The Yaletown Brewing Company (web site, 1111 Mainland St. phone 604.681.2739) is one of Vancouver’s most popular brew pubs, located in the downtown Yaletown neighborhood. It’s a great place to hang out, share good times, and have a beer or two. Yaletown Brewing Company serves casual pub-style food. At lunch their sandwiches, burgers, and pizzas are a good bet. I enjoyed my Singapore Street Noodles ($14.99, pictured below) which was a dish with fresh chicken and shrimp, yellow curry, and thin rice noodles, served with cabbage, carrots, cilantro, and green onions.

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.