BC Ferries take passengers around beautiful British Columbia (BC) Canada by sea. Start off in bustling and cosmopolitan Vancouver, and ride the ferry over to Vancouver Island. On the island you’ll find Victoria, the capital city of BC and a popular tourist destination.
Looking for a longer trip further off the beaten path? Visit the smaller towns on the Island such as Tofino, Ucluelet, Naniamo, Qualicum Beach, Courtenay, and more. The ferries will also take you to the serene and scenic Gulf Islands.
This summer I left the mainland quite a few times, and fortunately for me, there is food service available on board the ferries and in the terminal cafeterias.
Pictured below is some sushi and a ham sandwich (around $10) purchased from the Bread Garden cafeteria at the Swartz Bay Terminal. I bought it while I was waiting in line to go back to Vancouver (incidentally after playing a piano gig in Victoria with vocalist Peggy Hogan’s group – live recording here).
I am a little hesitant to admit that after my 4th ferry trip this summer I started developing a taste for – or rather, an addiction to – the Bread Garden sushi. It is now one of my favorite items offered by the BC Ferries food service – but sushi aficionados will tell you that is a far cry from what you can find in most land-based sushi restaurants in Vancouver or Victoria. One upside about the Bread Garden sushi is that a generous amount of wasabi and pickled ginger is provided, as well as chopsticks.
I put together a short travel video (accessible in the player below, or on Youtube) from a trip I took last year on BC Ferries from Vancouver to Victoria. The video shows some of the food and shopping available at the Tsawassen Terminal and sunset views of the Gulf Islands taken from the ferry itself.
For more ferry food, check out my photo of the salmon entree from the on-board BC Ferries White Spot cafeteria, or the smoked salmon bagel I had at the BC Ferries Tsawassen Terminal (on the Vancouver side). Happy sailing!
BC Ferries Bread Garden Sushi (California roll, around $5)
Ham and swiss sandwich from the BC Ferries Cafeteria (around $5.00)
20,050 views - Posted Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
Toyama Japanese Restaurant (web site, map, 757 Seymour Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-688-3256) is a new “all you can eat” sushi restaurant that is open from 11am till midnight every day. Price is $11.95 for the all you can eat menu at lunch time, and $20.95 at dinner time. (They also have a late night price that is reduced to around $11 as well).
Toyama has been getting good reviews from visitors on the website DineHere.ca (click here to read), including galvinkuo2 who writes:
We really like this place and are considered regulars. Food is always fresh and very tasty. This is the best place for the price you can find in Downtown, too bad they don’t have all you can eat sashimi during lunch time, But Our suggestion is to go for a lunch all you can eat menu option. We always go for a lot of salmon sushi since this is the best place to get it. And of course the Oyster Motoyaki are “the must try” and the New stuff “BBQ Korean Pork” spicy and tasty!!
Pictured below are some of the items we ordered. I’m definitely going to go back to Toyama Sushi, maybe even on a regular basis!
Nigiri sushi from Toyama Japanese Restaurant
Sushi cones from Toyama Sushi - All You Can Eat Japanese restaurant downtown
Alaska roll and chopped scallop roll sushi
Assorted sushi from Toyama All You Can Eat Chinese/Japanese food
Assorted Nigiri Sushi from Toyama All You Can Eat Sushi restaurant downtown.
Dix BBQ and Brewery (web site, map, 871 Beatty St. Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-682-2739)Â is a casual pub that specializes in American-style barbecue cuisine. Located downtown on Beatty Street very close to BC Place Stadium and GM Place, Dix is a popular place to visit before or after a sporting event.
Traditional barbecue in a young, fun, attitude-free environment.
I enjoyed some beer with friends, and also ordered a delicious burger item, the Drunk and Dirty Chicken ($11.99, pictured below) which their menu describes as chicken “grilled with your choice of: teriyaki, cajun, bbq or pesto – topped with cheddar cheese and bacon”. It was reasonably priced, a good sized portion, and mighty delicious.
