48 Hours Eating Vancouver’s BEST Food!
Vancouver is the best place to eat Asian food outside of Asia.
In this episode of my 2026 World Cup food series, I’m in Vancouver, Canada, to find out whether this coastal city has one of the best food scenes on the entire route.
Vancouver is surrounded by mountains, water and serious food culture. It is a city known for fresh seafood, incredible Asian food, Chinatown classics, sushi, fried chicken, artisan pizza, Italian sandwiches, poutine and that clean Pacific Northwest feeling where everything feels close to the sea.
I start at Fanny Bay Oysters for fresh tide-to-table seafood and the Salish sampler. Oysters, shellfish, crab, prawns and proper West Coast seafood from one of Vancouver’s best-known oyster spots.
Then I head to Phnom Penh in Chinatown, one of Vancouver’s most famous restaurants, to try their legendary chicken wings and butter beef. Crispy wings, rare beef, garlic, herbs, lime, fish sauce and the kind of food that explains why this place has become a proper Vancouver institution.
After that, I visit Anny’s Dairy Bar in New Westminster for authentic Quebec-style poutine. Chips, cheese curds, gravy and proper Canadian comfort food from a spot bringing a taste of Quebec to British Columbia.
Then it’s over to Mortadella for world-championship Italian sandwiches and artisan pizza. Proper bread, cured meats, cheese, tomato, pizza dough and the kind of Italian food that feels simple but seriously well made.
From there, I go to Downlow Chicken Shack for the secret fried chicken that everyone in Vancouver seems to know about. Crispy, spicy, juicy fried chicken from one of the city’s most talked-about spots.
Then I visit Tom Sushi for high-quality, affordable sushi that genuinely rivals places in Tokyo. Fresh fish, clean rice, proper technique and one of the best-value meals of the whole trip.
This is part of my 16-part series travelling to every 2026 FIFA World Cup host city in North America to find out which city has the best food.
Timestamps
00:00 Intro: The mission to find the best food in Vancouver
00:45 Fanny Bay Oysters: Fresh tide-to-table seafood and the Salish sampler
05:41 Phnom Penh in Chinatown: Famous chicken wings and butter beef
08:49 Anny’s Dairy Bar: Authentic Quebec-style poutine in New Westminster
11:11 Mortadella: World-championship Italian sandwiches and artisan pizza
16:03 Downlow Chicken Shack: The secret fried chicken everyone knows about
20:26 Tom Sushi: High-quality affordable sushi that rivals Tokyo
23:40 Final thoughts and World Cup playlist
Subscribe for the full 2026 World Cup food series as I travel to every host city to find the best food in North America.
#VancouverFood #WorldCup2026 #OnlyScrans
31 Comments
Scotland 🏴 😂
Jono the content you put in one video is incredible, absolutely incredible thank so much mate
That pizza and sushi, my God…..
This series has been absolutely fantastic keep up the great work man
Oh no, you went all the way out to Anny's and didn't show the Maple twist soft serve ice cream? 😢
I'm from Seattle and Vancouver has the best food anywhere!
Loving this series and I absolutely love Vancouver. I live down the street in Seattle and loved your visit here also. Good work not picking up with that tiramisu 👏💪🏽
So good! I love that you came to Vancouver, my home. Thank you. I am glad you enjoyed it
48hrs is barely time to scratch the surface, you should definitely come back – check out YouTube and you will find numerous "everything I ate in Vancouver videos" mostly from foodies who travel to the city for no other reason than the food. Well done anther tiramisu too.
Best part about Vancouver is there are so many hole-in-the-wall gems where you can get a good lunch for like 10 bucks, especially the Granville/Robson area
Another superb episode. A mate from Manchester lives there. Still never been apart from a transit stop. He absolutely loves living there.
"worth the trip" Hmmm going 25 minutes to new westminster made me laugh. This is all pretty much "greater-vancouver" , we dont really consider that 'leaving the city' as its like 10 miles away. it would be like driving from Santa MOnica to West Hollywood.
Great to see you in my city.
You hit a lot of the good spots for sure.
The lineup here is solid across the board, with one glaring exception: Tom's Sushi. The prices run high, the portions arrive disappointingly small, and the truth is there are at least 30 sushi rooms in Vancouver turning out better fish at gentler prices. Its standing as the city's finest is largely a fiction, a reputation manufactured in the glow of social media rather than earned at the counter.
For the real thing, walk a few doors down to Akihana Sushi. The fish is fresher, the service warmer, the prices kinder, and the portions actually generous. It is, in every meaningful way, the better meal.
A closing note worth remembering: the only restaurant critic ever to win a Pulitzer Prize out of Los Angeles named Vancouver the best dining city of all and it's not hard to see why. The kitchens here marry European technique with Asian and Indian influence, then build their plates on Alberta beef and seafood pulled fresh from the Pacific.
Love the hat! 🏒
Phnom Penh has been my favorite restaurant for decades but trying to find a parking spot and the massive line ups prevent me from going very often
Love the Canucks hat!
Was waiting for Toms! The best sushi by far! Love the series and love seeing you go to actual good local spots.
Wish you tried Ramen danbo!
Amazing video.. well done! Fanny Bay is a regular spot for me
Absolutely loving this series, I found your videos through the football ones you did. They've been excellent and you are the only person I've heard say the food was that good it was giving ya tongue a hand job 😂😂😂 cant wait for the next video to drop
Born and raised in Vancouver and this is one of the best videos I've ever seen capture both the quality and variety of food you can find in this city. So many creators focus solely on the incredible Asian food we have and ignore the rest.
I'll admit the cost of living here is abysmal, but it's hard not to feel blessed when you can walk outside and see the mountains from anywhere and find world class restaurants of nearly any type of cuisine you can think of.
Glad to see you enjoyed your time here.
Oh that sushi looked bloody amazeballs 🤪
Dude did his homework with Anny’s
🤗🤗🤗🤗😘😘😋😋😋😋
Fanny Bay looks great. Proper celebration food if you're in the UK, would be great to have this place on your doorstep
Tom sushi is the best sushi in the city! I used to live 5 min walk away, but moved to the island – I miss it!!!
Well-selected spots and great video flow, love it.
8:30 scrans knows ball
This is a brilliant YouTube series. Great production. It's been great to watch. Thanks for all your efforts.
Good looks! Not a fan of Tom sushi though…back in the day, this one place Kadoya was phenomenal
Oh my goodness, I know that wasn’t her intention, but can’t believe she basically tried to undermine the willpower of a recovering alcoholic. Be compassionate by supporting their recovery, not enabling their relapse ❤