Sonomama Japanese Restaurant (web site, 980 Granville St., Vancouver, phone 604-662-3770) is a relatively new addition to downtown’s Granville Street strip, amidst the nightclubs and fast food restaurants near the corner of Granville and Nelson. A lot of care has obviously gone into the design and decor of this restaurant: it’s an ultra-modern and stylish room with huge vaulted ceilings, a glowing wrap-around sushi bar, tables and a few comfortable booths. For best value, be sure to try items from the combination menu, such as one of the sushi combinations ($10 to $13) or the Chirashi and Udon combo ($12.95). Chirashi-don (pictured below) is a bowl filled with rice and topped with fresh seafood, and the combo also came with a bowl of hot udon-noodle soup.

Update (Jan 1, 2008): Sonomama has closed and there is a new Indian restaurant there now.

The Hamilton Street Grill (web site, 1009 Hamilton Street, Vancouver, phone 604.331.1511) is a popular steakhouse in Vancouver’s trendy Yaletown neighborhood. For lunch, enjoy a burger, steak, sandwich, or pasta, or be adventurous and try one of the tapas such as the crab cake, mussels Diablo, or wrapped prawns. I’ve found the food quality to be consistently high at this restaurant, and my Fresh Grilled BC Salmon (pictured below) was no exception. The Hamilton Street Grill also hosts wine tasting events: be sure to ask your server if you are interested.

The Keg (restaurant web site, 1499 Anderson Street, phone 604-685-4735) brings their famed restaurant chain’s steaks to one of Vancouver’s cultural and tourist hotspots, Granville Island, located across False Creek from downtown Vancouver underneath the Granville bridge. Currently the Keg is featuring a special called “Lobster Summer“, where until August 19th you can go all out and order a whole 2 lb lobster, or enjoy a half lobster with a steak, or perhaps a dish such as the Grilled Chicken and Seafood (for $20.95, pictured below) which features lobster as an ingredient. Prices for entrees are in the $20 to $40 range, and the taste is well worth the cost. The grilled chicken and seafood entree was delicious: a grilled chicken breast was topped with garlic sauteed shrimp, lobster, asparagus, and a white wine and butter sauce. The Keg’s roasted garlic mashed potatoes can’t be beat!