Best Upscale French 2012

GOLD: LE CROCODILE

Silver: La Belle Auberge  |  Bronze: Five Sails  |  Honourable Mentions: Bacchus Restaurant at the Wedgewood Hotel & Le Gavroche

There’s a reason why, year after year, the judges award Gold to Le Crocodile—“Simply put,” said one, “Michel Jacob runs a superb, professional, classic room.” Another suggested: “French cuisine is all about tradition and consistency, and nobody does it better, night after night, than the well-schooled brigade at Le Crocodile.” La Belle Auberge took Silver, thanks to Bruno Marti’s mentoring of talented chefs such as Tobias MacDonald, who does “great food in a character restaurant, way out in Ladner.” Five Sails in the Pan Pacific took Bronze: “It’s easy to overlook the underrated cuisine here as you drink in the best view in town.” Bacchus at the Wedgewood Hotel (“consistently good food in a comfortably appointed room”) and Le Gavroche (“much improved of late”) both earned Honourable Mentions.