Deserts – The Falafel Oasis (reviews, map, 905 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-251-4171) is a very casual vegetarian / vegan restaurant that serves Indian-style food.

The restaurant appears to be under new ownership, and from what I can tell, the food has improved, but the place seems to be a bit messier than before. This is definitely not a place to take someone to impress them! However if you want to get full on tasty vegetarian food for $6.00, order their “Chef’s special” (pictured below) and if it’s a nice day, take your plate out to the small patio.

Chef's special from Deserts Restaurant on Commercial Drive.

Milestones Restaurant (web site, map, 1109 Hamilton Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-684-9111) is a busy, trendy chain restaurant that has been recently renovated in their Yaletown location.

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

I would not have recognized this Milestone’s if I were just walking by. It looked like a completely new eatery. Outside was modern silver and had some beach wood decor. Inside was also very nice – silvers, beach wood, dark wood etc.). There was a projection screen above the bar that rolled up and out of site when not in use and revealed a nice wood/mirror motif behind it.

I ordered the Seafood Mixed Grill ($21.99, pictured below) which their menu describes as:

Wild West Coast Coho salmon, Corvina sea bass and tiger shrimp, matched with a trio of house made sauces; Mango, Gogi Berry, Gaucho. Served with spinach, bok choy, grape tomatoes and lavender roasted mini potatoes.

This was a bit pricey for lunch (the restaurant uses the same menu at lunch time as dinner) but I am a big seafood fan and thought the salmon, sea bass and shrimp were an excellent combination.

For more photos please view Part 5, Part 4,  Part 3, Part 2, and Part 1.

Seafood Mixed Grill from Milestones Restaurant in Yaletown, Vancouver

Salade de Fruits Cafe (web site, map, 1551 West 7th Avenue, Vancouver BC, Canada, phone 604-714-5987) is an authentic, unpretentious French restaurant that is hidden away inside the French Cultural Centre in Vancouver’s South Granville area. One of Vancouver’s “not so well kept secrets for French Food” (FoodVancouver.com), this casual bistro serves up some of the best French food in the city, but in a home-style atmosphere with friendly French (and English-speaking!) service.

Angela Murrills writes in the Georgia Straight (click here to read review):

Weekdays at noon it feels like small-town France, where everyone decamps from their office for a couple of hours during which the mark of a truly civilized country parking is free by law. A fresh-fish dish or two, grilled prawns, moules frites, quiche or a sandwich it’s all competently made, sans froufrou, and mostly under $10.

Christine G. Louie describes the food at Salade de Fruits (writing in the Peak, SFU’s student newspaper, click here to read review):

The moules et frites ($11.99) arrived with puffs of steam wafting up, the P.E.I. mussels fat, perfectly steamed little morsels sitting in the most fragrant of broths. Accompanying the pot of shiny black shells lay a stack of fresh-cooked pomme frites, still glistening from their bath of hot oil. Crispy, golden-brown, and thinly sliced, the pomme frites were perfect for dipping into the pool of broth or the little container of their homemade mayonnaise. The calamari dish came in thick ringlets, fried to a glorious golden-brown, and looking ravishingly hot. The smoked-salmon baguette was clean tasting, jazzed up with capers and sweet onions, and sandwiched in the same lovely bread. The steak dish was pounded into a thin large slab, arrived on top of a layer of gravy-smothered frites.

Wow, I love those descriptions, thanks Christine!

Pictured below is some of the food we enjoyed: the Saumon Sauvage (Wild salmon entree, around $16), the Calmars à la Nage (Calamari dish, $9.99), and the Escargots à l’Ail (snail in garlic, $5.99, a French delicacy!). My friend also ordered the T-Bone Steak served with fresh crab (not pictured), which he described as juicy and of really high quality (he’s a regular of steak places around town).

Saumon Sauvage (Wild Salmon entree, $16.99) from Salade De Fruits French restaurant in Vancouver

Calamari dish (Calmars à la Nage, $9.99) from Salade De Fruits French restaurant in Vancouver

Escargots à l'Ail ($5.99) - Snail in garlic, a French delicacy! Food from Salade De Fruits French restaurant in Vancouver.

Fresh baguette (French bread) included with the meal at Salade de Fruits French restaurant in Vancouver