Pacifico Pizzeria Ristorante (map, website, menu, 970 Smithe Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-408-0808) offers Italian pizzas and pastas in a sophisticated and airy modern atmosphere. The candle-lit dining room with double-height ceiling and balcony is a popular spot for a gourmet pizza before or after a movie. It’s located right next to the Scotiabank Movie Theatre in downtown Vancouver (near Burrard and Smithe).

Formerly a pizza place called Lombardo’s (which still has a location on Commercial Drive near 1st ave), Pacifico continues Lombardo’s practice of serving pizzas with inventive and complementary ingredients. We tried the “Salmone” ($25 for large, pictured below), made with smoked salmon, capers, and red onion. A delightfully chewy crust was brushed with extra virgin olive oil, and topped with lots of cheese.

We also tried their desserts. The Mud Pie ($6.00, pictured below) was fairly run-of-the-mill (still frozen solid) but the restaurant’s house specialty Tiramisu ($7.00, also pictured below) was heavenly.

Some higher-end restaurants have picked up a trend of serving “deconstructed” Tiramisu – a mix of mascarpone cheese, custard, coffee, and some liquor in a cocktail glass, with maybe a few biscuits hidden at the bottom. This mode of presentation may be satisfying in a different way from a slice of cake on a plate – consuming the cocktail glass version is sans fuss and trendy too.

Irashai Grill, an Asian fusion restaurant in Vancouver’s Coal Harbour, serves their Tiramisu in a sleek porcelain tray, dusted with a dangerously thick layer of powdered chocolate. Both Irashai’s and Pacifico’s realizations of Tiramisu are worthy of a sweet discovery!

Large smoked salmon pizza ($25) from Pacifico Pizzeria Restorante, a great pizza restaurant in downtown Vancouver BC Canada.

Mud Pie dessert ($6.00) from Pacifico Pizzeria Ristorante in downtown Vancouver BC Canada.

Tiramisu dessert ($7.00) from Pacifico Pizza Restaurant in downtown Vancouver BC Canada.

Looking for a great breakfast or brunch spot in the Mt. Pleasant / Main Street area on the East Side of Vancouver?

Check out Seb’s Market Cafe (map, website, 592 East Broadway, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, phone: 604-298-4403).

Owner operator Francois Godbout found success in the Vancouver film industry catering business before deciding to open a home-style, family-friendly breakfast and brunch place in a neighborhood that is growing and becoming more “happening” by the day.

A friend of mine is a regular customer here, and he recommended that we try it one Saturday morning. The food was fantastic – I had the Smoked Salmon Scrambled Eggs (pictured below, $9.00) which were made with smoked salmon (of course!), red onions, and cheese, and served with homecut potatoes, toast, and homemade preserves. I also enjoyed the freshly squeezed orange juice (also pictured below) which was the real thing (and had no sugar added so it was a little bit tart, but very refreshing nevertheless).

My friend is a bit worried that if more people discover this secret amazing brunch place, it may get too busy! But that would be a sign of success for Seb’s and in the event they needed to expand, I’m sure they could handle it quite well.

Smoked salmon scrambled eggs ($9.00) from Seb's Market Cafe in Mt. Pleasant area of Vancouver BC Canada.

Freshly squeezed orange juice from Seb's, a great breakfast and brunch place in East Vancouver.

The Templeton (web site, map, 1087 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-685-4612) is one of my favorite places to visit on the Granville Street strip downtown, for healthy nourishing food. The decor is retro with the original furnishings of a 1950’s diner, including juke box controls at every table, swivel bar stools, and lots of stainless steel. The modernized menu is packed with vegetarian options as well as some non-vegetarian choices for those into something a little more meaty.

This area of Granville Street is a colorful mixture of new, high-end restaurants, older greasy spoon places, night clubs with pounding beats, and a couple of remaining sex shops left over from seedier days. The street is in transition with the sidewalk widening almost complete, making it a safer place to walk at night (along with the sometimes rowdy crowds of night-clubbers). It’s only a five minute walk from the upscale Yaletown shopping and restaurant district to the east, and about the same distance to Burrard Street to the west and beyond that the West End residential neighborhood.

Some of my favorite items to order at the Templeton are the Macaroni and Cheese (around $10, served with fresh tomato salsa, three kinds of cheese, and an organic green salad), and the Med Quesadilla (also around $10, made with artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, green olives, aged white cheddar, fresh tomato salsa and sour cream). On my last visit however, I had already eaten something substantial earlier in the evening, so opted for the ultra healthy and “good for you” Dinner Salad (around $6.50, pictured below).

The Templeton is one of the few dining spots that is open with full service food late at night in the downtown area. I was there a little after 10:00pm on a Sunday night and they did Last Call for food at around 10:30pm. That’s pretty good for a Sunday. If it’s late and you’re hungry, it’s worth a shot – why not give them a call (604-685-4612) to find out if they’re open? =)

For more photos (and info about their breakfasts) please view Part 3, Part 2, or Part 1.

Dinner Salad from the Templeton on Granville Street in downtown Vancouver BC Canada.