Anducci’s Restaurant (map, visitor reviews, 608 Dunsmuir St, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-696-5558) is a newly opened pub-style Italian restaurant at the old location of the Jester’s pub at the St. Regis Hotel downtown.

sumiln, a reviewer on DineHere.ca (click here to read review) writes:

Service was attentive and the 3 pizzas we ordered were really nice. Thin crusted and tasty we all agreed, very like (my own) homemade. Wine reasonably priced; however, they were out our first two choices. Not too worry, very close to the office so will likely quickly become one of our lunch repertoires.

We started off with the Tomato and Boccicini salad (the “Caprese” salad, $11, pictured below) which was nicely presented and tasty. I then ordered a scrumptious pasta dish with salmon that had some fancy Italian name (also pictured below, $12.00). My friend had a mug of Guiness beer ($6.00) and the mixed seafood spaghettini ($14, not pictured). A good time was had by all!

Caprese salad (Tomato and boccocini) $11 from Anducci's pub in downtown Vancouver.

Italian pasta with salmon from Anducci's Pub restaurant in downtown Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Goldfish Pacific Kitchen (web site, map, 1118 Mainland Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604 689-8318) is an upscale restaurant in Vancouver’s downtown Yaletown neighborhood, that offers fine dining in a trendy, lively atmosphere.

In a previous dinner time visit, I enjoyed their ling cod ($22). Since then I’ve been back three times for lunch. Goldfish offers daily lunch specials which are $10 plus tax and tip. These specials really showcase the talents of executive chef William Tse.

Flat Iron Steak (on Thursdays) is served with mushrooms, snow pear, and mustard green salad. On Fridays, their special is the seafood fricassée (pictured below), with mussels, fresh fish, thai basil, coconut, and fresh chiles.

The flavors in the fricassée were fantastic, expertly crafted into bringing out the freshness of the seafood, with a rich broth that went with the rice perfectly. The fresh chiles were extremely spicy but our helpful server warned us about them, and thankfully they were served on the side. Another popular lunch choice from our table was the Shanghai Noodles, which can be ordered with beef short rib or chicken.

Many food fanatics (or “foodies” as they are affectionately known) love Vancouver because of the remarkable East-meets-West fusion that happens in the kitchens of our many talented, daring, and masterful chefs. As a port city we are fortunate to have some of the freshest ingredients arriving in our markets from Asia and the Pacific Northwest. Chefs like William Tse and restaurants like Goldfish are setting the stage for Vancouver as a world-class food city.

Please visit the Gold fish restaurant’s web site if you’d like to browse their menu or see some photos of the room’s cool decor.

Seafood Fricasse from Goldfish Pacific Kitchen restaurant in Yaletown, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Amuse bouche, a little complimentary appetizer created by their chef.

Calhouns Bakery and Cafe (web site, map, 3035 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone 604-731-7062) is a large barn-like restaurant in the Kitsilano neighborhood that is open 24 hours and serves a variety of pre-prepared entrees such as the Perogies (around $7.00, pictured below), desserts, coffee, and alcoholic beverages.

At Calhoun’s, pick out an entree from the deli-style refrigerated display case, and then pay first before eating. If they’re not too busy they’ll bring the food out to your table once they heat it up, or else they’ll put it on the counter beside the espresso machine.

Calhouns also offers a catering service (more details) to the Vancouver area. My office uses them sometimes for catering lunch meetings.

Calhouns has a bakery on site, and their sourdough bread is incredibly fresh. They make some of the best sandwiches in town, and I usually order the Shrimp Sandwich with Avocado ($7.50, also pictured below).  Every month I look forward to eating the shrimp sandwich after an evening of performing music with the Sybaritic String Band. Calhoun’s has live jazz music on Tuesday and Sunday evenings, and Latin dancing on Thursday nights.

Located near the University of British Columbia, Calhoun’s is a popular hangout and studying place for UBC students. They have Wifi internet access available.

For another photo of the shrimp sandwich, please view Part 1.

Perogies with bacon, sour cream and salsa ($7.00) from Calhoun's Bakery and Cafe in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Shrimp Sandwich ($8.00) from Calhoun's Bakery and Cafe in Vancouver BC Canada.