Vancouver, according to locals

AnnaLena draws strong recommendations for inventive food and the overall dining experience.

Cactus Club recommendations cover several Vancouver outlets, including English Bay on Beach Avenue.

MeeT draws recommendations across its Vancouver outlets, including the Main Street restaurant.

Kissa Tanto is a Japanese-Italian restaurant in Chinatown that many diners recommend, with a beautiful room, dim romantic lighting and a distinctive evening atmosphere.

Do Chay draws enthusiastic recommendations for vegetarian Vietnamese food, including from several meat eaters.

Most people who weigh in recommend Keefer Bar in Chinatown, and many point to its cocktails.

Many people recommend The Cambie in Gastown, and several call it a casual dive-style bar where it is easy to meet people.

The Birdhouse is a queer and trans-friendly event venue rather than a conventional bar, and it is widely recommended whenever people ask for queer bars.

Most people who weigh in recommend The Ivanhoe, and many name it as a dive bar.

The Shameful Tiki Room is a tiki bar on Main Street that most people recommend.

Most people recommend JJ Bean, and many praise its cookies, with a few naming the caramel crackle in particular.

Most people recommend Revolver, and several name it as their top or favourite pick for coffee.

Most people recommend Nemesis, and many praise the baked goods, including the croissants and other pastries. Several call the coffee very good or great, and several like the distinctive interior. On the downside, several commenters find the coffee the weaker side (one finds it regularly sour and acidic, one says it was better before in-house roasting, one thinks its appeal is the bakery), a few doubt it is the best in the world, one lists it among overhyped spots to skip, and one finds it too busy to be worth the visit. People recommend Nemesis across its outlets; the map shows the Gastown cafe, and one commenter likes the location beside Emily Carr.

Prototype is widely recommended, and a few commenters describe it as a specialty coffee shop for enthusiasts.

Most diners recommend Beaucoup Bakery & Cafe, and several praise its croissants, with a few singling out the peanut butter cookie.

Most people recommend O.E.B. Breakfast Co., and several specifically name the Yaletown location on the waterfront.

Most people who weigh in recommend Yolks, a brand with outlets across the city; the Davie Street outlet, which one diner calls amazing, while others mention the City Hall and Hastings locations.

Most people recommend Maxine's, many of them for brunch, and several name the Burrard Street spot.

Most people who name Cafe Medina recommend it for breakfast and brunch, and several rank it above the other places they compare.

Many people recommend Red Wagon Cafe, and many single out its pancakes, with several praising the pulled pork pancakes in particular.

Tom Sushi is widely recommended, and many people who name a branch mean the Davie Street location.

Many people recommend Sushi Hil on Main Street.

Many people recommend Miku as one of the top sushi spots in town, and several single out its aburi-style pressed sushi.

Toshi Sushi, on East 16th Avenue just off Main Street, is widely recommended, and many people praise its sushi: one calls it the best casual sushi spot in Vancouver, another their favourite in the city, and another ranks it among the city's best.

Most people recommend Tozen Sushi Bar, and many say the food is good or excellent.

Most people recommend Sula, and many name it as their pick for Indian food in Vancouver, with several saying they love it or that it is their favourite.

Most people recommend Tasty Indian Bistro, and several name the Yaletown outlet.

Most people recommend Hyderabad Biryani House, many of them for its biryani.

Most people who weighed in recommend Karma Indian Bistro, and several point to its West 4th location, with one calling it excellent and another mind-blowing.

Many diners recommend Agra Tandoori, and two praise its paneer dishes. Two call it their go-to place. One suggests the butter chicken and a korma, one says the biryani is awesome, and one enjoys the lunch buffet. Agra has other outlets (commenters mention Canada Way and Market Crossing); the outlet listed here is the 65th Avenue one, which one commenter relays that a taxi driver called the best, and one who ordered from Market Crossing once found the Canada Way outlet noticeably better.

Most people who name Joe Fortes recommend it, and many praise its seafood tower, with one calling it the original and definitive version in Vancouver.

Most people who name Blue Water Cafe in Yaletown recommend it, and several describe its seafood as excellent.

Most diners who name Fanny Bay's Vancouver oyster bar recommend it, and many praise the oysters.

Many diners recommend The Fish Counter, especially for its fish and chips, and several praise the fish itself.

At Sandbar on Granville Island, several diners single out the wok-fried squid: one calls it their favourite squid in the city, one finds it spicy, and another says it stays delicious ordered mild.