake quite well, I didn’t have to pay for the price difference when I changed my order to a glass of white wine.

If you’re looking for a beautiful terrace to enjoy a nice drink with friends, this is a great place.

Truffles Cafe, 5151 Oak St, Vancouver, British Columbia V6M 4H1, Canada
https://trufflesfinefoods.com/
+1 604-505-4961

Visited July 2015. You can find my review about Truffles Cafe also on TripAdvisor.

I absolutely adored this lovely botanical garden. One of the most beautiful gardens I’ve been to in my life. Such a gorgeous place. If you have the time, please go and visit. You won’t regret it. This place showcases the rich variety of plant life in Canada. Highly recommended.

Extra bonus points for the coyote just casually strolling around on the mowed lawn.

VanDusen Botanical Garden, 5251 Oak St, Vancouver, British Columbia V6M 4H1, Canada
http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/vandusen-botanical-garden.aspx
+1 604-878-9274

Visited July 2015. You can find my review about VanDusen Botanical Garden also on TripAdvisor.

This museum is definitely worth the visit. The architecture of the building is just perfect for the First Nations artefacts on display in the museum. The collection is very big, so you’ll need your time to explore everything. You can also view the objects in open storage, but those objects are not labeled.

I recommend joining the free guided tours. The guides are very knowledgeable and give more insights into the collection and the vision of the museum.

You can also visit temporary exhibitions which are great, but are completely different from the First Nations exposition. We visited an exhibition about Portugues folk art.

This museum is quite far away from the city centre. You’ll need to take a bus and afterwards a shuttle that will bring you to the museum.

Museum of Anthropology, 6393 North West Marine Dr., Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z2, Canada
http://moa.ubc.ca/
+1 604-822-5087

Visited July 2015. You can find my review about Museum of Anthropology also on TripAdvisor.

This park is situated at the highest point of the city. The view from the beautiful garden with lots of flowers is stunning. Do visit the Bloedel Conservatory. If you love exotic birds, you’ll be able to admire them up close.

Queen Elizabeth Park, 4600 Cambie St, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Y 2M4, Canada
http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/queen-elizabeth-park.aspx
+1 604-873-7000

Visited July 2015. You can find my review about Queen Elizabeth Park also on TripAdvisor.

We had to wait quite a long time before we got seated. Seemed like all of the waiting staff was busy. Sadly there wasn’t room on the terrace. A pity because the view at Sage bistro is absolutely stunning and the weather was perfect for an outside lunch. Luckily we had a table at the window so we could still enjoy the view.

Sage bistro is a quite stylish place with lots of room for the tables. I really liked the interior design of the restaurant.

Options on the menu all sounded delicious, so we had a hard time choosing. I went for the horseradish root crusted wild spring salmon, one of the recommendations of our waitress. A local caught salmon, sounded great to me. My boyfriend had the ponzu marinated British Columbia Sturgeon.

When our meal arrived, we were thrilled. Both dishes looked gorgeous, the plates were decorated with little edible flowers. But looks can be deceiving. My salmon was average at best. The salmon was overcooked and too dry, the potatoes weren’t crunchy (I suspect they weren’t fresh) and very mushy. A pity, because everything looked so great.

All in all I left with mixed feelings. This restaurant could be great, but expectations weren’t met and the prices were too high for the quality of the meal.

Sage Bistro, 6331 Crescent Rd, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z2, Canada
+1 604-822-1500

Visited July 2015. You can find my review about Sage Bistro also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 3/5, service 3/5, food 3/5.

This hotel is up to the standards of Best Western. Our room was clean and equipped with everything we needed (bath products, hair dryer, water boiler, coffee maker..) We would have loved for the bed to be a bit bigger though. We both love some space while sleeping. Airco was very noisy. Free wifi was available.

The hotel is located at half an hour walking from the touristic center. Nearby are lots of good and reasonably priced restaurants.

Breakfast was continental. Nothing special, but enough for a good start of the day. Everyday there was an egg preparation and some meat, cereals, bread, some pastries, fresh fruit and yoghurt. There idea of scrambled eggs was a bit different than the norm, but it was fine. You also could make your own waffles. I found it strange that you had to trow away your plates and cutlery after the meal was finished. Too much of a hassle to clean the plates?

The breakfast room was small for such a big hotel, but it never got too crowded. We took our breakfast very early (at about 6.45u) so I don’t know if seating would be a problem when you eat later.

I found the staff at the reception to be a bit indifferent. Didn’t feel very welcome and when we had a question about bus tickets, the answer was rather short.

The biggest problem we had with this hotel was the noise of the many many pigeons. I guess some had built nests on the air conditioning shafts. The sounds they produced woke me up many times at night. At one moment I even thought a pigeon got into the room, because of the loud noise. We stayed in room 412. I don’t know if other rooms also have this problem.

Best Western Plus Uptown Hotel, 205 Kingsway, Vancouver, British Columbia V5T 3J5, Canada (Formerly BEST WESTERN PLUS Uptown Hotel)

Stayed July 2015. You can find my review about Best Western Plus Uptown Hotel also on TripAdvisor. My scores: location 3/5, rooms 3/5, service 3/5.